Transom saver

[baz]

Jim:

I've only trailered one RT boat: the R21 EC.... and of course it did not have an outboard motor included.

My last post about the R25/OB that you will have delivered shortly, is IMO, better off with regards to the issue(s) raised in this thread.

Having said that I would say that so long as the OB is secured to the boat without there being and chance it wobbles on its mounting bracket, the boat is secured firmly to the bunks, and the OB is not allowed to sway or wobble about during trailering, you should be OK. To check or to ensure these aspects are being adhered to then periodic checking straps, and looking for possible boat movement on the bunks due to the trailering periods would be a good thing to check for.

I've also reached out to other members that I know have been trailering boats with OBs to invite them to enter the discussion here and provide their inputs for us.

RT has been in business for a long time and their owners have been designing boats of many styles over the years, and because of this they surely have some good advice to share with us. So getting advice from RT about this issue should benefit you for trailering your R25/OB.

As an aside, you've trailered 1000s of miles around the USA with inboard engine boats, and likely had a dinghy installed on the swim step. During this period of trailering, did you ever see any evidence of swim step cracking, gelcoat crazing, etc around the transom areas?

 

[Kimberly Dawn]

Jim,

I'm a believer in "bigger is better" and "more conservative is better than less"... I suspect you are too.

That said, I kept The Doghouse 2 (R27-OB, 300hp Suzuki) on a trailer, unlike you, most of my trailering was within a 100 miles from our house. I religiously used the tubes to seat lower unit on to the motor bracket. I did not use a transom saver.

I received our boat with signs of stress cracks at the swimstep-to-transom" both sides, and RT stepped up to fix them... several times.

I can also say that when BB_Marine talks, I listen!

Good luck finding what you need... I've jumped to your previous style... an R29S... no transom saver for me.

Bob
Kimberly Dawn

 

[BB marine]

There are many transom savers out there that will work. The difference in weight when trailering between a 150 hp Yamaha and a 300 hp is 73 lbs. The Yamaha 150 hp and 200 hp is 489lbs and a 250hp and 300hp is 562 lbs. I think a rating of HP for a transom saver is a poor way of rating. So use a transom saver that doesn't have a rating. Look at the SHORELAND'R Adjustable Transom Saver 45" to 58" #6133300. I have used many different manufactures transom savers over the years. I liked using tubular Pipe over box steel or aluminum. The weak link is the cross member bracket. I never liked using the roller bracket mount. I have made my own bracket out of stainless 2" angle. This bracket would be 4" long and I cut a key hole in the center to match the key hole in the bracket that came with the transom saver assembly. I drill (2) 3/8" holes in the Stainless steel bracket for mounting bolts. Use a good grade 3/8 stainless steel bolts with washers and lock nuts to mount the bracket to the trailer cross member . I mount the bracket to the bottom of the cross member. Using this homemade bracket over the supplied bracket gave me comfort that this bracket would not bend or break as I traveled down the road. When setting up the Transom Saver to the engine I tried to keep the engine in a position as low as possible but maintaining enough ground clearance for the worst incline that I would encounter. On a 23' 25' or 27' Ranger that would not be hard to do because the boats sit high enough on the trailer. It is rare to find a bolt on item that does not require some type of modification to work properly. In some cases I have made custom transom savers for engine support. I had a 23' tri-toon with a 150hp mercury 4 stroke that I had to get creative. I made a custom transom saver for it. When set up properly the boat and motor are supported well on the trailer. Does everything move a little? Yes ! The object is to have the complete hull and engine engine supported by the trailer as it travels down the road. There is flex in an aluminum trailer but it is always supporting the load..

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Thanks Brian for the information, very helpful…..I’ll look into this. Barry, I did trailer with the dinghy attached to the swimplatform, however it only weighed 80 lbs or so and I placed the outboard into the truck bed. Never had any stress marks on the gel coat from this….on the 27 or 29.

Jim F

 

[KKRCRACE]

Brian, I am going to build one that I think you will like. It will be strong but not heavy and perhaps made from Chrome Moly tubing because that is what we use on our race cars and I have it in stock. I am going to put a dampener on the trailer end to absorb some of the vibration and movement between the the two points. It will be a couple of weeks before I can work on it. I don’t know how to post photos but maybe I will put it on my website.
KKRCRACE

 

[baz]

Jim: The OB engines are attached with bolts to the transom platform's bracket. I'm sure these are torqued correctly by RT prior to delivery. However, checking these bolts for correct torquing is a prudent thing to check before and after and possibly during trailering. All metals (especially metal bolts) undergo compression and tension that leads to metal fatigue and eventual failure. You may wonder why some airplanes have a useful life of around 20 to 30 years before they need extensive overhauls. The repetitive takeoff & landing places severe compression and tension on the airplane's metals at all points within the airplanes flexible structure. Metal fatigue is a real challenge for engineers to deal with. Now, today carbon fiber and other plastics are commonly used and their fatigue issue is still under close examination. When an aircraft takes off and lands the wing's distributed forces will suddenly get 'loaded' and 'unloaded' and their tips will move some 10 to 20 feet as these loads occur. Think compression & tension on the metal wing parts... 😱 When you next fly on an aircraft look outside at the upper surface of the wing and you just might see the skins ripple slightly. :roll:

If it were me, I'd replace all the OB's securing bolts for the transom plate every 5 to 10 yrs. This should be an easy service when having the engine serviced.

For my inboard RT models I've had, the engine mounting plates/bolts to the stringers have all rusted to some degree, and this would eventually weaken their holding capability. Replacing them would be a chore, but is doable.

I suspect the OB's transom platform bracket will need periodic inspection for corrosion, along with bolt holding capacity.

Every component on a boat has a limited life span, and each will be different from one another.

 

[CruisingElvinRay]

I’m at 6000+ miles on my trailer and R-23 in 11 months, no signs of stress on the pod or transom.


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