That Darn Heavy Sled

[CaptainMusky]

Naturboy, I am interested to see some more pics. How exactly does this compound angles situation work?

That looks like a pretty slick setup!

[Chad Holst]

Sorry i didnt get the pictures up yet, was working on the big house till 2AM.

The ski place i got those skis at was Tyrol. Its on second street south West roch. west of hwy 52 3 blocks on right.

The other set i got, the down hill skis came from salvation army. They often have skis for a few bucks.

Since i didnt get pictures ill try a drawing. (ive been doing this alot lately..lol, and not getting any better at it.)

I will try to get pictures posted when we are not working on the house build.

[Chad Holst]

I see someone has some skis for free...if some one wants one of these sleds, PM me if your in my area and i can throw one together with yah in an hour or two. Or just get the wood and eye bolts and skis, and drop them off and take the one i have finished and ill build myself another one. (no charge)

Shoot, throw in a few hundred..maybe a couple hundred bucks and you can have it and the 4 man clam that i pull with it. (not using that house anymore.) FYI, all of my clams are trained from birth to catch fish.

[amateurfishing]

[Naturboy]

Naturboy, I am interested to see some more pics. How exactly does this compound angles situation work?

That looks like a pretty slick setup!

I hope this helps, The short pieces are bolted to the shelter tub, and the long pieces to the skis. The angles allow the weight of the shelter to hold the skis on. The skis you can find at a thrift store for usually $10-$20. One other thing I noticed when pulling over big drifts and bumps with the skis longer than the tub the skis would rock at different times and the tub would rock off the skis, to fix this I just added an eye hook to all the ski legs.

[CaptainMusky]

That's genius! Is it a pita to get the house positioned onto those short pieces?

[ice_medic]

That would have not been my fisrt or last choice of ideas to do that. That is wonderful and simple i love it

[Naturboy]

Attach the short pieces to the tub first, then position the skis under the tub and put the long peices in place and mark the skis. Make sure you countersink the screws in the bottom of the skis.

The skis also hold the portable flaps down on windy days.

[ice_medic]

Ok I am not going to lie I am not smart enough to figure out this compou angles thing. I tried it and failed miserably and went with something different. It looked awesome but apparently it was to awesome for me. I am not a contractor or an engineer. Just a lowly paramedic and fireman. You don't have to be smart to do what I do. Thanks for the tip though.

[Naturboy]

Everyone has a purpose in life, I couldn't do your job either. If anyone would like help with that and your going through St. Cloud send me a message and stop by with a 2 x 4 and I'll cut it for you.

[TruthWalleyes]

Good thinking naturboy. That's easy enough.

[amateurfishing]

.....& I will be going through Worthington next weekend (weather permitting)to get it where it needs to be if that helps

[TruthWalleyes]

I haven't been to a thrift store yet for some ski's, but shifting quite a bit of weight to the rear along with harder snow made for a more tolerable walk yesterday.

[PurpleFloyd]

I haven't been to a thrift store yet for some ski's, but shifting quite a bit of weight to the rear along with harder snow made for a more tolerable walk yesterday.

You should look into hiring a Sherpa or buying a pack mule. It looks like you are trying to stuff Roseanne Barr into a prom dress.

[TruthWalleyes]

Yeah I try to pack light

Stopped at the local thrift. They had a bin of skis. Picked up two sets for $10. Didn't have time to buy lumber so I'll have all day tomorrow to think about it so I'm sure I can think of something.

[ice_medic]

I am with you truth. I try to do the same thing too. No matter how hard I try to figure out on how to loose weight in my sled it always seems to get heavier. I think I need to stop bringing so many brats and burgers along with me when I go out. You never know what's going to happen out there and I may get stuck for days. As for the sled I am hoping I got something figured out for it. I will know tomorrow when I go out and give it a try. Thanks for the help and suggestions though

[Naturboy]

I think I need to stop bringing so many brats and burgers along with me when I go out. You never know what's going to happen out there and I may get stuck for days.

I never thought of just calling my wife and saying I'm stuck out here look for me tomorrow.

[cylinder]

leave the brats at home? Don't they like to fish with you?

[CJH]

How much clearance are you guys using between the ski's and the bottom of the sled (ground clearance)?

Love all the ideas!!

[NKLCOLT1911]

i just build a sled with the skis and my risers are made from a 2x8 with the 2x4 on top of that for the cross bars, i havent pulled it across a lake yet but i have tested it and it will work awesome i cant believe i havent built one sooner, makes pulling about 150# of gear seem like the sled is almost empty

[NKLCOLT1911]

for those of you that have built the "smitty sled" have any of you made a auger rack for it?

[ice_medic]

Well I finished my sled and I put 6 inches of clearance on mine. I knew when I did it it would help out some but when I pulled it out today I was amazed. It was like pulling an empty sled behind me. It was night and day difference. I will post some pics of what I did here once I figure it out

Here are the pics

[aanderud]

I really have to build one of these. My dad had one in the 80s that we used all the time, pulling a suitcase style 8x8 shack (4x8 folded in half), chairs, augers, and other gear -- and he and I pulled that thing all over the lake like it was nothing. Instead of wood, he used some aluminum conduit of some type -- but he liked to over-engineer things too. Wood looks like the ticket to me, just for ease of assembly if nothing else.

My otter flipover shack wouldn't slide down buck hill without a push, I don't think (I load it pretty heavy). Throw a pair of skis underneath and the game changes completely. With skis underneath, you actually have to pre-plan your stops and be ready to stop the sled from running you over!

[bee]

for those of you that have built the "smitty sled" have any of you made a auger rack for it?

I have. But I travel light so this may not fit most folks.

[NKLCOLT1911]

I really have to build one of these. My dad had one in the 80s that we used all the time, pulling a suitcase style 8x8 shack (4x8 folded in half), chairs, augers, and other gear -- and he and I pulled that thing all over the lake like it was nothing. Instead of wood, he used some aluminum conduit of some type -- but he liked to over-engineer things too. Wood looks like the ticket to me, just for ease of assembly if nothing else.

My otter flipover shack wouldn't slide down buck hill without a push, I don't think (I load it pretty heavy). Throw a pair of skis underneath and the game changes completely. With skis underneath, you actually have to pre-plan your stops and be ready to stop the sled from running you over!

it is a complete night and day difference on how much easier it is to pull my gear.