Motor Turns When Trailering

[eyepatrol]

Should I be concerned about the motor turning while trailering? I've got hydraulic steering....could it be low on fluid? It doesn't flop back & forth, just after returning from the 6.5hr drive for the Sturgeon Excursion, the motor had rotated ~20deg.

[Mille Lacs Guy]

A transom saver solves that problem not to mention the fact that the transom saver also is better on the boat and motor when trailering.

[PierBridge]

There should some sort of tensioner on the motor to tighten it up and make it not turn when trailering.

[marine_man]

What do you have for a transom saver? I'm surprised that the saver doesn't hold it in position.

What I've seen is guys bungie their steering wheel into position to hold it, or just turn it to the side before trailering.

marine_man

[Scott M]

BC has a transom saver and uses a bungee....I helped him load it before he left for home.

[eyepatrol]

Yep, I do have a transom saver.

Maybe I'm just driving so fast around corners that the centrifugal force is causing the motor to rotate to help compensate the push my boat is experiencing through the corners? Maybe I need a little wedge adjustment or take a 1/2 pound out of a tire? I do like to pretend I'm running at Darlington from time to time.

On a serious note, I'll try some of these suggestions. One thing I noticed is that the steering wheel, when the motor is in the straight position, is now in the upsidedown position in order for the motor to be straight. It wasn't like that before this trip. Does that give any further indications as to what might be wrong?

[Mille Lacs Guy]

Maybe you could make the motor tighter in the transom saver. For the transom saver to do its job the motor has to fit very snug on the transom saver. If you motor is moving maybe it isn't tight enough. On all of my motors past and present the motor didn't turn as the transom saver was tight enough that it didn't allow it to.

Hope this helps.

[marine_man]

Quote:

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One thing I noticed is that the steering wheel, when the motor is in the straight position, is now in the upsidedown position in order for the motor to be straight. It wasn't like that before this trip.

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Not off hand... I believe that's fairly normal for hydraulic steering. You could be a little low on fluid, but the easiest way to determine that is to turn the steering wheel slowly and make sure that the motor's moving relatively constant while you turn the wheel without any pauses.

marine_man

[fishinbabe]

Just like someone else mentioned on here...we take a bungee and run it through the steering wheel to keep the motor in one spot while traveling.

[dkf]

I have a Swivel-Eze Pro transon saver mounted solid to the trailer frame with a quick release bracket I made. The Pro is adjustable so you can wedge the lower unit between the 4 rubber points and the motor will stay put and not move. The motor sits in snug enough that I wouldn't even need a bungee.

For trim/tilt I put quite a bit of pressure on the transom saver this helps it not move.

[eyepatrol]

Yeah, I put a lot of pressure on it too. Keep'er trimming down until she doesn't move anymore.

I'll have to do some experimenting over the course of the season. Thanks for the replies!

[mnfishman]

There is a guy on hsolist that is selling these things that clip onto your steering rams to keep your motor from turning. I don't know what they cost but I would think you could make them out of PVC pretty easy. Basically you cut a groove in the PVC large enough for the clips to slide over the rams. Then cut them to size to fit on the rams when the motor is straight.