Custom wakeboard tower vs universal tower

[familyman1]

[ I have a 97 Reinell 203 in excellent condition (looks new) and I want to get a wakeboard tower. I have looked at so many towers until I'm blue and am reaching out for advice from those who own both. I almost settled on getting a universal Bigair H2O or the Vapor tower. The cost for the base in about $900 w/shipping and $1,350 combo that includes 2 racks and 2 speakers. Obviously much more affordable. My dilemna is this I have an offer from a well known custom wakeboard tower builder in the US to put on one of those custom really nice swoop style towers that is all welded together, anodized finish, completely installed for $2K out the door within 2 days. Obviously more $$$ that I'm sort of cringing about BUT I want to ask those of you who own a universal tower if you could go back would you purchase a custome tower if it cost $800-$1K more? For those who purchased custom towers would you have rather purhcased a universal tower rather than the custom because once I buy and install...that is it!

The pros for the Custom: better construction, custom installation, stronger,durable, no need to tighten or adjust bolts, custom to my boat, looks very nice, easily folds down, Lasts very long looking new, professional mounting

Cons $$$$

the pros for the universal obviously $$$ which is big, still seems to look nice. Cons I have heard fades or looks bad after a short time. Sqeaking bolts/screws, strength

Any advice from you wake tower owners would be great! FYI - I do plan to keep my boat for a long time. It has a lot of life in it. I attached some images online to what the custom would look like and the h2O tower.

Thanks!!
Attached custom vs universal[/b]

[Suprahunter]

If you are going to keep the boat for a long time then go with the better tower . $600 in the long term is nothing compared to having to do it over. If she is a keeper then show her some love.

[INVERTCRASHER]

I had a aerial assault tower "universal tower".
Pros: The folks at Aerial are very helpful and make a nice product. Tower looked very cool. Easy to install. Board racks included.
Cons: Every boat hull is shaped differently. The tower feet are flat but the boat hull is not. This causes the gaps between the hull and the tower. In rough conditions this causes racking or swaying of the tower. Heavy speakers make this condition worse. I recently sold this boat and purchased another boat with a factory four winns tower. There is no comparison. The tower is rock solid. I feel that it's solid because it was designed for the boat.

My 2 cents. The worst tower is better than a bumper pull tho!