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Posts: 200
Location: Milwaukee, WI | Picking up a new Lund in a few weeks with a 115 Merc pro xs. What is a good solid transom saver.? I noticed with my last one the motor still wobbled a bit from side to side. |
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Posts: 199
| You would think it would come with a good one. |
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Posts: 860
Location: NE Ohio | i've used "the wedge" for 3 years now on my merc 150 4 stroke and has done well, no problems. just cut to length of the desired trailering height you want. made out of a hard rubber compound. didn't like any of the options for motor toters that worked with the shorelander trailer.
if your worried about the motor tilting side to side i got the snap on rubber clips that go over the hydraulic steering rods that stop any movement there.
Edited by pklingen 3/14/2020 7:39 PM
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Posts: 199
Location: Downers Grove, IL | I have both the Wedge and hard rubber clip things that slide onto the steering rods, as mentioned above. No issues and keeps the motor centered while traveling. |
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Posts: 596
Location: Duluth | Get the wedge, trim on my jet boat used to get beat up until I started using this thing. Got the idea from my budd who uses it for his 17 Lund Crossover with 115 4-stroke. |
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Posts: 426
| Just picked up my Lund 1775 Impact w/115 Merc pro and a 9.9 kicker and a galvanized
Shore Lander trailer. The trailer has a rear roller on it now that makes the motor toter practical now. My dealer recommended that I use my motor toters on both motors. Not the Wedge. I guess it depends on who you talk to as what is the best. I've used motor toters for over 25 yrs with no trim or seal problems ever. I'm not going to change what works for me. Good Luck!!
Edited by 7ovr50 3/15/2020 11:54 AM
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Posts: 558
| I used a wedge for 5 years and over time I guess I was putting to much pressure down onto the wedge and a seal started to leak because of it. After that I switched over to a motor toter. No problems anymore. |
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Posts: 480
Location: Northern Illinois | FishHateMe - 3/15/2020 6:07 AM
I have both the Wedge and hard rubber clip things that slide onto the steering rods, as mentioned above. No issues and keeps the motor centered while traveling.
I like this ^^^. I never liked the idea of trying to attach the motor to the trailer with a toter. The real reason for tilting and supporting the motor in my mind is to shift the center of gravity of the motor over the transom and lift the lower unit out of harms way. |
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Posts: 3472
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
The center of gravity is at it's best location with the motor completely down. When you extend the lower unit back and away from the transom, you are essentially moving the center of gravity away from the transom. This is why you see motors that are not supported with a support bounce so much, which is hard on the transom itself.
On most fiberglass boats, the transom area for the main motor is fairly small and the side supports run well up and through the main portion of the hull along the stringers. With a small transom, it becomes very very strong. As such, the transoms can handle more weight and use of a wedge or other support like the E-tecs have will do just fine. The key is putting a little downward pressure so the motor does not bounce, while keeping the lower unit up and off the ground so you don't damage your motor on the road surface.
with Aluminum boats, though...the transom designs are much different and in many cases run the entire width of the rear of the boat. Depending on design, there may be some support that runs forward, but in most cases, there is a sandwiched composite between aluminum or in many cases a solid wood transom. Below that "board" so to speak there is a major space of aluminum only, which is why unsupported motors may have a more of a tendency to bounce significantly, and over time, has the potential to literally bend the transom back without support. In these cases, I would be more apt to run a trailer mounted transom support rather than a wedge due to the ability for the transom to flex more. Even the motor with a wedge will bounce on aluminum a bit...
Granted these transoms are built very very well, and if you get a chance, turn and watch your motor as you go through some choppy water...lots of bounce going on there as well.
Regardless, strapping the motor somehow for travel saves the transom...Aluminum boats especially...
Steve
Edited by VMS 3/16/2020 7:33 PM
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Posts: 480
Location: Northern Illinois | Steve I am a little confused as to how moving the power head, which has most of the weight of the motor, directly over the transom is worse for the transom. This moves the downward force forward directly over the transom minimizing its effect. Thanks. |
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Posts: 1126
Location: Minnesota. | I've just used a 14" long 2x6 with two holes bored into it approx. 2" deep and trim the motor (2012 Yamaha 150-4 stroker) down to gently clamp for travelling. No issues at all on a Ranger Z118.
I did the very same thing on my '97 Ranger 681 VS w/a 115 HP Yamaha on the arse end...15 yrs, zero troubles! |
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Posts: 104
| I run an extreme max transom saver on my Lund. It has a tab that fits on the bottom of the trailer for the saver to mount in to. The Lund dealer where I bought my boat at starting installing them on all of his new boats. It works great.
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Posts: 3472
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
The lower unit down at at the prop is quite heavy overall...not as heavy as the powerhead, but since the gearing at the lower unit is some 20 to 25 inches down below the pivot point, the weight adds up tremendously quick when the motor is not supported. It would create a substantial amount of stress at the lowest point of the transom bracket on the motor when the motor is not supported while traveling down the road. Think of putting a weight at the end of a yard stick as compared to up by your hand. The further the weight is away from the pivot point, the harder it is to hold...now think of adding a little bounce to that going down the road. This is essentially what all of the savers are designed to do, all while keeping the motor tilted less than full tilt using a full-tilt lock like the old mercury engines had for trailering.
Steve
Edited by VMS 3/19/2020 9:34 PM
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Posts: 93
| The idea behind the My Wedge product is to save your hydraulics (seals mostly) from attrition due to the vibration and movement of driving down the road while on the trailer. Since the engine is dormant and not in use at this time, why not take any attrition out of the picture.
My Wedge is a "user installed" product thus a dealer has no use for it. They can't markup per resale or charge for installation. Thus some dealers "recommend" a transom saver as it is easy money.
If you are concerned about the transoms ability to handle the torsion applied from the engine while on the trailer, you bought the wrong boat. The forces applied during acceleration are much greater when operating the boat.
But, it's your money. |
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Posts: 480
Location: Northern Illinois | I use the My Wedge also but it does more than save hydraulics. In cases of severe grade change such as steep driveways or ramps, it protects the lower unit from contact with pavement. |
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Posts: 1209
| Extreme max from Amazon. Great product |
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