Cucumbers and Onions

I don't know if any of you are familiar with this, um, pickle? Side dish? Concoction? Anyway, I was introduced to it by a good friend a couple years ago. She said you just mix vinegar, sugar, and water to get a 'flavor' that you like, then add sliced cucumbers and onions. Well....mine aren't right. I seem to remember hers being crunchy-ish. Mine are.....floppy. Like, REALLY limp. I ended up doing a mixture that is equal parts vinegar, water, and sugar. I love the flavor, and the onions are nice and crunchy, but the cucumbers are kinda grossing me out. Anyone have a solution? I'd sure love to know what I'm doing wrong. Maybe I'm remembering hers wrong, and mine are actually the way they're supposed to be....hmmm......

Oh, and I made a lot of the 'brine' for only a couple of cucumbers and one onion. She told me I could keep the liquid and just add more cucumbers and onions as needed. Would that affect the cucumbers if there was just too much liquid?

Thanks for any tips!