Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hi Folks,
Well We picked up our new toon (2004 San Pan 2555 ): and need to tow it back to Washington state from Arizona.
Question I have is: it has a full cover for the boat which snaps to the sides and covers all the interior section.
How safe is it to transport with cover in place.?
I want to keep the amount of road grime and bugs down to a minimum.
I will send photos once I get it safely home and on the water.

Thanks for all the excellent resources.

k9trainer
2004 SanPan 2555
4.3 Mercury I/O

It says on my cover NOT to tow with it. I know there are some that its ok to tow with too. So i guess it depends....
One thing for sure is that they need to be fitted real tight to tow cause the wind will whip them suckers into pieces in short order.

Very glad I read this... I didn't even think about it. We are picking up our toon this weekend and driving it back to Tennessee from SC. It has a snap-on fitted cover, so I don't want to damage it. I guess it's better to remove it than take the chance!

I drove mine with the cover on from my house to the storage I keep it in, and it's only about a mile/mile and a half away. I only drove about 15-20 miles per hour just to be safe. I don't think you want to drive that slow from Arizona all the way to Washington State!

One thing that might make a difference, I guess, is whether or not it has poles in the middle arching it up. Mine does, which makes it catch the wind and it's a lot more susceptible to tearing. I guess if your's doesn't have those then it might not be as much an issue.

Bottom line, however, is that cleaning off bug crap might take a couple minutes of your time, while replacing a pontoon cover will cost you hundreds of your hard earned money.

The wind pushes the cover back and your poles will fall down letting cover flap in the wind. Don't do it

First an only time I towed with the cover on, I tore it too shreds. That was on a bow rider years ago. Must be a protect a new boat idea. Seemed right at the time. They do make tow able covers for more money, but most are not designed with that in mind. If you are pulling with an SUV or truck most things will hit the front of the tow vehicle before it would hit the boat. Using a certain amount of caution ie don't follow a gravel truck too closely, it should be fine. Have heard you can spread vaseline or something similar on the seats, the idea being you can take a towel an wipe it down at the end of your trip, an the bugs or whatever don't stick to the vinyl. The only flaw I see with that idea is everything that contacts it will stick. I have towed 150 miles round trip many times and the only damage was the first boat cover, I thought I needed ( it was my first boat)

doc

I don't tow with ours on the toon. I was told that I could, but didn't want to risk tearing the cover. I don't mind th bugs soo much as the wind. I have however put a large inflatable tube (4 person) accross the entire front of the toon, and straped it on going down the highway. That really helped the fuel milage as the wind hit at an angle instead of straigt on the boat. The bug thing is kinda cool to, you can say your boat goes fast enough to kill bugs on impact.

It must be a type of cover issue.

I've ALWAYS towed with my cover on (250 miles several times at highway speeds, plus lots of local trips). The only tear I have is the one I caused by trying to worm my way through the trolling motor flap one time.

My cover snaps to the very front of the deck, wrapping over the front wall so the only wind exposure I have is the 6" x 9" trolling motor flap. I've never had a pole drop or a snap come undone. (Sorry for the size of the picture.) You can see along the front edge of the deck the snaps for attaching the cover. There's three more around the sides before it goes up to the railings. Kind of covers it like a car bra.

So, how does your's attach?

We have had our pontoon since 2005 and tow it with the cover on. I have never had a problem with it. Not sure if I would tow it as far as you are going to travel with it on. We tow only twice a year 75 miles one way at insterstate speed of 75 mph.

My cover snaps to the front end of the deck too... Do you think that would make a difference?

HI folks,
Thanks for the responses...
Sounds like the prudent way to go is to travel with the cover off.
Bug remover is cheap.....
The cover is attached by snaps all around the exterior except for the front, where there is a bungee like draw cord that tightens across the front.

I am sure I will have more questions..Looking forward to getting out on Lake Roosevelt this summer....
I appreciate the quick responses...Thanks everyone...
K9trainer

Keep the questions coming. We got answers.........they may not be right............but we all got opinions......support you local Republican.

doc

When we got our new Crestliner,the dealer told us to travel with the cover on. Our cover snaps all around the top of the rail.
Last year, we had 3 400-500+ trips with the cover on and no problems. One thing they didn't tell me was the cover will loosen as you start your trip. I noticed this right away and stopped. I tightened the poles and continued home (Hayden, Idaho to western Washington, About 480 miles) without any problems. I would recommend checking the cover after the 1st 10-15 miles.

Once or twice a year we go past Lake Roosevelt and go 1 hour north to Twin Lakes outside Inchelieum.

One thing bothers me is the "bungee cord" across the front. I would think twice about that one. Ours are snaps and I have a 4 wheel drive truck that sits high and gives me a good view of the cover.

Let us know how the trip goes and be sure to post pictures.

Frank