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Tube Towing
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 2:56 pm
by soccs11
Is anyone using something less expensive then the TurboSwing Ski Tow bar to pull a tube with their pontoon boat? I only have a 75 hp motor on an 18 foot toon, so I don't think that I would be going too fast pulling a tube. Everything out there says that it is not meant for tube pulling. Would love to find something besides this TurboSwing.
Re: Tube Towing
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 8:38 pm
by Rick McC.
This came on our Qwest:
- CDBF533C-C808-40BA-8600-DB59C9303B1E.jpeg (444.31 KiB) Viewed 10945 times
Re: Tube Towing
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 8:39 pm
by Rick McC.
Re: Tube Towing
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 4:07 am
by riplipper
Does your boat have trailer tie down holes or eyes under the deck?
If so they make a simple rope with Bouy designed for those and tow ropes.
https://www.scheels.com/p/airhead-tow-d ... atersports
Re: Tube Towing
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 4:57 am
by curtiscapk
not sure why that wouldn't work? I've used a homemade one for 14 years!
Re: Tube Towing
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 7:04 am
by robburns76
I used a Airhead self centering Y harness and it was getting worn through rather quickly. I decided to go with the turboswing and couldn't be happier. I placed the order directly via the TS website and it shipped within a day and had it within a couple days. Install only took about an hour (was taking my time) and I was able to do all of it except the final placement by myself. they are well worth the $ if you do not have (or cannot get) the factory tow bar.
Re: Tube Towing
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 8:22 am
by steve1313
I've got a Turbo Swing and love it. I had my dealer remove the one that looked like the one on Rick's Qwest because it supposedly wasn't rated for tubing, and I tend to opt on the side of overkill if I have a doubt. Apparently tubing can put many more pounds of stress than skiing or wake boarding.
But I see boats all the time using a setup like Rick has for towing tubes. However, about a month ago I saw a brand new looking Tritoon in our marina with that setup and it was completely ripped out of the deck in all but one of the mounting points, so maybe it really can be a problem.
Re: Tube Towing
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 3:45 pm
by Horsepen
When I took delivery of my toon, I went to a local metal fab shop and bought 4 ea. 6 X 6 X 1/2” aluminum plates to put under the deck where my tow bar attaches to the deck. It’s been fine for 7 years so far.
Re: Tube Towing
Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 2:42 pm
by soccs11
Thank you all for yor replies, Cheers.
Re: Tube Towing
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2022 6:50 pm
by Rick McC.
steve1313 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 09, 2022 8:22 am
I've got a Turbo Swing and love it. I had my dealer remove the one that looked like the one on Rick's Qwest because it supposedly wasn't rated for tubing, and I tend to opt on the side of overkill if I have a doubt. Apparently tubing can put many more pounds of stress than skiing or wake boarding.
But I see boats all the time using a setup like Rick has for towing tubes. However, about a month ago I saw a brand new looking Tritoon in our marina with that setup and it was completely ripped out of the deck in all but one of the mounting points, so maybe it really can be a problem.
Thanks Steve!
I don’t plan on using it for anything more than possibly towing a disabled boat; but now I know to keep an eye on it!
Re: Tube Towing
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2022 7:45 am
by Marc K
Go ahead and laugh, but I like low-budget solutions. We tow our Super Mable tube with 450+ lbs on it using the $30. "Y" harness from Airhead. Connection points are the factory lugs on the pontoons. I use a short/heavy piece of nylon rope between the lugs and the harness, so the rope takes the wear. The stress during a WOT turn (only 25 MPH for us) is considerable, but this setup has held up for 4 years so far. It may not be suitable for others, but I like it.
Re: Tube Towing
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2022 9:51 am
by robburns76
Marc K wrote: ↑Thu Sep 01, 2022 7:45 am
Go ahead and laugh, but I like low-budget solutions. We tow our Super Mable tube with 450+ lbs on it using the $30. "Y" harness from Airhead. Connection points are the factory lugs on the pontoons. I use a short/heavy piece of nylon rope between the lugs and the harness, so the rope takes the wear. The stress during a WOT turn (only 25 MPH for us) is considerable, but this setup has held up for 4 years so far. It may not be suitable for others, but I like it.
i bought the self centering Y harness from airhead and was towing the super mable with it. the rope was showing a lot of wear even with just minimal usage so I ended up going with the tuboswing. it was expensive but well worth it. much easier to connect and disconnect the lines and i dont have to worry about it putting stress on the ladder.
Re: Tube Towing
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2022 6:50 pm
by Marc K
Yep, I am well aware of the TurboSwing. I have never seen anything bad about them and the owners really like them!
Re: Tube Towing
Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2022 7:29 pm
by MattGent
Normal towing around with a tube is no issue for any tow mount, but the tube can put a massive load if it submerges under water. Like stop the boat in 6ft.
Big backing plates and an observant operator can mitigate the risk.
