Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › Transom saver – motor mounts
tanker4lyfe.
I have always used the lock n stow transom bracket when trailering (against Basscat recommendations). I have had my upper motor mounts break (actually the adapter plate and retainer castings broke) on 250 proxs which Mercury refused to cover under warranty. A friend has had two broken upper mounts- broken just like mine and he also uses the lock n stow. He was told that the broken mounts were due to him not using a traditional transom saver when trailering. Has anyone else experienced this? I was looking at the Lous transom saver, but it seems to support the motor in the same way as the lock n stow.
Lous is different. You want to duplicate the engineering of the usual transom saver. Trailer and transom are locked together by the tie-down straps. Motor is locked to transom via tilt/swivel bracket. You want to take the lower unit, tie it to the trailer, creating what is commonly called “a truss” structure. Not going from the lower unit to the trailer puts ALL the stress of bumps and such directly on the motor mounts, tilt/swivel bracket and transom. Not a good plan, regardless of the commercials you see. Lous goes from trailer roller to the front of the two lower motor mounts rather than to the front of the lower unit 3-4″ lower down. Exactly the same mechanical engineering with the truss, however.Lose the lock and stow. Convenient but also pretty expensive, and it COULD have been worse. A swivel bracket failure will cost about $20,000 to replace the motor when it falls off on the highway.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
It appears that Lous attaches to and supports the motor weight in the same spot the lock n stow does but the other end goes to the roller instead of the transom mount. This seems like it will not change the loading on the upper motor mounts at all. But a lower unit attached transom saver would. I was planning on buying the Lous but I am concerned it may have the same potential issue.
The last mechanic I took my boat to, in Center, TX, the mechanic was very impressed with the Lous transom saver and even asked me for some contact info so that he may be able to sell them. He said that a couple of the local tournament anglers were using the lock and stow type of things and every year he was having to replace their broken motor mounts. Admittedly, they fish Rayburn and Toledo and put their boats through some rough water, but he said since convincing them to change to the traditional transom saver he has not had to relace their motor mounts.Jim EbarbMany, LA (Toledo Bend Lake)2004 Cougar/ 225 OptimaxHumminbird Helix 12 Chirp SI on BalzOut Mount at bowLowrance HDS 7 at bowHumminbird Helix 12 Mega SI on Ram Mount at ConsoleLowrance HDS 8 in dash at console
Lous removes the pressure from the motor mounts.
You are not looking at the structural design correctly. Whether you support at the lower unit, or 6″ higher at the lower motor mount bolt heads, you are still supporting the same structure. The CRITICAL point is that the other end attaches to the trailer. Now the motor is supported at two points to prevent movement. One is the swivel bracket attached to the transom. The other is the Lous going from bottom end of motor to trailer. The final key part is the tie-down straps that lock the boat to the trailer. The “truss” I was talking about.It is not about the point where the support contacts the motor. It is about the point where the OTHER end rests. You do NOT want this contact point to be the swivel bracket. Now you have no truss and those “transom savers” that attack to the swivel bracket offer no support beyond what the hydraulic trim system offers. You are taking a little load off of the hydraulics, but they dont notice that trifling load compared to what they see at WOT.The only benefit of the Lous over the traditional lower unit attachment is that it is (a) easier to install since it simply captures the two lower MM bolts; (b) since it is supporting the motor on both sides, the motor wont tend to turn to one side or the other under tow. And YES, hydraulic steering will slowly leak and allow this, even brand new. Otherwise you could use a normal steering wheel and not have it slowly rotate to the left or right so that it is no longer centered after a trip or two. I elected to go the cheaper route and stick with my motor toter, and use the TH Marine steering clips to keep the motor centered on the hydraulic steering ram. I did sand down the rubber pads about 1/2 way and use a small piece of BCB 24 oz carpet, contact-glued to them, so that I dont get the lower unit scuffing any longer where the pads rest on the L/U paint.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
So what is the best motor saver to use then?
tanker4lyfe wrote:So what is the best motor saver to use then?Lous or the traditional “transom saver.” I switched to a Lous saver once BCB started carrying them in their store.
This topic has just been beat to death for years over on BBC. For every style of support available, there are arguments for, and arguments against, and from some very intelligent individuals, some who seem to have background in engineering. Some have even gone to the extent of following down the road behind and videoing. There is no “best”. I am not an engineer. To me, it makes sense to have some attachment at the trailer, so I have always used the traditional saver as BCB suggests. I now use the Lous, and, if actually no better mechanically, at least there is no turning of the motor while trailering. It seems well constructed.
250 ProXS on 2012 Cougar FTD, which should I get…..the fixed or adjustable?
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