salem ice cabin toy hauler vs. ice castle toy haulers

[Baggerman]

lookin into a 20' toy hauler any input on either model. thanks

[jmd1]

my sister and husband have a salem 32 ft pull behind and it is like a darn palace. they did a boat load of research and went with the salem as they worked with them the best on the price and things that they wanted. just my thought.

[Baggerman]

a little more info, i plan on using it all year long. hauling four wheeler for hard ice and the taking the bike/family on long trips over the summer.

[otterman91105]

Salem make's a really nice house, but so does ice castle. My buddy has a 8 x 20 salem seems like he has had nothing but trouble with the jacks for the lifting system on the wheels. Been stuck on the ice three time's in the last two years cause the jacks strip out. I don't know if he is the only one but something to maybe research.

[Baggerman]

Salem make's a really nice house, but so does ice castle. My buddy has a 8 x 20 salem seems like he has had nothing but trouble with the jacks for the lifting system on the wheels. Been stuck on the ice three time's in the last two years cause the jacks strip out. I don't know if he is the only one but something to maybe research.

Salem's lift system is one of the things that i am worried about. do you know if it was an expensive fix?

[otterman91105]

So far he has been able to take it back and have it fixed under warrinty. Once that is up i don't know. Sounds like he is not the only one with this problem. Maybe they are better now. His is two years old.

[chad austin]

Salem's lift system is one of the things that i am worried about. do you know if it was an expensive fix?

A new Atwood electric jack will run you $300+ for each jack if you were to buy your own and install it. I'm sure there are other brands out there that could be bought for less, but you get what you pay for.

[otterman91105]

Yea if you buy from coates rv you can upgrade to barker jacks but they are a lot of money!

[Neiko]

My buddy had bought a Lodge Pro 8X20 last year and got stuck with it a couple times enough for him to sell it after only having it a month. He was convinced on getting a smaller Ice Cabin at the Ice Show this year. We thought he was getting a 14ft but took the wife and ended up getting another 8 x 20 toy hauler. I asked why and he said the ice Cabin was a lot less weight then the Lodge. I think he said about 5200# to 3500#. He really needed a drop down to haul his sled and wheeler with. We tried to talk him into going with the Ice Cabin originally because it was about $10K cheaper. Another reason he got it was because it pulled down the road a lot better then the Lodge. We will find out this weekend as we are heading up to Crane Lake with it. I don't think we will be pulling it out on the ice though because we are not sure of the ice up there and he has a 1 ton.

[dougger222]

Want to say the Salems are made in the South in the big RV manufacturing area.

I'd rather buy from a munufacturer who builds in the North. I would not buy an ice castle however.

[otterman91105]

If you go on coates rv the weight of an 8 x 20 is 6000+ ibs. What in them makes the house weight so much?