Pulling yukon through the snow SUCKS!!! any help

[SkinnyVinny05]

just looking on some tips on how i can make it pull a litle easier through the snow

[Jim43]

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just looking on some tips on how i can make it pull a litle easier through the snow

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Take a look at this thread

Made this a couple months ago but have yet to get it on the snow since we did not have any yet. This weekend will tell

how well it works.

[Tofishem]

Well, I guess the obvious would be to lighten your load!

How long is the rope your using to pull?

I'd go with a rope of at least 20 ft. Put it around your upper body and pull with the weight as you walk. Much easier than pulling with your arms behind you! And much easier than a short rope! Especially the one that comes with the Traps.

[FishingPops]

If you have anything heavy, try loading it towards the back of the yukon (the narrow end away from the ropes) otherwise it will plow a little more.

[18 inch Crappie]

Two words "4 Wheeler"

[iland99]

Try a tree stand safety harness clipped to the rope on your portable. It'll help spread the weight across your entire chest rather than one spot, much easier on the arms too. Plus it frees up both hands for carrying gear.

[ratherbefishn]

Skinny Vinny, I have a youkon myself and have 2 solutions. When we fish early ice or the river here I pull mine on a set of down hill ski's. We have a ton of pallets here at work that are olny 26 lbs. There plastic and have 6 feet that hold up the main platform. I cut out the center feet and bolted some old downhill skis I had at home to the outside set of feet. I added a 2 by 4 inbetween to get a little extra height for deep soft snow. The whole unit weighs about 38 lbs and will pull everything on top of the snow so its not dragging. You can pull all the gear out with one finger if you want most the time! second option is a wheeler like said before I will try and take a picture for you and post it back up so you can see what I am talking about. It works pretty slick!

[NWBuck]

Another option...I'm only a few years from this one myself. Have a teenage son who thinks he's Superman lock onto the thing. Then you can simply walk behind in a supervisory role. As I recently explained to my 7 year old son while he watched me gasping for air dragging a fat doe out of the woods, "patience my boy, your time is near"

[SkinnyVinny05]

yeah if i could afford a 4 wheeler i would have had one a long time ago but yes please take pics of your set up so i can get some ideas.... has anyone bolted skis to the bottom of the sled? i thought about it but havent done it yet

[Jim43]

[SkinnyVinny05]

thats a nice looking idea ill have to try something like that thanks for the idea

[croixeyes]

Great idea!!!By the looks of your sled,your not coming off the ice for a week

[eyefever]

Jim's style setup works great. I made something very similar for my plywood base 6x8. The house weighs over ninety pounds and all of the extras (auger, rods, bait...) add about another 150 pounds including the sled weight. I can wrap my finger around the rope and pull it. I used cross country skis because that was available and they work fine. One tip though, make sure the sled is not frozen in to the ice or you will find the weak spot and have repairs

[Jim43]

Yeah, I gotta learn how to travel lighter some day. But when I take my son out fishing, I like to keep him busy to plus I always take along my camcorder and camera. Hoping to get back this weekend and see how it handles the snow. we have plenty of it on the ice now but thank god the wind keeps blowing it from one to the other.

[Orlip]

I wonder if snow boards would work if snow was deeper. The extra width of the board would probably keep it on top a little better.

[McGurk]

I built mine not to ride over loose snow, but to lift the house out of most of it and stop it from getting high centered on 4-wheeler ruts. It uses narrow downhill skis and 6" green treated 2x4's and a 1x4 frame to get it up about 8" off whatever the skis ride on. Why push snow when you can avoid it altogether? Has worked great for me so far hand pulling (get a deerstand harness!!!) or behind a wheeler.

[Jim43]

The narrow ski would be best. Would not plow near as much in

packed snow or drifted. I took mine out today and used it in the

snow for the first time. Only time it was tough was pulling it

it over a couple drifts that were 18 inches deep. then it

started out hard but it eventually climbed right over it

instead of through it.

[LoneRanger]

I haven't tried this yet, but my dad had the idea of heating up some PVC pipe so you can pinch one end shut and then bend it up like a ski. PVC slides really well on the ice and snow (maybe too well?) and if you get a larger diameter pipe, it would raise your sled up. I am thinking of just bolting it to the bottom of my Fish Trap Guide. Has anyone else tried this?

[fish-4-fun]

If you put them on the bottom of your house you will get a nasty draft across your feet. And I am an electrician good luck getting any pvc over 2 1/2 inches to bend that much. But if you try the best bet is a weed burner. A small torch works good to bend the smaller pipe. That is a good idea though, but i would recomend not bolting it to the bottom of your house.

[dovix]

It migh be easier to get a large bore PVC pipe and cut it in half length-wise. Then you would have 2 "skis" and it would probably be easier to heat and bend the tip up, even shave it into a nice rounded tip. Hmm, sounds like an interesting enough project that I might have to stop by the hardware store today and pick up some PVC.

Dovix.

[The_Duckslayer]

Could you just get some 45 degree angles and use that with a small extension to make the front of the ski? You would have to plug the back as well I suppose. I have a Yukon as well and it is too much for this old fart to pull through 5 inches of snow! Might have to try this... 2 inch pipe with some adapters and seems like you could build a small frame with nothing but PVC. Would have to file the front of the pieces where you put the angles in but hey... would be easier than pulling the thing through the snow. Hmmmm the old noggin is working on that one. Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[picksbigwagon]

Jim43, my sled idea basically backfired this weekend and I walked about a mile and a half last night and today pulling a fully loaded voyager. What does your ice house sit on? Does it rest between the front and back cross braces? I Really like the way that looks and am looking forward to fixing my mistakes once my back loosens up. Thanks

[Jim43]

I guess I should have showed you a shot of it while my Frabill

was setup. I used 1x2" stringers that I measured the distance

between the channels and setup. With 4 stringers its real easy

to get it back on and off with. I also used metal shelf

brackets as reinforcements to keep it sturdy. It only weighs

about 35 to 40lb empty.

[picksbigwagon]

Is it possible to take a picture now or is the ice house on the sled now? The runners fit into the channels then? how do you keep the frame and ski's from twisting/scissoring, that is my current set up problem....also, it looks like it wouldn't be that strong, using 1x2's and 1 foot chunks of 2x4's on the corners. I think it is an awesome set up, but my voyager is about 100 pounds empty, 150-165 loaded up and ready to fish, would that frame hold that much weight?

[Jim43]

Quote:

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Is it possible to take a picture now or is the ice house on the sled now? The runners fit into the channels then? how do you keep the frame and ski's from twisting/scissoring, that is my current set up problem....also, it looks like it wouldn't be that strong, using 1x2's and 1 foot chunks of 2x4's on the corners. I think it is an awesome set up, but my voyager is about 100 pounds empty, 150-165 loaded up and ready to fish, would that frame hold that much weight?

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2x2" upper frame 2x4" corner stands 1x2" stringers. This is

where I keep it stored and travel with it in the trailer.

Slides in and out so easy even though it weighs about 200lb

fully loaded.

At first I used only 1 - 1x2 stringer till I discovered it

was hard to keep it place. Added a couple more and it really

helped strengthen the entire frame. Critical to put the braces in the corners to prevent twisting though. those

cheap metal ones work great and are very light.

This was all made from scrap lumber I had laying around,the

old skis come from garage sale back in about 1980.