fish house frames?

[Ol' Lund]

Hey guys!

i am looking to build a fish house, and im just starting to make the plans. I am wondering what are some good places here in Minnesota to buy Ice house frames from.

just curious, does a v-nose pull alot better then a square front? And I want a 7x16 V Front for a frame. Does the 16' start at the front of the V, or where the frame starts getting square?

thanks for the help!

[Norm1980]

16' does not include the V-front which adds about another 3'. as for the 7' width i think frames mainly come in either 8' or 6.5' width.

[Ol' Lund]

is 6.5 as wide as they can go without the inset wheels like the 8' wide ones?

[Mid-Lake Rock]

Miltona Blacksmith makes a great frame at a good price.

[AndyM]

I have to agree with Mid-Lake Rock, Miltona Blacksmith makes a GREAT frame. Very well built frames for a reasonable price. My brother ordered his from there,$1350 for a 8'6" x 14' with a 3'V.

[OTCBigBass]

I have got 3 frames from Miltona Blacksmith over the last 5 years, they are good frames at a good price.

[elkhuntingfan]

I'm building a wheelhouse. I've heard the 8' wide is a much bigger pain in the butt to pull down the highway than the 6.5' wide. A lot more drag resulting in much poorer gas mileage. What has everyone's experience been in this regard?

[albhb3]

sure there is more drag but have you ever been in a regular 7ft trailer and then gone into a 8.5 trailer? There is a huge difference with the extra 1.5ft I would say go bigger if you have the capabilities of towing it

[crappiekid]

Go 8' wide. MAKE SURE YOU BUY A trailer that has the wheels track your truck! This is huge on the lake when a foot of snow or ice and you go off road. V nose pulls better for sure. The V house is good if you dont need bunks in front and back. If you prefer stove and oven the front V is the place for it. The next house i build will be a V split with a bathroom / storage and kitchen split. Some other advise use SPRAY FOAM insulation. You will not regret it.

[Gordie]

is 6.5 as wide as they can go without the inset wheels like the 8' wide ones?

the overall width of the house can only be 8 foot 6 inches weather that is the house or the outside measurements of the wheels.

Typically the house is 6.5 ft wide and the outside mesurements of the wheels are 8ft to 8.6 ft

the 8.6 measurment is as wide as the state will let you pull a trailer down the road without a permit and no one wants to deal with that.

If you plan on pulling the house long distances to each location talk to guys that have each style of house and get the pros and cons for both

I personally like the 6.5 wide house with a V front. The last one we built however was 6.5 wide with a 4 ft V front and then right behind the wheels we made it 8ft wide basically the sleeping area. pulled down the road like a dream. I built the frame myself

heres acouple of pics

[WALLEYEDUDE2001]

Any pictures of the inside? Sounds like a pretty good idea.

[Gordie]

not handy but I'll try AND FIND SOME FOR YA

[WoodDuckie]

Have built 7 houses in the last 2 years and the most popular is a 7x14 rectangle. I pull each of these down the interstate to get spray foamed and they cut right along. Typically you pay for the total length of a frame anyway, whether it is rectangle or v since it takes about the same metal. You gain the square footage with the square front house without much increase in material price and dont have to deal with the pain of the angles during construction.

Either way you go on frame, get it from Don at Miltona. His HSOforum isn't much (because he is busy building frames and not sitting behind a desk) but it has the contact info you need. All my frames come from him and I know people who come from a long distance, multiple times to buy from him. He now has a guy who will paint the frames as well if you want that done. If you go flat front, have him put expanded metal on the the hitch brace, he will know what you mean and it is a great spot to set you propane tanks. If you go v front, he prefers 3' v but I had him do a 4' for me on one of ours and it turned out well too.

BTW- He has doors, hole covers, bunk cushions, etc that you can't find for a better price.

[findergameandfish]

Was this the house that ran off the end of the road at hillmans X-mas weekend?

[hovermn]

The first house that I built was 6.5X14 v nose. With my F150, I got around 9 mph pulling at highway speeds. Now I have an 8X16 and getting about 8.7 mph at highway speeds. Not that great of a drop.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

9" wider on each side should have too big an effect on wind drag (as long as it's a V). The perceived space on the inside of the house is for sure worth going as wide as possible.

[Gordie]

Was this the house that ran off the end of the road at hillmans X-mas weekend?

why yes it was, he broke an axel

[hovermn]

The first house that I built was 6.5X14 v nose. With my F150, I got around 9 mph pulling at highway speeds. Now I have an 8X16 and getting about 8.7 mph at highway speeds. Not that great of a drop.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows I mean MPG. But just incase... haha

[Bryce]

MAKE SURE YOU BUY A trailer that has the wheels track your truck!

4' wide house? That sounds comfy. Boxing in recessed wheels yields even less than 4'. Square front pulls same as v front. Drag based on surface area. Could say v pulls harder due to increased surface area.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I don't know how to do the math behind this, but it seems to me that there would be no need for automakers to spend millions on wind tunnel testing if a square front car would have the same drag as their sleek sports cars.

[Eelpout08]

Huh?

[chris63]

Huh?Huh??No comprohendo!

[Bryce]

Which part of huh? do I need to explain?

4' sheet of material fits between the wheelwells of my p/u.

Unpowered v front trailer does not "cut" through the wind providing magical gas mileage. By all means, if a v front layout fits you, buy it. Leaning towards it because of fuel "savings" is laughable. Referrance the much larger RV market. Some of the high profile 5th wheels sport a rounded front but v fronts appear to be missing. Huh?

[traveler]

I'd argue that. Pretty sure the V would help with less wind resistence.

[LightningBG]

Few problems here.

Which part of huh? do I need to explain?

4' sheet of material fits between the wheelwells of my p/u.