Front Bimini Tops Blew Off

Pat and Renee

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My front Bimini blew off while on trailering. The top was inside its boot , lowered all the way down, lightweight rope around the center and tied to front cleat.
The bolts holding brackets pulled out and bent, plastic clips on both side cracked or missing.
We back tracked and did not find the cover and kind of glad no-one was hurt behind us.

Is anyone aware of this being a concern?

Will contact Bennington Monday since boat is under warranty.
2015 Tri Toon
 

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Wow! Can't believe you had it properly stored in the boot, on the trailering struts and even had it tied to a cleat and it still broke off and lost it. There was some serious pressure on that bolt to bend like that.
 
Now you have me worried. I trailer my Benny behind our motorhome so if something happens I will not hear it or feel it. Scary!
 
I trailered the boat from Ohio to Fla for several years without any problems. This was on back roads doing less than 50mph coming back from having some decals installed. I'm confident in the Bennington taking care of this and glad I'm only a few hours from Elkhart to drop off. I'm curious if there are any upgrade options that I could consider even if I pay part of the cost.
 
I noticed my front bemini was flexing quite a bit during our first long trip. So much so that I thought it would snap in half. It was in it's boot as well. I stopped by Wally World and purchased 5 $1 dog collars. Evenly spaced, they cinched up the loose boot to make it much tighter and thus, grabbed a lot less wind. The flexing is no longer a problem on trips. I'll try to grab a picture.
 
boot cinched up. This was a quick trip out so we didn't even raise the front.
 

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I had a similar experience with our front bimini when it was being towed after seeing what was the cause I went around the entire boat and tighten every single screw that was lose and there was quite a few , surprised Bennington didn't put some sort of loctite on the bolts ,I'm 2 years into the 10 year warranty Don't get me started on the stern light bracket I'm on my 3rd one
 

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I had a similar experience with our front bimini when it was being towed after seeing what was the cause I went around the entire boat and tighten every single screw that was lose and there was quite a few , surprised Bennington didn't put some sort of loctite on the bolts ,I'm 2 years into the 10 year warranty Don't get me started on the stern light bracket I'm on my 3rd one

Woah, what happened there? the screws backed out? I have a brand new boat, and I've notice that the bimini moves laterally, more than i thought it would, also makes a bit of a clicking noise which i traced back to movement of the arm/bracket that you're showing. I wonder if my screws are loose?
 
Woah...I wonder if my screws are loose?

Not sure if this forum can ascertain if your screws are loose or not. However, it might be helpful for your bimini concerns. :D:rolleyes:;)

Sorry...I just couldn’t resist. I’d double check them based on the above posts, and your observed concern. See if tightening them up would help.
 
Not sure if this forum can ascertain if your screws are loose or not. However, it might be helpful for your bimini concerns. :D:rolleyes:;)

Sorry...I just couldn’t resist. I’d double check them based on the above posts, and your observed concern. See if tightening them up would help.

ha! will do this weekend, thanks.
 
Be patient on getting it replaced I ordered mine through my dealer and it has been right at a month and it still has not come in.
The fabric was supposed to be the hold up but it showed up in 2 weeks.
 
Woah, what happened there? the screws backed out? I have a brand new boat, and I've notice that the bimini moves laterally, more than i thought it would, also makes a bit of a clicking noise which i traced back to movement of the arm/bracket that you're showing. I wonder if my screws are loose?
Yes the screws backed out , it could have been much worse caught it just in time ,when I went around the boat I noticed several had started to back out
 
Screws did not appear to be loose, but still have side to side play and it makes a decently loud clicking noise, when the bimini closed up. Is that normal? Appears to only do it on the starboad side. Tried to upload a video but site won't allow it. Going in for a 20 hour service in 2 weeks, so I'll ask them to take a look too.
 

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I have a 2015 RCL and just experienced the same problem with the front bimini came off while trailering. Bimini was in lower trailer arm position with boot on and tightly wrapped with the straps around boot. I checked the black plastic anchors and they were locked in prior to getting on the road. The metal anchor brackets where sheared off when it came loose. Luckily it flew off into median and didn't hit any cars behind me, but was in disrepair. Anyone had luck with this getting covered under warranty?
 
Screws did not appear to be loose, but still have side to side play and it makes a decently loud clicking noise, when the bimini closed up. Is that normal? Appears to only do it on the starboad side. Tried to upload a video but site won't allow it. Going in for a 20 hour service in 2 weeks, so I'll ask them to take a look too.
Pro-Tip work around for sharing video on this site: upload your video to YouTube (or any other online video sharing site). Then share the YouTube video link in your post.
 
Mine clickity clacks when running in rough water. There is some slop/play in the bracket and bimini arm, and combined with the fence wobbling back and forth causes the bimini to wiggle and clack.

IMO the DIY fix is to either 1) find some bushings or washers to take up the 1/8th inch of play in the bracket or 2) install an additional support brace on the fence to reduce the wall movement. Or both.

It's something that doesn't worry me too much right now but over time any kind of repetitive motion will lead to some kind of wear, fatigue or potential failure so it's on my to-do list!
 
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