Towing - Leg up/down

[BillP]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

Hey, I'm only posting my opinion...and not trying to convert anyone. I've trailered lots of miles with many different boats and never had transom or motor problems from it. I've got many friends who trailer and they don't have problems. Looking at the rigs on the road shows a very few who use transom savers. If it was such a big problem all boaters would use them...wouldn't they? While I can see the idea behind using transom savers I haven't seen the need for them. <br /><br />Quantumleap, if your trailer and boat doesn't flex while hitting bumps it is a miracle. 99.99% of boats flex and 99.99% of boat trailers flex when traveling down the road hitting bumps. It has nothing to do with how tight the straps are or how old the trailer is.<br /><br />None of this is worth getting up tight about.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

And I've posted my opinion and what I have seen. Maybe it's a regional thing...

 

[MajBach]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

OZ:<br />Have you made a decision yet?

 

[quantumleap]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

Bill-I'll quote you again

Look at how much a boat moves on the trailer while riding

My boat has never shown any noticable signs of movement on the trailer while under way. It ends up in exactly the same place on the bunks, tight against the bow roller and with no slack in any of the tiedowns. You may use a different method of securing your boat or have a different type of trailer(rollers maybe). I have never seen my boat move on the trailer, ever! If I did, I would address the problem. Flexing is one thing, moving around on the trailer is another! <br /> <br />Chinewalker- How in the world would you be able to pinpoint the origin of cracks related to transom stress or delamination?

I've never seen a stress crack develop from towing. I HAVE seen stress cracks develop from actual on-the-water use.

...Do you ride in the boat while towing and in the back seat while boating to inspect your transom? That is one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever heard!

Simply put, the stresses incurred while underway are FAR greater than those anyone is likely to incur while towing. ...

...This is simply your opinion as you have nothing to prove that claim.<br /><br /> This discussion is going down the same road as the oil debate, so I will stop at this point as I feel some of you just like to argue for your own personal entertainment. I agree with Rick, maybe it's a regional thing. (I see lot's of transom rebuilds in the project forum coming from The east coast!) No hard feelings and safe traveling to you guys.

 

[Mettaree]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

Opinions are like rectal openings - everyone has one but they are all different. Me, I prefer to use a transom saver - some don't. That's what this country is all about - Freedom of Choice - for the present: who know knows down the road. <br />God Bless America Land of the Free.<br /><br />

 

[Oldsaltydog]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

Dear MajBach:<br />Many manuals recommend using the factory brace for supporting the outboard while trailering. To me it's obvious that the weight of the motor is going straight down on the transom. My brace is sturdy and the motor never bounces on the road when it's braced. So I will stick with the opinion of factory engineers as well follow my own empirical observation. Thanks for your comments.

 

[POINTER94]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

Hey OZ,<br /><br />It is amazing the number of posts I have seen about a piece of steel that costs less than 75bucks....<br /><br />I will say this, I have never seen anyone state that using one is bad. I hauled a 17foot Larson with a 150hp all over the country. (Literally) Upon installation the rig bounced less. It also provided the ability to have the outboard to be in a 90 degree relationship to the transom when trailering. (No steering lock on that boat) I also felt that taking a load off of the hydraulics was a good thing, and locking it into a central position took a bit of a load off of the steering. (Rack and Pinion)<br /><br />To that end, I also towed it around for four years with nothing and it didn't fall off or create any issues for me either. I just felt more confident with it on.. That alone was worth the 50 bucks I paid for it... <br /><br />I have to add that the last thing I would do is jam a chunk of wood in the crotch of the bracket. Sounds like poor advise to me.... Hit a bump - out it comes - through the windshield of the poor sap behind you.. How's your liability insurance????????

 

[MajBach]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

EBG:<br />Apologies. I guess I misinterpreted your first post. I took 'weight going straight down' to mean the OB in the vertical position. It looks to me now that you meant having the C of G of the motor directly in-line with the transom, i.e. tilted up.

 

[BillP]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

quantumleap, <br />Lighten up dude. Jack one side of your trailer up 6" while attached to your tow vehicle and see how plumb the frame is. Unless your trailer is way oversized it will flex. Hitting road bumps is worse. Ask any trailer mfg if their trailer will absolutely not flex, ever, when towing the rated load.

 

[quantumleap]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

Bill, I said I was done trying to discuss this issue with you as you just want to argue your point into the ground. You also apparently have some problems absorbing what you've just read. I said flexing is one thing, moving around on the trailer is another. Let me explain what that means: That means yes, I agree that trailers flex, but no, my boat does not move around on the trailer while under way. Let it go bud, your constant nitpicking is not what people new to the site are looking for. The are looking for answers to their questions, not wanting to witness a debate on physics.

 

[BillP]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

Back to my opinion why a transom saver may work against the motor...<br /><br />Trailer flex + boat flex = boat movement = boat going one way and trailer going the other way = transom saver going one way and boat motor going the other way = possible damage to motor.

 

[Mettaree]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

Let's stop this - it is starting to get stupid.<br />Please.<br /><br />

 

[BillP]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

Opinions are equal here. Reply (or not) with valid info, not personal attacks or IQ judgements to people you know nothing about.

 

[Forktail]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

Any guess on what ole Forktail uses on his boats that beat up and down the remote dirt and pot hole-filled roads of Alaska and Canada?<br /><br />

 

[kd6nem]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

This much I know- 1. my motor without power tilt & trim bounces like crazy without a transom saver when towed up. 2. Towed down I'd soon lose a skeg and maybe prop. 3. The previous owner let the motor bounce when towing, and the gel coat has tiny cracks from the flexing. 4. I use a transom saver. If I could confidently tow it down I might consider it. But I can't so for me there is no argument- just use the transom saver. Mine has a spring and rubber snubbers in it to absorb most of whatever residual shock there is. It also is tied down to maintain tension even if there is some relative flexing between the motor, boat, and trailer. That relative flexing thing is absolutely the least of my worries and many transom savers are built to compensate for that anyway. Far, far less shock than would be delivered by a bump in the road. Maybe my lack of hydraulics makes that part a moot point anyway.

 

[Forktail]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

Exactly. <br /><br />

Maybe my lack of hydraulics makes that part a moot point anyway.

Not really. Even outboards with hydraulic TT will bounce. And if they do it enough, they will ruin the TT unit. Besides, the transom saver allows you to suck the TT rams all the way into the cylinder while traveling, so road dust and muck doesn't get on them.

 

[ob15]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

Bearcat Powered <br /><br />I have a motor without T&T & use a transom saver no problem. I have one of the fabric tie down straps that I wrap around the lower unit & then to the trailer & tighten it pretty good. It holds the motor very securely (of couse using tie downs for the boat too). I didn't bother to use the bungee cord the transom saver came with because I knew it would hold the motor. I have the saver length set so I have to release the tilt lock and drop the motor just a little bit so it can hang free and then secure it with the strap.

 

[cajun555]

Re: Towing - Leg up/down

After what I saw the other day, I will continue to tow my boat with a TS. This poor guy was towing his boat with motor down and he lost a tire. Could'nt see how much of the LU he ground off but it wasn't pretty.