Big Monster Tower Problem!

[ksmaristar91]

Well, as some of you know i put a monster tower on my boat last august and was very happy with it, praised them and recommended the tower on this site several occasions. Well today while coming accross the lake the rear leg of my tower poped off the hem joint, nothing was loose this is a factory fitting. It gashed the gelcoat on the side of my boat, luckily no one was hurt. I was mad at first but then got even angrier when i thought of someone being hurt by the tower folding up on them with 4 speakers and 4 boards. It is a good thing they are closed on Sunday i will calm down a bit by tommorow. What do you guys think, do you think they will take care of the gelcoat bill? Will it ever look the same? I have dealt with their customer service in the past on a board rack and they were awesome sure hope they come through!

[justinlkgb]

Hope it works. I'm not a fan of monster towers because of the style but they look good on MC. There are those who may say you get what you pay for. I have a few friends that have the same tower and no problems that I know of. That still sucks man, call them up and ....well you know. Good Luck

[NatesGr8]

maybe a defective heim joint? none the less, i still think they will pay all bills. they've been great with me about getting a few replacement nuts and bolts. good luck and keep us posted with the results.

[kalanic]

Not a Monster Tower Fan either, but Im sure they will make good. Did the weld bust or was it mechanical? Good thing no one got hurt! Are you gonna stick with Monster Tower??

[Diesel]

How about some pics and/or a better description of the the failure.

[86Craft]

Yeah, need a picture as I can not follow your discription. The Helm joint is bolted to the leg. Did the joint fail? Good Luck, and keep us informed.

[rodltg2]

i hate to imagine what would have happened if soemone was rding off the tower :eek:

[SD190EVO]

Their plan worked. They purposely had their vendor engineer a "break-away" heim joint in hopes that it would fail and scar a boat or even hurt someone.

Absurd I know but just shows you really can't be 'mad at them'. Things happen - materials fail - surely it was not intentional.

This is why product liability insurance is so expensive and therefore products that you think you can be built for $100 end up costing $500.

[rodltg2]

Their plan worked. They purposely had their vendor engineer a "break-away" heim joint in hopes that it would fail and scar a boat or even hurt someone.

Absurd I know but just shows you really can't be 'mad at them'. Things happen - materials fail - surely it was not intentional.

This is why product liability insurance is so expensive and therefore products that you think you can be built for $100 end up costing $500.


i experience the same thing with my customers sometimes. there granite countertop breaks during fabrication or installation and they get all mad. " yeah we broke it purpose so we could buy more material and fab it all over again...."

[ksmaristar91]

I will get to the lake by wed, and take some photo's. I know things happen and such, im not saying it was intentional, but i had a pretty nice boat, and now i have a pretty nice boat with a gouge in the gelcoat. I talked to them this morning, they seemed quick to send me parts to fix the tower but no talk of the boat. I am going to send them some pics and see what happens. I will pay to get it fixed i just think they should own up to their product, hell split the cost with me! Again the main thing is no one got hurt, but i want to feel confident that it wont happen again. When i asked if they wanted the old parts so they could look at them they didnt seem to concerned about them or pics. I am going to have a gelcoat guy look and give me a bid and go from there.

[kalanic]

Not cool! I think I would start demanding. Their product which you trusted caused you headache & possibly harm to people! If it was installed per their specs & was never mistreated then I think they need to back thier product & insure the consumer of quality. Those companies are insured for issues as such.

[krra1]

Austin, please post the pictures. Your praise of the company and the tower was one of the reasons I went with them. I would really like to see the part and anything you can provide to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to me or others. Thanks.

[Jerseydave]

I have a friend with a monster tower on his Tige, and the welds at the bottom of the 2 front legs cracked. The company was good about sending him new ones, and they did want the old ones back so they could look into the cause.

I think in your case, they should pay for your gelcoat work 100%.
After all, it was the failure of their product that caused the damage.
(and they should be thankful nobody got hurt)

This is their chance to look like a hero in this marketplace. (Lest they forget, messageboards are very powerful things!)

[mitch]

I will get to the lake by wed, and take some photo's. I know things happen and such, im not saying it was intentional, but i had a pretty nice boat, and now i have a pretty nice boat with a gouge in the gelcoat. I talked to them this morning, they seemed quick to send me parts to fix the tower but no talk of the boat. I am going to send them some pics and see what happens. I will pay to get it fixed i just think they should own up to their product, hell split the cost with me! Again the main thing is no one got hurt, but i want to feel confident that it wont happen again. When i asked if they wanted the old parts so they could look at them they didnt seem to concerned about them or pics. I am going to have a gelcoat guy look and give me a bid and go from there.


Did you ask them straight up about repairing your gelcoat? I'm gonna guess there's some small print that limits their liability to replacing the tower only, but who know's. You hear nothing but good things about their customer service, so hope it all works out for you. Keep up posted and get those pics up so kalanic can give us/you an idea of what the heck happened.......

[Sledneck]

Did you have your tower professionally installed?

In my quest for a used budget boat w/ a tower I came across many crapola do-it-yourself installs (un-even/not square mounting) which in my mind would cause extress stress on mounting points (both boat and tower). I often wonder how a company can provide warranty on a self-installed product.? just my 2cents..

Anyway I've heard great things about Monster Towers customer service, and I hope they take care of you and your boat..

Cheers,
Sled

[Diesel]

I think in your case, they should pay for your gelcoat work 100%.
After all, it was the failure of their product that caused the damage.
(and they should be thankful nobody got hurt)

Don't be so fast to draw this conclusion, in all reality we have no idea what happend or what caused the failure from the original posters description. ;)

[ksmaristar91]

Good call diesel! I am being patient for this exact reason, also why i am sending them pics and not demanding right away. I hope after they see the damage and parts they will own up. I will at least ask, if they will help with the repair. I understand they have to treat instances like this carefully, i didnt expect them to just "mail me a check" So for now i am being patient, i am heading out to the lake to take some pics after work, will post tonight. Thanks for all the input guys!

[ksmaristar91]

I forgot to mention, the "failure was due to rough water" no impact or anything like that.

[ksmaristar91]

Here are a few pics, the damage is hard to notice in the pics, but it is enough to drive me! Going to send these to MosterTower as well.

[86Craft]

Yes Sir, I understand now. That is quite the failure. Not sure how a person can look at that and see it is in trouble.

[Diesel]

So it is suppose to look like this.......

http://www.monstertower.com/images/BaseHinge.jpg

That is clearly a failure in the heim joint. It could have been a MFG failure or caused by off axis loading. A heim joint is only designed to be loaded in a single plane and does not tolerate side loading well at all. A quality joint like a Q1 can stand some abuse from side loading but will eventually fail as well. Are the tower legs under any outward tension when it is installed?

It also appears the joint could have failed from corrosion. Do you boat in salt or brackish water which could have contributed to the failure?

I would also replace the other joints on the tower as well. Add a large washer to the outside of the joints and you will create a saftey device which will prevent this from ever happening again even if the joint does fail. Not too sure why Monster Tower does not do that straight from the factory, considering the potential liabilty vs. cost. :confused:

Good luck :)

[86Craft]

Great tip Diesel! I'm going to look for a washer at the hardware store to fit this. Though all load is (should) forced to the rear of the assembly, you can never be to careful.

[ksmaristar91]

Got the email back from Monster Tower today, no dice on any help with the gelcoat. I figured as much, but worth a try. I recieved the parts today and will hopefully get it back together soon. P.S. look for the boat in the marketplace soon, after its fixed.

[PendO]

Got the email back from Monster Tower today, no dice on any help with the gelcoat. I figured as much, but worth a try. I recieved the parts today and will hopefully get it back together soon. P.S. look for the boat in the marketplace soon, after its fixed.

why you sellin?

[kalanic]

I think that is pretty shaddy of Monster Tower! Thier product causes damage to your boat & they could care less...wow! Not Cool!