I see pictures of folks with their outboards layed over to the side and tilted all the way up, and also centered and tilted up slightly. Which way is recommended and why?

All the way up and turnned to the side means least stress on the transom... You gan get a brace that fits between the trailer and skeg to help a bit, but it doesn't fit every trailer. It certainly doesn't fit my old piece of cr@p caulkins.

Dan

Not to intrude on your post, but a consern i have, what about carb floats bouncing around on bumpy dirt roads for long periods of time? would keeping gas in the the bowles coushion the floats, had a float stick one time after driving 80 miles on a dirt road, first time it had happened, and have not had it happen under normal road conditions? the motor was run out of gas befor the trip, Doug

Hey-
I actually take mine off and lay it in the truck on the throttle/handle side (I use a a rope or bungee to keep it from sliding around).

A boat mechanic said that laying it on the throttle handle side does a couple things: It keeps any water from the lower unit from running up into the housing and engine etc. AND the slight tilt also helps keep your floats from sticking (It depends on the make and model though).

I take mine off because my transom is Fiberglass and the spot I had to mount it is fairly thin (I used a backer plate inside the hull) If you've ever seen those things bouncing on the back of a boat going sixty......You may want to consider removing it if you dont have a really stout factory or after-market mount.
I actually saw an outboard fall off of a guys boat on the road that parallels the Cowlitz between Blue creek and Barrier. It was heart breaking to see that brand new 9.9 bounce along the road surface, shedding parts and pieces......
Those trailer supports (as mentioned above) work good enough if you can get one to fit your trailer.


Phreak

If you have the clearance (most sleds will), trailer with your kicker down. That position is more stable and it will never fall down.

I have an OMC bracket and travel with the motor down and the bracket down, seems to be the most stable of the positions I tried.

Doubletake

DL,

The safest way to position your OB is to first raise it, centered.

If you don't have a support bar built in on the motor, I suggest s stout dowl about 18" long. Place it between the motor and the mount near the pivot. Lower the motor down to that bar (or dowel) and then secure it snug.

It isn't all the way down, where your scag could drag on a curb or driveway edge...it isn't all the way up, bouncing up and down on its mount.

In our boat I also use a bungee to secure the steering wheel in the centered position, insuring that the motor won't tilt over to once side or the other. It also centers the weight of the OB on the trailer.

I've been pulling boats behind trucks, etc. for close to 30 years now, including a couple hundred from my dads boat shop when I was 18-20. This was always a proven way to safely secure the OB from bouncing (bad for your transom) and from scraping the asphalt leaving driveways.

Mis Dos Centavos...

Mike B

If you can trailer your motor down and in reverse(reverse keeps it from bouncing around). Allot less stress on the transom of your boat. If you cannot trailer it down use a transome saver and empty the carbs bofore towing...

I never empty the carb's until it's gonna sit for a while,never have had a problem with the float's sticking.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

I used bungee cords and braces but until recently, I didn't know that you should use the "lock" in position lever (that is on my Johnson 6 hp kicker). I have the heavy duty OMC lift-assist bracket and trailer with the bracket up and the motor down (unless it's a long trip when i take the motor off and put it in my 4Runner.

I weld and fabricate things all the time, so what I do is not really fair, but I build transom savers that work on any boat/trailer combination that I own, real cheap and quick to disconnect and work slick. With this thing I suffer no ill effect on my boat or motor from trailering. I weld most of my trailer hitches too - like I said, not fair huh :p