Strikemaster Glide Lite "Franken-sled"

[JBrown31]

Hi guys... first time poster, long time lurker here.  First off I just want to say what a great site Iceshanty.com really is.  I'm a rookie ice fisherman and this site has been very helpful to me.

I posted this over on another forum, but I wanted to sign up and post it here... and I wanted to thank the guys who have already modified their Glide Lites, because they have been an awesome source of ideas.

Just before Christmas, I decided that I wanted to get into ice fishing more seriously than I have been in the past.  I researched all the latest gear and gadgets... figured out how much money I wanted to spend... and determined what I wanted to buy.  For a sled, I had a full-size Jet sled in mind.  However, on Christmas morning I was surprised with an ice fishing related gift from my dad... which happened to be the Strikemaster Glide Lite sled.  This sled is about half the size of your typical sled, designed for ultimate mobility and convenience.

I must admit, at first I was a bit concerned.  I thought I was going to have to buy another, bigger, sled... which would result in one more extra thing to store up in the loft (which my wife hates, BTW).  After searching the web for modification ideas, I decided to Pimp My Sled, if you will.  Below is a series of before and after pictures, showing the modifications that I made and how they will be used.

This first one is a picture of the sled, before any modification, just as it comes out of the box (bucket was added).  The sled is approximately 18" wide, 16" high, and around two feet long... made out of a thin black polyethylene plastic I believe.



First things first... I had to come up with a way to attach my auger to the sled.  A two-piece auger can be broken down and tucked inside the sled, but that just isn't practical... it robs valuable space and who the hell wants to take apart their auger whenever they make a move?  I did a lot of brainstorming as I was browsing through Home Depot.  I stumbled upon thoses plastic hook hangers that are made for hanging pipes from rafters.  I bought a couple different sizes since I wasn't sure what would work the best, and they were less than a buck apiece.  After a bit of eyeballing, I mounted the hooks to the sled with two bolts each.  NOTE*** I wrapped the hook "shanks" in electrical tape first since these things are brittle and I didn't want them to crumble when I torqued the bolts.  When I hung the auger on the hooks, the auger fell towards the rear due to being off-balance, which I figured would be the case.  My remedy: a couple strips of velcro in front of the front hook.  The velcro was attached to the sled with 1/2" self-tapping screws, with a dab of loktite superglue on the threads. 

Here's the resulting auger carriage...


My next idea was to construct a hatch over the front compartment of the sled.  That way I don't lose my valuable ice jigs, miscellaneous items, and of course I want to keep my precious Redman Golden Blend nice and dry. :smiley_bril:  I wanted it to be light and see-through, so I went with 1/4" acrylic plastic... similar to plexiglass but a bit more rigid.  A couple cheap hinges, attached to the sled with more superglued self-tappers, are what connect the hatch to the sled.  To keep the hatch shut I installed a magnetic spring loaded catch, just like the ones on entertainment center glass doors.  I must say, acrylic is very nice to work with.  You can shape it easily, and polish it up with a little flame from a torch.  It does however seem to be fairly brittle, so at this point I don't know how long this hatch will last.  Another NOTE... yea I know, the hinges are on the outside... but installing them on the inside and folded up just wasn't going to work out.







The interior of the sled offers pretty limited storage for larger items, and since I wanted to reserve most of that space for my underwater camera, I had to find a spot for the Buddy Heater.  On the back of the sled is a bit of a shelf with holes in it for putting ice rods into.  Since I only use two rods, there was plenty of space on the back to set the Buddy Heater on that shelf.  I installed four eye bolts on the top four corners of the sled to use as tie-down points.  The back two work perfectly for securing my heater to the back of the sled.



That's pretty much the extent of my sled modifications at this time.  I'm sure there will be other ideas that I come up with as I use the sled in the future.  One thing I would like to do is add extra plastic runners onto the bottom of the sled so that I don't burn holes in it while dragging it across rocks and parking lots.

Here are a few pictures of the finished product, all rigged up and ready to go.  My shelter is a Cabelas Ice Team 6'x6' hub shelter, which only weighs about 26 lbs so it will be carried on my shoulder on the way out.  Everything else that I need will be either in or on this little sled.  I'm very happy with the way it's turned out so far.  Even though I was concerned at first, I have no doubt now that this sled will suit my needs just fine.  Best part of all, it's small enough to throw in the trunk of a car if necessary, and it stores away nicely up in my garage loft.







I would recommend this sled to anyone who is a mobile fisherman, or anyone who has limited storage space.  If you have any questions about materials or methods, ask away!

[Blue83]

Nice

[MEMAGGIENCOMET]

Nice mods.

[geothefisher]

Nice job, really good mods!

[South33]

Wow, I like it. I have a tendency to bring alot more than that could carry though. 

[timbobber]

alot of thought, and work went into the mods. Nice job. Good luck with it.

[Gordo]

Very nice! You are my kind of modder.

[jkskeet]

nice job... looks great..

[MnSportsman]

I'd suggest......Go get yourself one of those cheap plastic "toboggan/boat" sleds to pull yur Hub shack. You could hook it up behind yur "Mod" sled & save yur self the hassle of walkin with the shack on yur shoulder. Kind of awkward walkin in snow with that load on yur shoulder & pullin a sled too. I use a couple of hunting ground blinds & they can be a bummer to carry in the woods & in/thru the snow, But the sled is great even in the woods. You can pack out yur meat on one too if ya had to.
But.. for icefishin....We been usin those plastic "toboggan/boat" sleds for years....,
well since no one seems to have a wooden toboggan anymore.
;-)
Nice "mods" ya did there.
 

[craigthor]

Looks great, I know i love my modded Glide Lite.

Craig

[adkRoy]

Maybe you should contact glide light and see if they'll buy your ideas. Great mods.

[bee]

Some good ideas. I see you are one tough guy or else you are not going far. Where is your Flasher? I think you will find that camera is not going to be of much use. If you have a good 18v cordless drill you can use the bottom half of that auger to drill holes. Have you thought about getting a Flip Over? With one all your gear will fit into it and instant shelter. Best of fishing

[PauliePiker]

Nice work,you hard-water warrior!!

[BMW20]

Looks really good O.P, gotta love the mobility of the little sleds. They are just big enough to drag a little crap around, but small enough that you can't make them weigh 100+ lbs.

One thing I highly recommend is angling the rod holders on the back at a 45 degree angle away from the seat. I found after fishing on mine that hooks from lures that were on my rods would sometimes get stuck in my coat or bibs due to being so close to the seat. $10 worth of pvc fixes that





1" pipe insulation cut to fit and sprayed with contact adhesive slides right into the pvc and creates such a nice fit on your rods that they will never move or come out until you want them to.

Even my buddy that was hesitant to due this mod at first (didn't think it was needed) ended up doing it after fishing a few times and constantly rubbing against his rods.

[jjc155]

Heres what I did with mine (much like BMW20). These are great little sleds. I need to take some more pics, I have done acouple of other things since these, plus the addition of some iceshanty.com stickers.







J-

[JBrown31]

Some good ideas. I see you are one tough guy or else you are not going far. Where is your Flasher? I think you will find that camera is not going to be of much use. If you have a good 18v cordless drill you can use the bottom half of that auger to drill holes. Have you thought about getting a Flip Over? With one all your gear will fit into it and instant shelter. Best of fishing

At this point, I'm not really serious enough to drop the cash on a good flasher or flip-over shelter.  Plus, I have very limited storage space.  I know several people that fish exclusively with a camera and have great success... On the lakes I'll be fishing I think my camera will work great and I'll be just fine without a flasher... for now, at least.  Thanks for the advice.

[JBrown31]

Thanks for all the kind words and additional suggestions, everyone!  I can't wait to try this thing out... hitting the ice after work today!

[walleye tattoo]

JBbrown31 when it comes time for a flasher look into the ice hopper it and the flasher can fit into the bucket.

[holmes76]

thats pretty sweet... i was lookin at those sleds the other day thinking of picking one up.

[craigthor]

JBbrown31 when it comes time for a flasher look into the ice hopper it and the flasher can fit into the bucket.

 

[walleye tattoo]

Now that is what I,m talken about.Good job craigthor. Make sure you get the battery sling makes hole hopping easer.

[mdrobny]

SWEET SLEDS!  ya'll got me thinkin'....

[numbskull]

You guys gave me great ideas for my Glide Lite.   I put two eye bolts (with washers on both sides) on the top of the left side and added 2, 13 inch bungee cords.  I crimped the one side of the bungee tight to the eye bolt.  My 6" Nils rides nice and tight. My Marcum LX5 fits in the bucket set in the hole. Another bucket on top lets you load tip-ups. The Mr. Buddy slides right into the front compartment with room for propane bottles.  I use a pop-up hub style hunting blind with ice screw ins and that goes over my shoulder at 12#s.  This is a great set-up without buying an expensive blind. Good luck!
 

[Nam 69]

Anyone have a gas auger on one of these sleds??? and can I see the setup

[craigthor]

Anyone have a gas auger on one of these sleds??? and can I see the setup

As soon as my Nils/ Tanaka setup arrives I will still waiting for it though...

[kgalla02]

Pardon me for raising an old thread, but where did you guys find the black pvc/abs pipe pictured below?  I've checked around Home Depot, Lowes, Menards and a few plumbing supply stores with no luck.

kg

Heres what I did with mine (much like BMW20). These are great little sleds. I need to take some more pics, I have done acouple of other things since these, plus the addition of some iceshanty.com stickers.

(Image removed from quote.)

J-

[kb]

It looks like they just painted them black. 

[icehousepsycho]

It looks like black pvc pipe with that foam pipe insulation stuck down inside them. That's a really great Idea actually.

[ASATMillerbluegill]

Nice setup

[kgalla02]

It looks like they just painted them black.

I thought that might be the case (thanks!) and upon further review, that long piece on the rhs looks like it has a white interior.  Painting is an option, though they do sell black pvc/abs pipe for water/sewer/electrical applications ... I just can't find anything in the 1" dia. range other than straight 5" pieces ... no 45-deg, no cross, no tee, et...

Oh well, it's more of a summer project anyway ... just kicking around some ideas and this is the best thread for Glide-Lite mods I've found ... I like the idea of strapping the heater on the back vs the rod holders as well.  We'll see how it goes ... maybe I'll resurrect this thread again next season if I come up with anything out of the ordinary, .