First big road trip

[JohnnieMo]

So I'm heading out on my first big road trip tomorrow. Calgary to Salmon Arm. It's about 6 hours through the Rockies. I've made the trip before, but never towing with my supercharged Avalanche or this new Z1.

Any recommendations?

I have the trailer leveled nicely thanks to chpthrl's instructions.

Only question is, do you tow with the tower up or down? I was going to wrap it with packing wrap but the store was sold out




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[Robmc9]

step 1 - don't tow with the cover on
bring some cleaner to wipe the dead bugs off of the windshield and tower (I drive with the tower up) before they get too dried on. Cloth and water won't work but you'll for sure need something that scrubs but doesn't scratch. Luckily your going away from the bugs but you'll still splay a fair # of them. I drive more North and the bugs are horrible and tough to clean.
suggestion - don't worry about cleaning your boat so its spotless before you go, it'll get dirty. Spend the time once you're there to clean it. No need to clean before you leave for home either, do it when you actually get home. I hate doing things twice…..

[Z1Fan]

I actually tow with the cover on , from vancouver to Shuswap and vancouver to Christina lake with no issues!! I know some say not to tow with the cover on , I've also seen some guys do warp the boat with Saran type wrap where the cover hugs around the boat and then put on the cover .... Leave the deck cover off and take off your guide covers if you have them

And most of all enjoy the Shuswap , what campground or hotel are u going too , I've been both blind bay and scotch creek side..

[Cloud]

I towed my RZ4 twice on 5 hour trips and both time had the cover on. Rather protect the boat then the cover.

[Bibbs]

wrapped.jpg
Here is our wrapped RZ2 that made the trip from Cali to Fairmont BC (20 hrs) and then onto its new home in Peachland BC (8 hrs). The guys did a great job wrapping it in Cali. As you can see the front was wrapped as well as under the cover. This is due to the cover can slap against the boat and leave black marks. I also put some tape around the side tie straps for 2 reasons--to keep the straps from slapping side of boat and no matter how you tie the loose end the wind unravels it. This might be a little excessive for your trip but it sure was nice and clean when I took off the wrapping. There was enough bugs on the wrapping to make a weeks worth of sandwhiches.
I towed one other boat from Minnisota to Calgary without the cover. Sure enough I hit a storm from Med Hat past you in Chestemere all the way to Calgary. It took a long time for the wife and I to clean that boat.
Just a couple of my experiences to do what you want with. I would tow with at least the cover.
Enjoy

[Ewok]

Short trips to the lake I go sans cover, longer than an hour and I'm thinking about the cover, 5 hours I'm definitely towing with the cover. My dealer warned me that the cover can rub on the gelcoat but it's nothing that some paint cleaner (swirl mark removing very mild compound or polish) can't clean up. The trick to minimize the cover scratching your boat is to clean the inside fuzzy stuff do that doesn't really scratch the gelcoat. It can pick up road grime and trap it between the cover and gelcoat. If I was heading out on a long trip I'd make sure that part of the cover is clean to start with and clean it again with a hose or pressure washer when I got to my destination, so it's ready to go for the trip back.

I also made a plywood deck for my bow to prevent the cover from forming a huge scoop there, my mpg went from 10.5 to 12.5 on my trip from TX to WA.

[IDBoating]

For short vacation trips I'd use the cover.

When we trucked our boat from Florida to Washington State, we paid a Florida shrinkwrap company to professionally wrap the boat bow to stern. My concern was the road rash that would result from over 20 hours of freeway driving... rocks flicked up into the hull by the towing vehicle and others passing by, bugs by the millions, dust and dirt in the air being sandblasted into the finish at 60+ MPH for hours and hours. It was ~$300 very well spent.

[Travism]

We travel with ours every couple weeks for 4 hours through the mountains. I use the wide shrink wrap and around the rub rail area where the cover rides. We put the cover on and also wrap the tower. We have had no issues and the boat looks like new !

[JohnnieMo]

I am driving at night and undoubtedly through the rain... plus I need the boat for carrying some items. So going without a cover isn't an option.

Travis - where do you buy the wide shrink wrap? I could only find stuff about 6" thick, and it was sold out at Princess Auto last night. My roll only got done half the tower.

I used to own a place in Shuswap, so its my "home" lake in a manner of speaking. But for this trip, I rented a cabin along the Salmon Arm of the lake, about halfway between Canoe and Sicamous.

[Duncan]

Any suggestions for sourcing the wide shrink wrap?

[Iwndr]

Any suggestions for sourcing the wide shrink wrap?

Most moving places have it, U Haul for one. Home Depot should have it also

[Travism]

I bought are shrink wrap at staples. It is about 18-24" in width. One role does about 3 trips. I'm sure you could also find it at U-Haul or a moving company.

http://www.staples.ca/en/Staples-Str...5_2-CA_1_20001

[BCRider]

I always take my torque wrench and half inch socket set with me whenever I tow up to our summer house. If you have to be on the side of the road you might as well be prepared for any situation.

[Dandy]

Search for pallet wrap. Package supply companies and occasionally office max/depot/staples may have it. You may also find some at a UPS store.

If to win with the cover be aware of the ratchet for the cover. We only trailered for a total of 5 hours with the cover last year and have deep scratches from where the ratchet rubbed. This year we had 3M stone guard installed on the back. I also use the pallet wrap where the tower and cover come together to help minimize water from running down the tower in the boat...even got black wrap to match.

Another option for wrap, go to Sam's Club or Costco and pick up the industrial size of cling wrap. It might cost just a tick more than pallet wrap but it would still protect the boat.

WS makes neoprene speaker boots that zip over the speakers. They are wonderful and save a lot of scrubbing. Now if Tige just made a zip cover for the tower.

Good luck on your journey.

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[Travism]

I forgot to mention we have the rev 10 speaker skins for our tower speakers as well. They are awesome as they speakers seem to collect the most bugs.

While we are on this topic, what do you guys recommend to remove bugs from the tower, speakers and board racks ? I made a tow this year without the cover/shrink wrap and have a mess to clean up.