Setting wheel house on ice?

[timjones]

I have my first wheelhouse and have a few questions for you seasoned wheelhouse users. When you place your house down on the ice, should the house be placed directly on the ice or should it be blocked up? If it is blocked up, which is better, 2X4 or 4X4 wood? Or is there a better method out there that I should be looking at?

[bak2MN]

Depends on if you plan on leaving it one spot for awhile then you should block it up. I use 4x4s just incase of water comeing up with a heavy snow.

[alwaysonthemove]

last year I used 12 x 12's with all the snow. We had 2

[kevfish1]

I have had wheel houses for years and have never blocked them up. I have never had a problem. Maybe if you are going to leave them unattended for a long time i would block up. I am always moving or i pull it home when i am working

[fisherdog19]

Have had one for 4 years now and never blocked up. We are out at least twice a week so if there's a water issue we can raise it up.

[dewey1980]

never block mine.

[wplatehunter]

I like to use 4x4's if there is enough snow to bank it. We leave our house on the lake all winter.

[bassislife]

No need to block if the water is not coming up. I do use 2 x 2's

if thre is a little water on the ice after I drill.

[crappiekid]

Retired posts make good points. If your are leaving more than say 2 weeks then block it with 2x4 that is plenty. My wheel house froze in one time and i just cranked real careful and broke it loose with the winches .

[dabaer]

have a wheel house but i never leave it out if i aint in it, its always hooked up to the truck, bring it home everytime!

[fish with teeth]

i use 2x4s to block it up and level it out(ice is never level and i like the house to be level) i back right onto the snow, it adds an extra layer of insulation. i had my tires freeze in one time from drilling next to them so now i put a 2x4 under them as well. better safe than sorry in my opinion. i leave mine out for weeks at a time. have fun

[Big Dave2]

We never block ours and have never had a problem.

[maxx rpm]

No one should put blocks under their house. If they did, there would be no frantic posts later, "my house froze in, what do i do now". I do enjoy all the creative posts on how to get houses out of ice.

[JumpStart73]

also dont forget to keep your cables on your wheel winches oiled or sprayed with a silicone type lube to keep them from rotting out. Good idea to keep your winches covered when driving and not in use (salt sucks)

[rcatcherman]

What I have used for many years is 2" Extruded Polystyrene, or what you call dense styrofoam. Not only can you set any size or weight on it . It will never freeze in. If one would forget it in the dark etc. when the ice melts it will blow to shore in the spring and will not damage boats as do blocks of wood floating just under the surface as I have hit and seen many time early in the open water season. Rick from Rockford...

[paceman]

I use 2x4's or 4x4's depending on the the snow. I like my house to be level.

[crothmeier]

ive never blocked mine, but im usually out in it at least 4-5 times a week if its left on the lake. i had to move it a few times late last year becasue of heavy snow.

i seem to have more problems digging out the snow drifts to get the truck hooked up than the hosue freezing down.

[eyebjim]

After the rain early in the season last year it got quite cold and I was out thru it. My wheel house froze in solid about 2-3 inches from the pooled up water. I just took the chizel and cracked the ice near the house but not at the house and that broke up the ice so that the cranks lifted it out. It didn't take more than 5 minutes. I still do not block it up. If I was going to leave it out on the ice for a week or more, I would probably block it just to be safe.

[timjones]

Thanks for all the info guys. How long it stays in one place will depend on the fish. Maybe a couple of days, maybe a couple of weeks. It all depends on how they move. Sounds like I might block it with 2X4's if I think it might be in one spot for awhile, otherwise I'll just drop it on the ice.

[Glockwinger]

I block mine up if I leave it in one spot for more than a couple days. Mine froze in after one day on Mille Lacs with water coming up in really cold temps. Had to be extra careful trying to chip out the wheels so I didn't puncture the tire with the chisel!