Just got a new to me UTV. It has a cab on it. Just wondering how to modify it for Ice fishing. Where and what bracket should I buy/make the ice auger. How to add a Lowrance 12″ monitor. Any other storage ideas????
I believe there’s a Polaris UTV specific bracket for the Digger Auger mount for the front, that should be your first purchase. You’ll want a separate battery for a display that large, there are many custom fabricated box examples on the net.
I bought the auger mount adapter from Minn-Dakota Industries, maybe $200 including the Digger mount, no drilling to the Ranger as it is fabricated to bolt to factory holes. Rear rack was about a $4 investment for a dowel that fits in the lock and ride holes of the bed, plus a scrap board I painted and sealed. Allows me to get the house out of the way so everything else can still fit inside the bed. Like Joe said, lots of other boxes out there if you want to drop some coin. 12″ screen would be a lot in my cab, already seems crowded in there. But curious to see pics if you come up with something!
Ranger2.jpg
I’m all for “big pimpin-spend the G’s” your rig but honestly, a 12″ screen would be ridiculous. I’d personally shoot for a 5-7″ Lowrance HDS Gen2. VERY good units and cheap. You are only going to be using it for GPS/Lake Maps right?
The digger mount above is perfect for the auger but the upper tier fish house carrier may be a bust if it’s too heavy, but looks sweet and no slop getting sprayed.
I’d get at least 2 12″ screens, then you can put power poles on both sides of the back of the bed and mount SI transducers on both of them. Then, have each screen setup so that it’s only looking at one side of the UTV. That’s a 12″ SI display for each side of the UTV!
The most important part of this setup though is to hire a man-servant to drill two holes perfectly underneath the power poles as you are checking spots, then just drop the power poles and find the fish from the warmth of your cab!
Pretty small investment overall, especially when I think of how many more 6″ sunnies I’d catch around the metro with that rig!
You didn’t say what brand/model you purchased but if you got the Polaris Ranger you can buy the Otter that mounts right to the box of the Ranger. I bought mine late last year and could only get it out twice but I loved it. You can fish 2 in it but it’s perfect for solo trips which I do a lot because I’m retired and go out during the week when everyone else is working. You can still slide things in the box with the house on it. My rod bag, bait bucket, battery bag cooler etc will still go in the box. a 20lb propane tank will go in there if you lay it on it’s side. Can’t wait to get it out again this year.
Oh I should add I strap my Ion auger on the top of the house right up against the back of the cab. I bought the carry bag for the Ion so the auger won’t rough up the house fabric at all. Works great and cheaper than the auger mount on front. I use my Helix 7 Ice in the house with me. I’ve fished out of the cab of the Ranger before I bought the house because my cab is heated but you sit a little too high off the ice and it gets a little crowded in the cab.
Our guide out in Devils Lake drilled a hole in his passenger floor so he could fish through that which he said worked great. I considered doing that but then this house came along.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
