Tower Shake

[trent]

I have a 2013 212X and I cant get over the lateral movement. I haven't seen alot of comments on this topic so am I just being paranoid? When I pull tubes and hit a wave or trailer down the highway, it damn near scares me! Those of you with older models please chime in on whether yours shake and if so any damage as a result.

 

[miketke]

I have had the same concerns since I got my 2010 212X. The tower just does not seem sturdy! We haven't had it fail yet... but my wife refuses to sit in the back when we are in choppy waters and at cruising speed. I've seen no damage yet, and I brought it to the dealership and all they did was make sure the bolts were tight.

 

[spaz1868]

How much movement are you talking about? Can you visually see it shaking? Sometimes when we first hit the lake, I hear ours rattling some...I then tighten the quick release bolts and that normally resolves the rattling. We do fold our tower for storage and when we put it back up at the storage facility and after hitting the water, some of the play on the connection point may work its way out and after tightening, it looks and feels solid to me.

We do have the AR210 and not the X and I know the tower is different.

 

[ar240owner]

Mine shakes , I was told they all shake , more when you have 4 speakers , and 4 boards hanging of them !!!

 

[octavio3311]

Yes - it will wiggle. Most of them do. MasterCraft's, Malibu's, Nautique's, Cobalt's etc will all wiggle to some extent. Mine is not the worse wiggle I've seen nor is it the tightest either.
But if you feel it's wiggling too much and it becomes a concern - check those bolts.

 

[octavio3311]

Mine shakes , I was told they all shake , more when you have 4 speakers , and 4 boards hanging of them !!!

Absolutely - with 2 speakers, 2 surfboards, 1 wakeboard and the bimini regularly opened on mine - it moves around alright.

 

[Craig]

I'm not a big fan of towing a tube from the tower. I've seen ours move some but nothing drastic. From what I understand the tubing on our towers is considerably smaller diameter than many aftermarket towers.

 

[Geiger41]

Mine does also no biggie Just remember to tighten the bolts with an allen wrench.. occasionally they DO COME LOOSE.. the ones right by the hinge. there is a thread I posted awhile back about them....

 

[octavio3311]

I'm not a big fan of towing a tube from the tower. I've seen ours move some but nothing drastic. From what I understand the tubing on our towers is considerably smaller diameter than many aftermarket towers.

I believe the AR's tubing is 1 & 7/8ths" - that's plenty beefy. The 212x and 242L's tubing is even wider diameter.

I've pulled a 2-person tube from the tower maybe 2x, (at the kids request) but don't do it anymore. You can really whip them around when pulling from the tower, but the tower tends to also launch them into the air. The kids tried it, but determined they didn't like it. So now the tower is for surfboards and wakeboards only and the transom is for tubes.

 

[jetboater4life]

My tower will shake when I cross large wakes or do crazy spins but from reading all the comments on here and at the other site over the years it seems pretty normal. I check my bolts once or twice a year, and they have always been snug.

 

[Williamsone46]

I have a 2013 212X and I cant get over the lateral movement. I haven't seen alot of comments on this topic so am I just being paranoid? When I pull tubes and hit a wave or trailer down the highway, it damn near scares me! Those of you with older models please chime in on whether yours shake and if so any damage as a result.

For some reason the X has a little more lateral movement than the AR models do. Your not supposed to tow tube from the tower, the towers have a 350lb rating, most tubes with 2-3 riders would far exceed that. I always tow with my tower down if I'm going 50 miles or more to prevent it from shacking and putting to much pressure on the fiberglass causing it to crack.

 

[Chris Tronzano]

I was driving down the highway behind a master craft a couple if weeks ago and I couldn't believe how much the tower shaked. It looked like it was going to tear off the hull. I would am almost sure at minimum the shake had to be causing spider cracks.

 

[WickedPorter]

My tower (2013 AR240) moves quite a bit laterally/left to right, especially over choppy waters. I was in a brand new Bryant last year with a custom tower, not more than 10 hours on the boat and it did the exact same thing. This validated it for me. I've also seen various boat towers moving quite a bit when being towed on the highway.

I think it's inevitable and normal ...

Note: I would never pull a tube from the tower, it can damage your tower/boat and the tube/tubers. Use the tow hook.

 

[itsdgm]

Our 07 AR210 is pretty solid. I used to wish that I had a collapsible tower, but a lot of them aren't as sturdy as ours. I do remember following a guy down the road (not sure what boat/tower set up he had) and I was just waiting for it to rip the fiberglass off the boat. It must have swayed side to side at least 12" at the top.

 

[jawsf16]

Only time I get sway is going over big chop.

 

[trent]

Sorry, what I meant by pulling tubes is when you make waves and hit them the tower shakes bad. I would also never pull from the tower

 

[buckbuck]

Every one has to do what they believe is best for them. We have pulled from the tower for the last 6 years. We do have to tighten it twice a year. Which is why I am thankful for the op. Good reminder. I just wonder what happened to my small kids.

 

[RightStuff]

I know you are asking about a 212x tower, but I made note to watch my tower on my AR tonight when surfing and mine did not budge or sway. Might just be a symptom of the different tower braces on your model...

 

[Williamsone46]

I know you are asking about a 212x tower, but I made note to watch my tower on my AR tonight when surfing and mine did not budge or sway. might mustn't be a symptom of the different tower braces on your model...

They don't shack with a load on them. They shake while you're cruising around.

 

[Glassman]

Hmmmm, maybe I've been looking at it wrong all these years...

I always thought it was the boat shaking all over the place while the tower was fine.