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Towing with G3 tower stowed away


Fman

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Can you tow with the G3 tower stowed in the down position? I always get massive bugs on my tower when I leave the lake in the evenings, after looking at the G3 again looks like it might be able to fold down and be towed this way. As long as the tower was somehow bungee'd down to prevent it from popping up.

Has anyone done this before? or am I just "wishful thinking".

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You don't want to tow with any tower down, damage to the dash, possible stress fractures at the tower bases, etc.

It's the easiest tower made to put up and down, why would you want to tow with the tower collapsed anyways?

-Paul

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You don't want to tow with any tower down, damage to the dash, possible stress fractures at the tower bases, etc.

It's the easiest tower made to put up and down, why would you want to tow with the tower collapsed anyways?

-Paul

I actually agree with the OP. It would be great for longer trips to tow with the tower down. It is great for a few reasons, bugs, and the ability to put the cover right over top of the stowed tower keeps the prying eyes out of your boat. The racks, speakers. and lights, etc are under the cover as well. Out of sight, out of mind. I have spent some time in the new Nautiques and that ability is built in to the new Roswell tower. It also has a very nice release mechanism for lowering the tower. Much easier than the G3. Now the big problem is I think it is ugly. :vomit:

If you made a tower with the looks of the G3 and the function on the new Roswell, it would be perfect.

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I think it could be done. But you'd have to do it right or like the others said, your dash & who knows what else will be trashed over the first few bumps, ESPECIALLY with bungies.

Build some kind of stand that sits on the floor & has a big footprint to spread the load. I store mine this way sometimes, made the stand out of some oak 1"x4" I had laying around. It's small enough I can stash it under the passenger side seats. But plenty strong to support the weight of the tower. Carpet the bottom of it to protect the interior carpet.

Install some sort of tie down in the interior of the boat, probably on both sides of the interior, eg; stainless loop or cleat?

Then use good quality motorcycle tie downs to hold the tower down, on top of the stand, so the tower is resting on the floor, and above your dash.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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I actually agree with the OP. It would be great for longer trips to tow with the tower down. It is great for a few reasons, bugs, and the ability to put the cover right over top of the stowed tower keeps the prying eyes out of your boat. The racks, speakers. and lights, etc are under the cover as well. Out of sight, out of mind. I have spent some time in the new Nautiques and that ability is built in to the new Roswell tower. It also has a very nice release mechanism for lowering the tower. Much easier than the G3. Now the big problem is I think it is ugly. :vomit:

If you made a tower with the looks of the G3 and the function on the new Roswell, it would be perfect.

What kind of cover do you have that you can put over the tower?

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It is actually the factory cover from Correct Craft. I think they are made by commercial sewing. I will see if I can find a picture or two for you.

Edited by Malibuzer
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I actually agree with the OP. It would be great for longer trips to tow with the tower down. It is great for a few reasons, bugs, and the ability to put the cover right over top of the stowed tower keeps the prying eyes out of your boat. The racks, speakers. and lights, etc are under the cover as well. Out of sight, out of mind. I have spent some time in the new Nautiques and that ability is built in to the new Roswell tower. It also has a very nice release mechanism for lowering the tower. Much easier than the G3. Now the big problem is I think it is ugly. :vomit:

If you made a tower with the looks of the G3 and the function on the new Roswell, it would be perfect.

Bingo, you nailed it.... bugs, bugs and more bugs. Especially in mid summer, they plaster the tower in the evenings. We came back from Shasta last year down I-5 in the evening and it took me two hours to remove all the bugs off the tower, it was rediculuos!!! and the front of the car was almost a different color!! You could hear them splatting onto the car!

I dont have the boat yet, and I thought the tower did not rest onto the dash but a few inches above it. This would be a bad idea if it rested onto the dash, which from what everyone is saying it does.

Hey, maybe Bakes can fab up a bracket to allow you to tow with the tower in stowed position! :clap:

Edited by Fman
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I would think if you did tow with the G3 down there would be too much way too much side by side movement causing fractures...when you lower the tower look up the tubes and you will see why :crazy:

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If you do tow with it down I would use the same steps taken by the factory when they ship the boats. Make up a simple support to rest on the floor and under the tower then secure the tower to that keeping it off the dash. Then you can disconnect one of the struts from either side of the tower so they are not trying to pull against the tower to lift it. This is how they arrive to the dealers from the factory.

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  • 4 weeks later...

It is actually the factory cover from Correct Craft. I think they are made by commercial sewing. I will see if I can find a picture or two for you.

Here is the pictures of the Nautique with the cover over the tower when it is folded down.

2947187310101012689S600x600Q85.jpg

2789438510101012689S600x600Q85.jpg

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Very nice!! Someone was using their head with that Natique cover :clap: Thats the first i've seen this. Excellent idea and no chance of bugs!!! :yahoo:

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Not just the cover but the tower as well. Not the best looking tower, in my opinion, but the ability to have everything under cover would be great. It folds to two different positions. One that still allows you to drive the boat, and the other just allows it to drop below the windshield.

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I am planning to use saran wrap for long trips. My old tower would take at least an hour to get the bugs off after a long trip. I figure with the saran wrap it would be 5 minutes on, 5 minutes off. I am interested in other ideas including a picture of the support used for delivery when the boats are shipped from the factory. It would be nice to be able to tow with the tower down.

I may have a cover made for it but would be concerned with it scratching the tower or the speakers. I can also buy alot of saran wrap for the price of a cover.

Kris

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:rockon:

I am planning to use saran wrap for long trips. My old tower would take at least an hour to get the bugs off after a long trip. I figure with the saran wrap it would be 5 minutes on, 5 minutes off. I am interested in other ideas including a picture of the support used for delivery when the boats are shipped from the factory. It would be nice to be able to tow with the tower down.

I may have a cover made for it but would be concerned with it scratching the tower or the speakers. I can also buy alot of saran wrap for the price of a cover.

Kris

Great idea on the saran wrap, even better idea if someone would make up a towing cover to put on while in transit. That would be a great idea, just remove it when you get to the lake and no bugs! We get a lot of 'em out here in spring/summer, especially when leaving the lakes late in the evening.

Hey Paul, when is Bakes going to start selling some tower covers for towing! :rockon:

Edited by Fman
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I don't have enough experience with the G3 to say it's possible for sure, but I can tell you I've towed w/ my illusion stowed. Two pieces of aluminum were bolted at the base of the tower bolt holes and inside the tower base structure. It was suspended but a piece of carpet was placed in between the dash and the forward portion of the tower. So yes it is on the illusion anyway, but takes time to set it up.

I used to use saran wrap but at least in CA when driving and it's 114 degrees, on blacktop highway w/ a black tower that stiff melts "so to speak" and makes getting it off difficult as much or more than buggs. Now I use a stretch cloth that zips up around both hoops of the tower and extends on the sides to the upper speaker mount.

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I am planning to use saran wrap for long trips. My old tower would take at least an hour to get the bugs off after a long trip. I figure with the saran wrap it would be 5 minutes on, 5 minutes off. I am interested in other ideas including a picture of the support used for delivery when the boats are shipped from the factory. It would be nice to be able to tow with the tower down.

I may have a cover made for it but would be concerned with it scratching the tower or the speakers. I can also buy alot of saran wrap for the price of a cover.

Kris

They use a 2x4 that is bolted to a piece of plastic to spread the load over a greater area. The 2x4 has been rounded to support the bar on the tower. Very easy work imho.

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