Need help building a winter gear sled

[SherpaKroto]

Things I woulda, shoulda done:
1) Gone right to aluminum conduit like Frodo, GO, and others told me to do.
2) Kept the design as simple as possible. Eliminate the bells and whistles. KISS
3) Make all connections as tight as possible. Loose connections make the pull rough (as Kevin says)
3) Wrapped the pack in a tarp when pulling
4) Remember that it if can catch, it will. Tie everything down as tight and secure as possible
5) Don't overpack. Just because it fits it doesn't mean you have to bring it.

FWIW, The Beast (interesting: the price went up $1 in the past week!)

 

[KayakDan]

I buit my sled a few years ago,using the link that Darren posted. As with most of these sleds,it's a continuing evolution of design. I added the collapsable pusher bar to the back for "uphill assistance",and this also helps to stabilize the load on the sled.One change I made was attaching the harness to the frame with bungies. These act as a shock absorber,both uphill and down. Never occured to me to use a climbing harness for pulling,instead of a waist strap. Back to the drawing board!
Haven't had a problem with the PVC yet,and I've used the sled at -18o. I wonder if the PVC problem is more design,than materials.

 

[bobmak]

Here's a link to an article on making a sled that was on VFTT back around '98. I found it on the Wayback Machine:

http://web.archive.org/web/19990127164340/www.lexicomm.com/views/features/sled.html

After you read the article, click on the "contents" link to go back to the old mainpage. It's a trip looking back at the old homepage. There is even a link to the trip report from the first Gathering.

- darren

Yikes, I can't believe that design is still kicking around on the net! I sent that to Darren around 8 years ago when I first joined Views, and thought it was long since gone for good. I still have that sled in my cellar, but it's been about 5 years since I used it last. As I have gotten older I seem to have lost my taste for the week long winter trips that was it's main purpose. I used it for a few seasons, and it did pretty good for a while. The last time out, while skiing into South Branch, I took a good dump while going downhill. As noted by previous posts, the PVC gets brittle in the cold and I snapped both poles. Luckily, I always carry the greatest invention known to mankind - DUCT TAPE! I was able to cut a couple of 6 foot saplings (I know, harming nature is bad but I needed some straight poles) and using duct tape and some cord, I made a pair of new poles that worked pretty well. I still have those in my cellar as well. I think that if I was to do this over again I would switch to 1/2" galvanized electrical conduit (cheap and sold at Home Depot, etc.) , maybe something more along the lines of SherpaKroto's design. From past experience though, sleds are pretty good for hauling things on wide open rolling spaces, like the trails in Baxter or for hauling climbing gear up to Tucks. When trying to negotiate narrow trails, blowdowns, scrambles over bolders, etc., a pack is still the way to go.

 

[Frodo]

This is my sled (see attachment, which GO taught me how to make). I have taken it to Chimney Pond twice, and did a Pemi Traverse with it 2 years ago, pulling 50 lbs of gear over Mt Hale, Zealand, Guyot, Bond, and Bondcliff, which I will never do again ( I will try anything once)

The key things about a haul sled are that they should be long, narrow, and the harness support should be rigid. A rigid support allows for control while skiing, hiking downhill, and for heading horizontally across slopes.

I use 1" dia steel electrical conduit bent in a U, which I attach to a padded hip belt via bolts and fender washers. On my Pemi Traverse, the padded hip belt/bolts connection is the only area that failed (4 times), all while heading down hill (too much stress). Under "normal" operating conditions, the steel conduit/padded hip belt is the way to go...

Using a tarp to tie down your gear is also the best method...

 

[Mad Townie]

Even in the cold of the last 2 Presidents' Day weekends in Baxter, I found that my PVC was fine--maybe because I used the gray electrical conduit version. I use 2 long straight pieces as traces and a short piece to go between 2 eye bolts with rings at the front of the sled. Because the gray PVC doesn't have 90 degree corners (only those big curves) I use white PVC for those 2 spots.

I think one of the tricks is that I do NOT glue the joints together, I just fit them in. Yeah, they come apart once in awhile, but that's a lot better than breaking and it doesn't happen often. Nylon cord runs through the traces and has a 'biner on each side to clip in to the sides of my climbing harness.

I use an Aubuchon Hardware orange sled that's pretty heavy duty and has longitudinal grooves in the bottom to help it trach straighter. Oh, and I've reinforced the front with a couple strips of galvanized sheet metal, sealed off with (what else?) duct tape. Works like a chaahm.

Anyway, it won't get down to -40 this winter, so we won't have to worry about cracking--right?

 

[Ed B]

If you are serious about a better gear sled...

I came across this thread in my browsing tonight and wanted to ad my two cents. While I have used conduit and PVC pulks successfully for years - nothing provides the control and flexibility (for safety in a fall) like 1/2" solid fiber rods. The make the best traces for gear sleds (ski pulks) by far.

I invite any serious sled builders to download my 29 page booklet for free. The are designs in there for all uses. I highly recommend the designs that use fiber rod poles. I will be posting yet a newer design in about 2 weeks after we are done field testing it. You will note that the site ask for a shareware donation with the download if you find the booklet usefull enough to be worth it. You decide based on the information's utility to you.

Enjoy the snow - we are still all brown here in Minnesota.

Ed B (author of Building Your Own Ski Pulk)

 

[spencer]

Hi Ed,

Thanks for posting and letting folks know about your site. It's really informative and your booklet shows how much you enjoy this hobby...

Not long ago, I put together a site to show my design, but also to serve as a clearinghouse for pulk desings on the web.

Some people want to spend a lot of time designing and building their sleds (you and me included) but others want a quick and dirty design for one trip.

So, I've put up links to virtually all other pulk websites (including yours of course). I sent you an email via VFTT, too.

The Penob Bob

spencer

 

[SherpaKroto]

Ed B: you already have one of our own as a convert. shizzmac has been in the process of building his sled based on your notes (I read them about a month ago: darn impressive trial and success story!) Mine is done, and version 2 is awaiting field testing. It is very similar to your "Chapter 4. The U-shaped Conduit Pulk", but incorporates independent pivoting tracer arms.

Here are Ed B's Notes