Drilling holes in wheeled house

[beer batter]

Looking for a better method of drilling holes in my drop down wheeled house to keep the shavings from getting all over the carpet. Currently I use a big, round, plastic laundry basket, solid sides about 16 inches high, with a round hole cut towards the edge of the bottom. Auger goes through the hole where I catch the shavings in the bucket as I drill the holes with the house set all the way down. Afer drilling each hole, I have to empty the bucket outside and move to the next hole.

This method works great until the last few weeks of the season when the ice chips overflow the bucket. Short of getting a bigger bucket, what do others do? Share your methods please.

[End of the Line]

Pull up to your spot with house and wheels straight on vehicle. Mark the holes, drive forward, finish drilling and cleaning, back over the holes, without touching the wheel. It actually takes alot less time and you can adjust the house with a 5 foot bar real easily.

This is what I do once the ice get too thick like you suggested.

[Kylersk]

When I pull up to a spot I leave my house raised. Then I'll drill the holes and then drop it down. That works great for me. However, If I have to redrill, I get a mess..

[Coach1310]

I don't have my own house, but I fish in a drop down quite a bit with a good friend of mine and we leave the house raised, drill the holes and then drop the house down. The shavings/slush do a good job of insulating the house from drafts. Works great for us. It is a hydraulic lift if that matters at all.

[beer batter]

For those that leave the house raised, I assume you're not punching through the bottom of the ice are you? At least not in the conditions like these last few weeeks.

[ice_it_06]

I always lower mine about 8" off the ice and drill the holes through. I will generally run the auger on the way up to flush the hole all but clean. Drop the house the rest of the way and be done if I actually decide to fully drop it and stay in that spot. Other wise I drop to the top of the shavings only so I can just pull away if I move. (which I do alot) Mine is at the 8" mark 50% off the time. Or I'll drop the house on the shavings and dip the "slush inhaler" down the hole for a quick clean out. You can also grab a shovel and pull the shavings off the holes from the outside quick before you drop it.

[hip_hop_fisherman]

I don't know if it's sponsored by the site, so I can't post the URL, but there is a deal out there that I believe is called the "auger mate" I know I saw them at Unclaimed Freight in Milaca also, It's basically a rubbermaid tub with a hole in the center, you put that down, drill you hole and it's suppost to catch all the shavings so you can dump them in one shot. I haven't tried it yet myself (i couldn't get the darn things pulled apart in the store) so I don't know how well they work for sure. There might still be some overflow with too much ice too, I don't really know yet. they were $40 at Unclaimed Freight and I believe they were close to $60 online. if you're interested you can shoot me an e-mail at [email protected] and I can send you the link.