Largest size lumber fit down 8" hole?

[IceCrappie]

These all sound like great ideas. But can anyone tell me how your supposed to use them if they're at the bottom of the lake with your truck that your supposed to be pulling out of the ice with them?

[LightningBG]

If your trucks at the bottom I dont think you need to worry about the anchoring system. Might just want to attach a buoy with a rope the the roof of the vehicle for the divers.

[ozzie]

yeah if your truck is at the bottom of the lake it will be to late to want to try this trick!!

[hydro]

If your truck is on the bottom, the tow truck will surely ust the post anchor trick to pull you out!

[south_metro_fish]

After reading this thread I found these Digger Ice Angels shelter anchors and was thinking these might work dont know how strong they are.

[McGurk]

Just because someone gets stuck and needs a way to become unstuck, it does not mean they are on their way to the bottom of the lake. This thread is dealing with the situation where you have an ice auger and a come-along in your truck which has become stuck, what else do you need in order to get unstuck by yourself? Sounds like either a post to put in a hole to tie off to, or a length of pipe or lumber with a rope around the middle to thread down the hole to then span the hole beneath the ice to give you an anchor.

If you want to start a thread about getting trucks pulled out of the murky depths, feel free! Might be an interesting topic, and it will require more than we have discussed here!

I've seen the Ice diggers you referred to, and I think they would be great for anchoring a portable or giving you a tie off point for winching an ATV, but not a full size vehicle. I could be wrong, though.

[hovermn]

The digger Ice Anchors are not designed for that kind of load, and would be very dangerous to use. If used to pull a vehical out of a sticky situation, they would fail, and under tension, could turn into deadly flying projectiles. Ever see the result of a winch cable/block that broke, sending it through the windshield and seat of the vehicle. Not pretty.

[Jim Almquist]

Here I was thinking that there needs to be a heavy duty version made just for that purpose. Hardened steel with a heat treated bolt and about 3/8" thick.

[hovermn]

You could certainly make them pretty easliy, there's really nothing to them. Hmm, maybe I'll have to do that! I wonder what the best way to test them would be though. Maybe winching a fish house? Hate to destroy the truck!

I wonder how the ice would hold though. That's a lot of force on a small area of the hole.

[Jim Almquist]

I wonder how the ice would hold though. That's a lot of force on a small area of the hole.

That was my only thought !

I know that I will have a pipe with chain along and the come-along.

[hovermn]

I think I may try and make a set of digger ice anchors, only double the blades to spread out the force. I'm thinking 2 wings on each side spaced a couple inches apart to spread the force on both the ice and anchor. Come to think of it, I think I have the steel to pop one out tonight It would double as a portable anchor, and emergency tow.

[Jim Almquist]

Sounds like a plan

Darn good plan at that!

[Sonicrunch]

I can tell just by looking at it that a 6x6 will fit into an 8" hole.

Thats how I roll.

that's the beauty of math. You can know without having the 6x6 right in front of you.

[bikeoutback]

I'm debating the pipe and chain or 6x6 and a chain. As far as am I willing to carry a 5'8" piece of lumber in my truck the answer is yes. 5'8" is the exact length of the bed of the truck. Once I start ice fishing I also carry my 2 man flip over house, ice auger, gas can, boots, emergency kit, SM suit... pretty much everything but the Vexilar stays in the truck all winter. I'd rather carry a piece of lumber than sleep in the truck for 5 hours on Mille Lacs like I did last year.... of course not leaving the road in the first place would have avoided the situation

[LightningBG]

I think you're missing the point. longer board does not equal better, it only equals more weight and takes up more space. No matter how long the board is, you want the chain to be right at ice level.

[McGurk]

While I appreciate and understand that the length of lumber limited to 5'8" to fit in the bed of your truck, I think what they are trying to get at is that it does not need to be that long to be effective. If have something 3' long and it sticks up only 1' above the ice, it will work the same as something that sticks up 3'8" above the ice. No matter what length you choose to go with, you will want to tie off as close to the ice as possible to reduce the chance of it bending and snapping off. The chances of that happening are greatly reduced when you tie off down low.

[Sonicrunch]

I think you're missing the point. longer board does not equal better, it only equals more weight and takes up more space. No matter how long the board is, you want the chain to be right at ice level.

yes, but then you are pulling at a down angle.

But I do agree that that is the point of minimum deflection. I.E., the strongest point.

[pulleye16]

you guys are way over thinking this...heres what I do. I always purchase a MN viking loto ticket before hitting the ice. When I scratch it off, John Randle appears out of know where! He'll tow you all the way home if you like!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaqK-Yt68pY&NR=1

[Sonicrunch]

if the Vikings are any good at pulling, the might consider pulling their head from.................

[castmaster]

I am confused by the talk of some of hte wood sticking up above the hole/ice. Wouldnt it work better to push the lumber all the way down hte hole and then turn it sideways under the ice? So it ends up acting like th toggle bolts you use to fasten things to sheetrock walls. Sems to me doing it that way uses the strength of the entire ice sheet instead of just the strength of a vertical piece of lumber.

[student]

I don't think anybody wants a bunch of 6x6's floating in the water come spring. The hole you drill doesn't break the bottom layer of ice. You simply put the board into the hole and tie off at ice level. If you have the hole three feet from the truck then you will be ineffectively pulling up. If you give it some more space you will change the angle and make it a lot safer to use. This type of set up will works best with more ice.

[McGurk]

I don't think anybody wants a bunch of 6x6's floating in the water come spring. The hole you drill doesn't break the bottom layer of ice. You simply put the board into the hole and tie off at ice level. If you have the hole three feet from the truck then you will be ineffectively pulling up. If you give it some more space you will change the angle and make it a lot safer to use. This type of set up will works best with more ice.

What he said! Short 6x6, tied off low, as far away from the truck as feasible, and recover everything when done!

[ETH310]

Or you could just drive a Chevy and not have to worry about getting stuck...

[bikeoutback]

Sorry guys, misunderstood. Not sure why I thought I'd want as long as possible on the 6x6. Still have to pick one up but plenty of time till be driving on the lakes anyways.

[jBohmer]

Great thread, funny comments, but most importantly extremely good ideas. I never would have thought of cutting hole in the ice and sticking something in it for an anchor point. Genius! Just another reason HSO'ers have more fun.