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Titan Tower Question


ron

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taking delievery of a new 2006 Response LX next month.

comes with above tower.

boat to be stored on a lift with canopy. Occasionally boat will be pleasure driven with no skiing or boarding done. I asked dealer this weekend what to do with tower when not being used. Dealer states must be up, not down when cruising. OK no big deal I assume it takes about 2 min to secure.

Apparently it takes 3 people to remove tower? one to hold center and the other two people to thread in the .50 inch allen(cap) screws? a power drill could be used to speed things up. is it a pain to remove for a weekend? I understand a disconnect is required for the upper light. no speakers.

is it permissable to drive boat under 20 mph with the tower down? I understand it rests on windshield and center of rear seat. I bet it will bounce if we drive over a boat wake?

Does anyone ever remove it temporarily?

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taking delievery of a new 2006 Response LX next month.

comes with above tower.

boat to be stored on a lift with canopy. Occasionally boat will be pleasure driven with no skiing or boarding done. I asked dealer this weekend what to do with tower when not being used. Dealer states must be up, not down when cruising. OK no big deal I assume it takes about 2 min to secure.

Apparently it takes 3 people to remove tower? one to hold center and the other two people to thread in the .50 inch allen(cap) screws? a power drill could be used to speed things up. is it a pain to remove for a weekend? I understand a disconnect is required for the upper light. no speakers.

is it permissable to drive boat under 20 mph with the tower down? I understand it rests on windshield and center of rear seat. I bet it will bounce if we drive over a boat wake?

Does anyone ever remove it temporarily?

I can't figure out why anyone would want it removed temporarily, unless you were just trying to get the boat a few pounds lighter for the course. You would NEVER want to run with it collapsed, as it could damage the windshield.

One person could remove it in 5 minutes or less. I installed one by myself and once the feet are installed, attaching the legs are a simple task.

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The Titan tower is very easy to put up and down, therefore what is the problem with using the boat at all times with the tower in the up position. I would just plan on folding the tower down for storage (approximatly 30 seconds) and put in the up position for boat use (30 seconds)

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Thanks... I am not used to collapsing the tower so easily. Formerly my Sky High Pole had multiple parts and took a while to set up and used a ton of formerly usable space in boat. Now I will be spoiled! I just wondered if anyone bothered to pull it from boat.

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Welcome to the site ron, you're going to love your boat!

Titan makes an incredible product. You're going to be grateful you went that route. Looks great and performs great.

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taking delievery of a new 2006 Response LX next month.

comes with above tower.

boat to be stored on a lift with canopy. Occasionally boat will be pleasure driven with no skiing or boarding done. I asked dealer this weekend what to do with tower when not being used. Dealer states must be up, not down when cruising. OK no big deal I assume it takes about 2 min to secure.

Apparently it takes 3 people to remove tower? one to hold center and the other two people to thread in the .50 inch allen(cap) screws? a power drill could be used to speed things up. is it a pain to remove for a weekend? I understand a disconnect is required for the upper light. no speakers.

is it permissable to drive boat under 20 mph with the tower down? I understand it rests on windshield and center of rear seat. I bet it will bounce if we drive over a boat wake?

Does anyone ever remove it temporarily?

Why is it necessary to drive with it down?

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I have a Titan III on my RLXi. I would never boat with it down. I don't even store it with it down. I have to put it down to get the boat in the garage and I put it back up once in the garage.

As previously stated in this thread, putting the tower up and down is very easy for one person.

Enjoy the boat!

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taking delievery of a new 2006 Response LX next month.

comes with above tower.

boat to be stored on a lift with canopy. Occasionally boat will be pleasure driven with no skiing or boarding done. I asked dealer this weekend what to do with tower when not being used. Dealer states must be up, not down when cruising. OK no big deal I assume it takes about 2 min to secure.

Apparently it takes 3 people to remove tower? one to hold center and the other two people to thread in the .50 inch allen(cap) screws? a power drill could be used to speed things up. is it a pain to remove for a weekend? I understand a disconnect is required for the upper light. no speakers.

is it permissable to drive boat under 20 mph with the tower down? I understand it rests on windshield and center of rear seat. I bet it will bounce if we drive over a boat wake?

Does anyone ever remove it temporarily?

I'm able to raise and lower my Titan tower w/ ease and takes oh about a minute to do. I just put the Allen screw in my pocket along w/ the wrench and put the two loops together. Three people imho wouldn't get it up/down any quicker. I have four speakers up top and still it's not difficult. DO NOT drive w/ you tower lowered period, boat damage will occur.

Taking the tower off is easy as well only four bolt locations to remove. It would be helpful to have assistance removing the front and rear loops as they are bulky not heavy. I’ve never done it but have seriously thought about it if I was only going to slalom that day, though I would lose my biminy.

Also the tower should not rest on the windshield as it's not built to sustain that extra weight plus the rear loop board racks will also rest on the windshield and possibly bend or crack them. Titan makes a tower prop rod to hold up the tower, which I use.

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Malibudude, I have a Titan III (early version) on a RLXI. Are you advising against letting the front hoop rest on the windshield, for storage purposes? By the way, I do not have any accessories on the tower.

Thanks,

Matt.

Edited by Toes Up
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One other thing to consider is that the OP is buying an 06 boat. With that I have to assume it is a series III tower which does not use allen bolts other than at the tower feet. To raise and lower it is a knob that is hand turned that also never comes out of the tower, thus making it easier as no tools are required. We have an 05 Vlx with the Titan Series III with 4 board racks and NVS Addictions(40-50lbs) and can raise and lower the tower on my own.

If it is a series I or II ignore above post other than the easy to fold part.

Edited by Cbrown
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Is it permisible to trailer it with the tower down? what if i hit a pot hole in road at 55mph? wont it damage windshield when it bounces? if so are there any precations to take such as the "prop rod"? is that support standard issue on new boat? dealer said put cushion under rear as it rests on seat to prevent a sag in seat. that tells me no prop rod enclosed. no mention of front tower precaution as far as restinfg on windshield. will trailer 600 miles in May 2007.

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IMO...

1. Get a towing cover and leave the tower up when towing.

2. The Tower should not be down except when storing. The only time it should be down while the boat is moving is to move it into a low storage area or lowering to go under an obstacle (low bridge,etc.).

3. Tower should not at other times be down while the boat is underway, either by towing or under it's own power.

Can you explain to us why you want to tow with it down or remove it. We are having a problem understanding your reasons.

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dont particulary need to trailer it or cruise with it down. just asking the question. keep in mind prior boat i used the sky high pole ONLY when boarding. now this rig i use the tower "up" all the time. i am just not used to that concept. and keep in mind i have only seen boat at dealer twice and they are a haul from my home.

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Is it permisible to trailer it with the tower down? what if i hit a pot hole in road at 55mph? wont it damage windshield when it bounces? if so are there any precations to take such as the "prop rod"? is that support standard issue on new boat? dealer said put cushion under rear as it rests on seat to prevent a sag in seat. that tells me no prop rod enclosed. no mention of front tower precaution as far as restinfg on windshield. will trailer 600 miles in May 2007.

Not just no, h@ll no. Never, ever ever tow with your tower down. You'll give the boat an absolute beating if you do. The tower is engineered to take the beating of going across a lake with chop at 45mph up, not down. Use it the way that it was meant to be used & you'll be fine. A prop rod that may or may not have been included would only be used for storage, not towing.

As far as the front hoop on the windshield in storage, that's fine. Many people do that since it's one of the only ways to bring that front hoop down when lowering the tower by yourself. But again (& really, I can't stress this enough) don't ever tow with the tower down, please.

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don't ever tow with the tower down, please.

I couldn't agree more...

Serious damage can be done with the tower folded down when towing.

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I would caution against storing with the tower down and the front hoop resting on the windshield.

I've had two Titan towers: a Series I on my 88 Sunsetter, and a Series III on my 98 VLX. Same basic design.

Due to the covers I had for the 88, I always used a prop rod to store the tower when folded down. No issues.

When I first got the Titan Series III on the VLX, I used to store it with the tower folded down and the front hoop resting on the windshield. I had the stock cover on the boat (under the tower), and a Malibu shipping tarp cover both the tower and the boat (tower was folded under this tarp).

One night we had a serious rainstorm, and I got some pooling water on the tarps. The weight of the water drove the front hoop through my windshield, completely destroying it.

While the damage was covered by insurance, there was quite a delay getting parts and repairing the boat (Taylor-Made did not have any 98 VLX windshields in stock, so they had to custom fabricate it based on the old specs). This was an expensive lapse in judgement on my part.

I would use a prop rod to support the front hoop each time it is folded down. I would never have the boat in motion of any kind (be it on the trailer or on the water) with the tower down.

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Mechmaster:

Good advice. Although I only lower the tower when I put the boat in the garage, I may look into getting a prop rod of some sort in order to avoid a similar outcome.

Thanks.

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  • 1 month later...

Can anyone post a picture or two on the collapse of a T-3 tower on a Rlxi? I am looking to get one and the closest one is 70+ miles away at a dealer. Thanks.

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I have a VTX with a Titan III. I have a picture in my gallery with tower collapsed (actually removed from the mounts) and resting on the boat. See my signature link

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Malibudude, I have a Titan III (early version) on a RLXI. Are you advising against letting the front hoop rest on the windshield, for storage purposes? By the way, I do not have any accessories on the tower.

Thanks,

Matt.

No DO NOT let it rest on the windshield.

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Just keep this in mind the front window has about a total of 8 screws per side, keep that in mind next time your buddy is leaning on it. I removed the windows when I did the stereo system and was a little alarmed, but do realize there is no real need for any more support. I guess the moral of this story is if you tried to drive with the tower resting on the window you may loose the window.

I have some photos of a WS with the tower setup to fit in a 7' garage.

post-2292-1179548133_thumb.jpg

post-2292-1179548141_thumb.jpg

Edited by Daman
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