Anyone ever mount skis directly to jetsled?

[outlaw5oo]

With all this snow lately my jetsled mounted on a Smitty sled just sinks in and becomes more difficult just pulling my jetsled that floats on top.I was thinking just mount skis under the sled for a slick ride over the snow, I could be wrong though. Any thoughts

[rball]

Hey I use cross country skis mounted under a big plastic sled. Works great, would suggest mounting them slightly seperated from sled. Use some sort of spacer, I used the styrofoam swimming noodles, cut them a few inches thick disks. They are hallow in middle and I used the same binding holes and glued the screws in to lock. This will allow it to give a bit over uneven ground. I generally pull line by hand. If you pull via macine at higher speeds I would reccomend heavier screws or bolts.

[coboy]

I have an Otter Cottage that I have skis mounted directly to the bottom of the sled. It's fine up to two inches of snow but six or more it sucks. I'm pulling the shelter plus an auger, heater, eleven
pound propane tank,food, rods, tackle, etc. It is basically too heavy to plow through any snow that's deep because it will sink in. I plan on elevating it at least ten inches "Smitty Style," using
conduit but it won't happen till after the season is over. I think if you are pulling light weight you would be fine, but if you are hauling over one hundred pounds like me I think elevating the
sled above the snow is the way to go.

[outlaw5oo]

I used 2x6s to elevate the sled and with 18+ inches of snow it sank down and still sank down enough to make it harder to pull. Never had to encounter this issue in the past years. i was even debating putting a 3rd ski in the middle but im not sure. Id say i pull about 75-100 pounds on a normal trip

[TeeBugg]

Mounted skis directly to bottom of my clam jr....i will say its ten times easier to pull now. Just the addition of skis has helped a ton. Its not like dragging a bunch of sandbags behind me anymore.  And even in the deep snow we have it still glides rather easily.

[frozengator]

I have an Otter Cottage that I have skis mounted directly to the bottom of the sled. It's fine up to two inches of snow but six or more it sucks. I'm pulling the shelter plus an auger, heater, eleven
pound propane tank,food, rods, tackle, etc. It is basically too heavy to plow through any snow that's deep because it will sink in. I plan on elevating it at least ten inches "Smitty Style," using
conduit but it won't happen till after the season is over. I think if you are pulling light weight you would be fine, but if you are hauling over one hundred pounds like me I think elevating the
sled above the snow is the way to go.

you are right on! I have a frabill predator, fully loaded close to I'm guessing 175#. I have mine 3-1/2" up and yeah it pulls great but with this snow I need 10" risers!  I still thank smitty for his original post on here. I would have never thought of it myself.

[curt69]

Use down hill skis , they are wider and float better on the snow . I have skis on both my jet sled and my eskimo qf2 . Make alot of difference .

[rugby ice]

I mounted my ski's directly to my large motar tub from a home supply company (a lot cheaper than jet sled). it does plow up a little in front with all the snow but this amount isn't normal. I've seen guys add one of those roll up sleds in front as a curved surface to deflect it.

[TeamBlueGear]

Has anyone ever tried water ski's. I see some who have skinny cross country and regular down hill ski's. It's the same idea with tires, some do better than others in deep snow. The skinnier the tire, usually the better they will dig in, the wider the tire, the better chance it will ride on top of the snow which is what you want in this case. It was just a thought, I have an old pair that came with the boat we bought and looking at them the other day, they must be 6-8" wide. Or heck, even better a cheap pair of snowboards

[BIGCREW]

I have my jet sled on 6 inch risers and its hard to pull in deep snow,it doesn't matter what you do its just tough no matter what most lakes in my area have 15+ inches of snow on them with more in the forecast,I have a few snowboards laying around so I might try and mount one in between the skis,I just added wheels to it a week or so ago because it was tough pulling up a steep hill with no snow and now there's to much snow for skis or wheels

[outlaw5oo]

Maybe I'll give it a go it might float on top better then the risers sinking in the snow. We have an unusual amount of snow but nonetheless still have to venture out there

[matt12]

yea i use a 2x4 spacer on mine. also, what most people dont do, forget the ski's. find your self 2 snowboards. they are wider, stronger and float much easier on deeper snow.

[toofuss]

I just hook it to the back of my truck lmao. Really though my otter lodge is such a pita to pull in the snow I am building a 24in tall smitty to put it on when I cant drive the truck out.

[IceFlier]

I have done several iterations of Smitty sleds, my own designs of sleds, homemade fish trap on a jet sled, and this year mounting ski's on Jet Sleds.      I gave up my homemade fish trap after 10 years to upgrade to a CLAM Kenai which turned out to be a nightmare to pull.   Fixed that by making a smitty.

I use downhill ski's, because they are wider than cross country and have a steel edge for longer wear/tear.    I haven't tried is 2 snowboards, but I think it would be excellent.   

I mounted the skis on my jet sled to overcome the situation where there is snowmelt and snow on the ice.   When you have that condition you can get ice on bottom of sled when it touches water on the ice, and that causes snow to stick to it and makes it really really hard to pull.   So the ski's solved that problem.   Friday I went out on 12" soft fluffy fresh snow and I think it worked okay, but still was not easy to pull.    In fact it was really hard.   Can't say whether it would have been easier or harder, but the next monring I used my other jet sled without the skis but same size.   It was easier to pull without the skis so I am going to remove them from my sled.

Snowboards may work.   I decided to travel light and walk when the snow is new and deep.    Leave both shelters at home and carry bucket, auger, and rods.

[Silverbullet555]

The reality is that there is no one answer. Conditions are going to dictate what is needed. I ride snowboards and have 4 snowboards for different conditions. Our problem is the same. Depending on the conditions you really need a different setup. Light fluffy snow vs wet snow vs slush vs crusty snow vs clean ice. Weight distribution and pull points also make a difference.

Wider is often better, but not always.

I am building my first smitty sled and I will use downhill skis. Super wide (snowboards or powder skis) only work if you have the speed/momentum to keep it on top of the snow. Otherwise, it just becomes a large area that you have to overcome.

[IceFlier]

Further thought on skis on jet sleds.     I think next time I will put my jet sled on the smitty sled when the snow is deep and fluffy.     I think this will work really good by speading out the weight and limiting the surface area contacting the snow.

[kc_]

This is how I modified my smitty:





I also put springs on the legs to help put them upright. And added wheels to the skis.



 
the wheels are just held on with clips for easy removal when not needed.

[Shack man Shoney]

Nice smitty!!!

[mrjohnny]

With all this snow lately my jetsled mounted on a Smitty sled just sinks in and becomes more difficult just pulling my jetsled that floats on top.I was thinking just mount skis under the sled for a slick ride over the snow, I could be wrong though. Any thoughts

I had the same issue with my smitty sled..The sled is a good idea,if your pulling with mobile unit..But by hand mine didn't work out so well...I put the ski's on the outter edge of the tub and it works a lot better...Pulls fairly easy.....It is a little harder with the power auger but with the hand auger,it is easy...

[fishermantim]

I was wondering if you could use snowboards instead of skis, for a wider base on the snow surface?
You might have to mount them on the outside edge of the base to get the widest stance for the sled, but I doubt it wouild sink into the snow that easily.
The only problems I can see would be if you ride over uneven surfaces it could be a bumpy ride for your gear, and could possible tip.
Oh, and you'd need to get two boards of the same length and composition. You wouldn't want to have a "soft" and a "hard" board mixed, as it will react differently to the load you may be carrying. (Kind of like putting two diffeent types of tires on your truck.)

Still, it's a project worth looking into for the warmer months to come!

[grumpyoldude]

Most of the Smitty sleds are built by dumb smitty! Once you put a cross board between the skies and it reaches the depth of snow it will drag… and you have a dead mule at the end of your rope. If you put a block [2x4 or 2x6] between the skies and the sled and bolt directly to the sled, you have the ease of riding on top of the snow [most of the time] and if the weight sinks you too low at least you are still pulling the tub and not plowing with a cross member. I hope this came out right…bolt the skis to the jet sled not to a smitty sled with a cross tie.

[Crappieman111]

I've tried it and it sucks. Pretty much more than 4 inches of snow they suck. have not worked for me..

[frozengator]

Most of the Smitty sleds are built by dumb smitty! Once you put a cross board between the skies and it reaches the depth of snow it will drag… and you have a dead mule at the end of your rope. If you put a block [2x4 or 2x6] between the skies and the sled and bolt directly to the sled, you have the ease of riding on top of the snow [most of the time] and if the weight sinks you too low at least you are still pulling the tub and not plowing with a cross member. I hope this came out right…bolt the skis to the jet sled not to a smitty sled with a cross tie.

what do you mean dumb smitty???  I for one did not want to mount directly to my tub for the fact of I load the tub in the suv and the smitty on the top. I got news for ya I don't think any one that has built one is dumb. Lots of great ideas on this site and lots of smart people!

[grumpyoldude]

I knew I would get slapped for that one. The only sled I see answers the cross brace problem is the one built by ljc2tall… sheer Geniuses! All [now most] Smitty sleds are limited by there ability to keep you above the snow, reducing over all drag. My apologies to Dumb Smitty and his Mom…