My Homemade $15 Sled! AKA The "Smitty Sled"

[MattR]

Do you think two inch blocks would be too short for snow?

I guess that depends on how much snow you get there. I made mine with 2x6's yet we normally get a bunch of snow on the lakes.


Matt

[frozengator]

I am thinking of something to leave under the slead as I fish. That is why I am thinking of keeping it short.  Here in this part of Indiana we get some snow but not all the time. I guess I will have to try it and see if I like it.

[redrover]

With a 160# shanty, I can see why you would want to leave it on the sled. I do not know what kind of floor is in your predator but you might want to put a plywood floor on your sled so you do not break through.
   I have a Shappell s3000. I load it onto a sled with 6' down hill skis - it seems those are wider & slide easier than cross country skis. I keep my gear in a 32" long box that I have mounted a short set of skis onto & that sets on top of my Shappell while going out onto the ice. When I get out to fish, if it is nice, I will leave the shanty on the sled & just pull my gear box around & set on that. If it is nasty out, I will set up my shanty & pull the box inside. Two people can then set on it comfortably inside.
  I will post pics when I can get some one smarter than me to load pics for me.

[pipeboy98]

Red rover...I would love to see some pics of that! My neighbor has the same shack as you do and has been looking for a new way to set it up.

[MattR]

Red rover...I would love to see some pics of that! My neighbor has the same shack as you do and has been looking for a new way to set it up.

x2...except I have the same shack too..lol

Matt

[redrover]

I'll take pics this weekend & get my son to post them.

[pipeboy98]

thanks man....much appreciated!!

[downriverbob]

I mainly put the skis on my tub sled because the one lake I fish on has a lot of deep snow and slush.  Last year in the picture you can see that the snow melted off and there was very little left on the ice.



                                                                                         BOB

[frozengator]

I mainly put the skis on my tub sled because the one lake I fish on has a lot of deep snow and slush.  Last year in the picture you can see that the snow melted off and there was very little left on the ice.



                                                                                         BOB

Nice downriverbob. Thankyou for the picture. love the view where your at too. Very jealous here. Wife walked by saying hey I like the snow mobile LOL Anyways I just want to leave the smitty sled under my tub I just wondered if a lot lower would effect its capabilities? Do you just strap the tub to the sled or is there a different way you keep it succoured?

[jiggin jeff]

Made some mods to my sled this weekend

[Purple Floyd]

I built one this year. It is a bit bigger than the original and it doesn't break apart, but I built it to be pulled behind my RZR and follow in the tire tracks or I can pull it by hand. The bonus to this design is it makes a kick butt sled to pull the kids with in the field behind the house. It also fits perfectly in the bed of my Ram 2500 quad cab and still lets me close the access cover.

[smitty0312]

Great job you guys! Keep em' coming.

[DEADONDYLAN]

Here's a nod to just fines sled, musta been in the air that day. My buddy had a minute man that we did up into a sled box 39"x56"x18" then mounted the minute man on top. we had to cut 1 1/2" off bottom of poles to allow skin to hit framing then sheated outsides to pin it in place. we are gonna put a lid on the box not done as of yet. floor is 2"x2" frame with 1 1/2" foam board sandwiched between 1/4" oak plywood ( glued and screwed) walls are not sheated inside. this thing is a big one man and pulls easier than my scout.(!@#$%^&)and a little table top that fits on a 5 gallon bucketfarm fattys and deadondylan  If a mod could resize these I wouldn't hate it.?

[buckzone101]

hmm now im thinking again, possibly converting our shappell s2000 onto a smitty platform and ditching the cheap plastic flooring...

[justfine]

looking good guys got mine painted catch hole cover and sleave done next flag pole some them ruber maid fasttrax on sides to hall auger and cook stove

[buckzone101]

heres mine (red skis) and my little brothers with the black skis, trying to come up with a way to attactch the suitcase shanty to a platform possibly that comes apart and folds up like the shanty dose then attatches to the skis when mobile then you could leave it on the skis or take it off and set it up, i dont like the cheap plastic bottom but it works!

[redrover]

Justfine, you have a really nice setup! Nice & portable.

[ASATMillerbluegill]

Very cool setups guys!!! Here is Fishing on a Smitty sled with a Clam Scout TC setup in the "windblock" mode. You get to enjoy sitting up high, with more leg comfort. I only remove my Clam from the Smitty, if it is cold, and I need to fully enclose the shelter. Pulls like a dream. I put an eight ft lead of 550 paracord and a wooden dowel for a handle.

[laclabiche walleye hunter]

nice sleds guys please keep posting them up love the ideas.

[wipike]

Had to send this back up to pg1, it's too good.

ASATMillerbluegill, how you're fishing out of your flipover/sled in that last picture is how I fish out of my Smittysled 99% of the time.  I put my sled in a pop-up blind so it becomes a big bench at that height.  Way easier on the knees.  What kind of seat are you using there?

[crappiman2]

Free is always good! Let's see your sled when you are done.

Finally built my Smitty sled everything except paint saving that for summer. Can't wait to try it. Doesn't work good on carpet Hopefully we get some ice here in northeast Pa. but it don't look good.

[smitty0312]

Crappiman, that is a dandy, I hope you get some ice too, our's here is melting fast, warm temps and rain yesterday. I still have not made it out. Thanks for sharing the pics, you will love it once you get to use it.

[crappiman2]

Crappiman, that is a dandy, I hope you get some ice too, our's here is melting fast, warm temps and rain yesterday. I still have not made it out. Thanks for sharing the pics, you will love it once you get to use it.

Yea Smitty, Its been a bad season for ice fishin. It took till mid Jan to get fishable ice and within one week of warm weather and rain.. it was gone. Some people are getting out farther north in pa.  If I do get out I won't need my shanty unless it gets really cold. so thinking about making two shorter cross members and finding a cheap or free sled. hopefully free.... so i can use it on warm days. Thanks again for the great DIY project it was fun and something to do during this bad season.

[MattR]

crappiman2... I like the idea of countersinking the nuts for the carriage bolts for the cross supports. I drilled my holes a bit too snug because I didn't want to lose the bolts, now I cannot get mine apart..lol. I am going to have to use a sledgehammer on mine because even though I use a pickup truck the majority of the time, would be nice to throw the sled into the car too.

I know some are probably wondering, why don't I just buy the right sized drill bit. Well the nearest hardware store is over 20 miles from home. I built it with what I had available on hand.

Matt

[mjmeyer]

Matt,
If you tap them apart using a "persuader" and a scrap block, you may be able to ream the holes a bit with your current drill bit. That way they be snug enough so there's no play but removeable. Next size up may cause some wobble.

[crappiman2]

crappiman2... I like the idea of countersinking the nuts for the carriage bolts for the cross supports. I drilled my holes a bit too snug because I didn't want to lose the bolts, now I cannot get mine apart..lol. I am going to have to use a sledgehammer on mine because even though I use a pickup truck the majority of the time, would be nice to throw the sled into the car too.

I know some are probably wondering, why don't I just buy the right sized drill bit. Well the nearest hardware store is over 20 miles from home. I built it with what I had available on hand.

Matt

Yea Matt I to first tried just making the carriage bolts snug, but when I pushed them in they would wobble and pop out .. so i deciced to secure them with nuts. To counter sink I used a 3/4 inch spade bit. drilled the depth of the nut about1/2 inch.. Hope this helps.   

[jbird68]

I drilled the holes in the cross-beam so they would be snug with the bolts. Then I put the cross-beams in place and drilled the holes in the upright 2X6's . Then I took the cross-beams off and re-drilled the holes in the cross-beams larger so the bolts would slip in and out easily. They go in easily, but when taking apart the left and right end of the cross-beam don't always come out at the same time and will bind. I just have to go slow and work each side a little bit at a time until they come all the way apart. But the sled pulls like there is nothing behind me...even through snow.

[MattR]

Yea Matt I to first tried just making the carriage bolts snug, but when I pushed them in they would wobble and pop out .. so i deciced to secure them with nuts. To counter sink I used a 3/4 inch spade bit. drilled the depth of the nut about1/2 inch.. Hope this helps.   

I am heading out fishing tomorrow, yet will work on the sled on Monday and will install those nuts on the carriage bolts like you did. Main reason I made the holes so dang tight was I didn't want the bolts to come out and lose one or a few. I have a tendency to lose stuff at times..lol. Anyways, with the nuts holding the bolts on the 2x4, then I can ream out the holes a bit bigger without too much worries about losing them.

Also thanks to mjmeyer and jbird68 for the extra and useful advice.


Yes I do agree fully on how nice the sled pulls. I had it out the other day and it pulled so nice I even slid the shanty on top of it and used the smitty sled to move it to other fishing spots. It was not windy, I would not recommend this method on windy days for obvious reasons.

 My sled uses a bit wider cross braces, almost 4 feet. I have a few ideas on how to use the extra width and if they do not work out, I can always make it narrower if needed.

Matt

[mjmeyer]

Thanks Matt, Smitty and all the others! I got my skis Saturday and will be building my own Smitty Sled, although it may need wheels, too.
Great ideas and designs here. I'll post my pictures when I have it together. It may never be truly finished after looking at all the modifications.
Mike

[kb]

Wheels are great.  I use mine to pull wood around my yard since we dont have any snow or ice here this winter.  I even took it for a ride down my driveway!