Doughboy Pools Reviews

Aquasport 52 Vs. Doughboy Pools

Doughboy Pools Compared to Mine

I am not here to stop you from buying a Doughboy swimming pool. I recommend them to people every day and have Doughboy Pools listed in my top ten best swimming pools on the planet. Also, they have one of the largest dealer networks, so if you want the person who sells you an above ground pool to install it too, they are the best company I could recommend.

I used to be a Doughboy dealer, and now I am not. They have a great name and still make many great pools and pool liners, But.

Before you get too far into this review, you may want to read another article I wrote called Anatomy of an Above Ground Swimming Pool. Here you learn that steel pools are the cheapest pools for a reason. They rust, and eventually rot out. What you want, is a pool with mostly resin components, and steel, or even better, an aluminum pool wall, or even better an aluminum pool frame and wall.

Doughboy does not have an aluminum wall option. Aluminum walls have proven to be the best, and last the longest, so how can you sell the best pool, without a good aluminum pool wall?

Now Doughboy has some high-end resin pools. Namely their Saratoga, and Tuscany pools. These pools feature some real beef, in the resin Top Rails, and Uprights. I mean they are super thick extruded resin, probably the most durable resin I have ever seen.

Once the pool gets built, you could take off the top rails and uprights. The wall and water are what hold up the pool wall. Manufactures like Doughboy is making these large resin pools, so China can’t compete. China can’t afford to make these giant heavy top rails and uprights. They cost too much to ship.

So now, please tell me exactly why you’re going to pay thousands more for a Tuscany or Saratoga? Yeah, the Saratoga and the Tuscany have stronger Resin uprights and Top Rails. So what? If you are going to spend all the money, please check out Buster Crabbe’s Aquasport 52.

 

Putting An Above Ground Pool  Inground

I understand the reason for doing a semi-inground pool installation. Maybe you have an uneven yard or you can’t dig that deep do to ledge or rock in the ground. But I will never understand the desire to completely bury a rolled wall above ground pool. Rolled wall pools (despite what the dealers say) are not strong enough to hold back the earth, for semi inground installation, you want to go with a premium slat wall pool.

The only pools I would get ever install semi-inground, or completely bury is the Aquasport 52 pool, made by Aquasport Pools LLC. or An Optimum Pool made by Wilbar. The Aquasport 52 super thick aluminum panels are suitable for any climate in the United States.  And the Optimum is made with large insulated panels best suited for environments that do not experience freezing temperatures.

If you ever lose the water in a rolled wall above ground pool that you buried. The walls will fold in like bologna. Doughboy says to backfill the pool wall with a cement-like grout product once it is full of water. A cement slurry will keep it from caving in, but you are adding a hell of an expense to an already expensive product — dollar for dollar. You might spend a little more for the Aquasport 52, but it will last forever.

If you are even considering burying Doughboys Copper Canyon, or Summerville pools, you should burn your money now. I am sorry to be Debbie Downer. But I offer this advice as tough love. I don’t want you to waste your money.

Doughboy Pool Liners

Doughboy makes a good vinyl liner. I am pretty sure they are all 20 mil, even their overlap liners. And their expandable liners come even thicker. They have some lovely liner patterns too. My only criticism is with trying to get out packing wrinkles, but that’s your installers problem, not yours.

Conclusion

I have nothing against Doughboy Pools, they make great above ground pools, but they are just too much money. Their resin pools cost way to much, and they don’t offer an aluminum wall.

You may find their prices more competitive in your area of the country. I had to add the cost of shipping all the way to Massachusetts. But I would urge you to compare apples for apples against my pools.

I was a Doughboy dealer for three years. Last year in 2015 I didn’t sell any of their pools, I just felt I owed it to my customers to offer them a better value. So naturally, they dropped me as a dealer. Now I have my line of above ground pools and sell the high-end slat-wall pools of Buster Crabbe / Aquasport Pools LLC. I challenge you to compare my pools against Doughboy Pools. My Packages are an incredible value.

New dealers interested in selling My Pools, Please contact me.

If you need a pool installer in your area, try contacting HomeAdvisor, Angie’s List, or Craigslist. A lot of my installers pull their work off of Craigslist. If you can’t find an installer, and we don’t have a distributor near you, I do recommend Doughboy Pools over other alternatives. Specifically there Palmshore, Tuscany, and Saratoga models.

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By MGK Pool Service

30 year veteran in the pool industry. Having had many career path changes over the years. I began in the pool industry, and looks like I will finish my working life in the pool industry.

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