Sleds & toboggans

[wy0mn]

Had a few nights down into the 40's already and a freeze warning at yonder end of the state two nights ago.
Winter isn't far away.

Looking for information on practical sleds, dogsleds & toboggans. I've been eSearching the web but I really want first hand experience from you folks, not the garnished lies of a salesman. If anyone here uses sleds for hunting/fishing/trapping, gathering firewood, or carrying groceries those last few miles from car to cabin; please tell me what you have, how you use it, and anything you'd do differently.
Chicom, post pics of your sled please.
Tnx

[madmyk]

Its 90degrees and 94% humidity here, we don't get winter, can I come visit you?

[mitunnelrat]

http://kifaru.net/MGsleds.htm

I've read several positive reviews on this company, they might be worth checking out.

[wy0mn]

Myk its 87F as of typing, but at 7200ft the nights get cold. Not enough atmosphere at this elevation to trap heat in. Last year the only two months we didn't see snow was Jul/Aug.
Rat, thanks for the link, it looks like some of the alpine rescue toboggans. I'm looking for practical & durable, that seems to have it. Right now I'm looking at this
http://www.affordabledogsleds.com/slider.htm
even if I am the dog.

[mitunnelrat]

A dog sled may not be such a bad idea actually, they've been in service for a looong time and have therefore proven reliability. Its also cheaper than the sleds I linked. The biggest drawback I can see at the moment is a higher profile with a dog sled. It will be more difficult to conceal.

[wy0mn]

Right-o, it is at that.
Harder to stash while not in use true, but anyone hoofing behind either model would share the same profile.
Plus, I wanna dog. Been poochless for several years now. This'll give me an excuse.

[Wheatie]

Where I'm from a toboggan is a wool cap, but I know whatcha mean.

[wy0mn]

Wheatie- I grew up in the South too, we used to drop the "to" and simply called it a boggan; while actually those are called watch caps.
AL & TN never got enough snow to suit me. I'm 48yr old and get as excited as a kid when I see the flakes falling. (Snow days here mean that the roads have been closed by Law Enforcement for safety purposes. If the roads are open, so are the schools.)
My cabin is very remote, last winter the road to it was totally blocked by 6-15ft drifts for much of the winter!
I don't want a snow-mobile, although I may change my mind. For long term (SHTF) use I think a sled, sledge, sleigh or toboggan would be superior.

[wy0mn]

Picked up some "skis" from a dead snowmobile this afternoon. Gonna build a donkey sized sleigh.
I still have my harness from my jackass "Bubba", Hussy named him not me!

Still plan on a smaller dogsled type of conveyence too, but for now...

[yugoshooter]

I have thought of a cart to be pulled By my shepard/husky/lab mix. For winter if I could replace the wheels with skis that would be great. Dozer just turned a year old loves to pull stuff and I exspect by the time he is done growing in a few months from now he will hit 90 to 100 pounds.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q204/Easycz52/Picture096.jpg

[wy0mn]

I didn't save the link, but have seen such inter-changeable cart/sled things on the web.
Your dog may have definate potential.
I want to rescue a 1-2yr old from the gas chamber, but know from experience that the younger you start harness work the fewer headaches you'll have!

[chicom]

I just found this post, boy have I been slacking.

What I found to be the most practical snow sleds are the Otter II sleds. They are all plastic, have integral runners, and are low profile for stability.

http://www.otteroutdoors.com

I have two sleds. A large for pulling behind a snowcat and a small that I pull around on snowshoes. For the small, I attached rope to the connecting slots on the sled and affix the other end to a GI H style suspenders and pistol belt by means of caribeners. I need to fabricate a system of rigid lightweight fiberglass poles as they would work better than rope, especially on downward slopes. It works for now.I can haul well over 100 pounds of firewood with the small with relative ease.

The large has a rigid mounted tow hitch and the space is enough to tow 800 lbs of gold ore from the tunnel in one shot.

Here's some pics.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa284/chicom70/S6300532.jpg


The Small

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa284/chicom70/S6300533.jpg


The Large

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa284/chicom70/S6300535.jpg


The hitch on the large.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa284/chicom70/S6300536.jpg

[yugoshooter]

Thanks chicom. That gives me an idea for a sled I can make. I have an old fiberglass wheel barrow that the frame got broke on but the body is in good condition. I'm going to goto a yard sale or salvation army and get some old snow skies cheap and bond them to the wheel barrow body so my dog could pull it or a human if necessary. Maybe even adapted two old bike wheels on an axle that runs through it but is removable so it has wheels to.:cool:

[FISTER]

Yugo , I forgot where I saw it. But it was basicly a military style cot on downhill type ski's. Seems light weight

[aubie515]

I have a sled that I use for deer hunting. I bought it at Cabelas and thought it would be useful. I would think that something with skis would be even better. Perhaps you could fab your own out of wood and skis. I'm sure you would be able to haul a few hundred pounds with that set up.

[doc762399]

So, I'm a little unclear as to what you are trying to do? dog sleds are not good for stashing , how the hell do you hide 6 to 12 dogs? Noises? any kind of animal drawn sled/cart isn't ideal for a stow till need situation food /water? how about one of those deer drag bag/sleds that hunters use to drag downed deer/elk?