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G3.5 tower folded down


billritchie

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Hi! I just took delivery of a 20 VTX.  As I am storing in my garage, any thoughts on keeping the G3.5 tower in the folded down position while in the garage (the garage door opener gets in the way of me raising it back up)?  Bungee cord connected to something to keep the tower from wanting to raise back up?  Thank you in advance for any thoughts or suggestions.

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A friend of mine made a stand for it out of a length of 2x4. He put a 6-8" piece on a ~4' long piece to make an inverted T. He made the top of the long 2x4 con caved to allow the tower tube to rest in it. When he lowered the tower, he supported it with the 2x4 with a small towel between the 2x4 and the tower. YMMV

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Ronnie, he's trying to keep the tower from raising back up, not to support it.

 

In any event, ask your dealer for the factory made supports for the tower, set on floor, and strap tower to it would be my suggestion....or change spring cables to a lesser strength...or add more tower speakers

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Yes, sorry I may not have been clear but I'm trying to keep it from raising back up.  I will look into your suggestions.  Adding more speakers usually solves all problems!  Thanks.

 

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I recently been trying to figure this out as well. I've turned the driver's seat around 180* and use a motorcycle style lashing strap (non-ratcheting) to go from the seat base to the tower top tube. I'm trying to figure out if there is a better way to do this for towing so I can avoid getting bugs on the tower, and I'm not confident that I won't rip the seat base apart.

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20 minutes ago, 85 Barefoot said:

Ronnie, he's trying to keep the tower from raising back up, not to support it.

 

In any event, ask your dealer for the factory made supports for the tower, set on floor, and strap tower to it would be my suggestion....or change spring cables to a lesser strength...or add more tower speakers

Ops, sorry, sometimes too many posts to read and just get scanned. :whistle:

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If you saw what they build to ship the boats at the factory, there would be many options utilizing it as a base and anchor.  Latest factory design uses a hangtyte to a block that is inserted into the center hull access door.  Call your dealer to ask to observe them unwrap a boat and you'll see how they do it to hold tower up and down.

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1 hour ago, billritchie said:

Hi! I just took delivery of a 20 VTX.  As I am storing in my garage, any thoughts on keeping the G3.5 tower in the folded down position while in the garage (the garage door opener gets in the way of me raising it back up)?  Bungee cord connected to something to keep the tower from wanting to raise back up?  Thank you in advance for any thoughts or suggestions.

What about cutting out a wedge to stick between the tower and base to prevent it from folding back up?

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21 minutes ago, 85 Barefoot said:

If you saw what they build to ship the boats at the factory, there would be many options utilizing it as a base and anchor.  Latest factory design uses a hangtyte to a block that is inserted into the center hull access door.  Call your dealer to ask to observe them unwrap a boat and you'll see how they do it to hold tower up and down.

Very interesting, I was considering doing this but was concerned about the dynamic load pulling on the fiberglass. Is there still a vertical brace to minimize movement, or just the hangtyte pulling the tower down?

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Can you just weight it down enough to stay down (a few pounds)?  For example, do you have a bag with emergency tools etc. you could attach when putting in the garage?

I used to hang a bag full of golf balls (they were laying around the garage) from the tower rope mount to keep my from springing up...

 

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I have the same problem with my garage setup.

I use a nylon strap with plastic buckles LINK. I loop it around the hoop of the tower and through the grab handle next to the passenger seat. Using a strap with buckles keeps the length consistent so I know the tower is at the right height every time. 

 

 

Edited by dpbremer
added link
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I used a light bungee cord to my steering wheel when it was under the canopy last summer to keep mine down.  My shocks were supposed to "break in" over the summer, and unfortunately one just failed all together.  Then I ended up putting a life jacket between the steering wheel and the tower so it didn't press down too hard on the wheel.  New shocks in now, we'll see how this summer starts......

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