Trailering DT65

[JohnOrrett]

Hi, a few of us are off on a long trip to South West Ireland soon, so a few hundred miles of travel involved. The DT65 is on a decent transom and trailer. We have tilted the engine up, put a wooden block under it, and lashed it down with a ratchet strap around the trailer chassis to hopefully stop any bouncing.

Any more we could do or will that be sufficient? I know that on different models, people have used rubber boat rollers over the rams and sat the engine on them, but cant do that on this engine.

Thanks,

John

[artdf175]

John
not familiar with this model, does this have hydraulic lifters??
and then the question might be, how much road clearance do you need?

with a different engine.. not hydraulic, where the tilt bracket opens up from the engine mount there is a opening large enough to insert a 3/4 to 1' stopper. I would use a pipe wrapped in a 1/4 or 3/8 inch rubber material, then lower the engine down, and it worked very well. I never felt I needed to strap it down..
if it is hydraulic, it should hold in place with little movement
if it is mechanical, you might use a ratchet strap to curtail any bouncing but if you are driving on a major roadway, you shouldn't have much movement anyway..

my current kicker is a 9.9 and with my boat on trailer there is a couple feet of clearance and I leave it in the vertical position vs being tilted.
for my 175 I drilled a hole the size of the ram in a block of wood and then lower the engine down to rest on the block to take the pressure off the hydraulics.

good luck and good fishing
Art

[JohnOrrett]

Hi Art. Engine does have hydraulic lifters, so we have raised it up, put the length of wood in place and lowered the engine a bit to rest on it. It is currently at about 45 degree angle. We have lashed it down with rope, but from previous experiences over there, it stretches a bit and gives a bit of movement, hence the thought of the ratchet.

Some of the roads we will be driving on leave a lot to be desired. It appears that Kerry county council have other priorities .

The kicker is a 5 HP Honda which is on an auxiliary bracket, so we are strapping that down inside the boat, as it is easily removable.

Fingers crossed for the fishing. Long range forecast isn't too good, and fish seem to be a bit sparse by all accounts, but sure to find some Mackerel, Pollack and dogfish :-).

[artdf175]

unfortunately I don't have a good picture
this is about 2" by 3" by 5 or 6" inches long
the top is tapered with 45 degree angle cuts to clear motor bracket parts
again, with about a 3/4 inch hole to fit over the ram assembly
lower engine down to touch the block and take the weight off
your hydraulics should not allow it to bounce. the weight of the engine should keep it down on the block and the hydraulics should not allow any movement with the pressure applied to the wooden block.
also with my 175 this block goes on the starboard side ram assembly
the left side ram has a grease fitting nipple in the way.

Again good luck
Art..

[JohnOrrett]

Thanks for the pic Art, that is similar to what we have. Fingers crossed it will get us there before closing time!

Appreciate your help

John

[Harper]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. I trailer my DF150 500-600 miles round trip every time I go fishing (5-6 times a year). Never worried about pressure on the rams or anything else. Never had an issue.

[JohnOrrett]

Thanks both, put my mind at ease.