Controversial Topic - Towing with or without the cover?

[redsoxfan84]

I know I am probably going to regret this question, but I am curious why you do or don't tow with your cover on. It seems like half the boats I see out there have the cover on. My logic has been that towing with my cover on is likely to do damage to the cover and doesn't seem to provide any real benefit to me if I am towing. Thoughts?

[tbullard]

Depends on the cover. Some are made for it.

Benefits would be keeping things in the boat and not blowing out on the highway. Also provides some protection to the windshield which can be very expensive to replace if you can even find them.

[asp13]

I have only ever towed with the cover on. My thought is that it will protect the boat/interior from road debris etc.

[srab]

I tow with the cover off.  Then again, I never tow long distance.  Nor am I likely to be towing in inclement weather.

I have a very high quality towing cover that cinches very snugly, holds with padded J-hooks at multiple points along the rub rail, and holds firmly in highway-speed winds.  It's not really the cover that I'm worried about. 

The one time I used it for towing, despite very plush padding sewn into it, I ended up with chafing of the black paint on my windshield frame.  So, for me, its a "NO."

[RyanB]

I tow more miles than about anyone I know.  Easily 5000 miles a year on a "off" year.  Up to 10,000 miles if we make a couple extra trips to Powell.  That puts me well over 100,000 miles lifetime towing.  All with covers on.

Towing naked leaves the boat open to elements, and prying eyes.  Go through a little bit of weather, and you will spend hours cleaning.  You always have to worry about things blowing out (including carpet, seats, and anything in the boat).

Covers on (a good travel cover) keeps things out of sight to prying eyes, keeps the boat clean regardless of weather, and doesn't damage the boat.

The only downside is every year or two I have to take the cover into a upholstery guy and have some seams restitched.

Photo of us on the way to Powell with the original cover for the boat.  I've since switched to a Evolution cover.

 

 

[JeffC]

Ill give you my $.02, and if you add $4.50 you can have a cup of coffee at Starbucks.  Im not so concerned with the cover (the cover that came with my 22VLX is tight enough that I have yet to incur any damage to the cover).  To me the cover is just a tool.  Its purpose is to protect the boat, an in that service, it is a consumable item.    It has its pros and cons.   On nice days, I tow without the cover for my 45-50 minute drive to the lake.  If the weather is nice when I recover for the day, I leave the cover off for the tow home to dry out the interior as much as I can.

We ALWAYS clean the boat in the parking lot before we leave the lake.   The exterior gets at least a very gentle detergent (Basic H) highly diluted in water, or a bit of Boat Juice.   The interior also gets a full cleaning, usually with Boat Juice interior cleaner.  If it is threatening rain at all, I cover the boat before heading home.   I towed home ONCE through a light rain, I will NEVER EVER do that again. If it starts raining on the way home, I stop and cover the boat.   It took me hours of cleaning to get the road grime off of the interior. 

Pros:

• Keeps the road grime out of the boat
• If I were going long distance, I would cover the boat to keep the sun from baking the interior (but I would wrap the beltline in plastic wrap first)
• Keeps nature out of the boat --  for me read that as bird crap, cottonwood seeds (permanent yellow stains), pollen, and dirt in general

Cons:

• Gelcoat chaffing - on mine I get some chaffing above the rub rail in the dark blue.   I can polish it out, and wax it, just more work
• Keeps moisture in - if the boat is covered damp, you can be sure there will be some dank smells when you uncover it
• Putting it on RIGHT takes a little time but minimizes chaffing, and any unnecessary wear on the cover

[JeffC]

10 minutes ago, RyanB said:

I tow more miles than about anyone I know.  Easily 5000 miles a year on a "off" year.  Up to 10,000 miles if we make a couple extra trips to Powell.  That puts me well over 100,000 miles lifetime towing.  All with covers on.

Towing naked leaves the boat open to elements, and prying eyes.  Go through a little bit of weather, and you will spend hours cleaning.  You always have to worry about things blowing out (including carpet, seats, and anything in the boat).

Covers on (a good travel cover) keeps things out of sight to prying eyes, keeps the boat clean regardless of weather, and doesn't damage the boat.

The only downside is every year or two I have to take the cover into a upholstery guy and have some seams restitched.

Photo of us on the way to Powell with the original cover for the boat.  I've since switched to a Evolution cover.

 

 

Ryan is right... the prying eyes thing was something I didnt remember.    If you stop to have a meal, the last thing you want is someone looking for an easy mark.  BTW, the cover on his is exactly the same style cover on mine. 

[Eagleboy99]

I almost always tow with the cover on (windshield protection).  Of course when I leave the cover off, it rains. 

[PNWoke]

We have a lot of wind where I am so I end up trailering about 50% on vs off.  The factory cover isn’t strong enough for our headwinds but any time I’m towing on a light/no wind day that cover is on it.  For all the reasons everyone else said.  Planning to replace it with a “towable” evolution cover when it finally bites the dust.

Edited May 26, 2020 by PNWoke

[Kojak]

I always tow with the cover on. And since I always go with an Evolution Cover, I never have to worry about it. 

[bkearney]

We have the factory cover (CS) and I notice that the wind at highway speeds pushes down the fabric in the front. It looks like I will lesson the lifetime of the cover that way. 

[obski]

 I always tow with the cover on, but then I have an Evolution cover made for towing.

I have it on for the short 8 mile tow to the river and for the longer tows of 7-800 miles to Shasta.

[ahopkins22LSV]

I guess I’m one of the few in the opposite camp. I never tow with the cover on. We make frequent trips up north Michigan that’s about 4-5 hours of drive time one way. We’ve driven through rain and storms. I’m always shocked at how little I actually have to clean. Sure the boat needs a wipe down but I don’t have to spend hours cleaning. It takes about 20-30 minutes to wipe down the gel with boat bling and the same for the interior on our boat so at most it’s an hour. I do always use full truck width rock guards for long tows so maybe that helps. I personally don’t like the idea of wear and tear on the cover and I don’t have anything exposed in the boat when traveling. Always tow with the windscreen in and windshield closed. I’ve accidentally left empty water bottles in cup holders that are still there when we get home so I’m not concerned about loosing seats. Everyone is different though so experiment on your own and see what you prefer. 

[Eagleboy99]

7 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

I guess I’m one of the few in the opposite camp. I never tow with the cover on. We make frequent trips up north Michigan that’s about 4-5 hours of drive time one way. We’ve driven through rain and storms. I’m always shocked at how little I actually have to clean. Sure the boat needs a wipe down but I don’t have to spend hours cleaning. It takes about 20-30 minutes to wipe down the gel with boat bling and the same for the interior on our boat so at most it’s an hour. I do always use full truck width rock guards for long rows so maybe that helps. I personally don’t like the idea of wear and tear on the cover and I don’t have anything exposed in the bog when traveling. Always tow with the windscreen in and windshield closed. I’ve accidentally left empty water bottles in cup holders that are still there when we get home so I’m not concerned about loosing seats. Everyone is different though so experiment on your own and see what you prefer. 

But you can still get a windshield.

[ahopkins22LSV]

16 minutes ago, Eagleboy99 said:

But you can still get a windshield.

Huh??

[surfdude]

Don’t use your cover for short distance. If you have to use it for a long tow, go get the large pallet wrap and wrap it rub rail and up. Cheap scuff insurance. Works great. Takes less than 2 minutes 

Edited May 27, 2020 by surfdude

[tbullard]

14 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

Huh??

You have a 2020 boat, break a windshield you call the dealer and order a new one without much trouble.

Someone with an older boat may be lucky to get a new one at any cost.

[surfdude]

99.9 pct of the time, you’re truck windshield will take the hit

[ahopkins22LSV]

7 hours ago, tbullard said:

You have a 2020 boat, break a windshield you call the dealer and order a new one without much trouble.

Someone with an older boat may be lucky to get a new one at any cost.

Ah, yes true. Gotta question whether or not a cover is going to stop a rock from cracking a windshield though. Maybe there is enough tension but I could see it going right through the cover or still creating enough impact to shatter the glass. Like I said, everyone prefers something different. 

[Steve B.]

My cover seems very, very tight. If I tow even 10 miles at slow speed it will chaff the gel. It rubs out, but I dont want to keep rubbing out those area's over and over. It's an easy no for me.

Steve B.

[asnowman]

I have only towed short distances with cover on, and only if weather is pretty wet. Generally we don't tow very far, between the main house and the lake, about 2 hours.  Like @ahopkinsVTX we tow with the windscreen in and have not had issues with things blowing out. 

I did however notice the center rear seat cushion of our VTX flip up while towing the first time we picked it up. Quick pit stop, and put in the windscreen which I had neglected to do, and never had an issue after that

[tbullard]

38 minutes ago, surfdude said:

99.9 pct of the time, you’re truck windshield will take the hit

Probably true but that 0.1% time would really suck. Post from last month https://www.themalibucrew.com/index.php?/forums/topic/73313-windshield-shattered/&tab=comments#comment-1114590

[carguy79ta]

I always tow with the cover on for all the reasons already stated.

[RyanB]

20 minutes ago, tbullard said:

Probably true but that 0.1% time would really suck. Post from last month https://www.themalibucrew.com/index.php?/forums/topic/73313-windshield-shattered/&tab=comments#comment-1114590

I don’t think it is 0.1% of the time. I haven’t seen it a ton here, but one of the more active fishing sites I’m on has someone at least once a month complaining about a broken windshield. Without exception it is someone who tows uncovered and without a Truxedo windshield cover. 

[Jmo617]

6 hours ago, RyanB said:

I tow more miles than about anyone I know.  Easily 5000 miles a year on a "off" year.  Up to 10,000 miles if we make a couple extra trips to Powell.  That puts me well over 100,000 miles lifetime towing.  All with covers on.

Towing naked leaves the boat open to elements, and prying eyes.  Go through a little bit of weather, and you will spend hours cleaning.  You always have to worry about things blowing out (including carpet, seats, and anything in the boat).

Covers on (a good travel cover) keeps things out of sight to prying eyes, keeps the boat clean regardless of weather, and doesn't damage the boat.

The only downside is every year or two I have to take the cover into a upholstery guy and have some seams restitched.

Photo of us on the way to Powell with the original cover for the boat.  I've since switched to a Evolution cover.

 

 

Powell pit stop.  I tow 5000+ a year as well.  Cover on for any distance trips.  I buy a roll of 2’ shrink wrap (Lowe’s) and take 5 or so turns around the run rail of the boat then put the cover on to prevent cover rash and also keeps road debris off some of the lower areas.  Takes 5 mins.   Cover on let’s me transport boards in the boat as well which is nice.