Cargo Sled

Hat tip to Tony, Glen, and Yard Glider (yardglider.com), “the cart without wheels”. After brainstorming how best to transport seven aluminum framed, wood decked dock sections to three different areas of the property. Heavy, large, (4’x13’) and unwieldy, relocating the docks had been challenging my imagination. Meet the cargo sled!

This clever contraption turned out to be just what we needed.

Ingenious product. Definitely durable.

— Tony Foster

The genius of this tool is its simplicity and durability. It’s basically a heavy duty sheet of plastic with a reinforced pull point and lashing cutouts. Similar to the plastic toboggans that I remember sliding down hills on when young, the Yard Glider lays flat on the ground, maximizing functional variability and usability.

Whether pulled behind the gator, as in the photograph above, or pulled by hand, as in the photo below, the cargo sled provides a minimalist alternative to a wagon or trailer.

In our case, the length of the docks made it impossible to use my trailer. But placing the docks, one at a time, on top of the cargo sled, supported with firewood logs to elevate the corners above obstructions while compensating for the overhang enabled us to move the dock sections long distances with a minimum of effort.

Unlike more common cargo sleds (aka utility sleds) designed with sidewalls designed to help contain and secure the contents, this flat slider handily transported the dock sections, despite the fact that they were larger than the Yard Glider, and made it simple to slide them off. The photograph above shows the first of two sections that — arranged side-by-side — have been repurposed as a wooden bridge replacement.

I was actually surprised how well it worked. Super durable and easy to clean. We rode over grass, mud, logs etc with no issue. The hardest part was when we first unrolled it and had to get it flat. I had to stand on one end while Tony put enormous tree stumps on ends to flatten. But once we ran one dock out it pretty much flattened out.

— Glen Gehrkens

Thank you, Glen, Tony, and Yard Glider. Job well done!