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Best Aftermarket tower


sbays09

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Hey all, I just bought a 1999 Malibu Sunsetter VLX. I am looking for a really solid aftermarket tower upgrade. I have used the monster tower on my previous boat and it was alright, I even backed the mounting plates with marine plywood and the tower still seemed to creek and wobble some. Being in the engineering field has made me very particular so I would like to find something very sturdy. My mind tells me the tower with the least amount of joints/connections will be the best.... however that comes with a price. I have looked at the big air cuda, I like the price of it and the wider stance it has... does anyone have experience with this tower? 
 

my main points are a forward sweeping design, and it needs to collapse easily so I can pull in the garage. I have looked at the Samson towers and man they look nice. But they come with a cost, I just don’t know if I want to dish out $3k for a tower, but if any of you have any experience with either of these towers or even another brand please let me know! This will by my offseason upgrade.

 

thanks again

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4 hours ago, Nitrousbird said:

Samson Blade.  Don't cheap out on your tower.

I’ve been looking at the blade and the harpoon from Samson. You have experience with either? I like them both...

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Samson would be my first recommendation.  They make absolutely solid towers.  Between the Harpoon and Blade, I'd go with the Blade on looks, but it's not my money.  

Roswell would be another good tower option, but their non-OEM towers are 'universal' for specific boat widths, so you'd have a few extra bolted connections vs a Samson.

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  • 6 months later...

I'm looking at towers for my 2002 Sunsetter Lxi. While I like the Blade and Harpoon, Samson has a 12 month backlog. Is the Monster MTK the next best? Or go up significantly in price for a Roswell?

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On 3/15/2021 at 6:58 PM, Eagleboy99 said:

Check out the guy selling a G3 here.  Not sure the beam will work, but it is a thought.

Thanks! I looked through the classifieds and didn't see a G3 tower for sale. Do you mind sending a link?

 

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So, the G3 doesn't fit and Samson has a 12 month lead time. I'm looking at the Monster MTK and Roswell Cam RT Wake Tower. Looks like the racks and accessories are also much more for the Roswell so it really adds up. Is the extra cost for the Roswell worth it based on functionality/quality and resale? My favorite is the Roswell Aviator Pro but that's even more.

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57 minutes ago, HasBeen said:

So, the G3 doesn't fit and Samson has a 12 month lead time. I'm looking at the Monster MTK and Roswell Cam RT Wake Tower. Looks like the racks and accessories are also much more for the Roswell so it really adds up. Is the extra cost for the Roswell worth it based on functionality/quality and resale? My favorite is the Roswell Aviator Pro but that's even more.

I can vouch for the Monster MTK. We put it on a XTI and it looked good, good quality too. Pretty easy install with two people.

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On 3/15/2021 at 6:52 PM, HasBeen said:

I'm looking at towers for my 2002 Sunsetter Lxi. While I like the Blade and Harpoon, Samson has a 12 month backlog. Is the Monster MTK the next best? Or go up significantly in price for a Roswell?

 

This was Malibu's OEM tower in early 2000's. It is rock solid. 

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  • 1 year later...

I have an 04 Sunscape 21 and am looking for a tower. Primarily to get the boards out of the bow and to not have to bolt my foil back on every time. 
 

requirements: easily fold down, accepts a foldable Bimini. It would be nice to have one that folds low enough that I could lower the tower and keep board racks on and get it through a standard garage door. 
 

we are not wakeboarders, or plan on footing from the tower. 50% kids stuff, 50% surf/foil, and a slalom run when the stars align. 
 

I’ve been looking at Monster MTE, the Krypt SWASS, and the Krypt Pro Air. 
 

Anyone have good or bad experiences with any of these?  
 

thanks!!!

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2 hours ago, rakr said:

I have an 04 Sunscape 21 and am looking for a tower. Primarily to get the boards out of the bow and to not have to bolt my foil back on every time. 
 

requirements: easily fold down, accepts a foldable Bimini. It would be nice to have one that folds low enough that I could lower the tower and keep board racks on and get it through a standard garage door. 
 

we are not wakeboarders, or plan on footing from the tower. 50% kids stuff, 50% surf/foil, and a slalom run when the stars align. 
 

I’ve been looking at Monster MTE, the Krypt SWASS, and the Krypt Pro Air. 
 

Anyone have good or bad experiences with any of these? 

Buy a quality tower.  Samson is 12 month out currently because they seem to be the best value for a good tower.  I just bought a Roswell Aviator Pro with risers and Bimini - $6200 shipped to my door with a discount code with Wakemakers.  Installing it this week and it is a solid build from what I have messed with it so far.  

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My moomba has the aviator on it but its the boat specific model so no cutting and drilling the top crossbar. Its a great tower. I put a monster mt1 on my malibu and it was fine. Made some noise at first but after a few trips out and retorquing it got better 

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17 hours ago, mxmark4 said:

My moomba has the aviator on it but its the boat specific model so no cutting and drilling the top crossbar. Its a great tower. I put a monster mt1 on my malibu and it was fine. Made some noise at first but after a few trips out and retorquing it got better 

Fortunately, there is no cutting on the Aviator Pro.  Bars slip into the center section and you just drill some holes and bolt it together so it can't move.  

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  • 4 weeks later...

I ended up going with the Roswell Aviator Pro (with riser) and love it so far. It's solid, and the folding function is pretty sweet. I'll try to post a pic soon.

 

It was a stretch for me financially, though, so I haven't bought the racks yet. I'll finish the summer without them and purchase during the off-season.

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Spent lots of time a few years back researching tower options for our old I/O. Found most the complaints of aftermarket towers was just that. Noisy and lots of creeks, clanks, and side to side wobble. Decided to spend the cash and have one custom made for the boat. No joints made for a really quiet tower with no wobble. Plus they can customize  how it folds down to best fit your boat and storage facility. And it was quieter then my VTX tower by far. I’d spend the cash for a custom one if you can. Just my opinion though. 

08E7BBBF-D8EC-426F-8D65-27C3EBE515CE.jpeg

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On 7/28/2022 at 10:27 AM, HasBeen said:

I ended up going with the Roswell Aviator Pro (with riser) and love it so far. It's solid, and the folding function is pretty sweet. I'll try to post a pic soon.

 

It was a stretch for me financially, though, so I haven't bought the racks yet. I'll finish the summer without them and purchase during the off-season.

I did the mag swivels on mine and bolted my old racks to it.  Works without spending the insane money Rosewell wants for their racks.

Have you found the bimini to be total garbage.  I HATE the bimini on this tower, especially for what they charge for it.  Where they want you to put speakers is a total joke too but I went custom  on that and did it right.

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