Swinging board racks for Illusion X?

[rhavey79]

Looking to add a pair of swinging wakeboard/surf combo board racks to my Illusion X tower. Really like the Samson racks at Bakes but $1200 for a pair is painful. Anything else out there I haven't seen yet that is good quality and more economical?

[ATLWake43]

I'm in the same situation. Other than Samson I know of Star One http://www.staronewake.com/racks.html

which is equally as pricey.

I'm wondering if a solution like this with the exisitng rack would work?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wakeboard-Tower-Boat-Board-Rack-Swing-Arm-/290985356980?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43c0142eb4

[R1200196]

There are a set of oem racks on eBay .. Spinners xs tower , but can be modified for x tower. It's not hard to do I payed 429 for a set.

[R1200196]

Send me your email address I will send you pictures...

[Andrew63]

I'm wondering if a solution like this with the exisitng rack would work?

http://www.ebay.com/...=item43c0142eb4

Looked at several swivel racks or hinge points in the one above post.

Only areas I could fault with these & a few others were.

1. There is no locking mechanism to lock them inside the boat, for trailering.

Some of these racks extend beyond the trailer guards up to 4".

2. In my case with an XPT tower, I could not rotate the mount sufficiently to suit my 40 deg tower angle to have the rack level.

In theory I could get close, but I could not verify this & I wanted them shipped to Australia so returns were unlikely.

The reasons I wanted the swivel racks were for ease of loading while in the water & the over width issue when towing.

Ended up with the Samson racks, yes they were pricy.

BUT, once you have a good look at then, there is a lot of brilliant design work & quality of workmanship in these.

The mounting clamp, can be rotated 360 deg & set at any point you desire.

The swivel mechanism, can be locked both in the usual position when in use & when folded inside the boat. Could even trailer with boards secured and the racks locked inside the boat if desired.

And, there is an adjustment grub screw to remove any slack after several years of use in the swivel mechanism.

All in all, one you receive the Samson racks, you will appreciate the quality built into the design & forget about the price paid.

After all, you get what you pay for, we'll not all the time, but in this case you do.

[jcon44]

Yeah, keep checking ebay, i've definately seen pairs on there for under $500.

[rhavey79]

I'm wondering if a solution like this with the exisitng rack would work?

http://www.ebay.com/...=item43c0142eb4

Looked at several swivel racks or hinge points in the one above post.

Only areas I could fault with these & a few others were.

1. There is no locking mechanism to lock them inside the boat, for trailering.

Some of these racks extend beyond the trailer guards up to 4".

2. In my case with an XPT tower, I could not rotate the mount sufficiently to suit my 40 deg tower angle to have the rack level.

In theory I could get close, but I could not verify this & I wanted them shipped to Australia so returns were unlikely.

The reasons I wanted the swivel racks were for ease of loading while in the water & the over width issue when towing.

Ended up with the Samson racks, yes they were pricy.

BUT, once you have a good look at then, there is a lot of brilliant design work & quality of workmanship in these.

The mounting clamp, can be rotated 360 deg & set at any point you desire.

The swivel mechanism, can be locked both in the usual position when in use & when folded inside the boat. Could even trailer with boards secured and the racks locked inside the boat if desired.

And, there is an adjustment grub screw to remove any slack after several years of use in the swivel mechanism.

All in all, one you receive the Samson racks, you will appreciate the quality built into the design & forget about the price paid.

After all, you get what you pay for, we'll not all the time, but in this case you do.

Thanks for the review Andrew. Makes me feel better about dropping that kind of coin on a pair of racks.

[teamerickson]

I called on those swivel hinges. They would not work on my older Titan/Starone racks. Not sure about the newer tower and racks.

[ATLWake43]

I appreciate the research and perspective. The ability to lock both directions is huge for me.

I dry stack my boat and my particular spot has a support bar that is catching the fixed forks on one side and bending them. So, I need the forks to swivel in the boat and lock.

[rhavey79]

Bakes usually runs a 20% off sale in November so the Samson racks may get a little cheaper shortly if they are included in the sale.