I’ve put off adding skies to my sled for two years now because I wasn’t happy with anything I’ve found to do it. Mind blown, this is exactly what I’ve been waiting for and ordering immediately. Thank you
Would love to hear how it does. The product link states the bracket supports 150N which is about 34lbs. If you have a hundred pounds of gear you're well past the limits, but again would love a follow up review on how it does loaded down and handling torsion. Thanks for sharing, great idea!
I’ll have to try to post an update later in the season. Thanks for the info on the weight. I think this methods probably better suited for a lighter load although I haven’t had any problems at all yet.
The only thing I would’ve done different which I did to mine was have a friend in a sign shop sheer me .080 Aluminum plates 2 inches wide by 8 inches long and put those on the inside of the sled with a washer and aircraft nut That way you don’t have to worry about any torque on the hinges pulling through the plastic.
I need some ideas on how to add wheels to same or similar setup as your... where I could have wheels that can pop up/down for those of us who need to walk a bit on non snow/roads before the ice. I actually looked into those lifts... wasn't sure how stable or strong it would be when loading up with heavy fishing gears. Especially the mechanism of the lift when covered in snow, water, freezing, etc... since it really isn't made to be used to extreme outdoors. Also, as for the weight limit... 150lbs isn't much as that is likely for static weight but when you are on the move with weights on and such... it would get stressed too much. So now I thought about just making it with some square alloy pipes or 2x4? attach to side and flip up like a wing or something.
And you could always use a hitch mouth cargo rack for the snowdog. Then the whole bed can be utilized for the rest of your gear. Good luck and tight lines, my friend.
Couple of comments and questions first instead of the eye Bolt I would use a pad-eye and some T nuts so you don't have the bolts sticking through the front of the ski. Second when you lift up the sled and put it into your truck do the skis want to flop down to the open position?
Ordered it from Sportsman’s Guide back late 2021. I remember at the time I found it online in a few places but everyone else charged a high freight shipping rate and Sportsman’s Guide was just a flat $20 shipping fee.
I just did the exact same thing that this video shows, I went and bought screws small enough that they didn't go through, after I put the screws in I backed them out and put some epoxy in them and screwed them back down
How did the furniture lifts hold up? I’m in the process of building my smitty right now and really like the ability to lift and lower the sled. Thanks.
No issue but I’d keep this set up for a light duty set up. I did the same on a heavy duty sled and the mount completely bent from having too much weight in it after sliding sideways down a small bank.
I ended up putting them on a larger sled and was hauling way too much weight and one side bent right over toward the end of the season. I may end up getting another set and putting them on this sled again. I think It would be fine hauling 30 or 40 pounds or so but I had them on an xl jet sled and hauling a ton of gear and large hub shack while guiding on Lake Superior.
Looks nice! I've seen a lot of vids of the completed builds but never saw anybody (except one guy without commentary ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-avS4p1UXy8M.html ) do a video of these furniture lift ski mods in action... with a real load (Power Auger, Vexilar, battery, Rods, Tackle, Buckets, Tip Ups, Heater, Spud Chisel, Beer, Sausage, Cheese if you're in Wisconsin, and of course 20lbs of fish on the way back home) in real life. Would love to see something like that if and when you have time. Until then, how's it holding up in general? Used it much? Any sideways/ torsional flex bending the metal hardware? Did the support struts ever freeze up? Any evidence of stress on the plastic? Any bad rust? Thanks!
I stuck them on a much larger sled and was hauling way too much gear. Did well till end of season I slid it down a bank, turned sideways and bent. I wouldn’t hesitate to redo on a lighter set up but wouldn’t load over 50 or so lbs. I was hauling well over 100 lbs regularly.
