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Tower Tow loop- G3 won't go back on!


Gregg97007

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To get my VTX into the garage I had to remove the tow loop, wasn't that bad (4 bolts). Today I had my stereo installed in my garage with the loop off. Now there is NO way that loop is going back on, probably off a good 1.5 inches almost like its now too long.

Anyone else have this issue? Is it the tower speakers? I put 4 exile speakers but they are quick release so don't see that being the issue.

Thanks guys, Id love to get a straight one made but have no idea where to go.

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I had the same issue. The weight of the speakers causes the tower to compress inward. The only way to get the bar back on for me was to remove the speakers to release pressure. I only had one pair of rev 10's. Have you tried removing speakers? You will also need two people to get it back on.

The straight bar can be ordered from Malibu. The problem with this is the bar drops down pretty low in the boat. I am 6'1" and the straight bar would hit me right in my nose when walking in boat. With factory hoop I can walk standing straight up with no issues. The tow ball also gets moved forward in the boat. This is why I did not order the straight bar.

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I had the same issue. The weight of the speakers causes the tower to compress inward. The only way to get the bar back on for me was to remove the speakers to release pressure. I only had one pair of rev 10's. Have you tried removing speakers? You will also need two people to get it back on.

The straight bar can be ordered from Malibu. The problem with this is the bar drops down pretty low in the boat. I am 6'1" and the straight bar would hit me right in my nose when walking in boat. With factory hoop I can walk standing straight up with no issues. The tow ball also gets moved forward in the boat. This is why I did not order the straight bar.

That's strange. I have both the original hoop and the "straight" hoop. The straight hoop isn't any lower than the original hoop in terms of head clearance. I'm 6'3" and I do not hit my head anywhere, let alone nose height.

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That's strange. I have both the original hoop and the "straight" hoop. The straight hoop isn't any lower than the original hoop in terms of head clearance. I'm 6'3" and I do not hit my head anywhere, let alone nose height.

Would love to see some pictures, my dealer and I sat in the boat and measured where the bar would go. Maybe we were off, but with a tape we ran from mounting point to mounting point in a straight line as the bar would be mounted and I would have to duck under it. I even contacte the owner of this boat in the picture and he mentioned he had to duck under it every time he walked near it. Maybe you got a different style bar put on?

If you have some picture of you standing under it I would love to see it, this is the reason I did not order the bar. If your 6'3" I would have no problems at all. How does the tow ball line up with the bimin when the bimini is put up? Did you have to relocate it?

Even in this picture it appears its much lower than the standard hoop.

VLX_straightbar_zps4608fa1e.jpg

Edited by Fman
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That pic above looks like it presents all kinds of problems...

  • It's at least 6" lower than the front of the tower
  • With tow point further forward it won't line up with bimini hole...
  • With the tow point lower, does that mean the rope hooks up under the bimini?? Eeek.

I'd rather pay a contractor to come make my garage door 8' tall. My buddy did this when he bought a boat... it wasn't that hard.

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After comparing that picture my "straight" bar is nowhere near that low. I know that is an older picture (it's the one I used to get mine ordered), so possibly they have made some improvements. Mine is the same height from the floor as the stock hoop. I'll try and dig up some pictures.

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Ok, in post 35 of this thread you can see my boat with the "straight" hoop on.

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/topic/36800-our-new-2012-vlx/page-2#entry524843

Straight hoop is a bad name as it's not really straight. It should be called the "garage clearance hoop". As you can see it still curves up in the middle to offer more head room, it just doesn't arch as far back to the rear of the boat. This allows my tower to clear under a 7 foot garage door without removing the hoop.

I have a few more pictures comparing the two hoops, I'll get them posted up later.

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I will try taking tower speakers off but it's seriously so far off I can't imagine it would be from that... I found a guy who thinks he can make me a straight one so working on getting him going. Thanks Brett for the pics. I don't see how it would end up any lower and plan on having a cover company or something put a new hole in Bimini. Will keep you posted.

One question. The orginial loop is 65 inches should I go like 64 so I can get it in or figure a way to stretch the tower out to get a 65 in there???

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Gregg,

If you are going to have a custom hoop made consider contacting Malibu and have them do it. This way it will fit properly. Brett's hoop looks great, definitely better than the picture I had.

Have you tried reinstalling bar with two people? The weight of the speakers are heavy and pull the tower inward. Be careful when reinstalling the bar, you can easily scratch and damage stuff quickly. Take your time and two people will make it much easier.

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I took the speakers off and with two people still can't get it close. But I know what you mean about scuffing the tower that is one thing I have done successful.

Looks like even with the "straight" bar it still has a curve to it. Correct?

Who would I call at malibu for that? Any idea of the cost?

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Yes, appears to have a slight curve. What clearance do you need to fit the boat in garage? Brett said he clears 7'.

Do the exile mounts have anything to do with bar not fitting? Did you remove the mounting brackets as well?

I would contact your dealer, they should be able to get in contact with someone at Malibu for you.

Edited by Fman
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The speaker mounts are really basic and just bolt along side the tower through two holes that were already there. So weird...

I found a number for malibu factory- I will try them tomorrow.

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Try loosening up the speaker brackets first. I had a similar issue when I installed a 2nd pair of racks. I torqued the bases pretty tight, and the racks wouldn't slide on. After I backed off the torque a little, the racks went in with no effort.

In my case, I think the rack bases were flexing, but you never know. It could be the tower. May be worth a try anyway. Malibu will probably want their dealer to take a look at it.

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I'll take the speakers off and give it a try.

I called Malibu parts today and they were zero help and didn't have any desire to assist. After being transfered twice they all claim there is no such thing and have never seen one in production.

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If you s/w someone at Malibu today you must have talked to someone in Tennessee? They dno't make the towers there, they are still made in California. I'd try there before giving up. It is very possible that in fact no one in Tennessee has ever seen this part as its doubtful any boats off the line come with it.

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Gregg sorry we derailed your topic. As to your original question, you have to lift the hoop up higher than the tower holes and lower it in place. The tower support legs are slightly angled in towards the rear of the boat, so if you just try and push the bar back into position from the rear you will get binding. Use 2 people, lift the hoop up above the legs, and let one side of the hoop drop into alignment with the holes first, then the second side should drop it. Try moving it around in a few different positions and angles to make it fit. It took me a few tries to learn the trick as I was also removing my hoop each time before my "straight" hoop arrived. Also try contacting your dealer, I'm sure they have a tech there who has done this before and can help you out. Hope this makes sense.

Lastly, If you have the Exile 2-speaker tower brackets, those have to be removed first to get the hoop back on. I've gotten it to where I can remove just one, but it's tricky. If you have both Exile brackets still installed while trying to re-install the hoop then that is your problem.

Edited by Brett B
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The boat above with the hydrofoils on it is my boat. That was the first "straight" bar Malibu ever built. I gave them the idea at the boat show when I was ordering my boat, because I needed it to go in a 7' garage door at the time.

The bar is not actually "straight". It still curves up and back slightly. I'm 6'2", and it would hit me right at my hair line pretty much if I didn't duck slightly to go under it.

No, This bar would not work with a stock bimini. The reason the stock bar is such a problem with garage doors is that it curves back so far (which is "up" with the tower folded). This puts the tow point further away from the light on the top of the tower. To make it go under low doors, they need to make it so it doesn't curve so far to the back of the boat. This is going to put the tow point much closer to the tower than before. I wasn't worried about a bimini at the time. We were in and out of the garage 4 times a week going to the lake to ski.... I wanted something that went in and out of the garage as quickly as possible. However- now we live on the lake, so the boat is on a lift and I don't need to worry about going into a garage except a few times a year. I think I'm going to buy the normal hoop for the tower so I can put a bimini on there..... Or, just have a custom bimini made.

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This is good to know, was planning on taking this off to get our new boat in the garage. Planning on running 2 sets of Rev 10s, so it's good to know we need to take them off to reconnect.

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As cwkoch said his was the first. I showed his pictures to my dealer to convince them it could be done, and they worked to have the Malibu factory make it for me. Thanks again cwkoch for such a great idea!

It's true the bimini hole does not line up. We rarely use the bimini so that is not an issue for us. If I’m going on a long weekend trip in the middle of the summer I just swap the original hoop back on. It would also be very easy to mod the bimini with an additional hole for the tow ball if you used it frequently which is what I will probably do.

The only other issue is that the wakeboard rope gets caught on the board racks more easily when turning sharply at idle to pick up a downed rider since the tow point is further forward. If there are boards in the racks it's usually not a problem though, somebody just need to keep a closer eye on the rope, or you need to widen your turn.

Those are very minor nit-pick compared to how quick/easy it is to get the boat in and out of the 7’ tall garage now. We take the boat out 2-3 times per week, and being able to get it out of the garage, stand up the tower, and be on the road in about 5 minutes is well worth it. Like I mentioned, I have no head clearance issues with it and I’m not exactly a short guy. :) Hopefully Malibu is making this as a normal factory part now, with a jig to make more, and it’s not a custom one-off each time. My dealer said that was the plan after they made mine but I’m sure priorities at the factory can get moved around.

Original hoop and garage clearance hoop comparison pictures below:

16107061_large.jpg

16107062_large.jpg

Garage clearance hoop part number:

16107063_large.jpg

Pictures of the garage clearance hoop installed:

15752535_large.jpg

15752536_large.jpg

15752537_large.jpg

Edited by Brett B
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If you didn't have any tower speakers the standard hoop is pretty easy to deal with. But taking the hoop on and off with the Exile speaker brackets is a huge pain in the butt. You have to first unbolt the board rack mounts, then unbolt the Exile speaker brackets (the exile bolts are behind the board rack brackets), let those brackets hang by the speaker wires, then uninstall/reinstall the hoop, and then bolt everything back together, each and every time the hoop comes off. I would just get the straight hoop and mod the bimini with an extra hole.

Edited by Brett B
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