trucks

[FrontenacPike]

I fish Lake Pepin and on average I watch 4-5 vehicles go through yearly. Most people who go through aren't familiar with the river and the areas that change daily. I bought a wheeler this year so that I won't have to drive my F150 out there ever again. I also double....wait triple checked with my insurance company that they cover water damage!!!

[minnbowhunter]

i used to take my 1/2 ton regular cab short box ford pickup on 10" it was 2400 lbs with me in it and a half tank of gas... my buddys permie used to go out on 6-7 inchres of ice and it weight 2200... use your best judgement its your truck

That seems real light to me. I have a Jeep with a soft top and a 4 cyl that is just over 3000 lbs

[vman11]

I agree that 2400 is light- I have a 1999 AWD RAV4 that has curb weight around 2700 lbs, I think my 2003 F150 4x4 Supercrew has a curb weight around 5500. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think curb weight is the weight of the vehicle without cargo and passengers, maybe even discludes fluids. 12" of ice is good for me in a 1/2 ton. Resorts on the big pond use 2dr Geo Trackers that weigh 2200 lbs curb weight on 6" of ice. Ice gets exponentially stronger the thicker it gets. However, I don't disagree with people playing it safe becuse all ice is inconsistent and different from lake to lake.

[bogwalker]

My Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Turbo Diesel goes about 8,000 pounds.

[bradlewe]

It all depends on your comfort level. I take my Yukon and 14' Ice Castle out on 13" of good ice with some concern and will not park right next to it after I drop it but am not concerned being out there with just the truck. I am very confident on 16" with both but like said before no ice is safe so be careful.

[Burnham]

i will be the first one to walk on a lake and have no problem with it, but whether i am driving the parents truck, or my honda civic, i wait a week or 2 until after there has been a lot of vehicle traffic. i look at it like, if i fall thru while walking, i will have the equipment on me to be able to get out and it wont cost me thousands. if i go thru in a vehicle, i will instantly be thousands of dollars down ,if i do manage to make it out alive. i honestly dont even want to think about how big of a nightmare that would be...

[Riich]

I'm maybe the Lone Ranger here, but the only ice my truck will ever see is an icy road. I can't begin to bring myself to drive a vehicle bigger than an ATV on any lake. I know, I know, I'm a wuss. So be it.

[fishfearme]

I saw one about 10 years ago now out on 7" reg. cab 6' box. The ice was really cracking loud.

[brrrr]

Im sure a F150 is going to go way over 2400 lbs, maybe if on a reg cab, with the 300 six and manual tranny, you stripped off the box and bumpers, and had no gear you could get close.

I got a suzuki samurai that with 31 inch tires, goes just over 2000 lbs. without me inside.

I will drive a light truck or car on a solid 13", however I am the first to suggest to use fishing buddys vehicle

[walleye365]

i dont drive on anything less than 14inches

[Zoob]

I always wait until around 16-18 in for me to drive me large SUV out.

Straight from the MN DNR:

For New, Clear Ice Only

* 2" or less - STAY OFF

* 4" - Ice fishing or other activities on foot

* 5" - Snowmobile or ATV

* 8" - 12" - Car or small pickup

* 12" - 15" - Medium truck

Remember that these thicknesses are merely guidelines for new, clear, solid ice. Many factors other than thickness can cause ice to be unsafe.

...and to add to this - we don't have any of that in the metro right now. We've got a lot of junk, white ice. Jerked up initial freeze, with some snow, then rain, then a huge warm blanket of snow dumped on it - our ice is growing really, really slow and should be considered pretty flaky. We don't have two feet of solid black ice like we did last year - at least, not yet.

[jeep guy]

Was out on mille lacs today and there where trucks pulling big wheelhouses around we had 12" of ice. we drove out but we where only in a wrangler. when these trucks and houses would go bye you couldnt even hear yourself think cause the ice was doing so much cracking, we had one come by that the water came up in our holes easily 2".

[cold one sd]

I had my F250 Super Duty on 16" Friday. I walked out and drilled a hole before driving out even though there were five pickups and three large wheelhouses out there. My truck weighs a tad more than 7,000 lbs.

[BucksnDucks]

7in. held a 1/2 ton ext. cab Ford that would be pushing the limits but either way it held!

[niterydr]

I have a 2500HD extended cab long box chevy. New to me this year. From experience of taking other trucks out on the ice, this rig will not see less than 18" of ice, 24" of "marginal ice" like we have in the cities. I do not want to pay the bill of a wrecker trying to fish my truck out of the water.

Also, I've never driven a vehicle on the ice prior to the second week of January, especially in the Cities. Better be safe than sorry.