manual tilt for 2009 Mercury 9.9 Four Stroke

In my first fishing trip using the 2009 Merc 9.9 4 stroke, I found it difficult to reach over the transom to grab ahold and tilt the motor up (bad back), so I could get the boat back onto the trailer. Looking around the internet I have found some mechanical tilt solutions (using a leverage bar) that grab ahold of the hand-hold on the back of the motor hood, and that look like they would work. But some of these say "not recommended for 4-stroke engines" and some persons seem to have had to get a welder modify the leverage bar (or holding mechanism?) to get it to work. I can buy one of these leverage bar mechanisms for about $50-60, and maybe $100.00-150.00 for a welder to modify it. Does anyone have a better solution that doesn't involve purchasing a $500-700 aftermarket electric-or-hydraulic tilt mechanism? Also, can anyone tell me what being a 4-stroke has to do with it?

Can't help you with other solutions, they are all expensive (factory installed trim/tilt is always cheaper initially than trying to retrofit afterwards).

The 4 stroke part is due to the weight of the motor. They have gotten better over the past few years but currently the absolute lightest 9.9 4 stroke Merc is just shy of 100 lbs, and that's without any fluids in it and minus the propeller. A "heavy" 2 stroke 9.9 tips the scales at about 75 lbs - so the 4 stroke is 33% heavier.

Many of these aftermarket "do-jiggy's" were designed back in the 2 stroke days and to avoid liability they state not for 4 stroke use.

Now, do I personally think that the extra 25 or pounds will break the motor tilting device - not likely (if it would it would I wouldn't trust it to tilt a 2 stroke), but it's just the company standing back and saying "we told you not to use it on that heavier motor".

For 50 bucks give it a try. If you bend it, find someone to reinforce it for you...

An update: I bought a Dot Line manual tilter and was able to modify it so as to work with this motor. I just extended the reach with two metal pieces which I bent in a vice to make some new grabbing fingers, and then drilled and bolted the opposite ends to the DotLine finger unit (or whatever its called.) The original Dotline fingers now sit on the top of the motor hood while tilting the motor up. I read about doing this somewhere that I don't recall. It works!!