Wheel House Consumer Reports Please

[Bryce]

Dreamshak reportedly back building a limited number. Ours was as custom built as you could find a couple years ago. Right down to tweaking the lenght to fit perfectly in our garage.

[randerson]

I owned a GRand Lodge for 4 yrs and Have to admit that there are the best house built My house had some miles on it it was used in South Kansas for a couple months for some whitetail hunting and used on Mille Lacs primarily with a few trips to Leech and a couple lakes in the Brainerd lakes area. The frame was true after 4 yrs of use not many other houses I have seen could say that. I was able to pic the options I wanted as I bought a unit that was going to be stock for Hilmerson RV. They were great people to deal with and would always be able to answer any question I would have at the Factory as well. If I ever purchase another one It will be on the top of my list as well as a Yetti as I like the Aluminum Idea too. But the Lodge's fit and finish was by far superior than any other house I looked at before purchasing and is the only house that is found in the NADA so if you go to sell someone will be able to get financing for there used purchase.

[Big A]

How has nobody mentioned a Salem Ice Cabin yet? I have looked at wheel houses for 4 yrs, and have never seen one that looks comparable to the Ice Cabin. That is where my $ will be going. Just figured someone who owned one would have some sort of input by now... WHERE ARE YOU!?!?!?

[iffwalleyes]

How has nobody mentioned a Salem Ice Cabin yet? I have looked at wheel houses for 4 yrs, and have never seen one that looks comparable to the Ice Cabin. That is where my $ will be going. Just figured someone who owned one would have some sort of input by now... WHERE ARE YOU!?!?!?

I think they are pretty new on the market aren't they? I just started seeing them last year. I would think they would be a very good house though as they have always made a nice camper. They certianly look nice from the outside though I have never popped my head inside of one.

[Iambjm]

They are fantastic looking, but I noticed their 8X14 weighs 4700+ pounds.

[brian6715]

Yetti is going to be a huge player in the wheelhouse market. They are way lighter than ice castle or the lodge, and you get to finish them the way you want them.

The weight difference alone is enough for me! Some people will say aluminum is hard to weld, but what about all the aluminum trailers already on the road?! Plus, with the weight being significantly less, there should be a lot less wear and tear on the frame.... not to mention you don't have to worry about rust. I don't get why anyone would buy anything different, unless the size isn't available or you don't want to finish one yourself.

I can't wait to get one!!!!

[iffwalleyes]

Yetti is going to be a huge player in the wheelhouse market. They are way lighter than ice castle or the lodge, and you get to finish them the way you want them.

The weight difference alone is enough for me! Some people will say aluminum is hard to weld, but what about all the aluminum trailers already on the road?! Plus, with the weight being significantly less, there should be a lot less wear and tear on the frame.... not to mention you don't have to worry about rust. I don't get why anyone would buy anything different, unless the size isn't available or you don't want to finish one yourself.

I can't wait to get one!!!!

My experiance with aluminum trailers is they get stressed and break easier once you start welding you will keep welding. At least that has been the story with my snowmobile trailer. The other bad thing about to light of a house is they are kind of a parachute when you tow them. They get pushed around more and will make your tow vehicle more squirrelly. That said the idea of no rust is very appealing too. They lookd like a great house. Just make sure when finishing you put up a vapor barrier between your unfinished walls and paneling or what ever you are using. Cause the aluminum studs will sweat with the exterior temp and interior temp difference.

I think those yettis look really nice though. But I got to plug Lodge as that is what I have and I think they are the best build out there.

[larryz]

I just got my third new Ice Castle. This one is a 8x16 on a Berkon hyraulic frame with all cedar interior. It may not be quite as well finished as a Lodge but they are getting dang close and a whole lot cheaper.

[Harv]

If I can get a 2011 ice castle 6.5 x 14 for $8,500; would that be considered a good deal?

[Iambjm]

It depends on which model it is, I have seen the 6.5 x 14's cheaper than that

[Harv]

The ice castle "special"

"Stinger" at 10,600

[Nordern]

I have the 8 X 16 Salem Ice Cabin and it has worked very well over the past few years. It pulls

easy and it stays nice and warm. The quality on the interior is very nice and the rubberized floor

works great. Coates RV in Forest Lake does a great job and they have financing avaialble.

[bassNspear]

does ice castle finance?

[bassNspear]

I have been looking at he ice castles, and there is soooooooooo many models out there.

Just curious to see what you all are buying and why???

[MJ1657]

Update on my house Performance Engineering is building.

I was told I would take delivery of my house in the middle to end of September. It's now November 3 and I still do not have it.

I certainly hope I get it soon and it turns out nice. I'm getting kind of discouraged.

[tut79]

Bass n spear...I bought my ice castle from smokey hills outdoor store in park rapids and they have finance throu a credit union in park rapids. I called them give my info in 30 min they told me to come pick one out. I bought 8x16 Mille lacs, but I also like the 8x16 hunter

[Larry3760]

Most banks will finance any fish house new or used as long as they can compare pricing. My 2 cents are from what I've seen ice castles you get more house for the money if you compare it to other houses, however you can see why, cheaper heaters and stoves, use coriggated siding vs smooth siding unless you request it, house windows which are 1/5 the price of rv windows which I dislike but most people don't mind, and poor lighting and ugly workmanship like nails showing or much exposed cauking.

I've heard all good things about performance engineering however in my personal opinion I do not care for the apperance of them.

Lodges I really like there shells and t&g when used however I would expect a much better interior then what they offer for the amount of more money you spend.

I've recently posted a few things about ice assualt out of big lake and really have been impressed, you will spend more on there houses than ice castles however they only use smooth siding and rv windows which is really sharp. They only offer hydraulic frames that are much stonger than anyones frames and they use tube steel for the walls. They sell frames, shells, and complete houses. They also build anything to your request. They are also in process of making there own site selling fish house items.

[babes7825]

We recently purchased a house from there, they have got some great looking stuff there and very reasonable pricing. It's worth checking into in my opinion. www.pleaseCallMeToSponsorHSO.com

[castmaster]

Ultra Shack by Franks RV makes some real nice, well built houses. he's been around pretty much since the beginning of the wheel house craze and has held a strong reputation for quality throughout.

[Mark Gangl]

I went with carsella. I did a lot of research and for the price they are hard to beat. I liked that don let's you customize your house. I really wanted the double doors in the back also the v front. I didn't really want the fancy weight adding stuff a lot of people like and went for more of an open interior. Mines 6.5x16 plus the v. Ended up out the door for 6100 which is considerably lower than the rest the only thing I need to do is plumb in the gas lights, he ran the copper line through the walls but something about not having anyone certified so he couldn't hook it in. Otherwise the furnace, stove, 110 and 12 volt lights were all hooked up. 2 twin beds with materesses, 8 holes with covers, and a bathroom/ closet in the v. The other house I really liked was yetti for the light weight but they were 6500 bare and you finish.

2 things I would mention, date to take delivery was off by a month so remember that when ordering. But he did atleast deliver it when it was finished so that saved me 5 hrs of driving. Also I'm not sure about other crank downs but if you leave it attatched to the truck and crank it down you cannot just on hitch due to the angle of the hitch it binds and will not releas without cranking it back up first. Anyone else experiance this with other brands?

[usmcjsy]

+1 on Carsella. I have a Carsella shack I bought 3 yrs ago. Its very well built. I have the tube frame and its a 6.5x12. It is a little heavy but I dont mind since most of the time I leave it on the lake. This house is built solid though and well insulated. I also got the forced air heat with 2 bunks. Its nice having it thermostatically controlled. Mine also has the #3500lb axles and tongue that cranks down while leaving it attached to 4 wheeler or pick up. The lake I fish has a rough access especially in the winter and I have bounced it over a few ice heaves pretty good a couple times and it never even phased it. I have the insulated floor which is also nice. The only thing I recommend is to undercoat the frame as soon as you get it. I did that as soon as I bought it and yet have to see any rust on the frame. I could not find a better deal for the money when looking either, and had heard to much of Ice Castles having frame issues with the angle iron. Felt much better with Carsella with the tube/boxed frame.

[Mark Gangl]

How about deciding to unhook once you crank it down? Is it possible? What did you go with for undercoating?

[jjohnson5150]

We bought a salem 8x14 last year. It's a great house. My wife & son really like having a comfortable & warm house along with the bathroom / closet. It tows heavy IMO, but we usually keep it on lakes within a few miles of home. The rubber floor can't be beat either - especially when the forced air furnace blows heat on it & dries in a flash. I have fished many mornings barefoot on the rubber floor without my feet being one bit cold. I'm REALLY glad we went with the optional fold down bunk, which really gives the 3 of us a chance to spread out. The optional bunk is not just a coffin. It's wide enough for me to flip over in the middle of the night.

I do have a few issues though. 1) the stereo is poorly located in the entry way. often times the cd cover flips open when folks go in & out. It has busted once because of this. 2) the fuse cover is also poorly located by where feet hang over if someone is sitting at the dinette. 3) the electric jacks are nice in that you can be inside to lift, but it takes a long time to get them up & down. 4) (this could be operator error) I have yet to get the wall to TV video connection for underwater camera to work. 5) the dinette is awkward to take down & put up.

I'm picky though & the 5 points are trying to find things

[Poutmaster]

JJ - tell me more about the electric jacks for raising and lowering? Any issues popping the house out of the banking snow or a light freeze into ice / slush? You said they were slow. Slower than doing all three cranks with a winch house? I'm a current ice castle owner and I'm looking at buying a new house. Salem RD20 vs ice castle 16' mille lacs are my current front runners, but I have no experience with the eletric jacks or other Salem features.

Anyone else have any input?

[jjohnson5150]

JJ - tell me more about the electric jacks for raising and lowering? Any issues popping the house out of the banking snow or a light freeze into ice / slush? You said they were slow. Slower than doing all three cranks with a winch house? I'm a current ice castle owner and I'm looking at buying a new house. Salem RD20 vs ice castle 16' mille lacs are my current front runners, but I have no experience with the eletric jacks or other Salem features.

Anyone else have any input?

I'd say it's a bit slower than hand cranking. There is also a back up crank option, but I've never used it. We use a generator out on the lake, so we've never really had an issue with having power to the jacks. You will want to consider a generator if you don't have one already. I'd suggest going to the dealer & timing the drop of the house. The 20 footer might have more powerful jacks.

No issues with freezing / breaking free. Unfortunately, due to past experiences with break in's / theft around the metro, I don't trust to leave the house on the ice when nobody is in it over night. Due to this, I've not left the house in the same spot for more than a Fri > Sun. It has always broke free just fine on Sun evening.