lparsons Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 It seems that the weather here in Upstate New York has changed such that now instead of snow storms in the winter we get incredible wind storms. On our second wind storm of the year to bring 60+ mph winds, the cover of our Tiger River Bengal was blown right off. On initial delivery, our dealer installed a cover lifter, which is now destroyed from the force of the wind flipping the cover over and off. Thankfully, the cover itself was not damaged, with the exception of one broken clip. Though frankly, I really felt that cover lifter wasn't the best design. I figure the dealer will give us nothing other than sympathy for losing it, so if I'm going to buy a new one, I want to know which ones people like. I would like to find one with a little more movement, so that the cover sits closer to the ground when off. With this one, even my wife and I (we're both over 6 feet tall) couldn't see over the cover. It would be nice to be able to see more of our yard from the tub while soaking. Also, if anyone can recommend a good way to keep the cover down in these storms, I'm all ears. I've taken to placing bags of cement on top of the cover, which works well - but its a pain and it looks like crap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lparsons Posted March 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 I realized I didn't really go far into why I said I am "very disappointed with our dealer", beyond the cheap cover lifter. Here's a little more on that. Our longest running complaint started the day the tub was delivered. The delivery guys noticed that one of the foam inserts for the cover was severely warped. In fact, it was so warped they had to turn the cover 180 degrees just to install the cover lifter. They promised they'd replace that piece of foam "within a week or so". That was August, now it is March. No foam yet. I have called the dealer numerous times to inquire about it, and every time I get a different story, and it doesn't seem that anyone I talk to has ever been able to find any record of the problem. The second complaint is their website. Calling it lousy and useless is an insult to the words lousy and useless. You can't even find their store hours on it. It's been "under construction" for over three years. If I could ever figure out who is in charge there, I'd ask if I could finish it for them in exchange for a discount on the balance of our tub. Third is their phone system. No answering machine, or even an automated greeting if they aren't open. Just keeps ringing endlessly. Come on guys, you could at least spend 5 bucks at Walmart on a cheap machine to tell us your hours when I'm calling too late. Heck, I'm pretty sure the Taliban has voicemail, and they certainly aren't selling $5k+ hot tubs. And then their response for spa problems - or lack thereof. If you have a problem, you have to talk to "Jimmy the spa tech". Nobody ever seems to know where he is or when he will be somewhere. You can talk to someone to have them get a message to him, but of course he doesn't have voicemail. He'll call you back ... sometime. And then he'll schedule to come out and look at it ... sometime. Frankly I'm not 100% sure that "Jimmy the spa tech" is actually a real person. Just because I've spoken to him on the phone doesn't necessarily tell me that he truly does exist. Anyways, all that makes me feel a little better now. And honestly, my wife and I do love our tub. We just wish that our dealer wasn't such a PITA. They're kind of like absentee parents - "deadbeat dealers", if you will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soakerman Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 I realized I didn't really go far into why I said I am "very disappointed with our dealer", beyond the cheap cover lifter. Here's a little more on that. Our longest running complaint started the day the tub was delivered. The delivery guys noticed that one of the foam inserts for the cover was severely warped. In fact, it was so warped they had to turn the cover 180 degrees just to install the cover lifter. They promised they'd replace that piece of foam "within a week or so". That was August, now it is March. No foam yet. I have called the dealer numerous times to inquire about it, and every time I get a different story, and it doesn't seem that anyone I talk to has ever been able to find any record of the problem. The second complaint is their website. Calling it lousy and useless is an insult to the words lousy and useless. You can't even find their store hours on it. It's been "under construction" for over three years. If I could ever figure out who is in charge there, I'd ask if I could finish it for them in exchange for a discount on the balance of our tub. Third is their phone system. No answering machine, or even an automated greeting if they aren't open. Just keeps ringing endlessly. Come on guys, you could at least spend 5 bucks at Walmart on a cheap machine to tell us your hours when I'm calling too late. Heck, I'm pretty sure the Taliban has voicemail, and they certainly aren't selling $5k+ hot tubs. And then their response for spa problems - or lack thereof. If you have a problem, you have to talk to "Jimmy the spa tech". Nobody ever seems to know where he is or when he will be somewhere. You can talk to someone to have them get a message to him, but of course he doesn't have voicemail. He'll call you back ... sometime. And then he'll schedule to come out and look at it ... sometime. Frankly I'm not 100% sure that "Jimmy the spa tech" is actually a real person. Just because I've spoken to him on the phone doesn't necessarily tell me that he truly does exist. Anyways, all that makes me feel a little better now. And honestly, my wife and I do love our tub. We just wish that our dealer wasn't such a PITA. They're kind of like absentee parents - "deadbeat dealers", if you will. I would call the dealer one more time and tell them you plan on calling corporate to get the cover resolved. You paid a lot of money for dealer backing and service which apparently you are not getting. Unfortunately I think this happens alot but perhaps a call to corporate will make things right! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IL Parrothead Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 Yep, I'm a firm believer that the dealer is as important as the manufacturer. I steered clear of one particular brand of tub because it took me about 2 weeks to even get a wet test set up. I could just imagine how unresponsive they would have gotten once they had my money. There are a couple of other dealers near me that are awesome! I'm sure I'll be happy if I buy from either of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdegree Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 As for a cover a lifter...hopefully others will chime in and help you out with that. I really don't know much about them. Perhaps google "spa cover lifter" and see what you get. I have occasional high wind gusts around my home...30 - 40 MPH gusts this winter. So, I purchased hurricane straps from http://www.spadepot.com/shop/Hurricane-Cov...f-2-P648C0.aspx . So far they have worked great. Again, you could google "spa hurricane straps" and check out some other types and prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Hot Tub Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 As for a cover a lifter...hopefully others will chime in and help you out with that. I really don't know much about them. Perhaps google "spa cover lifter" and see what you get. I have occasional high wind gusts around my home...30 - 40 MPH gusts this winter. So, I purchased hurricane straps from http://www.spadepot.com/shop/Hurricane-Cov...f-2-P648C0.aspx . So far they have worked great. Again, you could google "spa hurricane straps" and check out some other types and prices. Cover play makes a really nice heavy duty cover lifter. They are online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickJ Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 What kind of cover lifter did you have? You say you are unhappy with it, but what about it didn't you like? I don't have one of these yet, but I have heard good things about the Cover Up lifter. http://www.rhtubs.com/store/cover-up.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lparsons Posted March 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 What kind of cover lifter did you have? You say you are unhappy with it, but what about it didn't you like? Honestly I'm not even sure what kind of lifter this is. Its the kind that dealers like ours buy at flea markets I guess... It attaches rather high on the tub, and then the cover flips back like >70% of the lifters on the market (same idea as the cover play). However, unlike the cover play, ours didn't have any springs in it to slow down the cover. And the movement of the arms was stopped only by small horizontally-positioned metal studs. Hence, when the 60 mph wind gusts came through, the cover was flipped open and over, and did so with much more force than those poor little metal studs could have ever hoped to withstand. The closest I've seen to it online so far is the "Covermate I": http://www.poolsinc.com/spa_covermateI.html But the covermate I looks to have its pivot positioned further back than ours. The cover play does seem very highly recommended. I like that we can attach it to our deck rather than screwing more into the cabinet. We're leaning towards it as a replacement for what we have, but probably won't rush into that purchase. I'll be ordering the hurricane straps very soon, though ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Hot Tub Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 What kind of cover lifter did you have? You say you are unhappy with it, but what about it didn't you like? Honestly I'm not even sure what kind of lifter this is. Its the kind that dealers like ours buy at flea markets I guess... It attaches rather high on the tub, and then the cover flips back like >70% of the lifters on the market (same idea as the cover play). However, unlike the cover play, ours didn't have any springs in it to slow down the cover. And the movement of the arms was stopped only by small horizontally-positioned metal studs. Hence, when the 60 mph wind gusts came through, the cover was flipped open and over, and did so with much more force than those poor little metal studs could have ever hoped to withstand. The closest I've seen to it online so far is the "Covermate I": http://www.poolsinc.com/spa_covermateI.html But the covermate I looks to have its pivot positioned further back than ours. The cover play does seem very highly recommended. I like that we can attach it to our deck rather than screwing more into the cabinet. We're leaning towards it as a replacement for what we have, but probably won't rush into that purchase. I'll be ordering the hurricane straps very soon, though ... I highly recommend the cover play, due to the mounting on the deck it does not raise the cover high above the side of the spa. We have had ours 2 years, no rust, peeling, bends, pullind on cabinets such as the others have. As far as holding the cover down when cover is closed, the clips and hurricane straps are the best option. Cover lifts are not for holding the cover down, they are to assist you in lifting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lparsons Posted March 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 I highly recommend the cover play, due to the mounting on the deck it does not raise the cover high above the side of the spa. We have had ours 2 years, no rust, peeling, bends, pullind on cabinets such as the others have. As far as holding the cover down when cover is closed, the clips and hurricane straps are the best option. Cover lifts are not for holding the cover down, they are to assist you in lifting it. I guess i figured that all factory covers were held down by something - our tiger river had (emphasis on had) four plastic clips holding it down. Now it has maybe two and a half. I certainly never expected the cover lift to help hold the cover down, though I also didn't expect 60 mph winds all winter long out here that would snap the clips like paper mache'. And with winds like that, the cover lift was bound to be subjected to high torque once the clips for the cover failed - the cover lifter on our tub doesn't have a position you can put it in where it wouldn't be subjected to the force of the cover flying off when moving in that direction. On the plus side, however, the cover got hung up on the lifter, and as a result wasn't flung down the hill on the side of our house and into the adjacent woods. So I guess as much as I don't like our cover lifter, it did actually improve my life by sparing me from having to repel down the hill to retrieve the cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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