I've never been one to remove the HU from the boat on any of my FF I have or have had. Never had any problems with them not working or had any problems with loose connections, etc. Maybe I've been lucky, dunno. I store my boat in a unheated garage so being exposed to the weather 24/7 is not a problem, I would guess that is where most problems develope over time. All the roads I use to get to the ramps I use are public roads, and are in good shape, no major potholes, are paved, etc., so the trip to and from the water is no worse than when the boat is getting beat on going to a fishing hole. My boat only has a 60 so I'm not going over 30mph but the ride can get rough on occassion. I guess I believe that removing the connections on a regular basis causes more wear and tear being removed and installed each trip than leaving them on the mounts and electrical connections hooked up. I currently have a HDS 8 with SS at the console installed for about 6 months, and a HB 788 ci HD on the TM. I do lay the HB down to avoid it catching a rock or road debris but it still attached to the mount. The HDS I try and turn sideways so its not acting like a windsail and decrease the area a rock has to aim at as well. Those hard plastic covers that come with these models are $%^& hard to remove, so I leave 'em at home.
GO BIG ORANGE !
I meant to behave, but there were just way too many other options available at the time.