www.iFourWinns.com

I use it but after doing so I pull all of the blue plugs. Then I pull the top hose from the circulating pump and pour a little antifreeze in there just in case there is some stubborn water stuck in there due a blockage. I leave the blue plugs out all winter so that the system can drain in the event there are leftover water droplets that need somewhere to expand to.

I used to fill with green stuff using the bottle that Lou hates, but only AFTER going through the draining process described above and then replacing the blue plugs before running with the antifreeze in the bottle. After a few years I decided it was overkill. This will be the 4th straight year I've gone with a "dry" winterization.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

Glad to hear that the one point drain works at least in fresh water areas because that is very convenient. Here in the salt pond, you always have clogging in the block or manifold drains because of rust flakes so I would not trust it.
About removing the drive, its easy (usually) to remove as long as it was removed on some regular basis. Its getting it back ON that can be tricky. You have to try to get it at the right height relative to the pivot housing (bell housing) and then try to keep the driveshaft and ujoints straight while you guide the driveshaft in. I have a stand I got from Stumpy's Fab Works (google him, he's somewhere in the Midwest) and it works great, height adjustable and nice casters to roll it.
With Volvos and OMCs, there is no way to grease the driveshaft splines except removal (Merc has a grease fitting if you can get at it). At the end of one season I can tell you there is not much fresh grease left on those splines. Over time it will wear both the driveshaft and the coupler splines. Then there's the issue of making sure the gimble and u-joints are OK. If they fail at speed it would not be good.....
Regular drive removal/inspection will make the coupler last longer cause you can check alignment and grease splines and will allow you to find problems while they are still small....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Just picked up the drive jack/stand from Stumpy's this year.

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-Tony
2016 Robalo R200 w/Yahama 200!

Previous boats:
2003 Four Winns 248 Vista - sold
1994 Sunbird Corsair 200 - sold
1980 Checkmate Predictor - sold

Does anyone put their trailer on blocks over winter or just keep them inflated? The tires will be covered for UV.

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Joe
2007 Four Winns H200, MC 4.3mpi
2008 Hurricane GS202 (sold)

When I put mine away, it is locked up until March. I can't get to it or check on it. Last winter I worried about possible air pressure loss in tires over the cold winter. It made me nervous that the trailer could lower and put pressure on the outdrive since I stored it with the drive down to protect the bellows. This winter, I think I'm going to throw some jack stands under the trailer so that I don't have to worry. Trailer tires were perfect when I picked it up on spring, so there was really nothing to worry about, but I figure better safe than sorry.

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Seth




2005 210 Horizon
5.0L GXi
"Don't Think Twice"

I typically jack the trailer up and block it. I figure I can evenly distribute the weight, keep pressure off of the tires and springs. Been storing it that way for the past few years.

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-Tony
2016 Robalo R200 w/Yahama 200!

Previous boats:
2003 Four Winns 248 Vista - sold
1994 Sunbird Corsair 200 - sold
1980 Checkmate Predictor - sold

Yep, we put ours on jack stands for the winter as well..

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2004 Four Winns 328 Vista
1997 Larson Cabrio 290 - sold
1988 Rinker Fiesta Vee 248 - sold

I did that one year but not since and have seen no reason to.

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

For me, I have a LOT of weight sitting in one spot for 5 months, just trying to extend tire life a bit, by not having tires getting flat sided.. Shouldn't be as big a deal on radials, but it sure doesn't hurt anything to do it either..

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2004 Four Winns 328 Vista
1997 Larson Cabrio 290 - sold
1988 Rinker Fiesta Vee 248 - sold

Given the expected life of trailer tires , I'm thinking they need all the help they can get.

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Joe
2007 Four Winns H200, MC 4.3mpi
2008 Hurricane GS202 (sold)

I have never jacked mine up and never had a problem with the tires. I've used the Kenda Load Star bias tires and they hold up better than most other brands. Even though people seem to like radials better, keep in mind that most trailer tires are made in countries that don't have the best quality control and therefore I think you might have better luck with an easier to build bias ply tire. We had the same problem with auto tires when our companies started building them. Their bias tire experience and equipment was too primitive for radial technology and there were a lot of issues.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I never realized how much stress/torque the tires are subjected to until I got an electric trailer dolly (same model as shown below) and could see what the trailer tires on a tandem axel were doing as I made sharp turns to get the boat parked in my garage. Handy tool for a narrow garage opening that sits perpendicular to a narrow driveway! But now I swing as wide as I can manage.

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Joe
2007 Four Winns H200, MC 4.3mpi
2008 Hurricane GS202 (sold)

That is the one scenario where a single axle trailer can be preferable to a tandem, with a single you can easily pivot it with no stress on the tires.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II