Building a sled

HilltopDaisy · #1 10/31/05, 07:56 AM

Has anyone built a sled for hauling feed and hay over snow? I used a child's plastic tobaggon last year, and it was just OK, only big enough for one bale, and it tipped over pretty easy. The advantage was it was very light. I'm thinking about making a sled from old skis (available at Salvation Army--they have hundreds!!). I could use 4 shorter skis, drill holes in them and bolt on a frame, then top with a 4'x4' piece of 3/16" plywood. My concern is the weight of this contraption by the time I get it done. How would you lighten it up? Will a ski hold up to having a 1/4" hole drilled through it without splitting? Anything else I'm not taking into consideration? I need to move hay, etc, about 100' down a gentle slope, and I'm picturing myself standing uphill/guiding it down to the feed shed. Thanks.

Beeman · #2 10/31/05, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HilltopDaisy

Has anyone built a sled for hauling feed and hay over snow? I used a child's plastic tobaggon last year, and it was just OK, only big enough for one bale, and it tipped over pretty easy. The advantage was it was very light. I'm thinking about making a sled from old skis (available at Salvation Army--they have hundreds!!). I could use 4 shorter skis, drill holes in them and bolt on a frame, then top with a 4'x4' piece of 3/16" plywood. My concern is the weight of this contraption by the time I get it done. How would you lighten it up? Will a ski hold up to having a 1/4" hole drilled through it without splitting? Anything else I'm not taking into consideration? I need to move hay, etc, about 100' down a gentle slope, and I'm picturing myself standing uphill/guiding it down to the feed shed. Thanks.

I don't see why it wouldn't work, but I think you might curse gravity. Start with small loads and wear a helmet. Better yet have someone with a video camera, the film might be worth money.

JAK · #3 10/31/05, 08:19 AM

I think you want something like a kick sled, but longer, or maybe wider.
http://www.sawtoothsleds.com/catalog.cfm?CatID=kick

I think two skis would be better than four. Cross country skis are not a bad start but the camber in them really isn't neccessary for what you want. You could make your own runners out of hardwood, or maybe just plywood covered with hard plastic or paraffin wax. Since your route will be well travelled it should be easy to keep it packed down and slippery.

Do you have a small dog?
http://www.everwonder.com/david/thegrinch/49.jpg

jokey · #4 10/31/05, 08:37 AM

Do you have a small dog?
http://www.everwonder.com/david/thegrinch/49.jpg

Ok maybe it is a lack of sleep here but what???? does this mean? LOL

HilltopDaisy · #5 10/31/05, 08:40 AM

OK, a little clarification! I am not intending to ride this thing!

Beeman · #6 10/31/05, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HilltopDaisy

OK, a little clarification! I am not intending to ride this thing!

I didn't think you were riding it. I understood that you were going to try and hold this back from uphill on snow. You said you pictured yourself standing uphill guiding it to the feed shed. I'm picturing it dragging you downhill thru the feed shed. As you said you are concerned about the weight of the sled and what you put on it.

65284 · #7 10/31/05, 08:53 AM

Yes I have. The first thing I used was a hood from an old Jeep DJ5. A little heavy put with a large surface in contact with the snow pulled much easier than I thought it would and didn't bog down like narrower runners somtimes will. My "improved model is 2 hoods welded together and braced, I used angle iron and made a tongue with a trailer hitch and added a ball to the Polaris. I can haul a lot of feed, square bales of hay, or a bunch of water buckets. Not very pretty or fancy but it works well.

Pigeon Lady · #8 10/31/05, 08:59 AM

Hilltop,

I think the tobbogan design ( rather than a sled with runners) may be more siutable for freight. The large flat surface would glide over new deep snow with the weight dispersed evenly. Runners would tend to dig in and it would be sluggish.

I wonder if you could come up with something like this

http://www.camdentobogganco.com/toboggans.html

made from a sheet of fiberglass? You would perhaps want it to be about 3 feet wide and place your bales cross wise.

Does that make sense?

I've built a number of wooden sleds for kids and they are heavy. Good for about 4 inches of snow but anything more than that and they sink right down to the "bed" and won't budge.

You could perhaps experiment by putting a crosscountry ski along each edge. That may prevent it from sliding sideways and give you a little more control.

P.L.

P

wy_white_wolf · #9 10/31/05, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HilltopDaisy

Has anyone built a sled for hauling feed and hay over snow? I used a child's plastic tobaggon last year, and it was just OK, only big enough for one bale, and it tipped over pretty easy. The advantage was it was very light. I'm thinking about making a sled from old skis (available at Salvation Army--they have hundreds!!). I could use 4 shorter skis, drill holes in them and bolt on a frame, then top with a 4'x4' piece of 3/16" plywood. My concern is the weight of this contraption by the time I get it done. How would you lighten it up? Will a ski hold up to having a 1/4" hole drilled through it without splitting? Anything else I'm not taking into consideration? I need to move hay, etc, about 100' down a gentle slope, and I'm picturing myself standing uphill/guiding it down to the feed shed. Thanks.

Used to spend a lot of time building furniture racers. Put a peice of furniture on skis and see how fast you can make it down a ski racing course.

From my experience you want as big of skis as possible. Smaller skis will sink in to much in light, fluffy snow. If you can find an old pair of wooden jumping skis they work great. They are heavy, about 6" wide and 10' long. They also don't have the camber of downhill or x-country skis or metal edges. (metal edge will catch easy not allowing for any side slipage and cause it to turn over easy)

Something you might look into is dog sled designs. They will give you ideas about runners and how to carry a load without being to top heavy.

Pigeon Lady · #10 10/31/05, 09:22 AM

OOh, another idea!

Take a couple of 2x6's and cut a slight curve at the end of each one -like a ski. Then screw these along each edge on TOP (like side rails) of the fiberglass. You would need to add some light cross braces but these and the wooden side rails would hold your load in place.

If you can't get fiberglass a piece of 1/4 inch ply would probably work. You could take an old candle (large chunky one) and wax the whole under surface with it.

p.

Who loves sleds!

HilltopDaisy · #11 10/31/05, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pigeon Lady

Hilltop,

I think the tobbogan design ( rather than a sled with runners) may be more siutable for freight. The large flat surface would glide over new deep snow with the weight dispersed evenly. Runners would tend to dig in and it would be sluggish.

I wonder if you could come up with something like this

http://www.camdentobogganco.com/toboggans.html

made from a sheet of fiberglass? You would perhaps want it to be about 3 feet wide and place your bales cross wise.

Does that make sense?

I've built a number of wooden sleds for kids and they are heavy. Good for about 4 inches of snow but anything more than that and they sink right down to the "bed" and won't budge.

You could perhaps experiment by putting a crosscountry ski along each edge. That may prevent it from sliding sideways and give you a little more control.

P.L.

P

What if I used several skis and assembled them in a similar fashion as the tobaggon pictured in this link?

sisterpine · #12 10/31/05, 09:29 AM

We have built and tried several types of sled for hauling feed out to the animals, firewood and building supplies up our mountain. We currently have two "otter" sleds with hitches, one small and one medium sized. They work very well and are easy to pull by hand as well. We even bundled up, padded well and took an injured person 7 miles down mountain to the waiting ambulance last year in the medium otter behind a snowmobile (must cover the injured person with a tarp though cause of the flying snow). It worked quite well. We also have a homemade sled made of angle steel and plywood that is like 3.5 feet wide and say 6 feet long. The home made skis (used good will skis for years first) are spring steel and are set out from the sides of the box a good foot or more which improves the stability greatly!

wy_white_wolf · #13 10/31/05, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HilltopDaisy

What if I used several skis and assembled them in a similar fashion as the tobaggon pictured in this link?

The sidecut of the skis won't allow that (tips and tails wide, middle section narrow). Side cut increases the skis ablity to turn. You still have the metal edges to catch and. The 2x6 idea would work. If you go this route use a router to cut several grooves in the bottom of the 2x6 (length wise). That will aid in keeping it tracking straight.

Pigeon Lady · #14 10/31/05, 10:39 AM

White wolf's right about the metal edges. My old crosscountry skis don't have them but I don't know what the newer ones are like . But if you can get a bunch of the old ones without the metal edges for real cheap you might be able to do that. Take off the bindings and lay battons across the top of them to hold them together.

May be best to butt them all up tight against each other to form one flat surface. Like the wooden one in the picture. If you space them out snow will come up between them and catch on your battons.

However you decide to make it , it isn't necessary for the front to come up so high and curl over. As long as you have a somewhat of curve at the front it should work fine. Just high enough that it doesn't act as a snow shovel! Place your heaviest weight toward the rear.

P.

bachelorb · #15 10/31/05, 10:51 AM

Ever thought about water ski's? wider in the middle than the end. We use kneeboards and wakeboards down here when it snows (knee boards might be another good base). We just unscrew the fins and leave them outside and my boys used to have a great time.

cowboy joe · #16 10/31/05, 11:14 AM

Thinking maybe a truck inner tube with a small harness to hold the cargo...then again, I was distracted (sorry to derail the discussion)

AND THIS YEARS DARWIN AWARD GOES TO.....

5th RUNNER-UP:

Goes to a San Anselmo, California man who died when he hit a lift tower
at the Mammoth Mountain ski area while riding down the slope on a foam
pad. 22-year old David Hubal was pronounced dead at Central Mammoth
Hospital. The accident occurred about 3 am, the Mono County Sheriff's
department said. Hubal and his friends apparently had hiked up a ski run
called Stump alley and undid some yellow foam protectors from lift
towers, said Lt. Mike
Donnelly of the Mammoth Lakes Police Department. The pads are used to
protect skiers who might hit towers.
The group apparently used the pads to slide down the ski slope and Hubal
crashed into a tower. It has since been investigated and determined the
tower he hit was the one with its pad removed

minnikin1 · #17 10/31/05, 11:31 AM

Miss Daisy, there is a junk dealer down the road a piece selling a sleigh chassis that those horses of yourn could pull.

Not sure of the price buy he's going out of busniness and moving so it's probably negotiable...

Carol K · #18 10/31/05, 03:15 PM

http://www.otteroutdoors.com/sleds.html

Someone else mentioned these, I'd love one.
i did build small feed troughs on skis like you are talking about, but I used heavy lumber and I also put a half barrel on top for the feeder part. They tow well with a 4 wheeler, but in deep snow they are too heavy. Lightweight is the way to go.

carol K

skinner · #19 10/31/05, 03:31 PM

I've rolled a roll of hay up on a truck hood, & pulled it.

skinner

**fordson major** · #20 10/31/05, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HilltopDaisy

OK, a little clarification! I am not intending to ride this thing!

why not? we have been building what you describe for the last 36 years! had great fun as kids going down fairly gentle slopes

,then as teens used them behind ski doos. now we make them outa thrown out skis and a section of pallet. some are made with 1 inch ply wood,these make great bogins.we also cut oil tanks in half to move wood about and larger amounts of hay . the smaller bogins handle upwards of 300pds with reative ease