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An honest talk about wheel houses....


Kanos

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I couldn't agree more. I do take into consideration that the interior can be completely redone. The frame though is the foundation and the number one consideration when considering longevity of the ice house. This is the reason I went all aluminum with a house from Sodderblooms. To be honest, Yetti just took what Jay was doing well and ran with it. Sodderblooms did not have the time to dedicate to ice houses and Yetti saw an opportunity, hats off to them for maximizing their opportunity!

Agreed, I would just rather have it all done right the first time.

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I think fishhouses are like other items in life like boats, tractors, even houses, you buy what you can afford and whats going to get the job done, then some day, when you have more money, you upgrade to something bigger, better, nicer, roomier.

My first tractor was a 25 HP Ford, now I've worked my way up to a 95 HP John Deere with a cab. My first boat was a 12 foot Lund with a 6 HP motor, now I've got a 16 foot Alumicraft with a 60 HP motor on it. Someday I'll probably upgrade both.

I don't own a four wheeler yet, when I start talking to people about them, right away they start pushing you toward a quad, but theres a lot of difference between 6 grand and 11 grand. I'll probably start with a 4-wheeler and work my way up.

I built my first wheel house, a 6x8, had lots of fun with it, but it didn't take long to realize that it should have been bigger, now this fall I bought myself a 6.5 x 14 Ice Castle. Will it be my last wheel house?? Probably not. But this house will get me out on the ice, sleeping overnite, and hopefully even catching a few fish.

My point is, if you buy stuff at the right price (that you can afford), you can use if for a few years, sell it, and then get something bigger and better. We'd all like to start out with top of the line but our budget doen't allow that.

Agreed to a certain extent. The problem is taking a loss on the sale. That's why I would prefer to buy a quality unit the first time and have it for the whole life of the house. By that point it retains so much sentimental value I would rather see it destroyed than passed on to another. By that point hopefully I've saved enough to buy another quality unit and make some more memories.

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Like alot of post above I will say that you get what you pay for. I bought my Ice Castle for $3200.00 many years ago. I had to put my own bunks but other than that it was ready to fish. It is not fancy but, it does everything I need it to. It is warmer than my brothers Ultra-Shack that cost him twice what I paid. My son has a house from Performance Engineering, very well built in my opinion, and the customer service is great. I have thought about upgrading and really like the Salem models alot.

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I too built my own wheeler, 6 1/2 by 12 from the ground up. It was a big project, wanted to keep it light but kind of had to go with a steel frame, something that I could fabricate and weld. Used aluminum sheets glued to 1 1/2" styrofome core for the walls and roof. Double doors for 4-wheeler and oak cabinets, bunk - bed. With all the supplies, wiring 12 volt & 120 lights, heater, bunk pads, gas tanks - regultor, thermal windows, etc. total materials with tax and licence came to over $2500.00 . Weighed it, and it came in at 1,930 lb's (without my fishing gear or 4-wheeler in it).

If I would have paid myself $5.00 an hour for the labor- I don't think I could have afforded it!!

It was fun- (kind of), now we need more ice to enjoy using it.

Aluminum frame-Yetti-seems like a great way to go.

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Kanos,

I think your research is right on. I am also looking for a house that is all aluminum framed. I have been to Custom Cottages mfg. site and met with them. Eric builds, from what I have seen, the best quality house out there. I don't know if anything is close. I do like the Yeti as well, but then need to handle the finishing.

For what they get for some of the other top line houses is a joke in my opinion for the quality of construction.

I am not sure of the intent, but must agree on the "bait and switch" you mentioned in your original post. I originally went to the Custom Cottages site through &&&&&((*(*&houses&&*sale.^%^ and also saw the $15,500 fishhouse. It was much more when we discussed building one. After looking at them it may well be worth it, but I was not happy with the price adjustment.

I really appreciate this thread, as you are in the same boat as I. I want a top quality aluminum house that a guy does not get taken over the coals for.

EJ

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Kanos,

I think your research is right on. I am also looking for a house that is all aluminum framed. I have been to Custom Cottages mfg. site and met with them. Eric builds, from what I have seen, the best quality house out there. I don't know if anything is close. I do like the Yeti as well, but then need to handle the finishing.

For what they get for some of the other top line houses is a joke in my opinion for the quality of construction.

I am not sure of the intent, but must agree on the "bait and switch" you mentioned in your original post. I originally went to the Custom Cottages site through &&&&&((*(*&houses&&*sale.^%^ and also saw the $15,500 fishhouse. It was much more when we discussed building one. After looking at them it may well be worth it, but I was not happy with the price adjustment.

I really appreciate this thread, as you are in the same boat as I. I want a top quality aluminum house that a guy does not get taken over the coals for.

EJ

Take a look at the Yetti's finished by Fish N Style, the salesman we talked to was very straight forward. He seemed confident in his crews finishing skills, and said they got countless good comments at the ice show.

A little more price friendly than Custom Cottages, still aluminum, gets rid of some of the extra "frills" and price.

The rest of my family, (brother and father) are going to look at the Yetti's tomorrow. If they like what they see then we are buying. Were gonna give a price limit of fifteen thousand. Hopefully he will bargain down to that price with everything we want. Its still priced far above an ice castle of the same style so I feel he should be willing to barter.

I will let you know how it goes. It would be a Bronze shelled one (looks really sharp) and would be ready by two weeks into January. Not to bad, still some time to fish.

I will upload the floor plan were planning if anyone would like to see.

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Agreed to a certain extent. The problem is taking a loss on the sale. That's why I would prefer to buy a quality unit the first time and have it for the whole life of the house. By that point it retains so much sentimental value I would rather see it destroyed than passed on to another. By that point hopefully I've saved enough to buy another quality unit and make some more memories.

I understand about the sentiment part, when my grey tractor and my first green tractor went down the road on a flatbed, I had regrets - but then I started driving the bigger, newer tractor and the other one was long forgotten. Plus I couldn't afford the new AND keep the old one.

As far as taking a loss on the sale, you can't expect to get back what you have in it, especially if you buy it new. If you buy something at the right (market) price, use it a few years, and sell it for the right (market) price, thats the price of your use.

BTW, I did look at the Yetti's before I bought my ice castle. Nice house but by the time I added on the estimate for finishing it, I couldn't afford it. My ice castle will get me out on the ice in a sleeper, still mobile, if we like that style of fishing, I can upgrade in a few years.

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