Different portable mod?

[Jeremy airjer W]

I have been working on some ideas to modifie my otter lodge. I decided to make mine more like a cabinet that could be removed at anytime and would not leave the sled full of holes (not that that is a bad thing). Hovever I'm starting to thing this is a bad idea as the cabinet is pushing 35lbs ( and thats after sheding about 10 lbs. modifiing the mod )with all the plywood and carpet. I may just end up bolting it up to the sled to eliminate the extra wieght.

Obviously I have a lot to do before I am finished. I'll post more when its complete.

[Matt Johnson]

Looks pretty cool Jeremy! Nice talking with you this weekend too! We'll have to make it out on the ice this winter...

[beer batter]

If the additional weight is a concern, ever thought about framing it up with 3/4" steel conduit instead of wood 2x2's? Probably twice as strong, takes up 1/4 the space, and probably half the weight. I've done several projects where I bolt the conduit together as the base frame, then bolt the wood panels right into the conduit as the finishing touch. You can also be quite rough with it. The steel will never break where as the 2x2's will splinter and leave you stranded if something were to happen while towing behind a sled at high speeds.

Works very well. Just a thought...

[augernaut]

Beer Batter (love that name!)

Do you have any pics of your conduit frames? I've been kicking around that same idea for modifying my Otter Den - I walk alot before I fire up the sled, so I want a lightweight mod. Not sure what you mean about bolting the conduit together - I was going to use my conduit bender, but maybe bolting it would be a little more precise... Thanks!

[bigswede]

Looks great. I am in the process fo doing something similar, but with 1" square aluminum tubing.

[beer batter]

augernaut,

I don't have any pics but it's a pretty simple concept. Use a standard tube cutter to cut the conduit to size, then just drill holes through the conduit on each tube to bolt them together. A drill press would be handly, but I got by with a center punch, sharp bits, and a hand held drill.

Last year I built a sled with ski's on the bottom framed all with conduit. Only weighed about 10 lbs before adding the ski's and wood paneling. Then it jumped up to about 50 lbs.

[tashit]

How's this coming airjer? I plan on starting mine tomorrow and I was thinking of doing something similar to yours. I didn't think it would be quite so heavy though. How strong is it? Are those all 2x2s? It looks good!

[lenny4077]

Has anyone tried 1" pvc pipe to frame the insert and then use plywood on the top - just a thought? It should be ligher than either the steel or wood.

[smmurphy]

PVC gets pretty brittle in the cold. I wouldn't trust it to hold weight in low temps.

[Jeremy airjer W]

There all 2x2's except for the 1x2's under the leg supports. It is solid. In fact I removed alot of supports that I thought I needed and it still doesn't budge. I decided to scrap all of the leg supports and go with some kind off bracket so that it is still removeable with little efffort and will hopefully save about 10lbs + or -.

Here are the basic dimensions I used.

[STMA_I_HUNTER]

I to have been looking at a mod to my Otter. The only downside to this for me tis that you loose the area up front where the sled curves. Now my problem may be that I seem to bring everything including the kitchen sink.

I have a "front shelf" that seems to work. It's just a simple board that rest on 2 pieces of 2x2 that i have screwed in from the side of the tub and then attach the shelf from the top down.

[tashit]

I finished mine up a few days after Christmas before my weekend excursion up at Ottertail. I constructed mine similar to airjer's and it adds a lot less weight than I expected. It is DEFINITELY worth the added weight. Everything is so organized and makes setting up and taking down so much quicker. I have not been able to take any pictures yet but I will try to get some posted.

STMA...I did not lose the area up front. I have my extra flasher battery mounted up there to run my lights, plus I have rod holders, my scoop, a water jug, and my tip up all stored in this area.

[STMA_I_HUNTER]

did you put a cover to access the front or did you omit some of the braces so you could get stuff up front?

When you get some pic's, please post, i'm very interested

[Jeremy airjer W]

ta[PoorWordUsage],

Definitely need to post some pics! I still haven't finished mine. Last three weekends shot. Stupid holidays Have to work and fish this weekend. I may not finish it until september or october at this rate.

[Nordern]

I too was worried about losing that space so I just hinged the cover:

[tashit]

I basically did what Nordern did at the front of the sled, although the rest of my design is a little different. I'll try to get pics as soon as I can, but in the meantime here is the basic layout I used.

[image]http://img267.imageshack.us/my.php?image=insertlayout8om.jpg[/image]

The top two views are of just the frame. the bottom view is just the outline of the sled so you can see where the sloped side is. The cross hatched areas is permanantly fixed plywood and the rest is removable. The area where the chairs go has a cover that I just pull off and place my chairs inside of. The "T" shape in between the two chairs is that way because of the shape of the chairs. I basically built it around the chairs because I wanted them to fit snuggly. I used velcro to hold the battery on a little mount so it is easily removed for charging and the switches for lights and fans are mounted on the plywood on top. I don't know how easy this is to understand but it will make more sense if I can get some actual pictures.

[tashit]

Well the picture of my sketch will not post for some reason. I've never had this problem before but I suppose I better get back to work. I will see if I can get some actual pictures taken tonight.

[Jeremy airjer W]

ta[PoorWordUsage]'s diagram

[tashit]

Thanks for fixing that airjer, I now realized what I did wrong. Here are the actual pics of my mod...

I'm still debating whether or not to carpet it. If I do it will probably be a summer project, but with the weather we've been having I may need something to do. At first I wasn't all that happy with my quality of construction but it turned out pretty nice and and it's more solid than I expected. Overall I am very happy with it.