Which tower do I choose?

[BGeorge01]

So a couple of years ago I bought a 98 outback, the family and I have had great time but now I think its time to put a tower on it! I have narrowed it down to the Aerial Airborne http://www.h2osportswarehouse.com/v/vspfiles/wakeboard-towers/aerial-wakeboarding-airborne-pa.asp or the Big Air Vapor http://www.bigairwaketowers.com/towers/vapor/. I was wanting to know if anyone has any experience or input on either of them? These towers are almost the same design and the Big air Vapor seems to be a couple hundred cheaper. Any input on durability, shakiness, or whatever would help me make my decision. Also whats the "install it yourself" skill level 1-10?

I appreciate the help!

[michael hunter]

Did you post on the Moomba forum? Those guys have a lot more experience with outbacks.

[BGeorge01]

Ya I did. I have noticed that the moombas/supras are so close that I thought maybe someone here would have some knowledge as well.


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[TitanTn]

I don't have experience with either one, but they're so similar that I don't think you're going to find any difference in ease of installation. It'll be the same. I'm guessing the performance will be similar as well. At least the Vapor looks likes they've made some improvements by adding that support under the rear wing. And installing isn't too hard, it's just the pucker factor for drilling holes in your boat. Measure 10 times and cut once.

[svahle]

I put an Aerial on the boat I had before buying my current Supra. As far as affordable aftermarket towers go, I still think it looks better than most. It does have some side to side flex, but how the feet are oriented has something to do with that. If you can mount the feet on a more horizontal part of the boat I believe it will have less side to side movement than if you have to mount the feet on a vertical surface. My particular boat (1993 American Skier Legend) did not have much freeboard and there simply was not a way to mount the feet on a horizontal plane. It also had a very flat hull and did not handle rough water with much grace. This probably also contributed to the side to side movement. On my boat the tower stuck out to the side and would rub on docks. In rough water, the up and down movement of the dock and boat would occasionally cause the feet to hang up on the top of the dock. I used large bumpers to protect against this happening. When I researched aftermarket towers, I found similar complaints about side to side movement for many of the more affordable towers. I can say I never had any performance issue with the Aerial tower, installation went well, and the finish held up nicely. I would consider the Aerial again if I needed an aftermarket tower. Here is a pic of my American Skier with tower mounted. The tower was about 2-3 years old in the pic. I hope some of this helps with your decision.

13753

[BGeorge01]

Well thank you all for the input, I just pulled the trigger on this http://www.bigairwaketowers.com/towers/vapor/ blacked out. They were awesome to deal with on the phone, gave me free shipping which saved me $130 and was about $400 and some change cheaper. They said it should be at my front door Tuesday/Wednesday at the latest. Pretty excited to get it up and get on the water. Thanks again for all the input.


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[MDVols]

I have a friend with the aerial on a comp and he hates it. It looks great but the side to side movement is horrible. He even had a dealer install it, even though I offered to help him. I've installed a monster tower on a previous boat I owned and had no issues what so ever and was very satisfied, although I do think that the aerial does look better but I would go with performance over looks. JMO.

[Ptownkid]

Where were the feet mounted?