Ice Shanty Clearance

[WalkOnWater]

I am half done on my 6 X 8 permanent shanty.   My subfloor is 2x4 and the runners were made out of 2x6.   This gives me only two inches of clearance.   I see that a lot of other people do this, however it does not look like a lot of room for the snow.   Will I be all set or should I slap some 2x10s next to the 2x6s?   Thanks.

[Mainehazmt]

Ive been putting some old 4" foam insulation under my runners. never froze in the runners!   and the shack also never moved

[WalkOnWater]

My question was supposed to be more about the dragging in and taking out.   I have not put a permanent shack out before and was concerned about the clearance for getting in and off the ice.   I plan on putting it on Sebec Lake.   Last year there was not much snow so clearence would not have been a problem.  Thanks

[Mainehazmt]

Snow never has been a Major problem     just drop the plow    lol

[ice dawg]

Snow never has been a Major problem     just drop the plow    lol

With two inches of clearance it is a plow! 

[WalkOnWater]

I've seen other designs like this and thought it was OK.   My stepfather was over the other day and started running his mouth about the clearance and stated that I would never get it off the ice in the spring.   I thought if it needed more, now would be a good time to do it.  Anyone with problems? How much clearance is needed?

[brujharr]

Mainehazmt! Doesn't the foam just break apart, and blow all over that way? 

[Mainehazmt]

Never had that problem  It was old freezer foam from a processing plant  kinda like blue board   only breaks apart when I run the plow over it at end of year    to clean it off the lake

[gamefisher]

Walk On Water - you are definitely not going to be happy with that set up and now is certainly the time to change it.  You've got a few options at this point.  In order, best to worse:  1)  If you can disassemble at this point (hopefully you used screws), take the 2 X 6's off and replace with 2 x 12's.  The 2 X12 then serves as both your runners and base, giving you 8ish inches of clearance.  Bevel the front w/ you jig saw and put a set of down hill or even cross country skis under.  Make sure to countersink the heads.  Your 2 x 6's wont be wasted, strip them down for your walls. What makes shacks drag good or bad is more due to how much snow they plow and "load up" as much as it is overall weight.  2)  If you can't easily take a part, just scab the 2 X 12's to the outside of your base.  Since its 6 feet wide already, won't make a difference for transport on a trailer, just adds unnecessary weight.  3)  Build a separate "drag frame" to set it on to move it around the lake and off at the end of the season.  I've seen people do it this way, I just don't like it cause its one more piece of junk in the yard when the season's over.  Whatever you do, make some sort of change now and you'll be much happier when he season starts.  Good luck.

[stumper]

My hardside has about 2 inches of clearance and have had no problems pulling it around. Most of the time I use my jeep cherokee , but quad has been used as well. Being 6 ft wide the snow just rolls off the sides after it builds up enough. My shack is all steel construction so I dont have to worry about damaging it useing it as a plow.

[Haywood]

How heavy is it?  You might just be better off building a sled or some big skis to put under it that you can pull out once you get to where you want to be. 

[nailbender]

my 7x12 shack has 4x4s for runners and have never had a problem with clearance

[WalkOnWater]

Thanks guys. I think I'll leave it for now. I can always scab another 2X10 to the sides later. The snow either gets packed down or blown off the lakes that I have seen theblast couple of years. If there was a lot of snow another 6 inches clearance would only help some. We'll see.