Automobiles and ice fishing

[dmac]

Time for me to get a new vehicle. Medical problem requires something with less of the truck like feel my 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee gives me...a softer ride. I have looked at minivans which I can slip cargo like ice fishing houses, sleds etc in and out of and hold a lot of gear. Alternatively, the Crossover SUV such as Buick Enclave or GMC Acadia which also holds gear but less, has worse mileage, but has higher clearance and option of AWD.

My concern is this: is the minivan, with modern front wheel drive and relatively lower clearance, going to be just fine on lakes like Mille Lacs where I occasionally leave the plowed roads and at any time may need to contend with drifting? I have been spoiled with the Jeep. I will appreciate any experiences / information you-all can share.

[leech~~]

Maybe you can find a good older AWD van from back a few years when they use to make them? Or I think you are just going to end up fishing a little closer to the plowed roads!

[Brad B]

I guess if it was me I would look for the highest clearance possible. have you looked at the chevy equinox. even thou mileage will be lower it still should be better then a truck. also go with AWD if you can get it. I just switched vechiles back in June and I ended up going with a Chevy Tahoe. the dealer wanted to sell me a equinox but I told him I had specific things I needed and those didn't meet them. no matter what you end up with make sure to get a hitch on it. What I do is put all my gear in the back of the Tahoe and then the house it self goes on a cargo carrier hooked in the hitch. I also did this with my old blazer before the tahoe. this would work for people that drive cars also as long as the car has a hitch.

[MNCPRGUY]

Not sure what exactly you are in need of but if comfort is your highest priority, you might think twice about the minivans. Having owned three of them as recently as 2005, I can say that my Silverado is a far more comfortable ride. There are benefits to minivans, but I wouldn't say comfort is at the top of that list.

[bkerschner70]

No matter what you get you can always get a hitch carrier to hold some gear and free up a lot of space in your car.

[Iambjm]

I don't know what your mileage needs are or space for gear, but I have a 2007 Ford Escape with AWD that does great on the ice and through snow. I can haul a 60 inch long flipover which I store all my gear and my auger in, plus last winter I used it to pull a 6.5 x 12 foot wheelhouse on the ice. Granted we didn't have a ton of snow but I did have to pull it through a snow drift once when leaving the lake. One thing I found is you have to have good tires with aggressive treds. I spent $800 putting some pretty aggressive Goodyear Wranglers on it last year and they are great. If you are a Chevy lover, they must have something pretty similar.

[blackdog1101]

We recently replaced my wife's vehicle, and looked a lot at the Ford Flex. It's got a TON of interior room, and was super comfortable. If it was me I would have got it, but she couldn't get past the boxy exterior look. She ended up getting a Ford Escape, which is what I also drive (2006 AWD), and as the poster above said, it works great for me to haul my porty, auger, and extra stuff.

[dmac]

Very interesting comment on comfort of minivans vs SUV. I wish there was some objective rating system. My crude method is to pretend I have a cup of hot coffee and try to drink it while on a test drive. I know that with the Jeep I have to be very cautious on bumps and have developed an internal, unconscious system of holding off on a sip until I hit a flat spot on the road.

I think what I gather from the posts so far is what I anticipated. I could do just fine if stuck with plowed roads and got off the lake quickly if wind came up. There are those times, of course, when it is nice to wander a bit in order to get to a particular bit of structure.

The Equinox I will check out. ONe of my other criteria is the ability to lie down in the back. I am six feet tall. I can barely do it in the Jeep and then only at diagonal.

Appreciate comments and hope for more.

[Rod Woten]

Very interesting comment on comfort of minivans vs SUV. I wish there was some objective rating system. My crude method is to pretend I have a cup of hot coffee and try to drink it while on a test drive. I know that with the Jeep I have to be very cautious on bumps and have developed an internal, unconscious system of holding off on a sip until I hit a flat spot on the road.

I think what I gather from the posts so far is what I anticipated. I could do just fine if stuck with plowed roads and got off the lake quickly if wind came up. There are those times, of course, when it is nice to wander a bit in order to get to a particular bit of structure.

The Equinox I will check out. ONe of my other criteria is the ability to lie down in the back. I am six feet tall. I can barely do it in the Jeep and then only at diagonal.

Appreciate comments and hope for more.

Have you driven one of the new F150's? They have the smoothest ride of ANY vehicle I've ever ridden in. The ride is actually what sold my wife on ours. It's always the one she wants to take on road trips becasue she can snooze in it without being jarred awake all the time. Get one with an Eco-Boost engine and you've got a fairly fuel efficient vehicle that rides like floating in a cloud and will haul or tow almost any ice fishing gear you can throw at it. ;-)

-Rod

[cps420us]

dmac,

I just purchased a 2012 AWD Equinox. It was for our family vehicle, but after seeing all the features I can't wait for ice fishing with it. The interior is very roomy and the nice part is not only does the back seat fold down, it slides forward and back like 10 inches or something, not sure about laying down in the back, but it'll be nice for a one man not having to fold the seat down. A coworker bought one last year and he said it handled better in the snow than his late 90's Tahoe.

[Moose]

I agree on the minivan they are not very comfortable to drive. I'm 6'3 and 270 and I always felt cramped in ours. Have you looked at some of the front wheel drive crossovers the imports are offering. I know Huyndia and Toyota both offer them and I believe some of the mileages are in the upper 30 mpg range not sure on the interior size though. That would give you the clearance with the FWD and the mileage.

[Cove]

Thanks for additional comments on my thread.

The Equinox looks really good but for one thing: I need to be able to lay down in the back (with seats folded of course). 6 feet. The space is a little too small.

As for the F-150, I had always hoped to get a pickup for my next vehicle but scratched idea after illness thinking I would need option of lying down. But if the F-150 was smooth enough, perhaps I would not need to. I should check it out.