Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I have a bit of a disagreement with my father-in-law on how a boat motor should be adjusted when the pontoon is on the trailer.

He says it should be tilted up yet he can't give me a reason why.

I have always been told that it should be level as to not put extra stress on the transom, especially when in tow.

What do you guys think?

I was told to tilt it up to avoid possible damage to the lower unit from the ups and downs of the road,

right or wrong???

If I am going to refuel I raise and install transom saver. Otherwise I keep it level

On the bowrider trailer with the motor up. The last two toons trailer with them down.

Snider4 wrote:I was told to tilt it up to avoid possible damage to the lower unit from the ups and downs of the road,

right or wrong???

I agree with this statement.
I'm not sure how much the difference is in pressure on the transom if motor is tilted up or level.
If you want to be safe when tilting up, use a transom saver.

up with a transom saver.

even with my i/o, i trailer with outdrive up with support strap.

Down as it puts less force on the transom, my engine is over a foot off the road so no contact is going to be made with the ground

i trailer with it level now this will all depend on what style trailer you have a bunk or a sissor style. with a bunk i have never seen any one trailer with it tilted. when i bought ours i asked the same ? they told me that it is up so high with a bunk that you would have other problembs before the motor hit. now sissor you have to be tilted as the pontoon sits close to the ground. thats just what i have seen

WHEN MY BOAT IS JUST SITTING ON THE TRAILER I PUT THE MOTOR LEVEL- LIKE YOU SAID, LESS STRESS ON TRANSOM, ETC- WHEN I TRAILER THE BOAT I PUT UP ABOUT HALF WAY SO IT DOESN'T HIT ON THE PAVEMENT IF I GO UP A STEEP INCLINE.

Always up when trailering, down while on the trailer and parked. I don't see how raising it is going to increase stress on the transom as you aren't changing the weight by raising the motor...

Besides, with an I/O you have much more weight in the engine pod to counter the drive's weight. An outboard bouncing up and down on a rough road can damage the transom though, so use a transom saver.

I/O doesn't have that much weight, but an outboard tilted forward throws the weight sidewards so it can bounce and twist the transom, which is where the transom savers came from, in the down position the bounce is straight up and down

I have a bunk trailer so I have plenty of clearance even when I'm towing but it just doesn't make any sense to me to have the engine tilted when the boat is parked and sitting on the trailer. If anything, it's more of an obstacle to back into when it's tilted up.

lakerunner wrote:If I am going to refuel I raise and install transom saver. Otherwise I keep it level

What's the reason behind that?

Gotta use a transom saver I think. My motor is less than a foot off the ground when down.

I store it down but tilt it with a transom saver when I am towing.

I think everyone needs to follow behind there own boat when its being towed. up or down they bounce alot my wife was pulling mine and I was riding with a friend and we were behind the wife. I though for sure the motor and transon were coming off the toon a couple of time's. needless to say. will never tow mine without the transon saver in place. its just cheap insurance and piece of mind.