Tote rite vs traditional trailer mounted transom saver

[Bullet21XD]

I was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of advise if the tote rite would help for trailering. I have a 2017 lowe roughneck 1860 and a 60hp fourstroke mercury on the back. I have always used the tilt trim lever, but someone advised me that i needed some sort of other support. I have struggled to find something besides the traditional transom saver, anyone have experience with the tote rite support or another brand and do i need one with a 60 hp motor or will i be fine without it.

You don't really need one. But if you want one, a Tote Rite(ram mount) type would be my choice...just to take weight and vibration off the trim rods and piston.

If you want to cause undue stress and vibration to your transom...use the old style that connects to the trailer. If you're taking any worthwhile weight off the transom with a rod connected to the trailer, you'll just end up breaking rods and causing stress to your transom. When trailering, your boat and trailer are not always moving and flexing in unison. Connecting the 2 via the transom is just a bad idea. With the ram mount type bracket, the motor moves with the boat, not with the trailer.

Consider the stress your transom takes when the boat is under power. It's way more drastic than when trailering.

Also, think of the countless thousands of surface drive users. All we have are steering locks. I don't know of anyone that has had transom issues due to a lack of a "transom saver". Our motors are 300-350lbs.

The old style transom savers are mostly useless. People used them...when that's all that was available. I'd personally never use one again, after using them one several boats, and now using the ram mount type. There's just no comparison...a ram mount type is money better spent. Period.

 

[Tuleman]

You don't really need one. But if you want one, a Tote Rite(ram mount) type would be my choice...just to take weight and vibration off the trim rods and piston.

If you want to cause undue stress and vibration to your transom...use the old style that connects to the trailer. If you're taking any worthwhile weight off the transom with a rod connected to the trailer, you'll just end up breaking rods and causing stress to your transom. When trailering, your boat and trailer are not always moving and flexing in unison. Connecting the 2 via the transom is just a bad idea. With the ram mount type bracket, the motor moves with the boat, not with the trailer.

Consider the stress your transom takes when the boat is under power. It's way more drastic than when trailering.

Also, think of the countless thousands of surface drive users. All we have are steering locks. I don't know of anyone that has had transom issues due to a lack of a "transom saver". Our motors are 300-350lbs.

The old style transom savers are mostly useless. People used them...when that's all that was available. I'd personally never use one again, after using them one several boats, and now using the ram mount type. There's just no comparison...a ram mount type is money better spent. Period.

The traditional transom saver does not "lock" the motor to the trailer; the motor is free to move at three pivot points. The first pivot point is where the saver holds the lower end; it is not a rigid connection, but allows movement of the lower end in relation to the saver. The second, and most critical, point is the motor's mounting bracket that is solidly clamped and/or bolted to the transom. The motor pivots on this bracket. The third pivot point is where the transom saver attaches to the trailer. Any relative movement between boat and trailer is absorbed by these pivoting connections.
These three pivot points allow the motor to move in relation to both the trailer and the boat's hull. That's why this old-style transom saver has worked so well for so many for half a century; the weight of the motor is carried by both the transom AND the trailer.

The ram-type does take the weight off the trim rods and piston, but that's all it does. The weight, movement, and stress on the transom is still there. The old style transom savers are called "transom savers" for good reason. The sharp bouncing and high-frequency vertical stresses from being trailered are not the same stresses that a transom contends with while under way on the water. E.g. the pounding the rear of the boat takes while being trailered are far more severe than what the stern of a boat takes while underway on the water.

Bottom line: if someone is concerned about their boat's transom, an old-style transom saver is the best solution invented to date. If they are worried about the tilt/trim mechanism on the motor, then the ram-style is your answer. Two different devices intended to solve two different problems.

(If you doubt that the ram-type device does little to protect the boat's transom, drive behind a rig equipped with only this device and watch the motor bouncing around (transom flexing) as it is being trailered down a rough road.)

 

[Bullet21XD]

Half of your argument could make sense if the outboard were not equipped with power tilt/trim.

The rest does not.

If there's a a ram style bracket available for your outboard...that's the best option. The others are merely snakeoil.

 

[Tuleman]

If there's a a ram style bracket available for your outboard...that's the best option. The others are merely snakeoil.

I don't disagree with that first sentence, but if you doubt the traditional transom saver works for the outboards NOT equipped with tilt/trim, drive behind a rig not equipped with this and watch the motor bouncing around (transom flexing) as it is being trailered down a rough road.
You may not feel the need for this type of device on your particular rig, but there are many of us who see their usefulness and are happy to use one on ours.

 

[Bullet21XD]

Well, I do agree that if your outboard doesn't have t/t, a traditional transom saver is better than nothing.

 

[Tuleman]

For the rest of you who are still unsure, this explains it better than I can.


I'll say this: if I had an outboard with hydraulics, I'd have BOTH on my rig. (protect my hydraulics AND my transom)


...and actually the device pictured IS a transom saver, as explained in the video.

 

[wingmatt]

To save wear and tear on Power trim unit I insert about a 2" lenght of 4" pvc pipe between motor and transom bracket . Run unit down on it snug. Flexs just enough to absorb shock plus gives a little extra height to lower unit for road hazards. Have tried the transom savers ran back to trailer frame but don,t seem to get much life from them before they break.

I do something similar. A 6-7" pvc pipe, covered with foam pipe insulation. That gives it a little more diameter. Been doing that since I got my 2002 Lowe Roughneck 1760 new. And I have a 50 Yamaha ....