Replacing Trim Tab Actuators

[TNbasskicker]

Well I fished my first Tx. of the year last weekend and I'm happy to say we took 1st place and the big fish pot. Unfortunately I had to spend all my winnings on new actuators for the trim tabs. The port side actuator got stuck in the down position and it was an interesting ride down the lake. I ordered a set of new ones from Hodges Marine online for just under 400 dollars with 3 day shipping and got them installed today. The new ones are a lot faster and no where near as noisy as the original ones. It took about 2 hours for the install but it would have went faster if the trim plates hadn't hit on the trailer blocking the actuators from dropping out of the mounting tubes. Taking the old ones out by yourself is no problem but you will need some help putting them back in. Someone has to hold them in place till you get the nuts started on the 3 studs on top. For anyone needing to replace your actuators its not to bad of a job, just leave your boat 3 or 4 inches from the bow stop for clearance on the trim plates if they are over the ratchet strap mounting plate on the back of the trailer.

[Gamblerman65]

Thanks for the info. I am sure it will come in useful someday..

[wolfman051]

Same thing happened to me, port side stuck down and 15 miles from ramp,..I actually ordered mine from gambler and they are like you said faster and quieter.

[low slung cruiser]

I’ve replaced a couple pairs...
place wood block under jack plate and jack boat up an 1”...
newer style definatley better... be sure to replace both when doing it

[Gambler Bob]

When I replaced mine I also jacked the boat up a couple of inches off the trailer.

[Merc Doc]

thanks for the heads up, i'm doing a set tommorrow.

Well I fished my first Tx. of the year last weekend and I'm happy to say we took 1st place and the big fish pot. Unfortunately I had to spend all my winnings on new actuators for the trim tabs. The port side actuator got stuck in the down position and it was an interesting ride down the lake. I ordered a set of new ones from Hodges Marine online for just under 400 dollars with 3 day shipping and got them installed today. The new ones are a lot faster and no where near as noisy as the original ones. It took about 2 hours for the install but it would have went faster if the trim plates hadn't hit on the trailer blocking the actuators from dropping out of the mounting tubes. Taking the old ones out by yourself is no problem but you will need some help putting them back in. Someone has to hold them in place till you get the nuts started on the 3 studs on top. For anyone needing to replace your actuators its not to bad of a job, just leave your boat 3 or 4 inches from the bow stop for clearance on the trim plates if they are over the ratchet strap mounting plate on the back of the trailer.

[chsapeak]

Make sure to place a dab of silicone on the three studs prior to setting them up in place. I had mine fully deployed on a super rough day and got into a shallow mud flat when I came off plane, had no choice but to hammer into reverse resulting in ripping the actuators apart when they scooped into the mud....ouch...

[TNbasskicker]

I finally got to put mine in the water yesterday and the new actuators are great. I was also trying a new to me prop that I got here on BBC. It's a 28 Razor XL 4 blade and man that thing is awesome. It blows my 27 Trophy away. It 's way faster on holeshot and the handling was much better in the turns. Top speed fully loaded with gear, 2 fat boys, 3/4 tank of gas and 1 livewell full of fish was 74.9 GPS. My trophy would only hit 73 loaded so it gained a little on top end also.