Support Iceshanty... Get some great gear and forum goodies... Join The Iceshanty Hardwater Militia
Maybe even give it away next Halloween. Here kid, hold your bag open wider...
Whats your address. I'm gonna put on my bat-man costume from grade 3 three and head over to pick that unit up!!
You might have a yard full of 6' tall kids all dressed in frahillbilly ice suits with custom made tricker treat bags this year
Thanks for all the great replies ! I really wanted a real cover to happen stumper. Just curious if you don't mind. If you were to sew up something like this for a friend, what's the actual cost of supplies ? With the Recon checking in at 160 bucks, i wondered if it's even possible to beat that number after buying the JetSled and framework.You're very likely going to see me in my real shanty Mike. I only finished the thing to get the project out of my head. I may hold on to it long enough to use it once or twice. If i can't give it away after that, i'll seal it up and toss it in the basement. See how it likes being stored.Maybe even give it away next Halloween. Here kid, hold your bag open wider...
Since we're getting a frost/freeze warning tonight in New England, it's time to get the season started !A couple years ago, my friend Frank shows up on the ice with this crazy looking contraption bolted to his Jet Sled (i'll go find a pic). It was a blue tarp tied to some bent conduit and other hardware, and tall enough to stand up straight in. He was getting back into icefishing and hadn't get gotten the bug serious enough to buy a real flip over shanty. It didn't take long before i was calling it the Frahillbilly.(Image removed from quote.)There must have been something to it, because i got the bug to do something like that to my Jet Sled. Frank bought a real Frabill (Trekker) and gave me the framework to the Frahillbilly so i could try my luck. After some tinkering, i finally tossed the whole thing and started from scratch.My goal was to build a flip over shanty that can be bolted to any standard Jet Sled since it's the only thing that fits in my 96 Sable. Also, it must be less than 5 ft tall when setup, and be cheap to make. I would have loved to make the cover out of a real fabric, but never found anything cheap and durable enough in my $$ range. Everything else i used is commonplace items for those who want to dive into this shadetree project. 1'st considerations are framework, consisting of the 2 side plates and 4 roof bows that pivot back. Since they are folding lengthwise with the Jet Sled, i wanted them to sit around the rim of the sled, and stacked neatly on top of each other as not to hang over or in if possible. After a little tape measure time, it was time to start with my 2 side plates that the roof bows mount and pivot on. For this task, i chose a high quality aluminum product i've used for other projects, and is perfect for a Frahillbilly project. A retired "No Parking Any Time" street sign ! I don't know squat about aluminum, but this isn't a soft grade. We do work for municipality vehicles for certain towns, and i got one when one of the guys stopped in our shop. Check with your local town garages. They may have some retired/damaged ones lying around and they'd probably sell you one or two cheap.The sign is 12" wide, what i was looking for to help reduce overall flexing of the JetSled with this contraption attached, so i cut maybe 8" off the top and bottom of the sign. Then on the cut end, i put a 1", 90 degree flange that will be where the plate bolts to the rim of the Jet Sled. That left me a good sized plate with nice rounded edges. To keep from tearing up my Jet Sled, i also cut a couple 1" strips of the leftover sign to use as a backing plate under the rim. Then i drilled 4 holes, and mounted the plates using 1/4" hardware. Since the Jet Sled is molded plastic, it naturally tweaks a bit when released from it's mold and cools. The side plates weren't parallel after bolting them on, but a heat gun and a little persuasion fixed that.(Image removed from quote.)(Image removed from quote.)The 4 roof bows are just plain old 1/2" conduit from Cheapo Depot. I broke out of Frahillbilly mode and borrowed a hand conduit bender from a guy at work (maybe 3 or 4' long, with a curved head). Never used one before, but i did pretty good measuring the length of the curve. I only porked one piece of conduit. With a couple tweaks, they were all nearly identical and ready for installing. Maybe i have a future as an electrician.(Image removed from quote.) Measuring the length of each bow and it's mounting position was simply putting my sittin' pail in the back of the sled and starting with the one that sits on the ice and determines your "work space". Laid it out and marked on the plate and conduit where it needed to pivot, and where to cut the conduit. The next one determines the height over my head, and the last two are for the cargo area. The lines on the plates are 1" apart and determine the spacing between the conduit when it's folded down, allowing space for the cover material in between.(Image removed from quote.) Mounting hardware is still standard 1/4". Nut and bolt jammed to the side plate, with a flat washer on each side of the conduit, and then a nylon locknut to hold and allow free pivoting.My next and final task for the framework is to get my roof bows to flip over and sit in their final positions so planning for the cover can begin. My bow that sits on the ice is my starting spot again. I set it down into position and tied a string to the center of the bow. Then i got on the sittin' pail again and got the overhead bow where i wanted it and tied it to the ice bow. Then repeat for the last two. The ice bow had enough leverage to hold the other 3 in place.My next problem was figuring out how to anchor the overhead bow in place to hold the 2 rear bows up, plus give me an attach point for the ice bow when i don't want to be enclosed. Frabill uses those hooks, but my side plates are different. That problem was solved hillbilly style with a few bungee cords (with the coiled metal ends), more 1/4" hardware, and a little electrical tape.With the bows folded over in fishin' position, i dug out that clear tube o' bungees i got from Cheapo Depot, and dug out the 3 lengths i needed that were close and set them aside.My idea was to make a couple stop posts for each plate that my overhead bow would sit against, and use the bungees for tensioning and spacing. The stop post is just a 1/4" bolt with a locknut turned up enough to allow me to roll electrical tape between and act as a cushion (visible in previous pic). After that i just tie a knot here and there until i have the right spacing between bows, and some tension. The last bungee is simply hooked over the rim of the Jet Sled.To set up the shanty i simply flip it over me and then insert the stud into the plate and tighten the nut by hand, then let the bow rest back on them. It's a gloves off deal. No biggie for CT weather or anywhere really since it only takes 30 seconds at most to attach them.(Image removed from quote.)At this point, it's probably late November 2007 (i gotta look), and the framework is done. I'm pleased with the results. I have a solid frame that can be bolted to any Jet Sled. I'm probably retarded for not massaging it more and patenting the thing. More to come...