Why does my Ice Castle pull like a TANK?

[Effie07]

I think lip ripper might be onto something. I've also wondered about the 16' IC's with single axel. They have about the same accessories; beds/kitchen/bathroom/dinette/bunks as a 20', just a shorter wheel well for the most part and that is mainly "empty space".

I have pulled my 2010 IC w/ a 2003 1/2-ton GMC Yukon XL 5.3L, 2002 Chevy 1500HD Pickup 6.0L, 2006 Ford F-150 5.4L and most recently 2011 Ford F-350 6.2L. Although the 1 ton pulls the house like a dream, I have never experienced the jerking issues you describe. My biggest issue was gas mileage(7-8) until my most recent trip where I got 11 mpg on Hwy. 2 at 67 mph.

[JSK76]

I thought you had a power issue when you say "pulls like a tank", now I'm thinking tongue weight, I just can see what else it would be. Strange it doesn't sway on you though. How is the inside set up? most the weight in the back? Propane tanked full on the front or empty? Battery in the front or rear? Roof top AC towards the rear? How level is the trailer when hooked up?

Maybe the ride hight of your monster truck is giving the house weird air, can you pull it with a buddy's truck?

[OutlawBiz]

Jsk76...it does feel like I am tugging a tank the way it lunges forward & back!

I mentioned in one of my earlier posts...most of the weight is towards the front. Bathroom, upright cabinets, kitchen(stove, oven & microwave), 32" TV, furnace & (2) 40# propane tanks (1 full, 1 empty) towards the "front". Only thing behind the wheels are 2 batteries, dinette/bed and upper bunk. Roof AC is right in the middle of the shack (basically over the wheels). With 10" drop hitch it rides perfectly level to the ground.

The day I bought it I pulled it home with my wife's Yukon Denali which has same 6.2L, tranny etc. only difference is on-board air ride leveler. It pulled horrible with her vehicle too! I just wrote it off as "I'm just not used to it! Or, my truck will pull it better...I pull a 30' camper for gosh-sakes!"

I should hook it behind a buddy's truck, good idea!

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I think I run 45 PSI in my truck and fish house tires. i was at max tire capacity on my 8x12+V. It did a lot of strange things towing. I swapped out the tires for some way heavier ones and that helped.

Try lowering the ball so the front of the house is 2-3" lower than the back. Made a huge difference.

Ultimately on that same house, I realized the axle was just simply put in the wrong spot. I had 3 batteries, 2 30# tanks, a stove, a furnace, and upper and lower cabinets immediately in the V. Almost nothing behind the axle, similar to yours. The last straw for that house was trying to tow it home from Mille Lacs in a 30mph cross wind. After 5 miles going 20mph max I stopped at a gas station and bought 8 bags of softener salt to put up front and it still didn't pull worth a you know what. Every single person who came and looked at it could see right away.

I think you'll also find the axle placement too far forward on yours, too, but I can't say for sure without seeing it. When you hit bumps its causing that 'teeter totter' effect I mentioned earlier, and lifting up on the back of the truck. If that is the case, be extra careful on slippery roads. That's when the real fun begins.

My 20' tandem that weighs close to twice as much pulls 100x's better. Never even know its back there.

[elkoholic]

Outlaw

Did a little research for ya, try this and let us know what ya find!

http://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-determine-trailer-tongue-weight.aspx

[mmartin]

you have to remember too that he said he has a 10" drop hitch. A regular receiver hitch doesn't fit tight in the receiver anyways, so multiply that by the extra length of his drop an you are adding a lot less rigidity to your pulling set up.

[Fishalittle]

It is the single axle that your not used to. You can't compare a small single axle with atv to a 5-6000 lb fish house. All your other items are tandem axle. When I bought they told me a tandem 20' would pull nicer than the 16' single any day of the week. But they were more money and a little more weight for early season. I have a 16' and pull it with a f-150 and have no extreme issues, (yeah you feel the bumps, as far as icy roads well no trailer is fun on that!) other than my 5.4 loves gas with it in tow! You have two options learn to get used to it or trade up to a tandem. Go ask the dealer to hook on to another 16' new house on the lot and tow it, bet you feel the same thing!

Have never pulled a yetti or firebrand house but would before I bought again...don't think it would be any different though....maybe the torsion axle would help?

[SnowGuy73]

Just went with a friend yesterday to pick up his 8x17 ice castle, didn't even notice it behind the truck when pulling it home with an f150.

[JSK76]

You could try moving the batteries to the front and take it for a test drive. They weigh about 55lbs each so since your moving them from the rear to the front it's like gaining 210lbs in the front.

[OutlawBiz]

you have to remember too that he said he has a 10" drop hitch. A regular receiver hitch doesn't fit tight in the receiver anyways, so multiply that by the extra length of his drop an you are adding a lot less rigidity to your pulling set up.

I'm kind of wondering if that isn't part of my problem too (longer hitch/drop)! Receiver hitches never fit snug anyway...anyone know of a different 'brand' or style hitches that DO fit more snug or how to remedy a sloppy fit?

[RiverChuckNorris]

My experience pulling my 8x16 IC with my F150 5.0L, while not completely dissimilar to what you describe below, seems to be a little less excessive. That being said, it does drop my back down a bit (thus I use a 2" raised hitch to keep it level) and I pull it down the Interstate @ 70 mph in 5th gear (6th is too tall) yielding about 10 mpg (instead of the standard 18 mpg) depending on wind/temperature.

Recently pulled it with my friends F350 and it was almost unnoticeable. Then again, with over 1,000 lbs of torque and 600+ hp, I guess I'm not surprised.

I do think it comes down to a lot of weight/wind resistance for a single axle and there's probably merit to LRG's analysis of the axle not being best-positioned. I'm guessing your seemingly excessively poor experience is probably amplified by the huge drop hitch too.

Sidenote: When I went to pull the IC out of storage a week ago, the left wheel had seized. We pulled the tire, banged on the drum and knocked it loose. I'm guessing "it" was the emergency/brake and it had rusted to the drum??? (I also noticed it looks like after 3 seasons, the outside of the tires are wearing more....Can't say I'm surprised and I figure I'll replace the tires every 4-5 years anyways as I'm assuming there's no easy fix for that.

It's sitting up at Crystal Welding to address that, get all 3 winches replaced and have a good once-over for what is now a second-annual tradition of pre-winter preparation. If I have time when they're done, I'm going to sand down the frame and re-paint as it's really starting to show some MN cancer.

I'm not sure if we should attribute continued maintenance to IC manufacturing or to the fact that we use our houses in the worst conditions, spray them with corrosives and then (I anyways) park it for the next 8 months.

[swmndeerhunter]

Outlawbiz, you could try using a cushioned ball mount hitch. I went with one of them a few years back and really eliminated a lot of jerks you get with the house bouncing. They are a little spendy, but I think it will help out with your problem that is if they make any of them with that big of a drop.

[arcticm1000]

I have absolutely no problem with pulling power...truck barely breaks a sweat at 65-70mph (1900rpm) pulling it! My problem is the dam thing makes you feel like you're riding a saddle-bronc with all the jerking/lunging it seems to do. You literally feel every bump & dip in the road. Even at 25-30mph around town.

This evening I checked the obvious...jacked the shack up...both wheels spin freely. Loosened all 3 cables so it is riding on the leaf springs/tongue pin. Verified ball & coupler size (both 2"). Tightened the spring loaded nut on the coupler a bit & checked voltage on trailer brake battery. On my bench the battery tested at 3.30v...not sure where it should be!? It's a 12v5aH battery...

Hooked it all back up and same jerky ride!? I'm at a loss right now.

I think that battery should test at 12 volts.

I bought a used 2012 IC 8x16 last year. Basically 1 year old. The driver side brake/hub was getting hot every time I pulled it. After trying a few things, I ended up replacing the breakaway battery and it fixed it. It was like $25 at save big money store.

I think there is something to the single axle with that much weight being something that just pulls hard and moves around more than it should.

[harvey lee]

I purchased one last fall and the first time I towed it behind my Chev 1500, I thought wow, this is terrible to say the least. I worked with trying different receiver hitch heights and that made it much better.

I also did not crank my crank as tight as it could get and left some slack in the crank cables for the wheels but the safety pin is still in there. That also really changed how it towed.

I was going to move batteries and some other items as I thought my front was too heavy. Nope, not needed in my case.

By getting the right level with the house to the truck and a small amount of slack in the crank cables, it tows way better than the first time I brought it home. NO more jumping around and it tows almost as well as my 17ft boat.

The house is a IC 16ft V front with a single axle, my tires are aired to the max rating.

[elkoholic]

Harvey u shouldnt have any tension on the cables,there not designed for that.

[harvey lee]

when I purchased the house used, I did not realize that but it did not take long to figure it out.

[Boar]

right those pins are to take the abuse, not the cables.

[iffwalleyes]

Loose cables are a must think about it 5/8" pin in the leaf springs and 1/4" cable what makes sense for a house to ride on. i always loosen my cables so the winch is locked with play in the springs. Also when trailing a trailer should always be level. if you have too short or to long of a drop it will trailer weird. The other thing is people are pushing 1/2 tons harder than they are meant to be pushed. half tons are fancy trucks that are meant for driving to church and not towing. i'll be honest i see companies advertising there 21' house is half ton trailer able i say talk maybe down the road but on the lake you will be stuck i don't care if you have air bags i will be pulling you out with my d-max.

[Fishalittle]

I will agree that half tons and big wheel houses on the lake do get stuck easier. Went from a 6.5 to 8' wide same length and it was noticeably harder to get it moving. However some chains or a little more prep work and it is not a real problem anymore.

While I would consider a 3/4 ton next time.....the half ton will and does do the job, and it seems like they are getting more powerful all the times. I think classing them as a "going to church rig" might be a little bit extreme.

[B-man715]

.... The other thing is people are pushing 1/2 tons harder than they are meant to be pushed. half tons are fancy trucks that are meant for driving to church and not towing. i'll be honest i see companies advertising there 21' house is half ton trailer able i say talk maybe down the road but on the lake you will be stuck i don't care if you have air bags i will be pulling you out with my d-max.

I really hope you are trolling, so I'll bite

Differentials, tires, and driving ability have a lot more to do with getting stuck versus what numbers are on the side of your door ......

And how do you think airbags play any role with traction????

[BLACKJACK]

I had an old trucker tell me one time "you need plenty of tongue weight for a trailer to pull right".

I have a 7x10 single axle trailer that is made to pull a pin so the trailer tilts, meaning the axle is a little farther forward than a non-tilt trailer, its easy to put too much weight too far back, anytime I do, you notice every bump on the road. I think you need more tongue weight. Do a test, move those batteries forward as someone else suggested, also add 400 pounds of salt in front, see how it pulls then. While you have the salt in, also pull it with your buddies pickup, eliminate that 10 inch drop. I'll bet you notice a big difference with more tongue weight.

I also did a search on the 'cushioned ball mount hitch' that others mentioned, it was only $70 and they have ones with 10 inch drops, it would probably also help.

I'd also look at the slop between the receiver and the receiver tube, some of them are fairly loose, not sure how to get rid of that slop...

Interesting post since I also have a 6.5x14 Ice Castle that I will probably upgrade some day to something bigger, it may be worth the money to goto a tandem axle....

Report back to us on the results of your testing and what it took to fix your problem.

[iffwalleyes]

I really hope you are trolling, so I'll bite

Differentials, tires, and driving ability have a lot more to do with getting stuck versus what numbers are on the side of your door ......

And how do you think airbags play any role with traction????

I'll give you that the air bags on a truck probably won't matter as far as getting stuck. Yes Tires are most important. My point is a 20'+ fishhouse is going to be alot of work for a half ton pickup. If you always fish a place that has plowed roads and never jump off trail and break your own track I suppose that would be fine. I like to be able to off road to where I want to fish. I know I had a half ton with a smaller fishhouse and it would get tossed around on the interstate terrible. I got my first 3/4 ton and that went away. I have better ground clearance with a 3/4 ton. Now a Ford Raptor might might be the ultimate icefishing pickup and that is a half ton.

I stand by my statement that 1/2 tons are built for going to church

[Boar]

I haul my 20'V with a 97 ford expidition, works well no herky jerky, but I take my time and upset a few people at stop lights for sure but I get where i wanna go. on the ice I pay for a spot to be plowed and all is well. Next season or the spring of 2016 im getting a 3/4 ton suburban with a boss plow, make my own spots for the weekend, I definatley want a bigger rig for a house of that size.

[Walleyehooker]

The jerking sounds like not enough tounge weight and is rocking back and forth on the single axel. Try adding some weight to the front. Also would make sure your tire pressure is max on both truck and trailer.

[Walleyehooker]

Also that shorter wheel base of a Danali will tend to jerk more than a longer vehicle. I still think tounge weight is the big issue though as with a single axel which tends to be more centered in wheel houses you are getting a teeter totter effect.