Mounting a Rod Holder to my sled

[prosty41]

Good evening,

As I am making plans for this year's season, I am planning to buy a new Otter Pro Sled (large) I want so mount a pole holder like these  to the back.

http://www.amazon.com/CE-Smith-Tournament-Holder-Black/dp/B006BACW04/ref=sr_1_45?s=hunting-fishing&ie=UTF8&qid=1446010813&sr=1-45&keywords=fishing+pole+holder

Anyone done something like this? I guess I am planning to just drill holes into the otter although it makes me cringe a tad.

[staggerin]

I say mount it to your belt and be a stud ! Lol

[boss j]

be careful drilling into a otter sled. i had one that i drilled and where i put the holes it cracked!

[VanderLaan]

What about mounting it to the side of a plastic milk crate?  No worries about damaging your new sled and you can move/remove it as needed.  A five gallon bucket, plano lure boxes, LP cylinders, etc would fit inside the crate too.

[Osage]

X2 on the milk crate.I use the same rod holder mounted to a crate in my kayak,works very well,I can see it working equally well for an ice mod.

[hardwater diehard]

What about mounting it to the side of a plastic milk crate?  No worries about damaging your new sled and you can move/remove it as needed.  A five gallon bucket, plano lure boxes, LP cylinders, etc would fit inside the crate too.

That would be the way to go ...more versatile . ..going to add a Berkly tube rod holder to the file crate on the front of my ATV.

[3300]

i've seen them home made out of pvc and cut a slit for the reel stem and bolted to many things. that way they can have the amount and spacing they want, instead of the premade specs.

prime and paint to your likeing. if you want them mounted to supports so theres less holes use some thing like shelf brackets for those and mount that to the back of the sled so theres less holes.

you could add a length of bungee so it lays over the reel stems once they are in place so they don't bounce out if you pull by machine. use a hook on at least one end and feed it over each reel stem and then hook it to the end of the shelf bracket with an eye bolt on it.

[Ramp 23]

Clam makes a nice rod holder capable of holding 4 rods & it adjusts also. I have one bolted to my fish trap & also one on a milk crate , works really good.

[VanderLaan]

I would echo 3300's thoughts in that you can buy a length of 1.5" PVC for a few bucks.  Drill a hole about 4" from the end, use a jigsaw to cut a slot from the end of the tube to the hole and sand off any burrs that may remain.  Attach them with bolts, washers and nuts.  Put your savings towards other gear.  This assumes that you have not already pruchased the tube holder.

[prosty41]

Good ideas!

I'm not opposed to making my own out of PVC. God knows I need to stretch my ice dollar with as much as I want to buy this year!

I am set on attached them to the back of the sled tho and I guess I'm having second thoughts for fear or cracking it. Anything I can do to lesson the chance of the crack?

[3300]

if cracking is happening, use back pressure on the bit before it breaks thru like we do on some ice augers. also add tape on both sides first. use smaller bits and work up to your size as you go. same as you would cutting in metal.
otherwise just put them into a bucket with the bottom off from another bucket cut down to fit upsdie down and into the inside bottom of the bucket i am using to hold my rods and use a butterfy/paddle bit to make holes to keep your rods spaced apart. the key to this is to have your cranks facing upwords when setting them in to use the least amount of floor space. you can hand wind the spool so the sit that way.
i use the rod socks to keep the tops from tangles.

i use the rest of the cut up bucket as a bucket extender to also proect the tops from getting hit on things. you can take it out if you don't glue it and use it for a rod holder to dead stick fish.
you could take a swim noodle or pipe insulator and push it over the lip of the top of the bucket and put slits and a hole facing downwords at the end of the slit in it to push the rod tips into to keep them from tangeling aslo. berkley makes some thing like it for their rod holders made out of foam and hard plastic.

[prosty41]

very creative! i think we need photos of all the aforementioned projects.

[Swift]

Fender washers tend to reduce stress with bolts through plastic

[prosty41]

Fender washers tend to reduce stress with bolts through plastic

I guess I do not know what a fender washer is

[prosty41]

if cracking is happening, use back pressure on the bit before it breaks thru like we do on some ice augers. also add tape on both sides first. use smaller bits and work up to your size as you go. same as you would cutting in metal.
otherwise just put them into a bucket with the bottom off from another bucket cut down to fit upsdie down and into the inside bottom of the bucket i am using to hold my rods and use a butterfy/paddle bit to make holes to keep your rods spaced apart. the key to this is to have your cranks facing upwords when setting them in to use the least amount of floor space. you can hand wind the spool so the sit that way.
i use the rod socks to keep the tops from tangles.

i use the rest of the cut up bucket as a bucket extender to also proect the tops from getting hit on things. you can take it out if you don't glue it and use it for a rod holder to dead stick fish.
you could take a swim noodle or pipe insulator and push it over the lip of the top of the bucket and put slits and a hole facing downwords at the end of the slit in it to push the rod tips into to keep them from tangeling aslo. berkley makes some thing like it for their rod holders made out of foam and hard plastic.

So are you thinking, placing a piece of wood on either side of the sled and drilling into it with a small bit that way?

[VanderLaan]

I guess I do not know what a fender washer is

A fender washer has a small hole relative to its overall size (the washer may be 1.5" in diameter and the hole is only .25" in diameter).  I use them on a lot of things to help spread the stress over a wider area.  For example, on my flip-over, I have two large fender washers on the inside of the sled and the pull rope runs through the sled/washers and is knotted on the inside.  You can get them at pretty much any hardware store. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=fender+washer&safe=active&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CCwQsARqFQoTCISPw42E5sgCFQbsJgodVzQG9A&biw=1429&bih=835

[prosty41]

I follow! Good call!

[mbart]

prosty41, I use the Smith rod holder on my kayak fishing milk crate, it's a bit overkill for ice fishing rods. I use 1" SDR 21 pvc, for my ice rod protective tubes & rod holders.

[prosty41]

I gotcha on the milk crate. Id like to totally keep rods out of my sled and just mount it to the back. I am nervous about drilling the holes but I think I can get it done without cracking it. I actually have even considered melting the holes and grinding off the mess once it cools.

[3300]

i was saying if drilling and cracking it during the drilling maybe an issue, use tiny drill bits and work your way up to the size you need for the holes.

if your talking about the tub giving out after its all done and said, then add re-enforcment to both sides, like sheets of aluminum, not the real soft stuff. fender washers will disperse pressure points too, but still be concentrated to the size of the washers. you could use both.

[prosty41]

Finished product. Used 2 inch PVC as spacer between the wood. Turned out perfect

[WolfPack1]

I use a couple door hinges bolted onto the sled with a summer spiral rod holder in it bent at about a 45 degree angle. Love them because they can pivot, and slide them right out of you don't need them. I'll see if I have a picture somewhere

[WolfPack1]