Hey fellers, IT has gotten to the point where I must replace my old bear trim unit (surprised it lasted this long) a 2006 mudbuddy 29hp.
My question is should I go with the Thompson unit that is a couple hundred dollars
or try and upgrade to the mercury 800$

I only put 15-20 hours on the boat a year so I want to take that into consideration.

Also can the Thompson trim be put on without pulling the motor off?

Thanks

Get the merc. Why spend a couple hundred? Spend the rest for the merc and be done with it

To change to the Thompson all you have to do is change the slides. I finally swapped to the Merc after going through 4 Thompson's within a year. They were all under warranty thank goodness. The Merc is where it's at.

From what I here you are much better off putting on a merc trim. Are you planning on keeping the motor for a few years? If not just put a Thompson back on. I you are planning on keeping the motor bite the bullet now and go with a merc trim.

Are changing out the slides difficult?

4 bolts. That's it.