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Single handed raise and lower of Illusion tower


ricko

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I park my new vRide in a carport and need to raise and lower the Illusion tower to do so. The new spring mechanism makes it very easy once the pins are pulled, but getting the pins pulled or inserted with only one person is impossible. I find it takes one person to pull or insert the pins, while another person pushes up and "rocks" the front of the tower.

I'm thinking of making some kind of devise/pole with a rope attached that I could use to rock the tower while I pull/insert the pins with the other hand. Has anyone else come up with an easier way to do this with only one person?

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I feel your pain..

I can put it up by myself, but there is no way to lower it by yourself.

Presently it is in the garage due to the weather, so the first time I pulled it out, I thought I would tye a rope around the top of the tower pylon, and then run it down to the ski pylon,making a kind of pully system, hold the rope, and insert the pins.

Well, that just makes it harder as you still have to hold the tower-and with the added weight of speakers,lites,and bimini, it is just to awkward.

To raise it, I just ended up holding it up with one hand, and sliding one of the pins in, then after one is in, its easy to put the other in.

To lower it, as you know, you have to kinda rock it to get the pins out, so it is definately a two man gig at this point. I am fortunate enough to have a side yard spot to keep the boat with the tower up, I am just waiting for the weather to cooperate..

Let me know if you figure something out.

Jeff

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I can raise/lower my Titan in :15 seconds......

Tongue.gif

Pat

(did I just say that??)

Yes you did say that, but you weren't looking as cool as us Illusion types when you said it! ;)

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I can raise/lower my Titan in :15 seconds......

Tongue.gif

Pat

(did I just say that??)

Yes you did say that, but you weren't looking as cool as us Illusion types when you said it! ;)

That's OK, I've always been a function over fashion kind of guy anyway...

P

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I don't think that's what he meant, he wants a pole to use to rock it back & forth to pull the pins. My husband can do it on his own, he just gets on the front side of the tower, putting his shoulder & body weight against the front of the tower & rocks back & forth against it while pulling on the pin. Same thing on the other side.

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I don't think that's what he meant, he wants a pole to use to rock it back & forth to pull the pins. My husband can do it on his own, he just gets on the front side of the tower, putting his shoulder & body weight against the front of the tower & rocks back & forth against it while pulling on the pin. Same thing on the other side.

How tall is Slider??

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I feel your pain..

I can put it up by myself, but there is no way to lower it by yourself.

Presently it is in the garage due to the weather, so the first time I pulled it out, I thought I would tye a rope around the top of the tower pylon, and then run it down to the ski pylon,making a kind of pully system, hold the rope, and insert the pins.

Jeff

Jeff,

Thanks for the idea. My carport is under my deck. I put a pully on the deck rail, pull the boat out partway so the tower is just outside the rail, and then using a rope through the pully, I'm able to wiggle the tower enough to get the pins in or out. Works great!

Rick

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I don't think that's what he meant, he wants a pole to use to rock it back & forth to pull the pins. My husband can do it on his own, he just gets on the front side of the tower, putting his shoulder & body weight against the front of the tower & rocks back & forth against it while pulling on the pin. Same thing on the other side.

How tall is Slider??

He's a big buy, goes about 6'3".

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I can raise/lower my Titan in :15 seconds......

Tongue.gif

Pat

(did I just say that??)

Same reason I got a Titan, I needed to lower it every time I put it in the garage, the Illusion just wasn't as easy.

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I don't have any problem holding the tower up with the pully rope for a few seconds after the pins are pulled. But then again, I don't have any lights or speakers on my tower, and I take the boards out of the racks before doing this.

At first I wasn't getting it to work for the pin removal until I realized that I was actually pulling too hard. Instead, I now gently tug on and off so there is a wiggle while pulling/pushing on the pins and they go right in/out.

Edited by ricko
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The pins on my tower are so tight that I pull them out with pliers. The little metal rings cut into my skin from yanking so hard. I also have to have a helper lean on the the tower to get them loose. I don't think the pins need to be that tight, it's just a poor design.

Edited by jpk
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As someone who packs the bu up alone, I miss the Titan for this reason alone. I couldn't imaging getting my tower up/down alone or an Illusion.

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Just tie a non-stretch (IMPORTANT) rope between the tower ball and the rear pylon. works for me and I don't even have that silly new spring contraption... (ok, I still wish I had it)

JZ

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The pins on my tower are so tight that I pull them out with pliers. The little metal rings cut into my skin from yanking so hard. I also have to have a helper lean on the the tower to get them loose. I don't think the pins need to be that tight, it's just a poor design.

I have learned that simply pushing up hard on the tower doesn't do it. The pins stay tight. But if you push up in a pulsing motion, like gently rocking the tower while someone pulls/pushes on the pins, they come right out/in. With my pully to the deck rail, I can accomplish the same thing.

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You can adjust the tension on the springs to keep that from happening.

Perhaps a tech article here huh Tracie??

Considering that it's on my to-do list, maybe so. :)

The pins on my tower are so tight that I pull them out with pliers. The little metal rings cut into my skin from yanking so hard. I also have to have a helper lean on the the tower to get them loose. I don't think the pins need to be that tight, it's just a poor design.

I have learned that simply pushing up hard on the tower doesn't do it. The pins stay tight. But if you push up in a pulsing motion, like gently rocking the tower while someone pulls/pushes on the pins, they come right out/in. With my pully to the deck rail, I can accomplish the same thing.

That's exactly it, you have to sort of wiggle the tower back & forth while pulling on the pins at the same time. Much easier with 2 people for sure, but it can be done with some practice by one person. The thing of it is, the pins have to be that tight, or you'd get play, movement & vibration in the tower. As it is, the Illusion X (when properly set up) is very strong, rigid & stiff & having had a floppy tower in the past, I'd rather have it this way than the alternative. I'll try to do some playing with mine this week & see if any adjustment to the springs will help in this department.

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My dealer told me that the illusion towers had to be adjusted to each boat after they were shipped from the factory. He said that there were bushings that could be interchanged to ensure that the tower operated easily. My pins do not come out or go in easily either.

Matt

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