Larger flip-up, anyone hand drag?

I’ve been contemplating a larger flip-up shelter such as a an Otter Lodge X-over so I can fish with my two sons. I currently have a 6 x 8 hub house that’s about 10 years old is pretty much on its last legs, plus I never really liked it when it came to setting-up and taking down with even a slight wind when by myself.

I don’t have a wheeler and owning one is not realistic for me at the moment. When we go now – especially in early ice we tow the house, gear, etc. in a big beaver tail ice sled by hand. The Flip-up would be a significant weight increase. Probably twice what my hub house and separate sled weigh together. I think it would manageable for somewhat short distances without snow, but once we have some snow cover I would think it would be pretty taxing to pull by hand. I do enough deer dragging in Nov.

Is it a non-starter without a wheeler for an average guy like me (IE middle age, 220 lbs, not exactly an athlete) and I should stick with the hub? or do any of you find dragging a large flip manageable? maybe easier with a harness (Like a deer dragging harness?) and good runners on the sled??

Every person is different with how much strenuous work they want to put into a recreational outing. To me, that flip over would be a bear to pull by hand when loaded with gear and would discourage me from fishing spots I want to fish. If you are someone who generally finds the first hole with marked fish 100-200 yards from an access, it may work. If you put on any kind of distance, that’d be tough. Keep in mind loading it into a truck would force you to empty out all of your gear for sure (auger, flashers, rods, propane, heathers, minnows, snacks/cooler, etc). If you do purchase one and want to pull by hand I’d for sure plan some type of smitty sled.

I personally have 2 set ups I use depending on my plan for the outing. The Lodge Hub gets used when a couple friends tag along without shacks and it’s a social outing. The 1 man flip is used for when it’s just me and I am putting on some major miles. (I do not use a wheeler ever as 90% of my fishing is in river areas where ice is thinner).

I manhaul my gear a lot. Weight is a huge issue. I think the Otter you want is about 80 lbs. add in your gear and what is that going to weigh? You may wish to estimate total weight. Harness is a must. You may need a smitty sled, particularly if you are on snow vs just ice. Make sure you have right boots for man hauling. I am in good shape and sometimes all that weight wears me out. Good luck!!

People tend to get more gear thinking they will be more comfortable, but end up struggling because of the weight and cost of all their stuff. Kids are a lot tougher than most people think. We have a free fishing day where we invite kids that have never fished, and give them gear and bait, help them fish, clean and cook their fish on the ice. It is often below zero , and we have no complaints. I think the parents worry about them more than they care about the cold. Set some tip ups and run around outside. They will have a blast!

Update to my comment above. Dec 11 post on IS reviews Otter XT Hideout and notes that hut is heavier than the poster thought. Otter website says that hut is 59 lbs. I think the Otter XL Lodge is 80 lbs.

I use a Otter Lodge flip over. If there is any substantial snow cover a 4 wheeler for me is a must. Its just too heavy with full gear etc. I can get it into my pickup full of gear no problem. Requires some strength but more technique than anything.

My Otter Pro Cabin loaded is REAL work with snow. The loaded lodge has to be way over 80#’s doesn’t it? Like Jake said, I can get it in my pick up but it’s way more technique than strength. Has to be over 80#’s.

not sure how old the kids are, but a large flip pretty much empty is not a bad haul. then a couple smaller sled to split up the gear between the kids to haul out. Put an ice anchor in to hold the empty sleds in place while fishing.

I’m not sure where the 80# figure is coming from. The Otter website shows 124# empty with no cover.

Kudos to the guys who claim to sling those into a truck loaded with gear. No thank you. Those kind of days are behind me. Loaded with a heater, auger, minnows and water, rods, shovel, and other junk that’s got to be approaching 200# or even more.

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Id get the flip over. Make sure you get runners on it. It’s easier to haul. Keep your poop to a minimum. And id pony up for a used wheeler.

Technique, get the front up, try to keep it straight as you work to the back, and lift it in from behind. Problem is somebody decided about 15 years ago truck boxes had to be skyboxes. I’m 68 and I can get it in but barely. A rope and hook to the front of the box would hold it and might make it easier. We’re at about 5 inches of clear ice so 4 wheeler and trailer time now, lots easier!!!!

Build a smitty sled. I can haul 200# using mine with one hand.

Last year I hauled all my gear plus my 8 & 11 year old in the sled and im a small man 5’9 on a good day.

We have a otter pro lodge. I can pull by hand on the lake if the snow is under 3-4 inches fairly easy or even if the the snow crusts over good. I have a real problem when the snow is soft and deep. if there is no snow, I still have a hard time pulling up the bank (snow or no snow) or up the ramp if if can’t back my pickup down to the lake to load.

I didn’t read through all the replies so forgive me if someone else mentioned this already, but I have a large otter flipover and ended up building a cheap little smitty sled for it. It made a very significant difference in ease of pulling out by hand. I pull that with most of the gear in it and my son will pull a smaller sled with a few items in it, just lightweight stuff. Google Smitty Sled. I found a pair of skis at a play it again sports place for something like 12 bucks. Then just a couple 2x4s and a 2×6 and i was good to go.

Thanks everyone for your input – I will look into the smitty sled! Looks like a fun and easy project.

It’s not that I don’t want a wheeler, but I’m just at a point where not only do I have not have room to store, but I would also need a trailer which I definitely don’t have room for. And I don’t want to store outside. My pick-up is a short-bed and the only way I’ll even be able to haul an flip over is if I keep the tailgate down and I secure it with a ratchet-strap.

X2 on the smitty sled. Put a couple of old skis on the bottom of a pallet and you’ll be able to push 200#+ no problem under most conditions. I’ve done it from Red Door Resort out to the mud flats with several inches of snow on the ice. A wheeler would have been nice, but it was very do-able.

Smitty sled is the way to go with this setup. Even on bare ice the smitty sled will pull easier. Always thought they were a bit gimmicky, but did use one last weekend on red. We loaded the lodge to max with 2 guys and enough gear to guide a group of 8 lol. We drug a mile out, mile back. With the smitty sled, all 150 pounds of me had zero issues pulling it. I could barely move the sled on bare ice myself but with the sled under it i didn’t even notice it back there.

I got a flip over this summer its a clam yukon thermal I believe it is supposed to weigh around 120 lbs. I will be putting it on my smitty sled that I hauled my hub n stuff with. The hub is 65 lbs + 10 for the sled+10 for the chairs and I figure I will need less propane because its a much smaller area to heat so will try using a couple of the 1lb bottles instead of the 20 lb tank that weighed 40 lbs. So I am guessing it will end up being very close to the same weight as before. But time will tell. But again the smitty is a must in my opinion.

The flip overs are nice since mobility is their primary selling point. Problem is, most people don’t move nearly as much as they think they will. I started with an Otter Team Wild 3 flip over years ago. That was uninsulated and was a beast to pull. Got the Clam body harness, that made it easier, but still an ass kicker. As soon as I could get snowmobiles again I did. Once you get an auger, heater, propane, bait, rods, snacks, and whatever else you’re bringing. You’re pushing 160-200lbs.

If you get a Flip over, get one of the cheaper, lighter ones. Keep in mind that Otter became famous for its durability. Meaning, you can tow those things all over the ice and it can take a beating. When pulling by hand, you don’t need that kind of beefy sled. No way should you get an Otter flip over if you are not pulling it behind a sled or ATV.

Get one of the cheaper ones, and you can always put it on a smitty sled as well. Or stick with a hub.

queenswake wrote:

If you get a Flip over, get one of the cheaper, lighter ones. Keep in mind that Otter became famous for its durability. Meaning, you can tow those things all over the ice and it can take a beating. When pulling by hand, you don’t need that kind of beefy sled. No way should you get an Otter flip over if you are not pulling it behind a sled or ATV.

Get one of the cheaper ones, and you can always put it on a smitty sled as well. Or stick with a hub.

X2

I hand pull the otter cabin early ice and it is probably the hardest workout I get all year. It sucks, to say the least. Once ice gets thick enough I use a snowmobile. I will have to say on glare ice it ain’t too bad so I guess it depends on where you live. I also have a harness that does help tremendously. It is nice to be hands-free especially when spudding out early ice!

As much as I’m a flip over guy you may want to stay hub for 3 people. How old are your sons? Young and small so you maybe can do a bigger 2 person flip over? Older, bigger, but maybe can help lift and haul?

Do you ever load/unload solo? Even empty how comfortable is it for you to load an awkward 125# sled? This with the prop up technique above. Any back problems?

How often do you walk out vs driving your truck? Have you converted to one of the hand drill to (pistol bit, lite flite, k-drill) to save weight?

There’s no right answer for everyone. As awesome as those Otter’s are, all that durability comes at a significant weight premium. Too significant if you aren’t snowmobile/wheeler imo. What I know is if it’s difficult when cold out then things don’t happen. Either going out at all or actually moving the shack as flip overs are intended.

I built this simple ramp to load/unload my hut in my Explorer.

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