weight for portable flap

[markzeke]

I was working on my otter sled today and I was thinking about different ways to hold the outside edge of the portable down besides using snow which for me ends up freezing and I have to kick it from the inside to get it loose. I was thinking of taking 32" long 2" pvc pipes and filling them sand and sealing both ends. when I get set up I would just take the pipes, 1 for each side and 2 for the front flaps. Do you think this would work? besides snow, what does everyone else use? I'm not worried about weight cuz I pull my otter with a snowmobile.

[Nate McVey]

Soderblooms makes a product that we call "snakers". They are 4-5 ft. long and you fill them with sand to hold down the flaps. The nice thing is that you can leave a little room in them and then bend them around the corners of the portable. Northlander was nice enough to give me a couple and I will never use snow again. In fact, I was just over in Ashland on Sunday and there wasn't any snow to put on the flaps. Luckily we had the "snakers" and it wasn't an issue.

[schweady]

Brother MJ taught me well: Use dry, loose snow. Don't use the wet stuff or your auger shavings. And unless it's a gale, it doesn't take much at all. Just get the flap edge covered. With the wind driven hard pack on the lake this week, I wound up just laying a couple of snow blocks here and there on the flaps. Falls right off as the canvas lifts while folding up. Why haul along even more stuff? Kinda like portaging in your firewood and drinking water...

No snow? Turn the heater up a notch.

[gopher_nation]

I'm not sure if it was you but I saw someone point them out in another post. I think I might talk to a relative about sewing up some of them. Wont need them this year with all the snow, but normal early ice I can see a great advantage in them. I do the same thing as the previous, bring out the shovel and get the dry stuff, doesn't freeze up and falls right off. I had to freeze my house down on a really windy day once and thank god a house next to me had a chisel cause that was the only way to free it.

[sparkydm]

I have an older 2 man clam. I cut pieces of half inch metal electrical conduit about 30 inches long, taped the ends to prevent chafing and slid them into the skirt. I leave them in there and they don't interfere with packing it up to travel. I did this about ten years ago and has worked well.

[Todd_J]

Thread some chain through the loops at the bottom. Hold in place with zip-ties around the pole or through the grometts