Trim Cylinder Lock Up
 

Hey everybody, those poly clips that snap on to the piston rod on the trim cylinders on the outdrive, are they necessary on a bravo 1. I was told not to use them along time ago but my friends think I'm crazy for not using them. What is best?

They're not necessary on any outdrive, but some people like them. They don't hurt anything and if you are the one in a million guy who loses a trim pump checkvalve or blow a ram hose while trailering, you'll be glad you used them.

Bottom line is that your drive in the trailer position places the entire weight of the drive on the hydraulics. If you tied a rope around the propshaft, it would probably take 130 pounds of pulling force to lift the drive to trailer position (assuming the rams were disconnected). While this is a notable load, be aware that a 400 horsepower engine turning a 21 pitch prop will pull with somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 pounds of thrust (I'm kind of dragging a number out of the air). You'll see that the hydraulics, the lines, the check valves, etc. are basically doing nothing when sitting around with the drive trimmed up...

They're cheap. If you like using them, go for it. If you're wondering if you need them, I say no.