Jet Sled Portable(Conversion plans)

[big-brother]

Are there plans here or elsewhere for turning an ordinary jet-sled into a one man quick-flip style portable.Have a few rough ideas on how to change mine but if plans exist PLEASE let me know!!!!!!!!!

[brujharr]

What's, considered a ( jet- sled )   

[Bean]

He's talking about the jet-sled made by Shappell. I've never heard of any conversion plans, but I'm sure some could be made with some plastic or aluminum pipe and a tarp. For all the effort and time spent trying to make it yourself, I would think it would be less costly(and would last longer) to buy a good used flipover shanty like the fish trap scout or pro.

[mistertwister]

why not just get a rover 1 made by shappell right on a jet sled? I bought one last year and love it

[big-brother]

Bought myself an Eskimo quick-flip last week. Had only been used 3 times and the price was easy on the wallet as the prev. owner could'nt fit it in the trunk of his new car!!!!!

[JeBa]

Certain sizes of the Otter sleds have a conversion kit to transform it into a flip over type sled/shanty.
The small sled kit is around $265.
Check out the Thorne Brothers website.


Jeff

[winchester 88]

Big brother..

 I have a jet sled and am thinking about doing the very thing that you are talking about.
 I saw one that a guy had done this to last year and it really isn't that hard as you can use the same ideas as the commercial units use and with a little bit of "injununity"you can get a workable unit.
 The biggest problem will be to get a cover sewn to fit the frame.
 We have a company that makes boat covers, awnings and etc. and I am going to price having it done before I proceed.
 The one that I saw, the guy had sewn the cover himself and while it didn't look like something that Martha Stewart did it worked.
 This making and adapting equipment is one of the things that I like about ice fishing. It keeps the interest up when there is no ice.

 Winchester 88

[Hollywood703]

I you dont NEED an Full Enclosure, you would Just attach Pipe Holders to the corners of the Jet sled and use PVC pipe and a Tarp as a Wind Break.I plan on doing this as another option for when its not cold enough to put up the "ice cube" Just enough to block the wind. I'll Post some Pictures when i get it completed. and at $4 for the PVC and a $3 tarp from menards, its cost effective.

[oleike]

......"Pipe holders"........can you ellaborate winchester???

[mosely]

Here is one made by a guy on another site I frequent.  Sounds just like what you are looking for.  I am thinking about making one for myself for those days I fish alone and move a lot.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=218410

[Popsicle]

Last year I purchased an Eskimo Quik flip II just before they were yanked off the shelves.
It has been great. Plenty of room to store my Jiffy and auger blade, propane tank and heater, fish graph, small shovel, rods, tackle and a small cooler with lunch.
 
  I also have the Sleigh hitch to tow it behind my snowmobile.
This is where I found a weekness in what was an almost perfect ice shack.
The light weight plastic sleigh tray it all fits into proved insuficient on the hard ice trails left behind in a slushy lake. The front corners took a pounding.

  It turns out that the Jet Sled XL from the Fishin' Hole is a very good (and tough) replacement. Very few mods. were needed to swap out the sleighs.

  It's how I made a great shack even better.

[jepik]

mosley..can you post the the name of whoever posted the thread php?t=218410....I tried to get it...no luck... so I will do search if I can get name...thanks

[Trooper Bri]

A friend of mine built a quickie using electrical conduit and brackets from the hardware store to make a flip-over type shanty out of a JetSled a couple years ago. He used a blue poly tarp for a cover. It was ugly, but served it's purpose. I nicknamed it The Frahillbilly.

 Oddly enough, he bought a Frabill Ranger soon after, and offered the frankenstein framework to me. It took a long time, but i got inspired this fall and resurected it. After some planning, i tossed the whole rig and started from scratch to create Frahillbilly2. I wanted something a little less taller (under 5ft total) than what he built.

 The side brackets i built from a retired No Parking Any Time aluminum street sign donated by a local municipality (still need to trim). The bows were made from cheapie 10' electrical conduit, and bent myself with one of those hand counduit benders with the 3ft handle after taking a couple measurements. Minus the cost of the JetSled,  my costs for 4 pieces of conduit and some 1/4" stainless hardware was maybe 30 bucks.

 My snag came from fabricating a top. I chose poly tarp to keep it in the tradition of Frahillbilly with low costs, but couldn't find a good sewing machine or person to use, or bond it properly. Making the 2 sides and top was easy. Lay the whole rig on it's side on top of the tarp, and trace a side panel. Then transfer the pattern for the other side. The center piece along the top of the bows, front, and back is just a long strip. Cordura is easier to work with, but outside the Frahillbilly budget.

 While attending my local tackle shop's annual ice fishing seminar, they had something in stock i had never seen before. The Frabill Recon... Almost identical in dimensions to what i just built from scratch. For 160 bucks, it came home with me and put my project on hold. I will very likely remove one roof bow next fall and order a Recon top to finish what i started.
 But, if you're handy you can build a good 1 man shanty for around 100 bucks, including the cost of the JetSled. Sewing or bonding the cover and making windows is the hardest part.
 Here's a few pics of the project. They're hosted on another fishing site, hopefully linking them won't be an issue.

 

 

 

 That black post is a stop on each side of the plates for the 3'rd bow. I used bungee material linked from the front of the JetSled to each bow to tension them against that stop. From there it works as a windbreak, or i can drop the 4'th bow on the ice to enclose myself.

 

[jpicks]

I was thinking of doing the exact same thing this year.  Do you think you'd be able to post the dimensions of the tubing (how long it is before the bend)?  Thanks.

[stoutbait]

Looks like a pretty nice rig.

[rlowery]

Please post dimensions, that is a sweet design ya got there

[fishman31]

Now that is a good design.  good job.

[Tainterslayer]

Old thread but oh well.. How about tarp tape? I was thinking of making a sled like that but making the tarp to cover it is the hardest part. I've seen tarp tape (for joining poly tarps) but how does it work in sub zero temps?? Anyone know?

[fishville]

I know this is kinda useless but a year or 2 back On The Water magazine had an article on building a flip over.

[Double-L]

Looks like a pretty nice rig.

   X-2.   Love mine & it is very similar. Took a frabil/ Sliced it in two & added fabric to widen the shack almost 2 ft.....turned it on the jetsled. This is not a good pic. but you can get the idea.
 

   This was a small single flip over/ Now I find it much more comfortable.....I have small shelves on each side & still lots of room for gear......Lou

[$ignmoney]

We have a local Awning - tent rental store ( Big ones for partys etc.) and they custom make almost anything in canvas. I was in the store a while ago and they have photos on the wall of past jobs and there was a flip over so I had to ask. Some guy made the frame and they covered it. Added windows etc. It looked awesome, even did it in blue canvas.So check your phone book and you may have a shop local that will hook you up. All you need to do is the base and frame

[Tendril77]

This one has given me the idea to make one for my jetsled! it seems like a good idea and not hard to do. I will try to do a side mounted one similar to this one so I can seat 2-3 people. I have an old tent that I can use and a sewing machine. When I do this, I will post pics and dims for people to do the same. Thanks for the idea!!!!

[beefytheroadrunner]

ive got one i made. had a buddys old lady sew the fabric for me while i fitted it. going out tomarrow and will take some pics if i rember. by the way its blue like a clam so i call it the clap!

[Otto]

I sent an email to Shappell this week asking if there was an attachment to turn a Jet Sled into a flip over.  They suggested I buy a whole new one,,,,, but I want to put the Jet Sled I ALREADY OWN to good use. 

Looking over these plans and pictures shows it can be done and that there is a demand for this retrofit.  (HELLO?? SHAPPELL??? ARE YOU LISTENING??)    I'm going to give this a try, looks like a great winter project.  Too bad I didn't see this thread back in August, it would be ready for this season.

[beefytheroadrunner]

didnt get around to taking a pic today but i can tell you this, its not wide. i am a big guy but compared to manufactured single flips, its real skinny.

[$ignmoney]

If you go off the back its going to be how ever wide your tub is. I thought about going off the side like the 2-3 man one you can buy but dont know how im going to make the poles slide and lock inside each other. If you make them 1 length they will be short and no head room or to long they will hang way out catching everything. Need to get a large tub with some girth to it. What if I just drilled them and slide them out till I get my holes lined up and then shove a pin in each one? way to much screwing around I think,never get to fish-Ill be setting up all day

[Otto]

If you go off the back its going to be how ever wide your tub is. I thought about going off the side like the 2-3 man one you can buy but dont know how im going to make the poles slide and lock inside each other. If you make them 1 length they will be short and no head room or to long they will hang way out catching everything. Need to get a large tub with some girth to it. What if I just drilled them and slide them out till I get my holes lined up and then shove a pin in each one? way to much screwing around I think,never get to fish-Ill be setting up all day

I was thinking about that too.  It would be better to set it up like a two man and off to the side, it would give you a lot more room.  To solve the "height" problem you could raise up the height of the tub by building a frame around the top of it, maybe 12-15" high, then mount the pole mechanisms to the of that.  As far the poles sliding and locking into each other, there are many dimensions of electrical conduit that should match up as far as inner and outer diameters.  I believe some of the conduit has different ratings and the type they use when poured in a concrete floor would be the most durable.  I like your idea of using pins and matching hole; yes a bit of a pain, but once you set it up you should be able to move it from spot to spot without unpinning everything, at least if you are not going to move too far.

I am also thinking about reusing some flexible tent poles and having a "soft" top rather than one that is held up with U-shape poles......something like the tents that you set up on the top of a pickup bed.....

[copperjohn]

I used these when I made telescoping poles. http://www.mcmaster.com/#pins/=a8l3de hope the link works. I bought clearanced Yukon tent and fit it to a Team Wild Sled that was just a few inches narrower than a Yukon sled.  Worked out fine, though on one pole I have two sets of buttons on each side. 

[triggerman]

Im working on one currently similar to what was mentioned above, I made some adjustments tho, I have an otter small sled and will be using that, the brackets have an offest to allow for a bit more room and my conduit on the flop portion as well as above my head actually enlarges, I have 42" in front of the sled and above my head then it tapers back to the width of the sled, I will post up my cad drawing of the frame work tomorrow after I get home as I cannot post pics from work, I found fabric on ebay that I will be using, waterproof 1000d 10 oz fabric, 60" wide by 10 yds long for under 50 bucks, its almost enough to do the whole thing as well as according to the seller a standard sewing macine will sew it

I am considering changing the conduit to something else and using fiberglass type tent rods instead as they make them with 45 and 90 degree connectors

[triggerman]

here is my cad model of my plans