Wheel house advice for a first time buyer.

[SalmonSlayer]

(Warning, this may contain a lot of rambling.) I got some great news from my wife; she wants to help get me a wheel house for my 30th birthday, bad news is I'm only 28... We're expecting our 3rd child in March so I'm going to need something on the larger side to fit everyone for those LOW trips. I know I want at least 8' wide, I was thinking I could get away with 16' plus a 4'V, but wouldn't mind a 20'er. I plan to use it a lot for hunting as well, (deer hunting up north, ducks in ND, snow geese in MO), so I'm very concerned with quality and longevity. The lighter the better as well, for gas mileage when towing and less ice needed to put it out.

I like the Fish N' Style houses but would really like an hydraulic frame if possible. They also seem to only go up to 6 holes, at least on the models they have on their HSOforum. Anyone who has purchased from them, are they pretty good at accommodating requested modifications? Also, are they using board foam or spray foam? And I know the bait well seems a little gimmicky, but I know it would keep my kids entertained watching the 'fishies' swim around. These guys are the front runner right now. (Any advice, for or against them would be appreciated.)

The Big Bite houses looked nice at the show in St. Paul, but I think they were electric jacks. I liked that they had a 9 hole model. I can't find pricing on them anywhere. Anyone have any contact info on people selling them? Again, has anyone fished out of these? How is the finish compared to Ice Castle/Fish N' Style/etc.?

I've read good things about the Ice Assault and Berkon frames. Does anyone know any companies that will build out a house for you on one of those frames? Outside of commissioning Lil_Ripper Guy to do it? And before anyone suggests building my own, I don't posses the skills, time, tools or shop space. If a custom job could come in close to the Fish N' Style in price, I'd like to go that route.

I'd love any advice you're willing to impart to me, not just about what I've asked, but anything I'm not considering. As a first time buyer I'm sure there is a LOT I'm not considering.

[CaptainGary]

We bought a Carsella Shack. They are out of Northome. They made it to our specs. Put a small potty room in it for my wife. That was important to us. Also had both gas and battery lights put in just incase battery goes low. We were also very happy with their prices but ours has crank down wheels. Don't know if they do Hydraulic. Good luck!

[SwivelDigger]

Salmon,

I just bought a Big Bite. If you do a google search for them there is a dealer link. Titan machinery in Roseau, someone in Fosston and a place in milaca sell them. I know titan is waiting for more houses, last I knew fosston had a 16 and 20 footer and milaca had 2 or 3 20 footers. The fit and finish in these things are awesome. Very well built. My 8x16 has 8 holes, I think the 20 has 10. I know that they will customize it any way that you want.

As far as the others I think the carsellas are good. Haven't been in a fish n style. Good luck looking for a house , it is a fun time.

[Chad Holst]

SalmonSlayer,

I would also take a look at the Team Lodge houses. I know Dave will customize their set-ups to fit the needs of the customer. As far as quality, i dont think you'll find better. you pay for it, but they are the top in my opinion.

Did you get a chance to see the Hub attachment for the Lodges? Basically doubles the size of your house for when your fishing.

[Hawg]

If you can build it yourself you'll roughly be about 1/3 to 1/2 of a prebuilt price and be sure of the quality. You better start checking prices now so the sticker shock doesn't scare the bejesus out of you. I can't believe how expensive these things have gotten.

[Redlineracer12]

I bought a shell 'package' from Fish N Style. I think they will custom make whatever you want, just obviously going to take more time and money vs one they already have finished sitting around. I believe when they finish the floor, it's sandwich of 3/4" green treated plywood bottom, foam board, then 1/2" plywood. Walls on the Yetti come pre-insulated with foam board as well. They were able to make me a deal that included spare tire, furnace, hole covers, lights, etc to help me finish it that saved me money. No complaints really other than that they can be a little tricky to get a hold of sometimes.

I have also had some cable nuisances and Yetti has been great to work with. Twice they have sent me pulley upgrades free of charge now that the design has gotten a little better. I used to have cables that fell off the pulleys frequently and they were not easy to get back on.

The biggest Yetti is 8x16 and while it's probably close to half the weight of an equivalent steel house, I doubt you'll notice much difference in fuel economy. I have a little 6x12 Yetti that I thought would help save in fuel economy... not so much. I get between 8-11mpg with a V8 4x4 1/2 ton (have towed with Chevy 5.3 and Ford 5.4). I can do slightly better with my V6 2wd manual, but that's about 12-13 and doesn't exactly leave a lot of passing power. I'm not sure what you plan on towing with or what you have towed before, but the fact that these are so tall and have so much wind drag makes them tow much harder than the weight alone. Very easy to get my Yetti up to 50-60mph, but letting off the gas at 70+mph feels like you're braking. Especially if there's a headwind. Other than drinking the fuel, you hardly notice it's back there. Tows very stable and rides smooth. :-)

[SalmonSlayer]

Thanks for the advice everyone. SwivelDigger, what's the name of the place in Milaca? I didn't see that listed on the dealers page.

Did you get a chance to see the Hub attachment for the Lodges? Basically doubles the size of your house for when your fishing.

I did see those, that would be a great addition. Great spot for the bathroom!

[BartmanMN]

Thanks for the advice everyone. SwivelDigger, what's the name of the place in Milaca? I didn't see that listed on the dealers page.

Northland Auto Center in Milaca.

[SwivelDigger]

Nice work Bartman.... What he said Salmon.

Redline, have you put the Yetti on a scale 2 see if it was half the weight? I'm curious, not saying it isn't. I know the owner of Big Bite will tell you the weight of his houses and according to him if you have identical houses, which he builds them out of both aluminum and steel, the identical aluminum house will be approximately 150 pounds heavier because of more bracing. Just wondering you've weighed yours to see. Or I wonder if Yetti is doing something far different? It took me a long time to pick between a Big Bite or a Yetti. I really liked both. I went the Big Bite but it was like a 51-49 split.

[Redlineracer12]

Redline, have you put the Yetti on a scale 2 see if it was half the weight? I'm curious, not saying it isn't.

No I have not, but Yetti lists their unfinished weights as 1400, 1700, 2240 for 6.5x12, 6.5x16, 8x16. How luxuriously you finish it will determine your final weight, but they're pretty light.

[waskawood]

My experience has been that it doesn't cost that much more to build it yourself. Save a little longer and get it done correct unless you really know what you are doing.

[Chad Holst]

Quote:

And before anyone suggests building my own, I don't posses the skills, time, tools or shop space.

[B-man715]

What to you plan on having for a tow vehicle??

A 20 foot "anything" is not gonna be a lot of fun with a half ton.

As far as aluminum vs. steel, weight difference won't be huge, but the rust factor is nice to eliminate with aluminum.

[BiggerJigger]

I had purchased my second wheelhouse from Fish n Style. Matt will take care of you and will work with what you want.