https://www.boatus.com/magazine/trailering/2012/march/transom-saver.asp

This was interesting.

from what I have seen all new skeeters are coming with the pro rule style transom saver that's got to say something I would think. but who knows.

Motormate. Feel like it stopped any side to side motion.

It doesn�t save your transom. It saves your tilt and trim unit. Your transom would be fone without one. As far as someone�s comparison to it in water and the angle, etc. in the water you have the force of 250HP pushing and pulling a 2000 lb plus boat connected in what 2 sq ft area of the transom? Think about that a wh
Probably the worst one you could use is the old style because all the pressure would be applied to the lower unit. Fact is they have been used forever and i have never heard of one breaking a motor, just hypothetical guesses of what it could do to one. The fact that there have been boats out there with it in use for 30 plus years should dispel that theory but it lives on.

This!

So y�alls motors never get side to side motion running across the lake at 70 bouncing on waves?

On boats today, the transom should be the absolute strongest part of your boat. All you need to do is stabilize your motor as much as possible when trailering. I used a Swivil-Eze for years until the MotorMate came out. If your transom fails because of the type �transom saver� you were using, it most likely was going to fail anyway.

Have one, no problems. I will however challenge you to think about this a little... on a choppy day and you're traveling 60mph plus with your boat, how steady do you think that motor is? Are we overthinking this topic a little? One would think these boats were built to be able to handle this. Just saying.

Your going to get both sides to tell one is better than the other, motor mate style or old saver style. FWIW I agree with Pete, get the one that connects to the trailer roller.

So the trailer doesn�t flex either?

The Pro Rule that Pete is using does not connect to trailer.

The owner of Johnson Fiberglass told me to go back to the old style. He said you cannot usually see the damage the new style toters do to transons until it is too late. Just like OP guessed the new style ones do nothing to take the pressure off the transom and the old style ones put the weight on the trailer.
After he showed me how it loosened the metal stringers( which or molded into the bottom) on a Ranger just like mine I was a believer.
But like he said people that don�t do it make him a lot of money!

Boats on the water have a pretty good amount of shock absorbing. When�s boat is sitting on a trailer it has zero shock abosorbing. Plus you don�t run across the lake with your motor tilted at a 30 degree angle

I'm not sure there is a catch all answer that fits for everyone. Skeeter for example sends their new boats out with the Pro Rule on them. They engineered their hulls and have to warranty them yet they provide a new style saver. Other brands suggest other types pop es etc. I run a Skeeter and trust their knowledge so I use the new type.

Crazy there haven't been studies done on this... As many of you may know Skeeter has the absolute worst design for the "shim" or "grommet" they use on their lower motor mounts. Dont know if they've fixed that design in their new stuff as I can only speak from experience with a 2003 and 2005 model. They are notorious for "slop" due to a plastic piece deteriorating over time. The factory replacement is the same material, just doesnt last. Anyway, it was brought to my attention by a certified Yamaha technician that the old style transom saver to the roller on the bottom of the trailer supports and stabilizes those lower motor mount brackets and increases longevity of the flawed design by Skeeter. I'm still running the pro rule that was on my boat when I bought it, but as soon as I replace that piece in the lower mounts I'm going back to the old style.