Frabill Tub Repair?

[Neighbor_guy]

I have a Frabill GT Magnum and broke the tub on Lake of the Woods this weekend. The "pontoons" or whatever you want to call them split along the Hyfax from the nose down about 8". Filled the thing full of snow/ice/and slush like I have never seen.

Considering the location of damage I am concerned that it may not be repairable. It't the leading edge, all the "impact" and travel pressure are focused on those points.

I dont know.... Mabe I will call them tomarrow and find out if they have any GT tubs in a back storage area someplace. I know they don't sell the GT line of houses anymore. Mabe there is a reason.

I am not a "take it out of the truck and fish here" guy, I am a "hook it to the machine and go over there" guy. So any "fix" will need to stand up to some use and abuse. Figured I had that covered with the Hyfax.

Here are a couple of shots if it helps. They are not the best, just cell phone pics, but you get the idea....

Any suggestions?

[The_Seasock]

Not what you want to hear, but from the looks of it, "stick a fork in it". Sorry, time for a new one.

[PiedmontAngler]

Take all the measurements to another sled dealer and find the closest alternative. I work with plastics and can tell you any effective repairs will be short lived and more expensive than a new tub. Good luck.

[Ed Carlson]

Call the Frabill service center, you may be able to buy a replacement tub yet?

Looks like you whacked something preaty hard there on the snoot. That is a tough spot to patch at the peak in front.

If the damaged tub was heated, that dent pushed back out, and put into some shape again, and then plastic welded, it may hold up a few more seasons?

I would try to find a replacment tub through Frabill first, and then tinker with the damaged tub for use as a spare for second pull behind sled.

[leech~~]

Matt

One thing you could try is using fiberglass to more or less build a front "cap" over the damage area. Fiberglass will not stick to that kind of plastic so once it is hard you would have to pop-rivet it to the sled. You can buy the glass repair kits at FF with some extra mat, brushs, actone to clean up with all there. If you want to try that email me and I can give you some more info. I worked in 3 fiberglass shops for over 20 years so I know just a little bit about it.

[Big A]

Couldnt the cracks just be filled with some type of caulk.. then duct tape over the cracks inside and out?

sure the tape would have to be replaced every once in awhile.. but if it works... so be it. tape is cheap..

what about some thin sheet metal.. easy to bend.. double thick it.. pop rivet it into place.. ??

it may not win a beauty contest.. but who cares.. not like your out there making a fashion statement.

just tossing ideas around..

anybody else???

[Neighbor_guy]

Called Frabill today. The nice lady on the other end of the line could care less about the trouble....

her: "Discontinued models are destroyed and no longer stocked or supported, sorry"

me: "So you dont have any of the old GT sleds anywhere, nothing collecting in the back corner of a warehouse somewhere?"

her: "We dont stand behind or support anything that is discontinued."

me: "Ok, do you have another tub/sled whatever you want to call it that my canvas and poles will fit on? They are like new."

her: "no"

me: "I didn't even tell you what model I have"

her: "we have 3 sizes, small, medium, and large. They are all sold out until November."

me: "which one is closest to the size of the old GT sled?"

her: "have a nice day sir and thank you for calling Frabill, sorry we couldnt help, mabe call a dealer and see if they have any of this years tubs, but most all will be sold out untill november." {click}

Gotta love that......

Anyways, I may have a line on some 1/4 or 3/8 UHMW Poly sheet stock (Hyfax) that is plated in gold leaf, you would think based on the price, its worth looking. This is only the 3rd season on the sled, it got its first hole in the canvas this weekend, and then the tub decided no to be left out and broke apart on me as well. Why not.... its just another brick, keep stacking them up......

I went with Frabill because I thought they were the best......

Fool me once, to H#ll with you. I wont make that mistake twice.

[CAMAN]

Throw the piece of junk away and get an Otter. If on the off chance you break their sled it's pretty easy to find another.

[Ed Carlson]

A Frabill GT Magnum is 72" L x 36" W x 22" H (Folded).

The Frabill Large Cargo Sled is (66 x 40 x 12") $97. At Sportsman's Guide.

FYI: A Frabill Cargo Sled Medium is (58 x 32 x 8")

Frabill Predator folded is 75" (l) X 39" (w) X 26" (h) This included the corner bracket in the (H) measurement, so it may be very close? Might work?

Just some options, that I could come up with off the top of my head.

Sorry to hear they have no tubs in stock, that was a long shot worth a check anyway.

[jigginjerk]

Heat it up and get the form back then pop rivet a light gauge aluminum over the area with washers on the inside, fixed. You may have to check bottom rivets once in a while but a lot cheaper than a new sled or house. You can also seam seal under the patch.

[leech~~]

So, Matt what did you come up with for a fix or replacement?

[Neighbor_guy]

I picked up all but one of the items for my repairs today. Still need to find some plastic gas tank repair epoxy.

I dont think I will have time to get to starting any repairs until friday, I am swamped w/school obligations this week. I hope my plan works though.

I stripped the skin and the Hyfax off on Sunday, now I need to get the tub to room temp, make some final measurements, and commit.... If it all works out I will let you guys know right here, same bat time, same bat chanel...

[leech~~]

I picked up all but one of the items for my repairs today. Still need to find some plastic gas tank repair epoxy.

I dont think I will have time to get to starting any repairs until friday, I am swamped w/school obligations this week. I hope my plan works though.

I stripped the skin and the Hyfax off on Sunday, now I need to get the tub to room temp, make some final measurements, and commit.... If it all works out I will let you guys know right here, same bat time, same bat chanel...

Matt, good luck with the project. There seems to be a need to find a good fix for holes and cracks in these porty sleds. Remember, function over beauty!

[BoxMN]

FWIW, I have an older Voyager that had a hole in it, in the bottom middle. I got a piece of the tough poly (like hyfax but even denser) and put one pice on the bottom, and one piece on the top (inside tub) and bolted them together, sandwiching the tub and silicone between them. Wearing great, no leaks after two seasons. I pull this with a sled, every weekend, but not that far. Sometimes even dragging it up a rocky hill with no snow, and sometimes down a short stretch of no-snow-asphalt-road, if we have no snow. So far has held up great.

So I think you are doing what I would suggest - get wider hyfax/poly for the bottom and cover the entire width of the existing area where the hyfax is but also going wider past the break. Then fill with silicone to just fill any void, and then be sure to back it from inside tub with something, that will help sandwich it and hold any silicone in. If that makes sense...

Good luck, too bad it happened. I have both Clam and Otter sleds (two of them) and there truly is nothing like an Otter sled for durability, from my experience, but of course that doesn't help you, and didn't help me when fixing my Clam sled, ha! Please post pics when you finish, so I will have more ideas next time my Clam takes a dumper

[Neighbor_guy]

I did my tub repairs today, figured I would post them here incase it may help others in the future. Keep in mind, I am a Gau, and as such, I refuse to beleave it can not be done until I do it and it fails. This fix will not fail, it may be ugly, but it will be functional, and it will hold up better than the poorly designed tub/hyfax that frabil produced originaly. I will do this "build along" style, so there will be a few posts.

So the pictures I posted earlier were of the breaks when the tub was full of snow/ice...

This is after it was cleaned, the hyfax and skin were removed, and the big dent bashed out with a b-f-m...

So on the inside I cleaned it all out, sanded it first with 60grit sandpaper, then again with 150grit. Blew it all out with comp air, and gave it a good whipe down with acetone. I then created a fiber-mesh patch like this...

As it turns out looking over my pictures, I did not take any of the next step, so you will have to imagine two coats of plastic epoxy smoothed over the patch.

[Neighbor_guy]

So that all happened on Thurday night. I also took a shot at filling in the cracks and that bad break/hole.

Before....

After...

I used a plastic epoxy stick made to mend/repair plastic that I have used befor on other projects. After I did this I put it away for the night.

[Neighbor_guy]

I had every intention of finishing my project on friday night, but after some bad news from the mechanic, and as a result, my bank. I lost all motivation or need to rush it.

So I sanded the patches, and found that the epoxy sticks were not sticking all that well. So plan "B" went into effect and the fiber mesh, and mixable epoxy came back out...

Same prep as before, sanding and cleaning with acetone.

14 hours of cure time latter....

[Neighbor_guy]

Now for the fun part.

I managed to find a place that not only sold any plastic sheet good available, they would cut it for you too. So I had a couple pieces of quarter inch UHWM Polyethylene sheet cut to size.

The way I figure it, Hyfax is UHWMPE, so why not make the entire running surface and impact surface out of the stuff. I chose to back it with aluminum, not that I am woried about it, but just to be safe. I counter sunk the heads of the screws, and ran the hooks for the hitch in both the aluminum, and the sheet stock.

outside...

inside...

Then, with a little help, someone pushing down on the polly to get it to make the curve and hold tight to the tub, I drilled the sheet stock from the inside of the tub though the holes that were there for the hyfax. Then re-attached the hyfax and locked the new polly sheet in place.

I did have to trim off 2 inches because I miss measured a little but, but better to favor the long side than come up short. I did put the peices I cut off to good use....

[Neighbor_guy]

Before I put everything back together, I decided to fix one other design flaw, there was no place to get a grip on the darn thing to pick it up and put it on the trailer or in the truck, so I cut the two 2" chunks I had down to use as backers for rope handles to be used to lift the house up and down...

I'll just show you one side, its getting late, take my word for it, the other side looks the same....

I got it put all together now, and drug it around on the concrete and wood floor of the shop, moves good there. I will have to drag it around the yard some tomarrow to see how that goes. Odds are I will not get a chance to use it again this year, but it will be ready for next season.

So thats what I got... May not be a "perfect" fix, but I would like to see someone else do it better....

FWIW, Poly sheet = $64, Epoxy = $45, Aluminum + nuts and bolts = $20.

[Hookmaster]

Great job Neighbor_guy. That looks like it will last until you no longer want it. Can you post the name of the plastics store? I need to replace the plastic sheeting on my snowmobile trailer ramp that prevents the carbides from digging into the aluminum.

[leech~~]

So thats what I got... May not be a "perfect" fix, but I would like to see someone else do it better....

Matt, indeed not sure anyone could have done a better looking job on it then what you came out with. Looks bullet proof!

[Northlander]

Looks good that should hold it a while. I have only 1 concern and that is that it may sit higher off the ice and your apron may not sit flat on the ice. Give it a shot and let us know how it works out.

[Neighbor_guy]

It did add close to 3/4" of height to the whole thing. The apron should not be an issue. If it is, fish house canvas is easy to come by, and having access to comercial upholstery equipment is a plus.

... Can you post the name of the plastics store? ...

Plastics International in Eden Prairie. Not hard to find on the google. They did ask me what company I was with, which makes me think they may be a bit of a wholesale type distibuter. I gave them the name of my employer and then paid for it on a card.

[leech~~]

You maybe able to add a little longer bottom pole or bend to it so it makes up for the added height instead of adding more to the bottom of the shell, but either way may work.