Towing with cover on or off

What does everyone recommend as far as towing with the cover on or off? I like having it on so that things are protected but I also hate to see if flopping in the wind and I am always scared of it ripping.

Thanks,
Shane

Seeing that you have a black boat, I would tow with it off as the cover will rub on the black no matter how hard to strap it down.

When I purchased my new boat I ordered a snap on cover and it was the best thing I could have done, Yes I have snaps on my boat, but for towing its incredible and doesn't leave any scratches.

Towing with the cover on is nice, BUT you have risks from straps vibrating on the hull or the cover itself vibrating. This can mark up the gel coat in a hurry. If you protect the fabric and straps from moving you are in great shape. It's just that you don't know if you have done that until you find out you have not.

thanks guys, that's what I was leaning towards anyways. Not to mention this covers are extremely expensive and I think towing with them on only speeds up the process of replacing.

Off, always off.

I tow with the cover off unless there is rain.

If I know it's going to be dry I will always tow with the cover off. If it's raining I know some people will still say tow with the cover off but in my experience towing on the highway with the cover off the boat gets absolutely filthy inside so I tow with the cover on. The only spot that I noticed the cover can wear is at the buckles I have on either side by the tower. I generally just wrap some t-shirt rags over the buckles to provide protection. I have blue gel coat so if it was rubbing anywhere else I'd know about it in a hurry. For me, this is only once or twice in a season that I have to do this and it's a 2 hour drive.

This will tell you how bad the buckles will wear on a black hull


I never once towed with my old cover but where the strap came down and hooked to the trailer. There where always wear marks where the strap would flap in the wind just sitting in the yard. They always buffed out but they always came back LOL!!!!!

If your towing with the factory Malibu cover IT WILL damage your gel. You can wrap the hull with plastic wrap, to provide a barrier, or tow with the cover off.
If you have an after market cover, like an Evolution, they are meant to be towed with the cover on, and will not damage your gel. I pulled My MXZ 4000 miles last year (round trip Az to TN) with an Evolution and zero damage, I towed my previous MXZ 30 miles to the dealer with the factory cover and had to buff out scuffs.
I no longer order factory covers for this reason. Evolutions fit better, are towable, and are usually same price as a factory cover.

Originally Posted by Darkside

If your towing with the factory Malibu cover IT WILL damage your gel. You can wrap the hull with plastic wrap, to provide a barrier, or tow with the cover off.
If you have an after market cover, like an Evolution, they are meant to be towed with the cover on, and will not damage your gel. I pulled My MXZ 4000 miles last year (round trip Az to TN) with an Evolution and zero damage, I towed my previous MXZ 30 miles to the dealer with the factory cover and had to buff out scuffs.
I no longer order factory covers for this reason. Evolutions fit better, are towable, and are usually same price as a factory cover.

This is the best info right here. No need to type the same exact thing over

Towing around town we tow with the cover off. For long trips we wrap the boat where the cover touches with cling wrap and then put the cover on. Never had one scratch or scuff like said above

Originally Posted by Darkside

If your towing with the factory Malibu cover IT WILL damage your gel. You can wrap the hull with plastic wrap, to provide a barrier, or tow with the cover off.
If you have an after market cover, like an Evolution, they are meant to be towed with the cover on, and will not damage your gel. I pulled My MXZ 4000 miles last year (round trip Az to TN) with an Evolution and zero damage, I towed my previous MXZ 30 miles to the dealer with the factory cover and had to buff out scuffs.
I no longer order factory covers for this reason. Evolutions fit better, are towable, and are usually same price as a factory cover.

Another vote for above statement

Personally I tow with the cover on and the poles.
But it always depends. My factory Tigé cover is very well built, the part of the cover where the strap pass is all around made with microfiber so strap never tuch the hull and the clic belt is in a cushion bag too.

I already found little scuffing done by cover rubbing but easily buffed out in no time.

I found that towing with the cover off get so much dirt and dead bugs inside the boat is a way bigger job clean all that than dealing with little scufffing sometimes.
The only time I tow with cover off now is when I want to dry out the inside of my boat.

When I stored my boat last October I took clear 3M vinyl film and wrap the contour of my swim plate to prevent wakeboard and wakesurf scratches. When I was doing it I had the idea to wrap a 3inch slice all around my boat just underneath the rub rail and done it also on the front of my tower.
It cost me what.. 50 bucks and maybe an hour and a half. So goodbye all minor scuff and goodbye to the pain job of cleaning bugs on my tower. It's way more easier to wash with the clear film.
I recommand it to all !

Many people wrap above their rub rails and their tower with plastic pallet wrap just when they go 2hrs + trip. It's more economic, takes less time and you just rip it off instead of cleaning it.

I have put snap covers on all my boats over the last 10 years and never have any wear or damage and tow with the poles in, i guess if you use a strap cover that can walk, you would see wear. I stopped using factory covers and will never go back to straps

The evolution fits super tight, they do not move, even at freeway speeds. They have standoff that grab the rub rail, thus reducing the chafing. They also started selling platform covers this year, that actually reduce the heat. We will see how well they work in the summer, but it was 90 today and my platform was comfortable to kneel on after I removed the cover, all the exposed surfaces, vinyl/gatorstep, etc were REALLY hot.
The Evolution covers fit like a glove!