www.iFourWinns.com

For those of you that trailer your boat do you use these sterndrive supports or are they not necessary?

http://www.boatersoutlet.com/index.asp? ... rodID=1313

Maybe it's just extra peace of mind. Just wondering what ya'll do.

Thank you,

David

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2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB

Only if you are driving down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to get to your launch site

They are cheap enough

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Jeff

2006 Four Winns Yellow Horizon 30th Anniversary 200 SS
2005 Nissan Titan Crew Cab
2004 Ford F-150 Lariat

http://www.seabrook-services.com

Right, really I should have specified on long trips. For local I probably wouldn't make it a habit to use them either. Plus not having a remote at the rear of the boat to control the outdrive it may be somewhat of a pain to use. I'm assuming you want to lower the drive onto them after their snapped in place. This takes the tension off the hydrolics and keeps the supports from just falling off. Are these standard practice/use with those of you that trailer for any considerable amount of distance?

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2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB

I can't boat without trailering long distances, and I've never used anything like that. That's not to say that I just haven't learned the hard way yet, but I see a lot of boats on the highway and very few of them (other than outboards) have any kind of support.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

So glad you brought this up, when I drive to the US to pick up my boat I wanted to have some support on the drive but couldn't figure out what was available for protection. I knew you could get supports for outboards and I have seen protectors for backhoe front buckets but I couldn't find results googling OutDrive Supports.
So I guess they are called Trailering Clips? There seems to be little to no talk of this product; has no-one ever blown out the ram seals or hoses on long distance trailering? Hate to think what the drive would look like if it ever fell on the highway
Cheap enough to have one less thing to worry about.

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2008 Four Winns 210 5.7 GI/SX
2007 GMC Sierra 2500 Crew
1966 Fed-Up Wife

Your right the supports are cheap, so probably what I'll do is just get a pair and mainly use them for additional support on those longer trips.

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2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB

I had them on my old H200. Here's my thoughts. The only benefit I see that they serve is if there was a sudden failure of the hydraulics which would cause your drive to fall down. Otherwise, they don't provide any support when you put them on because they are loose on the hydraulic shafts unless you deliberately lower the drive some to remove the play. Doing that seems to put stress on the hydraulics that it wasn't intended to have, i.e., you're essentially squishing those things. Plus, I forgot to take them off once and when I tried to lower the drive I obviously couldn't. Pulled the boat out of the water and low and behold the drive didn't want to go back up that 1/4 inch and they were stuck! Had to almost break them off. Just my .02.

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Former owner of:
1996 Four Winns Horizon 200 5.8L VP
2006 Four Winns Horizon 260 8.1L VP
2007 Sea Ray 290 Sundancer

Current boat
2004 Sea Ray 290 Sun Sport Twin 350 Mags

Seems like this may be more trouble then it's worth. I guess another way to look at it is if the manufacturer required it, the would have been included in the sale. May be overthinking it, which I can do from time to time. Being a new boat I just want to make sure I do all I can to make it last and take good care. Thanks again everyone.

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2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB

My last boat was trailered all over down dirt Ozark roads for 7 years, and never had a hydraulic leak problem. I have looked into getting a set of these, but haven't justified them, nor seen anyone else using them.

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

Yep. Would be a pain with no rear mounted trim switch.
Would be a little more peace of mind for long trips though.

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H210SS 6.2
F150 Platinum

I don't know how they attach, but if there's the slightest chance of scratching the cylinder rods, I wouldn't even consider them.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

IMO Trailering supports are really designed for outboards, where you are pivoting the entire combined weight of the engine and leg at the top of the transom. Without this support, you can crack your transom and almost certainly will on rough roads. (Think about how much a complete V6 outboard weighs and how much it bounces around..!) With a stern drive, all you are pivoting is the leg itself (maybe a couple of hundred pounds). The engine is fixed to the hull of the boat, not the transom. The leg also pivots well down the transom (versus the O/B pivoting right at the top) so there is plenty of strength there.

I have hauled my boat thousands of miles on some pretty ordinary "roads" here in Australia - they have the cheek to call them Highways - and do not use a trailer support at all (although I always did when I had an O/B). I have never had a problem and see no cracks etc. at all, and believe me, I am a bit of an old woman so I do check often as I store my boat in my garage...

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Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

+1 to Aussie Horizon- For outbourds yes ,sterndrives your wasting your money
IMHO
Ardy
South Oz

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Ardy
Adelaide South Australia
Red H180 3.0 Merc

+2 what aussie said, the engine supports the weight of an IO...

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Guns kill people like spoons make people fat.
2007 Horizon 190 Gxi
97 Pathfinder SE 4x4
73 International Scout II

Oh Yea, when its explained like that - it makes sense.

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2008 Four Winns 210 5.7 GI/SX
2007 GMC Sierra 2500 Crew
1966 Fed-Up Wife