runners for new Clam

[greelhappy]

Purchased a new pop up two man
clam. I have heard that I should put runner attachments on the tub to save wear and tear. In the rafters of my garrage I have two ski type runners, they are about 3"s high. Was thinking of attaching them to a 4' by4' piece of ply wood to use like a sled. When moving, simply slide the shanty on the sled and off you go. I have a ATV to pull it around when conditions allow. Good idea or bad idea? Any thoughts on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Good fishing to all.

[Wageoar]

I think its a great idea. I will be doing the same thing for my shanty. If you can get the large area of the shanty base off the ground 4-6 inchs it makes for easier pulling and less abrasion on the base. I will be hand pulling my shanty and in deep powder it is alot of work as you end up plowing the snow. I will be using an old pair of downhill skis mouted to a lightweight frame with bucket and auger tie-downs

[jpollman]

Purchased a new pop up two man
clam. I have heard that I should put runner attachments on the tub to save wear and tear. In the rafters of my garage I have two ski type runners, they are about 3"s high. Was thinking of attaching them to a 4' by4' piece of ply wood to use like a sled. When moving, simply slide the shanty on the sled and off you go. I have a ATV to pull it around when conditions allow. Good idea or bad idea? Any thoughts on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Good fishing to all.
Two or three years ago I bought a Frabill Ultralight and attached some UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight) plastic wear strips to the bottom. I bought the strips at a local plastic supply house. I think they were about 2" wide and 1/4" thick. They were quick and easy to install and if they ever wore down they'd be easy to replace. Well last year I pretty much gave up ice fishing and sold it but here is a picture of what it looked like when done.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/539/1200Frabillskids2.jpg

Maybe you could do something similar. I just liked the fact that it's permanently attached and you don't need to screw around attaching and removing them to use the shanty.

John

[Burksee]

Building a sled is what a lot of guys do, allows to carry more stuff! :eek: I've seen guy's use conduit, rolled/bent around to make sleigh type ski's. They're supposed to work great. My sled has a pair of old downhill snow ski's, they work great as well. The set up the JPollman had works good if your just going to pull the shanty itself. My BIL and I have used snowmobile hy-fax runners, they work great and if you buy the obsolete ones they're very cheap!

[greelhappy]

Thanks fellas for taking the time to offer your suggestions to come up a solution to this sled issue. I have a sled that i had used when I had a Minute Man shanty. But take it down, put on the sled, put it back together again got to be a little much. So I think I'm going to really like this pop up. The only thing I don't like is the total weight. The Minute Man went at about 160 lbs. and the Clam is about 15lbs. heavier. At 69 years old I don't pull anything around in the heavy snow anymore. Enter the ATV. Last year was a virtual bust for almost all the machines. Hopefully this years ice will be a lot safer or as safe as ice can be. I absolutely love to ice fish, and I'm hoping this year will be a banner and safe year for all of us nuts (my wife's description). It won't be long now. Good fishing to all.