New fish house-Is a v front really needed

[Hawg]

I've been hearing a lot of friends say they wish they would'nt have done a v front on their houses because they would gain floor space without it. If you're not towing long distances does it matter? Others have said the v front made very little differance on mileage also. I'm going to start on a frame soon and I'm not sure which way to go. Why not go as long as you want without the V?

[FF_205]

When i built my frame and house i put i a v-front, it is nice for a bathroom for the kids and wife, other than that you could use it for storage or closet, i do take mine on long trips to LOW and Red lake but i don't know if that makes a diffence pulling down the road or not, the bathroom is a the only way i can get my wife and daughter in for an over nite fishing trip

[Hawg]

That settles it-no V for me

[tonkapat]

If you like burning gas and going slow don't put a v on it.

I wouldn't even consider one with a flat front.

[adamr]

Adding the v for pulling is night and day difference your nuts if you dont put one on not only that you can move the v forward on the hole trailer so it really isnt taking up that mutch room.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

+1 for not even considering a flat front. 90% of your resale buyers down the road won't either.

[Hawg]

So do most of you consider the v additional length, not intended for floor space? You build a house the size you want and the v is just an addition for aerodynamics.

PS-Mr A, looking back at some of your posts I'm not sure you should be calling me nuts. It was just a question for opinions, not for jerks to jump on me.

[Boker001]

Think about it. The trailer tongue has to be a minimum length for you to be able to take turns without your truck hitting the fishhouse. The frame is already made long enough for a V front. So your gaining square footage and it pulls better. I put my cooktop and furnace in the V like many do. Which leaves the rest an open floor plan for fishing.

[Hawg]

I guess that is the way to look at it, makes sense.

[hawkeye43]

I was told along time ago, if you are building a fish house for yourself, build it the way you want it, not what others want. You are the one who going to fish in it.

[hunterfisher]

I just pulled my new 16' with 3' v this weekend, I used to have a 14' flat front. the new one with the v pulled alot easier that the old 14'. as far as gas mileage, i would have to think it's going to make a difference. I did not consider the v as floor space, but it's a great place for cabinets, oven/stove, heater etc. which does not take away from your floor space. My 16' length is all open floor space with fold up bunks in the back in front of the atv door. the 14' had a small cabinet on one side with the permanent bench in back. the 16' feels much, much larger than the 14' as far as floor space. i would definitly go with the v. its a win win situation, great if you do get better gas mileage and it actually adds to floor space if done right.

[swmnlivetofish32]

I wouldn't buy or make a house without a V front. i build the house as long as i want it and the v is just extra. most the time i make the v me into a counter top with a little oven storage under neath cabinets and TV above . plus it makes it easier on towing big difference.

[Hawg]

I agree 100% now. Boker summed it up the way I wasn't thinking of-it's taking up tounge space not floor space.

[hunt fish repeat]

I have one with a flat front that I built for local use only about 4 years ago, then I started to go to Red and LOW, now the house is sitting on LOW And I plan on leaving it up there year round because the milage is so bad to go back and forth. I have actually considered adding a v on the front just to reduce the wind drag. If your worried about floor space design the interior the way you want and add the v with exterior access only and use it for a storage locker.

[MuskieJunkie]

I've read this before on here and for sale ads that V fronts save gas and I don't see why they would.

I can't see how a flat front would cause a lot more wind resistance than a V front (ie worse gas mileage). The grill and windshield of your truck has already broken the wind. Think drafting in NASCAR. With a SUV or a pick up with topper the wind will travel over the top of the whole rig. Now a pick up truck without a topper the wind will travel down the back windshield and come in contact with the top part of the ice house - here you would be saving a little with the V front but not a lot. About half of wind resistance in any vehicle comes from the air turbulence that is trapped under the vehicle and trailer, so a V front will do nothing for that.

Also, if a V front saved gas wouldn't every RV come with it?

For all the guys that are saying flat front houses get worse gas mileage, is that real world numbers you've seen from towing a V front and then towing a comparable flat front?

I admittedly have very little experience towing ice houses, I've towed a V front to Upper red once and it dropped my mileage a lot.

[Hawg]

I agree and have heard this debated many times, I just didn't want to get it going again. 18 wheelers use those small bubbles for max turbulance breakup, why would a fish house be any worse? But if you think of it as using tounge space, not floor space, it does add strorage. My current house has a v and holds a lot of stuff.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I don't have any real world comparison to go by, but if it doesn't make a difference, why don't rifle bullets have flat fronts? Why don't airplanes have flat fronts? Think about sticking your hand out a moving car window both flat, and pointed, and the amount of felt wind resistance you experience. Like I said, I don't have any engineering or testing proof, it just seems logical to me that a v front will have less wind resistance than a flat front.

[hunt fish repeat]

The shape and windflow of what your pulling makes a huge difference you've probably noticed semis lately with fiberglass sheets under the trailers to decrease the wind restriction caused by the rear trailer wheels. My flat front house weighs in at 2300 lbs pulling it I get about 8mpg, I have a flat car hauling trailer that weighs the same amount pulling it I get about 14, I also have a skidsteer with a trailer that weighs in at around 10,000lbs when I pull that I get around 10mpg.

[Wes Ellis]

I have a 17' That has a 5'V on the front. It pulls good. By buddys Stepdad has a 14 " with flat frount, it catches the wind bad. I use the V for a bathroom and have the battery and wiring in there and storage. I belive that if you talk to any one that has pulled fish house any distance that they will all agree that the V is the way to go!

[nofishfisherman]

I don't have any real world comparison to go by, but if it doesn't make a difference, why don't rifle bullets have flat fronts? Why don't airplanes have flat fronts? Think about sticking your hand out a moving car window both flat, and pointed, and the amount of felt wind resistance you experience. Like I said, I don't have any engineering or testing proof, it just seems logical to me that a v front will have less wind resistance than a flat front.

Because none of your examples have anything in front of it breaking up the air flow. A wheel house is towed by a truck that breaks up the airflow before it hits the front of the house.

If a wheel house with a V front is put in a wind tunnel by itself and compared to a flat front house in a wind tunnel by itself obviously the V front will have a lower wind resistence. The question is when you put a truck in front of it how much of that advantage is reduced by the fact the truck has already broken up the air flow.

I'm sure the V front does have an advantage in terms of drag but I'm just not sure how much. It probably depends on what you use to tow it and how high of a profile it has.

[BartmanMN]

Sounds like they all suck to tow, but everyone agrees that the V is the best place for stove, cabinets, or toilet without losing your fishable space.