Otter XT 1200 - Is The Resort Too Big?

[trebormorgan]

Hello,

I purchased the Otter XT1200 Cabin at beginning of this ice season. Like everyone else says, these are by far the best portable houses on the market today. They make 4 sizes- cottage, cabin, lodge, and resort. I hear the resort will not fit in the bed of a pickup. I think I'm okay with that since I fish lakes right around my house and travel with the 4-wheeler right out of my garage. I get up to LOW and Upper Red once/year. So, my question here, would you recommend the lodge or the resort based on pulling the house behind a four wheeler or snowmobile. I'm all about the most room available. I suppose the downside of buyng the biggest is the amount of heat needed. I was thinking about mounting a 20 lb propane heater rack/holder on the back side. Once I get out and start fishing I would put the tank on the back side until I'm ready to head in. I like to move around a lot and with the otter cabin I usually leave the house flipped down, but I do lift the bar closes to the ground up about 1-2 feet and secure the bar inside to hold it in this position. This eliminates the house dragging in the snow/ice when moving. I learned that a strong wind will push the house forward when pulling it to a new spot when flipped forward and this is why I was thinking the propane tank mounted on the back side would allow easier travel when pulling the house to new holes. I'm rambling now, but I would like to get some solid feedback from experienced anglers that have used an Otter Cabin, Lodge and/or Resort.

Thanks guys,

Tre Morgan

[swmndeerhunter]

I've used both a resort and a lodge. Neither one will fit with the tailgate fully closed. ( I have the 5'8" box) with the lodge I could put it in backwards and have the tailgate half up. The resort sits a few inches on my tailgate but not much. You can easily fit an auger next to it in the box. That was a main concern I had when looking at the resort. I typically have it on a trailer though. There are positives in each. The two downsides I would say with the resort is the sportsmans caddy doesn't work in it as the seating is different and harder to load in the truck due to the sheer size if it. I'm sure you would prolly use more gas to heat the resort but I would consider it to be marginal and quite frankly I wouldn't worry about it. Just switched out my 20lb for the first time yesterday and I fish about every weekend. I sold my lodge and went with a resort and haven't looked back. The extra space inside is awesome. Plus it is comfortable fishing with 3 people if needed, which you can't say with the lodge. We don't use the 3rd seat, just use a small chair and the third person sits by the door. The wind effects it more but I rigged up a way to anchor it with ice screws and works great. Fished in 20+ Mph winds no problem with it. Also I typically pull it with a 4 wheeler and haven't noticed a difference in pulling it but I rarely pull it over a mile.

[otterman91105]

I have owned both. If you end up fishing by yourself a lot i would get the lodge but if you fish with you and one other person i would buy the resort just cause all the extra room that you get not only in the house but also in the self. Neither one of them fit in the 5'8" box or the crew cab boxes.

[trebormorgan]

Hey, thank you so much for the information. Both of you had very good feedback. It's still a hard decision to make, but I think I'm leaning toward the resort. I will like additional fishing space (35 sq ft). I find that the sled in the cabin just isn't big enough. It holds all my gear but when I make short moves I find that I spend more time organizing my gear before before moving. I would love if Otter offered additional options for storage add-ons besides the caddy. I modified mine quite a bit, but I'm always looking for more options. If anyone has ideas for modifications that include storage separation, maybe a rotating arm that holds the flasher, this would be awesome to hear/see.

Thanks again fellas. I will be upgrading to the Resort based on your feedback.

TRE

[swmndeerhunter]

Good choice and with the resort, you'll have a tough time filling up the whole sled!