Best two man suitcase style house?

[Carp-fisher]

Hi all,

I have a Fish Trap Scout and I'm extremely happy with it. I would like to purchase a decent two man ice house for next season so I can get the wife out there too. Ideally I would love to get a two person pull-over style house, but I drive a Toyota Rav4 and the largest size house I can fit in the back would have a 48" by 36" footprint. I think a suitcase style house would do alright...whats the best kind of house? I'm looking for something that is light and very portable...and I like the style when the two seats are side by side. Thanks,

Ben

[freezdried]

You could try a Frabill Hideout. It is small and light weight and sets up in about the same time as a suitcase one. Not sure if it would fit in a 48" area though but when it is down it is only about 6" or less high you could flip it on its side and slide it between the front seats. I use to have a Frabill XLT flip-over shack but I fish in my fish trap pro most of the time and the XLT took up so much room in my garage that I sold it and got a Hideout, I like it better then any suitcase style house out there. Not sure if I was any help but just my two cents

FD

[Tim L]

I have a Bronco II and a Frabill solo fits nice in the back 48"x36" plus my auger heater rods 20 lb tank grill ect. I got an extra seat they swivels and folds down enought room for 2 the only thing I did was buy 2 extra poles to put in front of the house to keep the wind from blowing the cover in and burning it on the Mr Heater seen alot of house's with burns in them and got the extra seat right from Frabill you can filp it over or use the door sweet little house. plus I have a suitcase style that fits right in the back as well the frabill it way more mobil.

[tonyjor]

I have a home-made suitcase. It consists of 2 frames made of 1x4's hinged together. It has two sets of rods in the shape of a "U" that slide into each other with small wing-bolts to hold them in place while set up. Then you need to get a canvas made to fit the frame when it's set up and staple it all around the frame. I got the house from my Dad and it had 1/2" plywood for bottoms. I work at a warehouse and we have these heavy-duty 1/2" thick pallet dividers that I used to replace the plywood. I dropped close to 20 lbs. off the total weight and when folded up the house measures 48"x8"x34". Set up it's 48"x68"x62". It weighs about 60-70 lbs. and with the hard black plastic pallet dividers, I don't need a sled to pull it on. It slides very easily on the ice. Once I dig it out, I'll take some pics and post them. The whole deall would probably cost you in the $150 range. It fits 2 people and gear easily.

[Tod Todd]

I have a Clam 2000 and it fits in just about any car. Last year when the motor in my pick up blew a friend let me use a Ford Tempo he had, the Clam fit in the back set and I also could put it in the trunk if I had the kids with. I only use it as an extra shanty, once I got my Eskimo QFII with a bench seat its hard to go back to the bucket.

[love to hunt]

do you still have that clam and would you part with it?

[Tod Todd]

Sorry but like most thing I have when I'm done with them they go fast and cheap. I did trade it for a half gallon of Jack. Plus the shipping from Chicago would not be cheap.

I would check hsolist there are deals every week. No tax but watch for shipping.

[Jarrod32]

If you want a suitcase style house, take a look at the Frabill Speed Shak Cub...that will fit in a 48" x 36" space when folded up. Easy to set up, comfortable to fish out of.

[Dead-C-Force]

Consider an Eskimo QuickFish 3 if you are short on space- they roll up very small, set up quick, and give you a shack that is 5.5 feet by 5.5 feet. Tons of room!

[muskyhunter57]

Checkout the Canvas Craft HSOforum.

[chris63]

I second the Frabill hideout.(It won't fit in the back of a rav four though.)The hideout is quick up/down no hassles and very light for storing and pulling!Frabill does make a fold up model or two ,don't know the model names/numbers.c63

[Jethro80]

My opinion is a suit case is great but the hassles of locating holes and setup bothers me. I do think you will miss your trap at that point. It is a great first ice shelter though. They are extremely light

[chubbs2017]

clam 2000 fits in most vehicles. Thick quality canvas easily fishes 2

[waterwolff]

Still using my 25 year old Mankato. Shes a bit patched up and kind of ugly but she takes a licken and keeps on ticken.

Mike

[Schloogs]

I would also suggest the clam 2000. Would fish 2 people fine and from what I have experienced, they have great customer support. You can find great deals on them on craig's.

[zepman]

The Shappell 2000 or 3000 are darn nice suitcase style shacks. Nice carpeted floors with no ridge in the middle and very durable. I have the 3000 and also a Frabill Trekker DLX and I'd prefer to fish solo in the Shappell anyday. I'm 6' tall and can stand up all the way in also. Clam 2000 you can not do this. Have had mine for 6-7 years without any problems.

[CourtlandKid]

Still using my 25 year old Mankato. Shes a bit patched up and kind of ugly but she takes a licken and keeps on ticken.

Mike

same here but its only 4 yrs old! 5x7

[Ed Carlson]

The Clam 2000 is very economical and functional as a add on unit. Early and late season use is excellent as deeper snow or weight becomes a issue.

The Frabill HideOut and Outback both offer more headroom and are also lightweight, easy to store, and easy to pull configurations. Floor plan is a big consideration with these and your intended use. Good units overall.

Some great deals on the Clam 2000 right now. A nice easy to use unit, the new models are better then the older ones and make for a handy addition to the lightweight portable arsenal. I think your wife would like the floor personally, easily heated with a Buddy Heater as the lower ceiling helps to keep the heat down.

There Clam 2000's weak point, the rinky-dink side clips used to keep the sections together for transport...they can do much better there. A quick budgie strap conversion will fix that issue easy enough.

Hope this is of help to you.

[Tankjd]

The clam 2000 is a nice house, If it were me I would look into those new pop up blind styles.

BUT I agree with waterwolff my favorite suitcase style is and will always be the old Mankato. If you could find an nice used one that would be great. Great frame on the out side...man I loved that house...grew up fishing in it!

[croixflats]

My opinion is a suit case is great but the hassles of locating holes and setup bothers me. I do think you will miss your trap at that point. It is a great first ice shelter though. They are extremely light

The cavas craft is already to set up poles are in place just unfold and set up poles. Though with the ply wood floor it is rather heavy. But with the norpac2 insullation you will stay the warmest and dryer no sweating inside either, of the interior walls that is you will be if you have the big buddy on high or medium.