Buying Fish House Help........

[bassNspear]

looks to me that most of you dont like the toy haulers. Seems like a nice concept, but looking into it, seems like its just not the right thing to do being its mid ice anyway, and you need truck to get it out anyways.

Do these guys have alot of room when working on the deals, as far as throwing stuff in?

looks like i will be doing the floor thing, only makes since.

[shamalex72]

Do these guys have alot of room when working on the deals, as far as throwing stuff in?

Probably about as much as a boat salesman

[bassNspear]

lol

[noodlerod]

Do these guys have alot of room when working on the deals, as far as throwing stuff in?

Probably about as much as a boat salesman

GOOD ONE LOL

[dougger222]

looks to me that most of you dont like the toy haulers. Seems like a nice concept, but looking into it, seems like its just not the right thing to do being its mid ice anyway, and you need truck to get it out anyways.

Do these guys have alot of room when working on the deals, as far as throwing stuff in?

looks like i will be doing the floor thing, only makes since.

You are seeing more and more fish houses with either barn doors or cargo doors. It's a great idea IMO. Today going to buy a shack rack 22ft hydrolic and going to build a toy hauler. My plan is to be able to pull it out if need be with the atv. Some guys would rather throw the atv in the pick up box and pull the wheeled house.

A rear door is one of those things you really can't add down the road... There are kitchenetes that fold up quite easy for the rear door area. There are also pull down bunks above it.

[bassNspear]

im just worried that the back doors on the toy hauler will leak with wind or cold down the road?

[Iambjm]

I have heard if you are going to go with a toy hauler, go with the one that has the drop down cargo ramp vs. the one with the 2 doors. The drop down one doesn't leak that much air and will stay warmer in the back if you have bunks there.

[bassNspear]

i just dont know how much its worth getting it. Makes alot of since ot haul stuff, but again, its more money, and i have a feeling it wont last long and it will be cold.

Worried about that alot, and making sure the house dont get wreck from the wheeler.

[noodlerod]

I have heard if you are going to go with a toy hauler, go with the one that has the drop down cargo ramp vs. the one with the 2 doors. The drop down one doesn't leak that much air and will stay warmer in the back if you have bunks there.

I got buddies with both and the ones with doors complain about cold drafts and the ones with fold down ramp love it

[vman11]

My 6.5x12 has the barn-style toy hauler doors and like everyone else has stated they do leak. I am going to look into my options in the off season for either replacing the seals or door concept entirely.

One thing to remember are these aren't just ice houses anymore. A lot of people use them at campgrounds or on ATV riding trips in the summer or for hunting cabins in the fall. Even though 75% of the guys only use their Ice Castle's after lakes are safe enough for truck traffic, I like the added flexibility of being able to throw an ATV, decoys, whatever into the back when I'm not ice fishing.

If you plan on only ice fishing with it and don't plan on pulling it out on 8-12" of ice then a toy hauler door probably doesn't make sense.

[Mlaker3]

I just bought a used 2008 IC with drop down back door, thought I wanted the barn door style but ended up w/ this. So far I like it. No draft, but I did rig up a blanket to drop from a top bunk to the floor on back wall just in case. Also had to install floor tie downs, anything in there is a potential missle w/out. I have a diesel F250 so need a 4-wheeler to get on lake most of the time when I travel. Also wanted flexibiltiy for other uses. I put 4 wheeler on truck but throw portables in thru the back door. I live by L. Minnewaska, they still aren't driving half tons out there, so gotta have a 4 wheeler option IMO.

[Capt'nMorgan]

The Ice Castles with the twin doors on back definitely leak air. But when sleeping on top you can lay closer to the doors and cool you off

[bogeyman1]

Another option for you would be a Yetti fish house. They look like a quality product and you could put in any options you would want.

[bassNspear]

Anyone else have thoughts about ice castle

[dougger222]

My house house has very large wood front entry doors and they leak. These are not your cheap flimsy fish house doors either...

[cluelessfisherman]

Bass -

I bought mine this year. I was stuck between the Mille Lacs & Lake of The Woods, and pulled the trigger on the LOTW model. I love it.

I posted a few pics here: http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2722440/1

Definately go with the cedar - you will appreciate spending the few extra hundred to upgrade.

Things I would change if I could - adding more outlets. Mine only has 3 all on one side of the house - I would make sure every wall had at least one. One of those things I didn't notice or think of when I ordered it.

I went with the ac unit as well - figured if I was going to take the plunge, I might as well be able to use it whenever I want in the summer too.

[bassNspear]

see thats my biggest concurn. I dont want them to leak, or its worthless to even have the house.

How many of you have the big bay window in the back?? Do you like it?

[bassNspear]

i am debating on thes two models as well.

Why did you pick the LOW over Mill

[tut79]

Bass n spear .. I would check smokey hills outdoor store in park rapids they have a good selection. Have you seen the hunter it's different from the trophy hunter ,also they have one called itasca which is really nice also its kinda of an open floor plan. Has cedar Walls with a bay window. It might be worth looking at also .

[mediocrates67]

I bought an 8x16 + Vnose shell from Ice Castle and finished the inside myself. it is definitely a great way to go, but it still takes a lot of time to finish. i wanted to do my own because there just wasn't a design I liked. I like having holes behind the wheelwells, most do not do this effectively while having bunks. if i could do it again i would have one custom made, it would be worth the money. my wife was not happy about all my time out of the house to finish the fish house.

Some of the things i did to mine that i would highly recommend:

-leave access to wiring connections

-build in a bathroom

-put as many holes in as you can (I have 11)

-put a hole and rattle reel in the bathroom (great when you have a house full of people)

-spray foam floor

-spray foam the bottom of the catch covers

-under-bunk storage

-tv antenna

-12v chargers in strategic locations

-forced air furnace (ducted strategically)...keeps holes open better and circulates air, keeps floor more dry than a direct vent heater.

-stove/oven and range hood

-outdoor 12v floods in strategic locations (door, generator hookup, gas hookup, wheelwells)

-power converter (charges battery and powers 12v from generator)

also, i should have sprung for an air conditioner for the summer. if you don't do a roof-mount, make sure your window is big enough to put one in it...my windows are all too small.

hope that helps some.

[bassNspear]

do you have photos of yours?

[morepower02]

Jason, a friend of mine just had a 8x16 spirit ordered and came in. It is a nice house with the cedar interior and bay window. He had them put it on a hydraulic frame. After seeing the interior on his compared to a crank up model you would not want a crank up. The wheel wells our so much smaller with a larger fishable area it is not even question if it is worth the extra money. Plus it goes up and down with a key fob so that's pretty cool.

[bassNspear]

great point. i was going to do that anyway. who the heck wants to crank on it.

[BigDogRob]

I love the fact that I can just strap a new cable on mine if one breaks. If yours don't work on the lake then what do you do to get the hydrolics to work when you need to be back to work in the morning? Maybe there is a manual lift or lower for the hydrolics?

[cluelessfisherman]

Bass -

They were really a toss up, but swung with the LOW as it had 9 holes instead of 6 (which you can easily add extras in the Mille Lacs if you want.). The jackknife couch which is surprisingly comfortable both for sitting and sleeping - again you can swap out the small dinette area in the Mille Lacs if you want. The smaller bathroom in the LOW - which makes a little less room for storage than the in the ML bathroom, but it makes for more open floor room for another hole and room for a larger counter for the stove with or without a sink.

One difficult decision between the two was door placement - front on the LOW or side on the Mille Lacs. I am slightly concerned about slushing and freezing on the front door, but for the extra open space in the LOW! I decided it would outweigh any inconvenience of having to chip the ice to get the door open.

It just seemed to fit my needs a little better.

Whichever way you go, you will be happy.