Pull Sleds

[Walkin624]

Hey everyone it’s almost that time of year again and I can’t wait. I have a question for everyone. I have a pull sled that I walk with out onto the ice but in that sled I have my Eskimo foldable shanty and my Eskimo augur plus tip ups, a chair, mr buddy heater, bait, some tackle, I think you get the point. I keep looking for some ideas for improvements I can do to organize my sled better to make the walk out easier but I cant really find that much out there. Could you guys share some of your pics of your set ups?  I know most answers will be to get a quad or snowmobile but that’s not in the cards right now. Thanks everyone.

[reelrusty]

What are you hauling this stuff to the lake in? Full size pick-up, suv, short box pu, etc. Seems every year I find more stuff to drag out onto the ice and my Otter Wild tub sled really not big enough either. Two hubs like Quick Fish 3, chairs, (gear for three usually) heaters, propane , camera, Vex, graph, tackle box, bucket of tip-ups, Jiffy 30 (K-Drill new this year so Jiffy may stay in the truck), rod bucket, minnows, etc.  I'm thinking a take-down Smitty extra wide and saddle bag my hubs and auger each side of my tub sled. I pull with 550 Polaris Sportsman though so not as tough as it sounds and my 3500 pu hauls all too easily. 

[Walkin624]

I actually only have a Subaru crosstrek that I use to get to the lake. It’s packed to the brim but it works.

[filetandrelease]

First and last ice I pull by hand , the best answer is build yourself a smitty sled it certainly will help ,

[Raquettedacker]

Get a Jet sled and put a Smitty under it...

[Walkin624]

I was going to do that but wasn’t sure of the stability of it and I have to make it fold so it can fit in my car.

[reelrusty]

I've seen folks cut the ski length. Not sure how long you can put in your rig but Goodwill skis are Very easy to "customize." Lots of pics on threads here show how to make no tool removeable cross pieces for your skis and risers. I know they aren't cheap but if you're nice maybe Santa could bring you a roof rack for your rig? Have a great season and stay safe out there!

[rdhammah]

I have a jet sled. 54" long. I have found that if I partition off the sled, I am limited to fitting things into the available space. I did partition an area for my tip ups. the rest is left open. I added a hinged cover. the cover is 1/4 inch luan plywood cuz it's light. I used a piano hinge. I stuck on a tape measure and polyurethaned over it when I coated the cover. I cut a hole in the cover for the bucket. bucket is used for my catch and seat. square hole in the side of bucket to stick fish through. auger and shanty strapped on top(I usually don't use a shanty - would be nice for privacy when you gottta go to the bathroom tho'). flasher fits in sled perfectly. I use a square cooler for shiners. tackle in plano 3600 box. I built rod holders  using plastic tubes with flanged top from Home Depot, but you can use PVC.  Load all this onto a Smitty Sled

[2muchleft]

I started out as others have mentioned with a Smitty sled.  I ended up adding a removable piece of half inch plywood on top which gave me more room for equipment in addition to just loading up my shanty base.  The skis on the Smitty make all the difference for us walkers.  Google Smitty sleds for plans.  Good luck.

[rdhammah]

I was going to do that but wasn’t sure of the stability of it and I have to make it fold so it can fit in my car.

the nice thing about a smitty sled is that it breaks down. it is 4 pieces. the longest is the skis.

[Raquettedacker]

I was going to do that but wasn’t sure of the stability of it and I have to make it fold so it can fit in my car.

    Smittys dont fold they come apart in 4 sections and you can make it as wide as you think you need for stability ...     

[Iceassin]

    Smittys dont fold they come apart in 4 sections and you can make it as wide as you think you need for stability ...     

...and depending on length of skis, you could trim them a bit to fit in your trunk.

[Zern]

Bungy cords are your friend.

If you look past the nice crappy at my sled and if i recall correctly, at the bottom is my 5x6 clam hub. 5 gal pal that i nocted to put cord through. at the bottom was a plastic coffee can with minnows. Also is my fold out chair, X67 graph, rod case. The guys mention a smitty. I can only image how much more room you will have to lash down items. Worked very well for me till i got my otter cottage.

[hrdcore]

 
Plans are on utube. I threw this together In a couple hours. I made mods to mine

[3300]

when you design the crossbars for the smitty skies, make the crossbar longer to hold things you don't want to keep in the sled like the pop up hub.

here is one of my hubs strapped to the smitty skies and a huge cabelas sled next to it. it all comes apart. notice where i attached the pull rope and it's color. it a long rope too. drilled holes in raisers to remove some unneeded weight.

[trapper2000]

smittys  are the  best  sled i have  ever used  i  put  my  shanty  gas auger  heater and  all my junk on it  and  pull it with one  hand ......

[reelrusty]

when you design the crossbars for the smitty skies, make the crossbar longer to hold things you don't want to keep in the sled like the pop up hub.

here is one of my hubs strapped to the smitty skies and a huge cabelas sled next to it. it all comes apart. notice where i attached the pull rope and it's color. it a long rope too. drilled holes in raisers to remove some unneeded weight.
Yup, my crossbars will be long enough to saddlebag my auger on one side and hub/hubs on the other. I'll try to figure out the picture thing and share when complete.

[reelrusty]

  Ha! Maybe I gotta get the quote thing figgerd out too! 

[Walkin624]

Just want to thank everyone who made suggestions. Here’s a pic of what I came up with. It’s not 100% done but it’s close. Hope it works and hopefully I will pulling it out onto some ice soon. I was up at Schroon this weekend and the north end was completely locked up at the boat launch as far as you could see. It was nice clear ice about 3/4”-1”. See everyone out on the hard water soon!!! 

[trapper2000]

looks real nice to me 

[numbtoes]

I have found that simply using a longer than normal pull cord on my smitty (or directly on my sleds) makes a little easier towing by hand also. The smitty helps the most but a longer cord improves it a little too.

[reelrusty]

  Lookin great!

[Storyteller]

I just invite my wife and make her pull the sled

[Fishin-Mission]

Just wondering what type of skies do you use down hill or cross country?  Most of the down hill skis I have are heavy while the cross country a much lighter.

[Walkin624]

I used downhill skis. I went to play it again sports and they gave me a pair they were going to throw away.

[snow snake]

 try salvation army stores
I have gotten cheap skis there
I used them for my smitty sled
good luck
ralph

[SeanP]

I just invite my wife and make her pull the sled

I have thee sons....I should have named them Smitty!!! LOL

[perch chacer]

I have a question for everyone. I have a pull sled that I walk with out onto the ice but in that sled I have my Eskimo foldable shanty and my Eskimo augur plus tip ups, a chair, mr buddy heater, bait, some tackle, I think you get the point. Could you guys share some of your pics of your set ups?  Thanks everyone.

Make a Smitty Sled to get your pull sled up off the ice and snow.