Group: Members
Posts: 146
Member No.: 11378
Joined: February 16, 2016
Tired of pulling gear + kid in a sled, I took a page out of Disco's book and built myself an ABS smitty. I built similar 1 1/2" -> 2" docks for the skis, but also built in a couple of crossmembers to hold up my sled.
I've had it on the lake twice - once just gear, once gear + kid, and holy smokes, the difference between smitty / no smitty is unbelievable.
Still need to wax my skis and fasten my sled to the frame with something other than a ratchet strap, but this is a good start! Weighs about as close to nothing as possible.
Group: Members
Posts: 146
Member No.: 11378
Joined: February 16, 2016
QUOTE (Tesmel @ Feb 15, 2018 - 04:03 pm)
Very nice, how did you attach the ABS to the Ski?
I might attempt making one in the summer.
Is that the 75" Pelican sled?, I have a 60" and it is a tad small for all my gear.
I used the ski binding holes, front-most and rear-most, and drilled a pair of matching holes into each ABS cap (Disco had a great idea using 2" ABS caps as a platform for connecting pipes to skis). I was able to re-use the binding screws as well.
And yes, that's the Pelican 75. Took a bit of playing around to get the balance correct, but I pull somewhere around 70lbs when I have my daughter and it handled the weight pretty well. I was certain I'd hear a CRACK at some point, but it held up!
Group: Members
Posts: 2476
Member No.: 10908
Joined: January 25, 2016
I wish I could take credit for any idea on the ABS Smitty sled but none of the ideas are mine.
I saw a post a year or so ago on a ABS Smitty sled. Could remember how it was built so I just started with whatever idea I could come up with. I probably used parts of ideas from all kind of places I had read from but can't remember what I came up with and what I read.
Either way fantastic way to build one......also I am going to add some cross members on mine.
Group: Members
Posts: 2476
Member No.: 10908
Joined: January 25, 2016
So without cross members I had an issue with the skis splaying apart. I played on the ice with some rope and tied the down pipes together under the sled and voila it worked.
Off to the house to make something perminant and still able to be disassembled to the smallest space storage and transport I can without compromising structure strength.
I got in the sled with the skis on and it held me at 195lbs. No stress except on the bottom of the sled. I think this was a good test as my 195lbs were only putting pressure in the two spots my feet were placed and in the middle of the sled. Normally I only carry 30-40 lbs spread out.
Group: Members
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Member No.: 6034
Joined: January 30, 2014
QUOTE (kevb81 @ Feb 15, 2018 - 11:12 pm)
Nice build for the tow rope I would attach it to the ski tips then your not pulling on the frame.
Yup, drill a couple holes in the tips of the skis. It will help the skis 'float' over the snow and take the strain off the frame. Agian, for anyone wanting more build ideas, google "my homemade $15 sled" . First link will be the original thread with 58 pages of different builds and build ideas.
My ABS Smitty, No Mo' Slow on the Snow
