Trailering clips?

[lrdchaos]

Picked up a new to me boat a couple months ago and it has trailering clips installed. I took them off for a month and the outdrive stayed up and didn’t settle, so are they worth keeping on the tilt cylinders? Do they add stress if you lower the outdrive against them?

 

[Bob_VT]

They are safety protection. NO ONE knows when and if a drive will fall from a hydraulic leak but without a safety it could cost more $$$. It's strictly your choice.

 

[Alumarine]

If you're worried about the stress, put them on but don't lower the drive against them.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Those clips are one of those things that certainly aren't bad, and they would protect the drive if you were on the road and the hydraulics failed. On the other hand, how often do the hydraulics fail? The vast majority (like 99%) of boats I see towed don't have them, and I don't know that I've ever read a first-hand account on iboats of someone whose drive dropped and dragged on the road.

I've considered them at various times, but it seems like just another thing that might be overlooked when launching the boat. If I were to get them, I'd most likely use them mostly on long highway trips.

I honestly don't know if they'd damage the hydraulics if you were to forget them and try to lower the drive. I wonder if maybe the rams would exert enough pressure that they'd pop the clips off, but that's just conjecture.

 

[JimS123]

Its like insurance. If you never had an accident, why did you need it?

Read your owner's manual. Mercury recommends that they be used. Maybe they know more than we do.

When I bought my first I/O I read the manual and then asked the dealer what to do. He didn't know, so I followed the book. 35 years later and still no damage to the outdrive. I always lower the drive down tight on them.

They are only 2 feet away from the drain, so if you forgot to take them off you probably forgot to put the plug in too.

 

[BRICH1260]

I use them when I am towing the boat. Peace of mind, not that much of an inconvenience.

 

[lrdchaos]

I appreciate the feedback. I’ll use them when trailering.