Hyfax Help

Hi all,

New to ice fishing this season. I caught the bug (and some crappie/walleye) and decided to invest in an Otter Pro X-Over Lodge. I also bought the hyfax runners. This was early February.

Now it’s March 1 and I’m regretting that decision. I did not understand that it required some pretty significant at-home assembly, and I don’t own a lot of tools. I invested a decent amount of $$ in a power drill and impact wrench (otter says these are optional, but I can’t imagine how you’d get the hyfax on without the impact).

Here’s my big problem – I can’t get the last four hyfax runners installed (there are six total).

I’ve watched the Otter videos many times, and somehow I was able to get two of them installed last night.

But I swear that the other four don’t fit into the pockets. Specifically that front pocket at the face of the sled. The runners seem too wide. I can’t get the first nut far enough through the sled to be able to use the impact wrench and fasten it. I’ve hammered the hell out of it with a mallet. I’ve tried having another person push it down. The screw just won’t get far enough through the plastic.

I’ve started shaving the sides of the hyfax runners in the front to try to the get them to fit, but I don’t have any great tools for that and it’s a a laborious process. I’m considering heading to home depot to see if I can find the same nut, but just a little longer – if I can it through the sled far enough the impact will pull the hyfax down into the pocket, I’m pretty sure.

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions?

Thanks for reading this.

I have put Hyfax on three sleds . Not easy but doable . Did you verify you have the correct hyfax for your sled ? Longer bolts can be used for sure , just do not want them to long ,snag things in bottom of sled would be a problem . Are the hyfax counter sunk and drilled out uniformly ? Just guessing with out seeing them .

Don Meier wrote:

I have put Hyfax on three sleds . Not easy but doable . Did you verify you have the correct hyfax for your sled ? Longer bolts can be used for sure , just do not want them to long ,snag things in bottom of sled would be a problem . Are the hyfax counter sunk and drilled out uniformly ? Just guessing with out seeing them .

Haha did you read anything he said? He’s installing them on a otter sled

Pictures might help us help you

Thanks for the responses – I’ll post some pictures (sorry if I post them a couple times, I’m still figuring out this message board interface).

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Either the slots on the sled must be too narrow or the hyrax is too wide? I would email otter them pictures and see what they say

As you can see in the images, the two runners on the left side of the image are the ones I put in last night. Somehow I was able to get the runners flush with the pocket with not too much effort.

That third runner is the one I just put on 15 minutes ago. It took about four hours of messing with it, and I finally had to just redrill the hole and set it about a half inch back from the front of the pocket.

When I tried to put it up against the pocket, the sides are just too wide to allow it to sit far down enough in the pocket to get the nut through. Like I said, I hammered it, I pressed down as hard as I could, and it wouldn’t sit.

If it’s not an issue for it to be off set like that, I might just put the rest on kind of crooked. I’ve literally been messing with this thing for like days now.

Thanks coletrain, I called and sent an email and I will plan on speaking with them tomorrow. It really seems to me like somehow the dimensions must be wrong.

I guess if you really had to you could take a hair dryer or heat gun and try heating up the sled a little bit and maybe the slots would flex wider a little bit then

I used a hand plane on mine and I took a little off sides until they fit.

Tried the blow drier. This dog won’t hunt. Those things just don’t want to fit into those pockets. Shaving ’em would be my best bet but I don’t have a hand planer and I’m pretty hesitant at this point to invest more money in tools.

I’ll let y’all know what Otter says when I speak to them, thanks for the tips.

Install front to back. May have to pound hyfax into front sled grooves with rubber mallet. Watch the video below. Very well done and made mine go easier. Several other videos on YouTube. Search Otter Hyfax.

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I would suggest a longer bolt and big washer just to get started . Once seated replace bolts with originals and reuse long bolts on next strip . I also cut the allen key supplied in half and put it in my drill as I didn’t have the correct bit

Also heat gun and wd40 lube

Terrible engineering and the fasteners they send are junk.
Fought it all the way thinking you got to be kidding.
I swore throughout the entire installation but got them all on.

Rubber mallet and beat it into the slot. Done it on multiple otters. Not fun but just takes time.

X2 – install front to back. Problem solved.

-J.

Yup, I’ve been putting them on front to back, and used a mallet on them. Will try some WD-40 and a hand planer.

Just use longer bolts, then take a small disk grinder to cut off the excess. One man underneath and someone on top place sled upside down on 2 sawhorses. Topman drills and puts in bolts bottom man put on washers and nuts. DK.

When I assembled my original otter 22 yrs ago it was the same way. Some heat on the hyfax (to soften it) and some shaving with a butcher knife (utility knife would probably be a smarter choice) did the job. Still using the same sled with the same hyfax.

Well, I finished it.

I bought a handplaner to shave the hyfax, and that helped a little. Also bought a bigger mallet. Eventually I just gave up and bolted them on as best I could – they are fairly even at the bottom, but crooked and offset at the top. Oh well.

I’d also like to say that Otter’s customer service has been pretty poor. I have emailed, submitted warranty & registration papers, I have called and left messages — that was ten days ago, and not a single response.

So I said f*** it and just built the thing anyway.

Here’s hoping it lasts!

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Hand torch is key when putting on hyfax. Heating the sled is huge

The poor customer support is sad to hear

Bearcat89 wrote:

The poor customer support is sad to hear

yeah it really is surprising and a bummer

Bearcat89 wrote:

Hand torch is key when putting on hyfax. Heating the sled is huge

if they had there $hit figured out they would make them to fit without having to do anything. Sounds like a pretty pi$$ poor manufacturing and design

Amen brother. If I go buy a blowtorch there’s gonna be another guy telling me I need a flamethrower 😂

why can’t they just fit the way they’re supposed to?

Sorry I didn’t read this sooner. I had same problem with a Resort and a large sled this fall. I touched them slightly with an angle grinder to fit nicely. I was literally going to say stop over some night and we will get ‘er taken care of. Sorry Brother. Glad you got it done.

MNdrifter wrote:

Sorry I didn’t read this sooner. I had same problem with a Resort and a large sled this fall. I touched them slightly with an angle grinder to fit nicely. I was literally going to say stop over some night and we will get ‘er taken care of. Sorry Brother. Glad you got it done.

Next time! Thanks for the offer!

Pretty cool & active community here, very glad I found this place