Tow with cover on or off?

[Mike88]

Hi everybody,
I never really make a long ride with my boat yet and planning to make a roadtrip at the end of the month.
I wonder if it's better to roll with the cover on or off.
I heard few things on both sides, Dont know who is right and wrong.
Most of comments I've heard are non-Tigé owner and the primary concern of rolling with the cover on is the strap scratching the hull.. I checked a little bit and my stock 2016 cover seems to be well protected where the strap are.

If it's raining i will tow it with the cover for sure, when I make local towing too
But for long ride on the freeway personally what you're all prefer and why?
Thanks

[D&P Powell]

You will hear both sides of this coin. I personally tow with it on. I bought 4 seat belt straps, I wrap those around where the straps touch the boat, then put zip ties on top and on bottom to keep the straps in place. That way when the straps flap in the wind, the seat belt pads cushion the contact.

[Mike88]

Very good idea! I will surely do that.
personally I prefer rolling with the cover on too.
Thanks for the advise!

[dukesofhazzard]

no need to add anything to straps, just twist them a few times before you connect them and they won't flap as long as they are tight. simple and easy

[Bryan]

I'm on the other side of the fence.. I've seen boats with scuffs all the way around the boat from the cover rubbing, not the straps, but the cinch cord inside the edge of the cover. I would much rather spend a little time wiping everything down once I get where I'm going, than have to deal with gelcoat scuffs and scratches that could occur

[D&P Powell]

...but the cinch cord inside the edge of the cover...

The new covers don't have a "cinch cord" per se. They have the strap with the tightening buckle in the back. I haven't noticed any scuffs so far. Knock on wood!

[Bryan]

Well either way.. in my mind the edge of the cover that makes contact with the boat all the way around the rub rail is gonna be in position to rub and scuff at highway speeds. If you guys aren't worried about it, then go for it. I'm just not going to

[cpobanz]

there are places on the interior of my z3 where the cover rubbed on long hauls. I prefer to have the cover on, but make sure its secure and use the pole in the middle.

[skiguy]

I've heard of folks wrapping cling wrap, the stuff movers use, a couple times around the rub rail before covering for a long trip.


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[007]

i like advice I got from somebody on here to put a big beach ball in the bow under the cover to keep water from pooling while towing in the rain, but otherwise I'm from the "poles" out camp (I tore a cover on my old boat this way). I do put microfiber rags between the boat and rear tie downs. I've not experienced any cover rash, but I am pretty religious about hot saucing the boat, so maybe that helps.

Even the guys at my dealership have different ideas on "cover off/cover on" for towing. Cover off avoids rash, cover on keeps dirt out and maybe prolongs the life of some covers. I almost always town with it on. Some boat brands are notorious for ejecting seat cushions on the highway, but I've never seen a post about than kind of thing on TO.

[Dandy]

We mainly tow with the cover on. If long distances, I put pallet wrap around the area that the cover will rub. Side Note on this: When we had our 2007 22Ve transported from TN to MN, I sent the previous owner a roll of pallet wrap and requested he wrap it (which he did) and also noted the beach ball under the cover (which he was kind enough to purchase a beach ball - it worked very well as the boat was towed through storms) - the wrap however was over the gas vent the the previous owner sent it with a full tank. When I unwrapped it, the fuel that leaked out the vent was trapped between the boat and the wrap. A quick was and wipe down and a good wax application took care of it, but it didn't get time to dry or sit in the sun to bake.

On our 13 Z1, the one issue we had was the ratchet for the strap would make rub marks against the gel, even though it was inside the cover. I have had stone chip/clear bra applied to the back of our boats, mainly to prevent scratches from people putting on wake boards. If I was to get a new boat again, I would have this applied to the area below the rub rail as well to prevent chaffing from the cover. We have it applied to all of our cars. Oh, I also had the front of our towers wrapped to prevent chips from stones/bugs. Cleans up pretty well.

[Mike88]

Yeah, I've done this too.
I put a clear vinyl wrap all around the swim plate and on the back of the boat to prevent wakeboard scratches.
Never tough to do the same thing on the tower Its a really good idea. In the same time put a slice all around the rub rail too!

I prefer to prevent instead of dealing with with trouble haha

[retox1]

I usually tow with the cover on and poles in. I find the little bit of scuffing i get from the cover rubbing is easily buffed out in no time at all. I find if i tow with the cover off i get so much dirt and dead bugs in the boat its a far bigger job to clean that out than dealing with the scuffing from the cover. The only time i tow with the cover off these days is if i know the weather will be nice and i'm trying to dry out the inside of the boat.

[culrich77]

Depends on where I"m going, if I go to the local lake that's close it's always off, but for long trips I tow with it on....I have a lovely snap cover (hate it!! 1st owner put it on) so it doesn't really flap in the wind or scuff anything though...

[Booms]

For anything over 3 hrs of a drive I wrap the area that the cover is in contact with the boat with the clear pallet wrap/celaphane. I also wrap tower with this. I swear the tower and speakers kill more bugs than anything.
I also noticed that I need to tape an old rag/towel over the captain chair as the cover will leave marks on it from the drive.

Everyone on the lake thinks I got a new tower. 30 mins of wrapping with the pallet wrap saves numerous hours of cleaning.

Have fun in your road trip.