Skeeter Cooler Lid

[PickensTJ]

My 2011 Skeeter ZX 225 cooler lid broke as has been mentioned by many on this forum. This is the cooler in the middle of the two seats with the black plastic lid. The short plastic post sliding into the frame was a weak design.

I have a solution! I waited two full seasons before posting to make sure it would hold up. So, I am confident when I share this among my Skeeter Brethren.

I bought 6 inch Construction Lag Screws (see image). I removed the entire frame from the rim of the cooler opening. This is the important part...I carefully chose the placement and drilled a pilot hole on each end. I then screwed the lags through the side of the cooler into the frame.

I hope the picture illustrates the finished product. It has been a flawless solution.

Tim

[rickmb]

Nice fix!
Mine pops off the hinge if I try to close it with something blocking the seal.
My ZX190 lasted 6 years with the same lid.
I may do this to my new ZX250.

[bwp777]

can you take a pic farther back and point so I can get a better idea where you put the screw.
6"?? wow.
I didn't think it would need one that long but I may not understand "EXACTLY" where you put them.
thanks

[rickmb]

It looks like to me the screw is reinforcing the hinge pin and going a bit further in so it will not pop off.

[PickensTJ]

Maybe these pictures will help. You can see where the plastic slot in the frame had broken away causing the plastic post of the lid to easily slip out. The lag had to be long enough to cover the space between my fingers.

Tim

[bwp777]

I understand now.
thank you very much.
thankfully mine has had no issues yet but I will know what it takes to repair if it arises.

[jeffj6987]

That's awesome. I need to do that. I already broke my cooler lid twice.

[baldaeous]

Thanks Tim,

I found your post and used your method to fix my 2021 Skeeter ZXR with the poorly designed cooler lid. I wrote Skeeter telling them that I hoped the rest of my boat wasn't as poorly designed as this cooler lid.
So many had problems they had to change it to the FX type on the new models. I inquired, but they want $287 for the FX type lid and frame. Imagine that - pay them so that I can do the labor and fix a problem of their own creation.
If it was an "upgrade", I would be happy to pay the difference in cost of the old replacement to the FX type. But that wasn't the offer. Skeeter is lucky supply is short. When competition resumes, these types of blunders will make their way into the discussion when people are deciding which brand of $70k bass boat to buy.