For Those with Ram Mounts

[Knot2Bad]

I purchase a Ram Mount because of the good comments I heard from other users about there utility and durability. So mine arrived in the mail. I purchased it on E-Bay. It has 2 1 1/2 inch balls and was purchase to mount my Elite 5dsi at the front of my boat. For what it is these mounts are not cheap. Mine cost about $39.00. Okay It has a life time warranty. So when I open the package its in a clear plastic bag with a Ram Mount brochure in the bag with it. I see the shaft that connects the ball to the mount is plastic. OK Plastics can be tough. On the other end the end where the unit connects to the ball the shaft is metal. The metal shaft is painted and the paint is chipping off. That to me is kind of cheese. It this typical? I don't know? Seems like poor workmanship or design or something. I know I am picky sometimes but out of the box? I am wondering if this is a knock off or something although it has Ram on the T handle mounting bracket and balls. Are any of you experiencing this pealing of paint on your mounts?

[M R Dux]

I have 3 different RAM mounts on my boat and none have the peeling you show here. I also didn't pay $39 for any of mine. You might have just experienced the wonder of eBay that is buyer beware of prices much less than normal. The large ball mounts are typically close to $100. There are some good deals to be had but also a bunch of junk out there. There are tons of knock-offs of popular items.The moral of your story will come when you contact the seller about the item and how they deal with it.

Good luck with it.

[Dutch]

I bought a RAM-B-107U last week and it wasn't chipped on the ball mount like that...you might of got one that slipped by QC at the factory. Call them and see if they will replace it.


Here's mine...you can see there is no chipping at the mount.

[Knot2Bad]

I went on the Ram Mount Page and It has this as the product description

The RAM Mount RAM-103U mount, with standard arm, consists of the 1.5" diameter ball and socket system with one open socket end. This mount is designed to be used with any of the RAM mounting bases or cradles with a 1.5" diameter rubber ball. The RAM-202U round base has a 1.5" diameter rubber ball connected at right angles to a 2.5" diameter base. The plate has pre-drilled holes in the base, including the universal AMPS hole pattern.

Material:
Powder Coated Marine Grade Aluminum

Ball Size:
1.5" Rubber Ball Size

It is saying the materials are Powder coated Marine Grade Aluminum. My base is plastic are your bases Plastic? The only aluminum I can see on my mount is the shaft which has the paint flaking off. I will be contacting the seller on this.

While on the Ram Mount Page I am looking at different stuff and find this Picture. Its on their page and shows similar flaking...

[skiptomylu]

I am not sure about the base plate, but on my older model the only plastic is the balls and the knob to tighten the clamp. The clamp part is Aluminum except for the knob as I said. Now both little shafts on each end. Shows so paint worn off some, but only the little short shaft under the ball and at the same spot on the other end.

Also Brian at BBGMarine has the 2 1/2" ball type and it's sure not $39 and he has pretty darn good prices on everting I have ask him about. Closer to $100!

[Knot2Bad]

I am not sure about the base plate, but on my older model the only plastic is the balls and the knob to tighten the clamp. The clamp part is Aluminum except for the knob as I said. Now both little shafts on each end. Shows so paint worn off some, but only the little short shaft under the ball and at the same spot on the other end.

Also Brian at BBGMarine has the 2 1/2" ball type and it's sure not $39 and he has pretty darn good prices on everting I have ask him about. Closer to $100!

Thanks Skip. My mount is a 1 1/2" ball size and sells on the Ram site for $48. So $39 is only a 20% discount. The Elite 5 dsi is not that large of a unit. I was concerned when I saw the Paint (powder coat coming off of my unit but then I see similar issues right on the Ram Site as show in Pic above. Guess I need to send and email to the company and see whats up if others don't have this issue. After looking at mine mount it might be aluminum. If the coating is on it and aluminum being so light its hard for me to tell but after flicking the mount parts with my finger it does seem to have a clink or tink sound to it.

RAM 1.5" Ball Marine Electronic "RUGGED USE" Mount for Lowrance Elite-5 & Mark-5 Series Fishfinders

[Knot2Bad]

I sent an email to Ram ... With Picture of coating failure. Lets see what response they have to my email. Lets see if this is an acceptable level of quality for their products.

[Billbob]

just mail it to ME

[crappiejigger]

when i bought my ram mount at gander mountain they had two mounts that looked exactly the same but the clerk told me the slightly more expensive one was aluminum and the other plastic. but i cant remember the prices. as for the paint i did have a small little flaking but i didnt see it as a problem,more cosmetic.where ever you bought it had the higher priced model for there description ,whether by accident or not who knows.

[skiptomylu]

You know after thinking about this a little while, I can see why powder paint would have a problem on the shaft under the ball. Since the ball is plastic how could you cure the powder paint well at all? I don't think you probably could cure it because the plastic couldn't take the heat of an oven at the temps needed? I don't know what kind of heat that plastic could take though. I just know curing paint on jig heads I use about 390 degrees +-.