tower down and towing

[moombadaze]

Wondering if anyone tow's a gen2 (06 and newer) ls or lsv with the tower down long distance? If you do how do you support the tower? I know the factory ships them tower down but have never seen how they do it.

Thanks

[Mike G]

moombadaze,

This picture was taken as the boat was being unpacked and shows how it was shipped from the factory. This is an 09 xlv but I do not think there is much of a difference on how they ship them. I make a few long drives over the summer and have never towed it with the tower down - hope this helps.

[Razzman]

All of my tows are at least 1.5 hours to get to any lake. I've towed up to six hours and all with tower up, no issues. Same on last boat and it doesn't make much difference on gas mileage as it's very little resistance.

[_sT_]

I wouldn't want any movement on the tower while towing, so I leave it up. I think towing with the tower down potentially puts too much strain (due to motion) on two of the mounts, instead of being shared by all four.

[moombadaze]

Thanks for that picture Mike, thats what i was looking for.

So far i have always towed it(over 2,000 miles the last year) with the tower up but this last trip the bugs were horrendous and cleanup is a major pain when they are dried on, that was the reason for asking. Might just take the speakers off and put something on the tower to protect it.

[_sT_]

You can get speaker can covers just for those. I suppose there might also be tower wraps, but I've never seen one. I've heard of people using sheet plastic or even saran wrap when they are towing long distances - just wrap everything above the roof of the tow vehicle. Of course that could turn into a pain depending on how often you travel.

I've also read about using Pam cooking spray once the tower is clean to help prevent things from sticking... I can't remember if this found to be a dumb idea or genius - and I haven't tried it myself.

[jclevoy]

A buddy of mine just put a 4-inch tear in one of his seats while putting his tower down for storage. My philosophy is that the less often you have to put the tower down.........THE BETTER!!!

[_sT_]

When I fold my tower down it sits on a pressure treated chunk of lumber on the top of the gunwhale for the few minutes necessary to back into my garage. Once inside, I take a short chunk of ski rope and hang the tower from a bicycle hook in the ceiling to the rope hold on the tower. Keeps the tower off the uphostery, and makes it easy to climb in and out of for off-season work.

[Razzman]

Being as i have to lower the tower each time i put it away i made a 4x4 support with feet that spans the gunwales. Added bunk carpet and the tower rests on this when stowed. Has worked perfect for two years now.

[jclevoy]

I guess that I count myself lucky then. I have a 24x36' Metal-sided building that has a concrete floor and is fully insulated. The best part is that it has a 13' clear ceiling, so it is NEVER necessary for me to lower the tower.

I had the building built for our previous boat that was a 22' pontoon.