Any Tips on Skis for a portable shanty?

[high_flags]

            I have a SHAPPELL ,the bottom is not smooth . I want to build something for it to ride on or some type of skis.I pull it by hand.  ANY IDEA'S?? Thanks HIGH FLAGS   p.s make it quick my back is breaking!

[FISHFLY]

           I have a SHAPPELL ,the bottom is not smooth . I want to build something for it to ride on or some type of skis.I pull it by hand.  ANY IDEA'S?? Thanks HIGH FLAGS   p.s make it quick my back is breaking!

High Flag I have tried putting skis on my frabil ranger which ways a ton and still have not come up with a winning way -although I saw a new one this year - I guy made a square box to fit his hut out of 1/2 galvized tubing - with only two 1/2 runners-once you get to your spot pop it out of the box and your ready to go -these were some older guys and they put me to shame walking out -just an idea

[pkevinb]

high_flags

I have a Shappell S2000.  I just put on the Shappell skis that are made for it and are they nice.  It makes a huge difference.  I imagine that they will help in deeper snow as well.  They cost $20.00 for the kit and are very easy to install.
I also have a small Otter sled that I put skis on.  For it I picked up and old set of skit from a thrift shop for $20.00.  I removed the bindings and screwed them to 2x4's and then mounted them to the bottom of the sled.  It works great and the 4" of clearance between the bottom of the skis  and the bottom of the sled helps in deep snow.

[WVBoy]

Hey guys, before attaching skis to your sled. Go out and purchase 100% silicone spray and spray the bottom of your shanty. It bonds to plastic and rubber and is actually good for it. Along with being slicker than snot. Also spray your zippers with it to prolong the life of them and make them easier as well. If that doesnt work...add skis.

[pkevinb]

The silicone spray does help, but didn't cure the problem for me.  I sprayed it on the snowblower too and it works works slicker than shi* on it.  I will have to try it on the zippers, never thought of that.

[Yellow Belly]

I made a simple 2' wide by 4' 6" long frame out of 2x4s. I then took 2 ten foot lengths of 1/2 emt conduit and made two "U" shape runners out of them. The stubs (uprights) of the runners are roughly 10" high and the runners are roughly 4' long overall.

I drilled 2" deep holes in the bottom of the frame a couple inches in from each end and then pounded the runners in using a rubber mallet. I believe I used a 11/16 bit for the right fit.

I put my 75 pound homemade plywood shanty on this sled and it pulls very easily by hand. The height of the runners also keeps it above the snow pretty well.

I have a 91 Olds Cutlass and I put the sled in the backseat and the shanty in the trunk and I'm good to go.

2 - 8' 2x4s = $5.00
2 - 10' pieces of 1/2 emt conduit = $6.00
1 - tow rope = $2.00

Avoiding a hernia = Priceless!!!!!!!

[iceon]

water skis with everthing off them . Screw them right to the sled you build .

                         iceon

[high_flags]

     Thanks for all the great ideas, HIGH FLAGS

[GoFish123]

When i had my portable i used two 2 x 6's and braced them together with 2 x 4's.  Just set your portable on the sled that it makes.

[jigginstick]

 Shappell makes a ski kit for $20.00 give em a call

         toll free  1-888-571-1144

[Higgsy]

I use a 2x4 pressure treated runner and it has a 2x3 mounted on the top of the runner and is screwed to the bottom of my home-made portable. I covered the 2x4's with galvanized sheet metal. Before the metal was on this was hard to pull and the ice was wearing out the 2x4's quickly. Now I need to build a tow bar instead of using a rope because when I tow the hut with my atv the hut tries to pass me on the ice as soon as I let off on the gas.LOL. The galvanized sheet metal was light and made a huge difference. The metal I had already it was left over drip-edge from when I roofed my house I just flattened it out.  But if you can buy a ski kit for $20 that fits your portable buy it. Tight Lines

[bigdave1018]

everyyear i would scope out just the right junk pallet at work [ a throwaway one] and get 4 or 5 sheets of that real heavy black plastic slipsheets [ the throwaway kind] find some old junk 2x2s, heavy airbag plastic from the railroad car shippers and build my own shanty or ice sled. ive always owned a van so sliding it in and out was a breeze. price was right to and did the job. finding skis in the trash or thrift stores or at garage sales worked even better. they usually lasted 1 or 2 seasons so id save the skis and trash the rest. i picked up a pair of rossingnal skies complete with poles and bindings that looked brand new for 3 $ at a garage sale this fall. the bindings alone cost almost 100$, lol.

[Shaggy]

FISH307.com has a ski kit for the Shappells for 20 bucks

[Penguin]

I built a sled using a pair of old skis. A couple foot-long 2x6 supports connect to a 4-foot slotted angle rail on each one. I bolted four 1x4 cross pieces to connect the rails, long enough to fit my Shappell 3000 DX snugly. Put a few eyebolts under the front and rear cross boards for towing and bungees. I hitch it to my snowmobile, bungee all my gear on, and pull it easily. Sometimes I put a 3/8" sheet of plywood over it instead and use it as a cargo sled if I don't take the Shappell. Gotta weather-proof all wood parts. I use Helmsman Spar urethane, three coats, nothing better. If you're handy with metal-working you can probably fashion some supports that way rather than using 2x6's. Also, as noted earlier in the thread, silicone spray is used in abundance on the runners.

If anyone in CNY (Liverpool) wants to see it, send me a private email. I have a few rails left that my neighbor gave me, always willing to help another hardwater addict.

[Mongo]

If you can get a pair of water ski's they work great, take the old bindings off and mount to your shanty. I put a good layer of ski wax on mine it seems to help slide a little better.

[sturgeon]

Hi Guys

WHere do you buy the silicone spray. I live in canada and the only stuff i can find is a spray for waterproofing tents but it is not 100% silicone.

Sturgeon

[Mongo]

You can check Home Depot if they are in you area, I bought a few cans near the hardware isle.

[livin4ice]

I did the water ski thing last season.  I mounted them to a frame I made out of 1 1/2 PVC.  I put 5 inch legs on the frame.  This set up works 10 times better that the ones I have seen with snow ski's.  In deeper snow the wide water ski's stay up on top of the snow and on the ice it seems to pull easier (even with 100 + pounds of shanty and gear on the frame).  This may be because the weight is distributed over a wider area with the water ski's  I used an old CHEAP pair of Coleman ski's I had laying around.  The cheaper ski's are honeycombed inside and lighter than others.

Mike

[JigEm]

I did the water ski thing last season. I mounted them to a frame I made out of 1 1/2 PVC. I put 5 inch legs on the frame.

Any chance you could post a picture of the frame/skis?

[firsticerules]

i am making a sled in shop class and i'm almost done and for skiesi used a 2"x6" and ripped it down the middle and then skrewed some plastic sheeting on the bottom of the wood. tried it out at school and it works great. when i get it home i'll post a few pics.

[livin4ice]

Will try to get one posted tomorrow.

Mike

[livin4ice]

Well here is the frame.  Sorry it looks so dirty but I haven't used it yet this year and I just took it out of the barn for this picture.  I mistyped in my origional post, the legs are more than 5 inches now, I am going to cut them down to 5 inches.  I also have rubermade tubs (the kind you use to store items under the bed) that sit down inside the frame for some of my equipment (propane cylinders, rods, etc.).  My shanty sits on top of the sled (it is the solid floor folding style).  I tied the tow rope to the ski tips.  I did this for two reasons, one is to help keep the ski's up on the snow, the other is in case the ski's freeze down or get hung up on something I won't put stress on the legs (which are holding over 100 pounds).  This is suprisingly strong.  I had it out last year in 0 degree weather and it held up well.  I even towed it behind a 4 wheeler with no problems.  I did fill the legs and "T" joints with expanding foam to help add strength and minimize flexing I'm not sure if it actually added any strength or not but it did cut down on flexing.  This was a prototype so I haven't painted it yet.

If I was to build it again I would do a few things different.  I would make the legs shorter (getting ready to cut these).  I would have two cross members near where the legs are as opposed to the one in the center I have now.  I would also make the sled a bit narrower.

Well anyway, here it is.

[JigEm]

Thank you so much that is is exactly what I needed to see.

Tight Lines...Hard ICE