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Yetti vs Ice Castle??

BLACKJACK

By BLACKJACK
in Ice Fishing

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BLACKJACK Grand Master

BLACKJACK

Posted
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Took a road trip last weekend and looked at some Yetti's and Ice Castles, looking at the 6.5 x 16 or 6.5 x 14's. Concerned about the aluminum frames and axels on the Yetti's, how are they holding up for you? People complain about the quality of the Ice Castles but the price is right, my line of thinking is that its kind of like a boat, I can always upgrade in a few years, this would get me started.

If you own either, give me some pro's and con's.

Thanks!!

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randerson Proficient

randerson

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I owned a Lodge I considered a Ice Castle but there was really no comparison in quality when looking at frames I have heard nothing but good news about the Yetti When I bought my Lodge I knew it was only going to have it for 3 yrs or so after 4 I sold it and I didn't have any issues with it at all and never felt that the next owner was going to have any problems with it either. Yes it was alot more than a Ice Castle but you do get what you pay for and piece of mind of a quality unit was just that. I have seen many Castle stranded on the ice with broken axels and even frames. I have seen there new frames and I must say they are a big improvement over the ones I looked at in 05

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Rockin Randy Contributor

Rockin Randy

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I have an '09 6.5x14,Castle. The biggest complaint is the is the paint job on the frame. I don't think they let it cure, you just look at it and the paint falls off. Of course they specificly point out in the warranty that the frame paint is not covered. Sloppy job on caulking too,but then I'm probably too critical.

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Lip_Ripper Guy Grand Master

Lip_Ripper Guy

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$6k for a shell isn't too bad, IMO. If you were to spend $2500 for the frame, $300 for the door, $200 for running lights, $200/each for windows, $70/sheet for siding & roof, $400+ for 3M VHB, plus the aluminum studs, floor plywood, insulation, labor, etc. It adds up in a real hurry.

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LightningBG Grand Master

LightningBG

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$6k for a shell isn't too bad, IMO. If you were to spend $2500 for the frame, $300 for the door, $200 for running lights, $200/each for windows, $70/sheet for siding & roof, $400+ for 3M VHB, plus the aluminum studs, floor plywood, insulation, labor, etc. It adds up in a real hurry.

You're right. I don't mean to sound like it isn't justified. It's just a lot of money in general. I guess its the price we pay to have fun.

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hookjunior Collaborator

hookjunior

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Just to clear one thing up, the Yetti frame is aluminum but the axles and arms are steel. I don't own one but have seen them being built and they aren't cutting any corners. I've also been to places that make ice castle frames and I was deciding between the two I would pick the yetti without any hesitation. I've also heard that yetti is working on an 8ft wide prototype that might go into production next year.

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Yetti Master Apprentice

Yetti Master

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Just to clear one thing up, the frame is aluminum but the axles and arms are steel. I don't own one but have seen them being built and they aren't cutting any corners. I've also been to places that make ice castle frames and I was deciding between the two I would pick the yetti without any hesitation. I've also heard that yetti is working on an 8ft wide prototype that might go into production next year.

Thanks for that clarification vote of confidence! The Yetti has steel stubs that are very tightly fit and pinned into a heavy aluminum tube "axle" that spans the house for the front pivot point. The pivot arm is powder coated steel and the leaf spring pins into steel shackles just like most crank style houses.

As far as an 8' wide house, they are currently prototyping and designing and should have some ready for 2012 model year which will hopefully be available well before ice next fall. I will post any updates about it in the sponsor show case forum.

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dougger222 Proficient

dougger222

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My father in law bought a 6.5x14ft ice castle back in 05 custom made for $10,800. Our opinion of the house was very poor finish quality. A couple years ago he sold it for $5,000.

It was very quick and easy to drop and raise though.

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    • Wanderer
      Just Food and Drink

      By Wanderer · Posted

      It’s done automatically.  You might need an actual person to clear that log in stuff up.   Trash your laptop history if you haven’t tried that already.
    • smurfy
      Just Food and Drink

      By smurfy · Posted

      😂 yea pretty amazing how b o o b i e s gets flagged, but they can't respond or tell me why I  can't get logged in here on my laptop but I can on my cellular  😪
    • Mike89
      Just Food and Drink

      By Mike89 · Posted

      I grilled some brats yesterday, maybe next weekend will the next round...  
    • Wanderer
      Just Food and Drink

      By Wanderer · Posted

      You got word censored cuz you said        B o o b ies….. haha.   Yeah, no… grilling is on hiatus for a bit.
    • smurfy
      Just Food and Drink

      By smurfy · Posted

      Chicken mine,  melded in Mccormick poultry seasoning for 24 hours.  Grill will get a break till the frigid temps go away!
    • Mike89
      Problems with Yetti

      By Mike89 · Posted

      good luck!!!   
    • rundrave
      Problems with Yetti

      By rundrave · Posted

      we had some nice weather yesterday and this conundrum was driving me crazy  so I drove up to the house to take another look. I got a bunch of goodies via ups yesterday (cables,  winch ratchet parts, handles, leaf springs etc).   I wanted to make sure the new leaf springs I got fit. I got everything laid out and ready to go. Will be busy this weekend with kids stuff and too cold to fish anyway, but I will try to get back up there again next weekend and get it done. I don't think it will be bad once I get it lifted up.    For anyone in the google verse, the leaf springs are 4 leafs and measure 25 1/4" eye  to eye per Yetti. I didnt want to pay their markup so just got something else comparable rated for the same weight.   I am a first time wheel house owner, this is all new to me. My house didn't come with any handles for the rear cables? I was told this week by someone in the industry that cordless drills do not have enough brake to lower it slow enough and it can damage the cables and the ratchets in the winches.  I put on a handle last night and it is 100% better than using a drill, unfortatenly I found out the hard way lol and will only use the ICNutz to raise the house now.
    • Wanderer
      Problems with Yetti

      By Wanderer · Posted

      I haven’t done any leaf springs for a long time and I can’t completely see the connections in your pics BUT I I’d be rounding up: PB Blaster, torch, 3 lb hammer, chisel, cut off tool, breaker bar, Jack stands or blocks.   This kind of stuff usually isn’t the easiest.   I would think you would be able to get at what you need by keeping the house up with Jack stands and getting the pressure off that suspension, then attack the hardware.  But again, I don’t feel like I can see everything going on there.
    • rundrave
      Problems with Yetti

      By rundrave · Posted

      reviving an old thread due to running into the same issue with the same year of house. not expecting anything from yetti and I already have replacement parts ordered and on the way.   I am looking for some input or feedback on how to replace the leaf springs themselves.    If I jack the house up and remove the tire, is it possible to pivot the axel assembly low enough to get to the other end of the leaf spring and remove that one bolt?   Or do I have to remove the entire pivot arm to get to it? Then I also have to factor in brake wire as well then. What a mess   My house is currently an hour away from my home at a relatives, going to go back up and look it over again and try to figure out a game plan.           Above pic is with house lowered on ice, the other end of that leaf is what I need to get to.   above pic is side that middle bolt broke and bottom 2 leafs fell out here is other side that didnt break but you can see bottom half of leaf already did but atleast bolt is still in there here is hub assembly in my garage with house lowered and tires off when I put new tires on it a couple months ago. hopefully I can raise house high enough that it can drop down far enough and not snap brake cable there so I can get to that other end of the leaf spring.
    • smurfy
      Just Food and Drink

      By smurfy · Posted

      Chef boyardee pizza from the box!

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