Ok I have a question and am looking for real answers. I am trying to understand which design is best and why. I am confused as to how the new style block/wedges help the transom from flexing. I have to understand something before I trust and buy it. I know inventions are made to sell and not always the best. So can someone explain to me which is best and why. Thanks

the blocks are more for protecting the trim system from the shock of the motor bouncing not the transom

I think the most important thing is to keep the motor from flailing around while towing.
The trailer has a suspension system and soft tires absorbing much of the road shock and bumps. While on the water its open to the elements. I've hit some pretty hard stuff and wonder how that big motor hangs on back there.
I saw a demo on another site of a regular transom saver versus the block style. looks like the regular transom saver transfers trailer movement to the motor, another connection point to the trailer. The block style locks the motor rigid with the boat.
Just food for thought......

Personally I use the one that came with my Yammie, fits over one of the trim pistons and two locks that slip over the steering to lock it down.

I've used both and never had problems with either. You need good transom tie down straps either way. Some of the issues of transom savers go back to the days of wood filled transoms. Seems like they flexed more when trailering and the motor bounced.

The common term for this type of device is transom saver, but you can't remove the weight of the motor from the transom. Modern transoms are built to withstand that weight. What you are using is really a motor support. Movement of the motor while trailering is what causes problems. If your motor moves at all, that movement will be introduced into every component of your motor and can cause wear and tear. The old style support that attaches to your trailer will introduce road vibrations into the motor. With this style support, or any other style, try pushing your motor side to side and see if there is movement. Even if you are using steering clips, you will still have movement.Steering clips cannot fit tight enough to eliminate movement and still be able to be installed/removed.The Lock-n-Haul transom saver will totally eliminate all movement of your motor. It attaches between the flange bolts on the lower unit and the motor bracket. It is the only 4 point in-line support on the market and doesn't use off set pins to support the weight. I discovered Lock-n-Haul on this board several years ago while looking for something better to use on my motor. I've been using one ever since.

Chuck is right to ask why many still think any �weight� is being transferred anywhere. With the motor bolted to the transom and held in place by the main tilt piston, all you can do with the motor is tilt the powerhead up and over, or down and behind the transom with the actual weight remaining bolted to the transom.I hope you don�t mind that I borrow from my own words from a previous posted answer to the same question. I don�t think I can answer any better than this:

�I�ve been manufacturing a �transom saver� replacement since 2006, and have been involved in this conversation literally hundreds of times. You�d think by now I�d have a standard answer to the question about motor support and I actually do, but I think it�s better to talk about the mechanical issues involved.In the old days before the power tilt system, there wasn�t any way to keep the skeg off the road so a pretty bright individual figured out that by putting a bar between the lower unit and the trailer, that problem was solved. That discovery evolved into a form of support that would keep the freely pivoting motor from �pivoting/bouncing� up and down, and keeping the full free-falling downward energy force from impacting the transom with a thud when the downward pivot range was suddenly reached.

In those days the �transom saver� was typically strapped to both the trailer and the lower unit so that the free motor couldn�t pivot upward and off the trailer roller and hit the road,�pole vaulting� the motor. Boats in the past also had a lot of wood in their construction, and particularly built up in the transom for obvious reasons, and there might have been some flex in some of those transoms.

On some boats you could actually grab the lower unit and push or pull to witness the transom flex in and out, and so common thinking was that by supporting the flexing transom at the trailer, the transom was being �saved�. Now fast forward to more modern times and advancments in every aspect of boat building have evolved to include structurally integrated wood free transoms, that are engineered to carry heavy motors that produce powerful forces to push the bigger boats up onto pad and through the water.

Now days the power tilt piston is the equivelent of a solid support bar that holds the motor at any angle in its� range of motion, and hold it there solidly without movement. So now that we have transoms that can handle the rated motor size, and power tilt systems that can keep the motor tilted, the only thing left is the fact that all of the motors rigging connections, the mounting and pivot bushings/bearings are still free to move uncontrolled on our rough roads, which is different from the movements that occur when the motor is pushing the boat through water, and the forces are mostly uni-directional (unless your prop is out of the water alot like mine).

A �transom saver� is really only a unversal name for a motor support these days and doesn�t actually share any load with the power tilt piston, and doesn�t really save your transom. What you are seeing in your rear view mirror is not the motor �bouncing� up and down, but shaking in all directions from the clearance in the bushings and bearings of the motors rigging. The more it shakes, the looser it gets and the looser it gets, the more it shakes.

The modern �transom saver� needs to keep the motor from shaking and there isn�t anything available that does a better job than the Lock-n-Haul. This solution is the first and only one that fits about 90% of all of the models and sizes of all outboard motor brands, and on any boat/trailer combo, that completely eliminates all of the clearance in the steering and tilt pivots . With the Lock-n-Haul properly installed, the motor can�t move independently at all in any direction.�

I hope this helps you understand the benefits of the Lock-n-Haul, and why we continue to refer to it as an �Advanced Transom Saver�

Also, In earlier boats that had power T/T, the hydraulics were not always dependable and were known to leak off while going down the road which resulted in dragging the lower unit on the road. It can still happen today if a cylinder leaks.