Transom saver alternative

I have been carrying my 7.5 Mercury in the back of my pickup to avoid bouncing down the road. This motor is old, and it doesn't tilt up currently. I can get it fixed but haven't done so yet.
My question is, if I leave the motor in the down position on the boat and strap the heck out of it should it be okay for transport?
I have traveled with the motor on the boat and it bounces quite a bit. Is this possibly damaging the transom? I dont think this bouncing is damaging the motor.
Does a transom saver only work when the motor is tilted in the up position?
Are there negatives to having a transom saver?

No negatives to a TS.

Do you have a safety chain or cable to hook your motor to the boat in case it falls off in the lake or on the road?

You should be fine to transport your motor on your boat in the down position if your transom is in good shape, just bungee the snot out of it.

jigngrub said:

No negatives to a TS.

Do you have a safety chain or cable to hook your motor to the boat in case it falls off in the lake or on the road?

I havent used one, but I have a cable and lock that I can use.

You should be fine to transport your motor on your boat in the down position if your transom is in good shape, just bungee the snot out of it.

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When I look in the rear view my motor is bobbin' and bouncin' pretty good...if I bungee the heck out of it, the bouncing wont damage either the motor or the transom?

If your roads are as bumpy as ours leave the motor in your truck. Wether the motor is tied down or not you still have that extra stress hanging off the back of the ransom when you hit potholes ect. I learned first hand

Loggerhead Mike said:

If your roads are as bumpy as ours leave the motor in your truck. Wether the motor is tied down or not you still have that extra stress hanging off the back of the ransom when you hit potholes ect. I learned first hand

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We are driving over an hour into the mountains, the roads shouldn't be too bad. I'm gonna try it on the boat, I have it strapped down pretty good...I'll have my eye on it in the rear view mirror. It just doesn't seem like I should have to remove it every time, the bouncing in the mirror makes me nervous, but I've got to give it another shot...fingers crossed

sirbeigealot said:

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When I look in the rear view my motor is bobbin' and bouncin' pretty good...if I bungee the heck out of it, the bouncing wont damage either the motor or the transom?[/quote]

How bad does it bounce around in the bed of your truck? How bad does it bounce around on the water?

You never did answer my question about what kind of shape your transom is in, has it been replaced or checked recently? Since it's just a little 7.5 hp. I don't see the harm in letting it ride on the transom if your transom is sound.

Now if you're afraid of it coming off of the boat while towing that's another thing, and even a transom saver won't help you there.

skip the bungees and get a couple ratchet straps.

My old boat had a 40hp Merc on it and the tilt mechanism was screwed up. I just left it down and put a cam lock strap on it to keep it from moving. Worked great!!

BassBlaster said:

I just left it down and put a cam lock strap on it to keep it from moving. Worked great!!

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Agreed, but if the skeg hangs a little low in the down position, you may be able to raise the motor, put a 2X4 in between it and the transom then strap it down. If you make the 2X4 a foot or so long, it should spread the stress on the transom also...

Should be fine in the down position. The motor doesn't weigh that much (I'm assuming). I trailer my boat with a 25HP on the transom, motor down. I put a strap around the lower unit attached to the trailer to keep the motor from bouncing up and down.

I use transom savers on both boats.

My main issue is s clearance issue backing boat into and out of the driveway due to a severe dip.

The roads here suck too!