Towing with Malibu cover

[WBLskier]

Looking at towing a Malibu response txi long distance. It has a custom Malibu trailerable cover. Any concerns with leaving the cover on to tow it?

[UWSkier]

If it's a towing cover, just put 3 or 4 layers of stretchy wrap around the rub rail before putting the cover on. Did that with my Response before it made the trip from OR to AZ and it worked great.

[BrennanKMN]

Or just tow with the cover off. Why risk it? What do you gain that 30 min with some spray cleaner and a towel can't solve?

[WBLskier]

Not sure. Having it towed 1200 miles and worried about damage to interior with it off

Or losing furniture driving 80mph. Wondering if the towable covers still present a risk of scuffing it up.

[skimtb]

How about Have them put stretchy wrap on rubrail, windshield frame etc then have it shrink wrapped.

[Zman]

Cover is fine for towing.

[Horton]

I never tow with a cover. I have seen covers wear deep scuffs in gel coat.

[BrennanKMN]

I drove my boat home 1200 miles from Texas without a cover.

[thompjs]

I've towed my Malibu promos with the towing cover for 5 hours with no damage.

I think the plastic wrap is a great idea for a 1200 mi tow though.

 

 

[Orlando76]

I wouldn’t, rash in gel coat.

[TustinTom]

I wouldn't. The seller of our boat did us a favor by meeting us half-way (about 400 miles). He towed it to us with the cover on. We had to take it to get professionally detailed due to the scratches/scuffs in the gel coat.

As said above, if you start with a washed boat, clean/soft cover AND have it wrapped, then go ahead.

[WBLskier]

It’s a 2018 txi. Cover that has the winch to get it super tight. Does that change anyone’s suggestions? If not Do I need to take any of the seats cushions out and haul separately so they don’t blow?

[Ski_Dad]

if this is a 1 time tow for a purchase I would suggest getting it professionally shrink wraped - i have 2 friends that had had boats towed from a long distance and it would have been cheaper to do this vs fixing the issues from towing with a cover

[BMG73]

Even though they make certain covers for towing they beat the hell out of the boat. It’s not mine though so go ahead....

[jjackkrash]

I have a custom-made tow cover that is very light weight and fits perfectly, and it still occasionally leaves some scuffs in the gel on the deck on a few-hundred mile trip. But no more than a rope does going back and forth while skiing. That is what gear-driven-orbital and rotary buffers with wool pads are for. I can clear the deck of any scuffs in about an hour and make the deck slick as snot and ready for Collinite 925.

[hemlock]

I don't think you have to worry about the cushions.

There is not a ton of air flow in the cabin and main seating area of a tow boat, especially when it's behind whatever is pulling it. Okay, but don't leave your ski gloves on top of the engine box. ha!

+1 for no cover. (Plus you look way more cool without a cover)

B)

 

If you hit a storm, pull over, cover it and wait it out.

Hopefully you tow rig has good mud flaps.

[h2onhk]

+1 on the mud flaps....stone chips can happen easily. I've trailered 800 miles with a ratchet cover and was fine. No damage to gel at all. The key is making sure you have it very tight. If you see any fluttering in your side view mirrors at highway speeds your too loose. Every time you stop for anything check the cover for tightness and check to see if its rubbing anywhere. Also a good time to put your hand on the trailer hubs and see if you have any excess heat.

[WBLskier]

Any reason I couldn’t put packing shrink wrap around the rub rail a couple times under the cover? It’s a white interior and I’m paying for it to be shipped so I doubt they’ll stop if it storms along the way.

[BrennanKMN]

Storms don't matter. It's a boat - they can get wet. Plus if you are driving on the highway most of the rain goes over the boat anyway.

 

If you are dead set on covering it just get it shrink wrapped and be done with it.

[skimtb]

Agree on mudflaps. I requested this when I used uship. They said they had or would purchase. Which neither happened, but the pickup had nice ones so luckily it turned out OK.

I would have easily spent $200 and shipped them a set. Then you keep them after the tow.

[Wayne]

If you were towing it yourself I would make an attempt with the cover but watch to see if it “flaps” in any areas. This is where damage can occur. So you could pull it off if there were concerns once underway and things didn’t look right.

 

Malibu ships their boats with a shrink wrap type cover. If carefully removed they are reusable. It sounds like you are having this boat shipped by some one and not getting it yourself. If this is the case I would pay to have the boat shrink wrapped. This eliminates all concerns of lost cushions, dirty interior or damage.

 

My first boat had a Malibu towable cover that had straps around the run rail and straps that connected to the trailer.

 

My second and current boat only has a mooring cover so we trailer it open. On the long trips we used to take (about 400 miles one way) I can say the cover kept the interior much cleaner. The wet interior isn’t a big deal, the rain seem to add to the dirt that get kicked up and into the boat.

[oldjeep]

I tow with mine on. If I am going a long way I wrap some stretch wrap around the rub rail up to the gunnel to keep the cover from leaving any scratches. The stock commercial sewing cover that came with my boat fits tight as a drum with no flapping. Get too much road crap in the boat on the freeway to want to pull it without.

[Brewski]

I NEVER NEVER NEVER TOW WITH A COVER~!

[scorban2]

I know this is an older thread, but as a long time no-cover tower, I am considering one now after this happened 2 weeks back for my longer hauls (4-5 450 mi round trips a year).

 

 

I think I caught a rock that got kicked up by a semi in front of me that drifted onto the shoulder. I also have a new truck this year that didn't have any mudflaps when I got it (already added them), so it could have been kicked up by my truck as well. I know the material isn't super thick, but a layer of sunbrella would likely decrease the point load from a rock enough to keep this from happening.

 

On the bright side, other than looking quite odd, we really haven't missed the LHS windshield. I'm sure that sentiment will change come fall, but should have the replacement soon.

[braindamage]

@scorban2 bummer about the damage. That really stinks!! Though, I doubt a cover would do anything to stop a rock that is big enough or has enough velocity to do that.

[PatM]

This how I had my boat shipped a couple of years ago. A factory transfer cover which is a hybrid shrink wrap cover with ties and a felt liner. Dealer put it on for about $400. The main reason I did this was because I wasn’t trailering it myself. If I was trailering it I would not have put any cover on.