Do I need trim senders?

beanz2166

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Feb 12, 2013
Messages
85
How important are they? The guy I bought the boat from told me they were bad, but that he has run the boat the last 2 seasons without them. Are they really a necessity to replace?
 

spoilsofwar

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Jun 29, 2011
Messages
1,124
Re: Do I need trim senders?

Not required to run the boat; your trim guage will not work.

They're neccessary to replace if you want to know the position of your drive. Otherwise, not neccessary.
 

coastalrichard

Lieutenant
Joined
Apr 6, 2009
Messages
1,255
Re: Do I need trim senders?

Agree, not a requirement. But, I have a trim indicator on my current rig (OB) and like it alot. I can imagine it's really nice for i/o's.
 

etracer68

Ensign
Joined
Oct 11, 2009
Messages
906
Re: Do I need trim senders?

I trim my OB motor, once im on plane, never really pay any antention to the gage. They are set to best performance. Trim tabs I would think would be set to the performance also. But trimming them both to the up position, when putting on the trailer though. The trim tabs may be more important to know there all the way up before puttin it back on the trailer though.
 
Last edited:

MarkSee

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Sep 10, 2010
Messages
1,172
Re: Do I need trim senders?

deleted-connection issues-it posted twice.
 

MarkSee

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Sep 10, 2010
Messages
1,172
Re: Do I need trim senders?

How important are they?

Since your are referring to the sender as a plural, just want to make sure you understand there is 1 trim "position" sender and 1 trim "limit" sender.

The position sender is what goes to the gauge and the limit sender is what is suppose to limit the amount of travel of the drive before you need to invoke the 'trailer' position function. Running with the drive to high and sucking air will cause damage.

I ran my Maxum with the position sender not reading accurately but I knew where "full down" was (by the sound of the pump) and that I could only trim up safely for about 2-3 seconds when the limit switch kicked in.
When I sold the Maxum, I gave the new owner the sender kit I had bought for installation whenever the time came for servicing the bell housing had to be pulled.

Mark
 

180shabah

Rear Admiral
Joined
Mar 26, 2005
Messages
4,995
Re: Do I need trim senders?

Don't worry about the trim sender - replace the dash guage with something usefull (flowscan, vacuum, oil temp, etc) and never look back. As mentioned above, the trim limit switch is a seperate issue and may need to be dealt with later.
 

Bondo

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
70,464
Re: Do I need trim senders?

How important are they? The guy I bought the boat from told me they were bad, but that he has run the boat the last 2 seasons without them. Are they really a necessity to replace?

Ayuh,.... What motor,..?? What drive,..?? By Whom,..??
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
27,030
Re: Do I need trim senders?

I am in agreement with Bubba. Trim by the feel of the boat.

I also have found the gauges to be unreliable, as the drive will trim linearly, and the gauge moves at different speeds. Of course, the MerCruiserAlpha senders are variable rheostats, open to the water, in my case saltwater.
 

jayhanig

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Messages
836
Re: Do I need trim senders?

Other than a curiosity I can't think of anything as useless as a trim guage. Every time you take your boat out its a fair bet the water conditions are different, your boats load is different, the load is distrubuted differently, etc. Heck, even running one direction on the water and then coming back will be different and all of these differences means you trim out a bit differently and have to do it to fit conditions, not put a needle at a spot on a guage.


I can't disagree more strongly but then again I have a stern drive. I also refer specifically to the times when you're around the dock putting in or pulling out your boat. I can't see my outdrive and I can't hear the sound of the trim motor unless it's really quiet, ie, no other boats running, etc. I just spent a fair amount restoring my trim gauge to operating order and look forward to having the use of it when the water warms up enough for me to use it.

Cruising... yeah, there I would say it's not much use and you'd do better to trim according to what the boat is doing. But when I've just floated the boat off the trailer, the boat is doing nothing no matter in what position the outdrive finds itself. I need to know the prop is in the water before I start the engine. Maybe if the trim worked faster I could guess but mine's slow and doesn't rush to do things.
 

bruceb58

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Messages
30,454
Re: Do I need trim senders?

I fixed my sender once when I bought my boat because I never had one before. I will never replace it again. Its not needed.
 

tinkerguy70

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 12, 2012
Messages
190
Re: Do I need trim senders?

Mine never has worked and I have no intention of fixing it. I think it's wasted gauge space myself.
As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to get a bottom sounder and put the display in that hole.

My opinion, your mileage may vary.
 

smokeonthewater

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
9,838
Re: Do I need trim senders?

as you can see you will have to decide for yourself.... no you don't need it but yes you MAY want it.... I very much like mine for deciding how high to trim for easing into shallow water or beaching... I also appreciate it for trimming my twins the same amount
 
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