I plan on hauling my 2009 Gem E2 on an open flat bed trailer behind my motorcoach. The gem has hard doors so is completely enclosed. Since the Gem will basically be a bubble which I’ll be hauling at 75 to 80 mph on the interstate, what kind of precautions should I take to protect the vehicle from any damage that could be caused by wind resistance?
I had mine in the back of my pickup for 6 hours at 75+ without any issues, that had the soft rear window and canvas doors, no issues.
I think you should be fine. I think the GEM will be tucked in out of the wind so I don’t think the wind will have any ill effects on it like if it was being towed behind and small car or truck where it gets more of the 60 Mph direct wind.
Only think I worry about when ever I tow is the front window, if that breaks that s a $500+ fix
[QUOTE=IssaquahWA1979;29988]I had mine in the back of my pickup for 6 hours at 75+ without any issues, that had the soft rear window and canvas doors, no issues.
Thanks for the info.
I tow mine on a flatbed trailer behind my class A motorhome all the time with no trouble. It also has hard doors. It has to face forward on the trailer. Make sure it is tied down front and rear and sometimes side to side because they do bounce around on the trailer. Check the tie downs at each break or more often. I know I’m a safety freak, but I’m also cheap and can’t afford to lose anything. Happy trails to you (Roy Rogers and Dale Evans). Barry
Thanks for the info Barry.
Barry, Another couple of questions come to mind, since you’ve had experience with this.
- I’ll be hauling this on the interstate and generally drive 75-80 mph, sometimes 85 when passing. Do you think driving at those speeds will be an issue?
- Do you usually leave the GEM windows up or down? The manual suggests down.
- It sounds like you leave the doors attached. Since the doors can easily be removed, I was just wondering if it would be better to remove them. Any thoughts on that?
Thanks again for your info!
In the areas that I drive you can’t legally drive over 55mph while pulling a trailer. Since I do follow the law I don’t have any experience at driving as fast as you want to go. I do think that I read somewhere that it shouldn’t be towed faster than 65mph. I do tow it with the windows up because I’m afraid that the rear window will be blown out. Since I’m not a physicist I might be wrong and the rear window might be sucked out to the rear if you don’t put the side windows down as recommended in the manual. But since it’s Polaris now telling us this information, what do they know (nothing)? Also if you leave the windows open while pulling it behind an rv it gets absolutely filthy! If it rains and the windows are down OMG what a mess! Also I have heard that if you remove the doors that they might warp and not fit properly unless you store them hanging from their hinges in the same angle as though they are still on the car.
Just curious if you have ever tried transporting it with a cover on, I am thinking about doing that and using some bungee cords to make sure there are no “flap zones”
I have towed it with a cover. My cover is a double thickness, insulated with a very strong elastic bottom. It fits so tightly and the elastic bottom is very hard to put on. I can’t tell you what was going on behind me because I don’t have a rear view camera on my rv. However, I haven’t had anyone drive up next to me honking, wildly waving their arms, pointing to the rear, mouthing some obscenity, that the cover was flying off. But then it is difficult to take it off once it’s on. If I were you I would I put a ratcheting strap around the middle around the whole car. That way if it has a catastrophic bungee failure it would still be there when you stop. (I love it, a catastrophic bungee failure, lol).
I’ve towed over 10,000 miles at the speed limit with the windows up and no problems. I would not want to risk a cover rubbing on the Gem Car.
