What is a Heim joint and why all the big fuss with tower makers over this?
A Heim joint is a fancy name for a rod end bearing design created by a guy named Heim. These have been used in automotive, marine and aircraft applications for many years and are not new. The purpose of the joint is to ensure only axial (push and pull) forces are transferred and not twisting or torquing forces. The reason this is important is it prevents the gel coat cracking that has been reported with towers that used welded on, fixed mounts. With fixed mounts when the tower flexes (which is normal) it “torques” or twists the mount – bad for the gelcoat. This is also what allows the Monster Tower to lay down so easily and quickly.
