"Haul It All" Plastic Cargo Sleds

"Haul It All" Plastic Cargo Sleds FARM HOME Miscellaneous 30-6-40 Need to move something across snow? These Alaska-made sleds fashioned from UHMW plastic are being used for everything from family snowmobile trips to towing 25-ton tractors across ice and snow. David Doudna of Northern Sled Works says, "I wanted a sled for winter camping with my family. One thing just led to another." The cargo sleds have a flexible tow bar system and a reversible spring-loaded hitch. Doudna began marketing them part time, gradually adding new models with optional hardwood ash trim, wooden floorboards, and full or half-length UHMW runners. "Most molded sleds are either low density or high density polyethylene, but they can't withstand the cold," says Doudna. "They hit a rock or stump, and it tears the bottom out. The UMHW can withstand temperatures down to 60 degrees below and is durable." Doudna's sleds range from a 4-ft. long model designed to be pulled by hand to a 10-ft. long, 42-in. wide model designed to be towed by machine. The 1/8-in. UHMW material used in the smaller models can be bent to fit the load or even rolled up for shipping. Sleds made from 1/4-in. UHMW poly come with triangular tongues for pulling behind snowmobiles. A single 30-in. piece of galvanized steel angle iron in the middle of the rear keeps the Siglin sleds tracking straight down ice and across steep side hills. Alpine Toboggans are also made from 1/4-in. UHMW but are reinforced with higher sides and a semi-prow front. The high sides keep the load secure while preventing snow from flowing into the sled. They're available in 7 and 9-ft. models with widths of 30 and 36 in. The most exotic yet simple models made from UHMW poly are the Rescue Sleds. Each set is custom made. The first set was made at the request of a research team in Antarctica. Already customers of Doudna sleds, they knew the benefits of UHMW on snow and ice. They were planning a three-year expedition to the South Pole with heavy track tractors pulling research labs. Knowing they couldn't leave a tractor behind if trouble developed, the project manager approached Doudna. Together they developed 1/2-in. thick UHMW sleds that are wide enough to wrap under the tractor tracks and part way up their sides so they could be tied in place. At one point, a Case Quad Track tractor developed fuel injection problems. It was loaded on the sleds and towed until parts could be delivered by air. "The 51,000-lb. tractor on the sleds didn't sink in like the tractor pulling it," says Doudna. "The sleds just float across the snow." Prices range from $165 for a 4-ft. sled to $1,095 for a 9-ft. by 36-in. Alpine Toboggan. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Northern Sled Works, P.O. Box 61171, Fairbanks, Alaska 99706 (ph 907 479-8599; fax 907 479-8585; david@northernsledworks.com; www.northernsledworks.com).

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