Ice Castle fish houses

[Ole the Guide]

I have a friend who's thinking of investing in one of those fancy new fish houses. Is the "Ice Castle" a good brand? Does anyone have any comments about other products out there?

Thanks,

Ole

[ozzie]

the biggest thing to look at that i have found is what is it sitting on.......always look at the frame....get tube framing not angle irons.......they don't hold up very well IMO.........and the farther back the wheels are set the smoother it is to pull......my buddy wanted to do some remodeling to his ice castle and wanted to move the tires back so he brought it to a guy and he jacks it up and said your frame is cracked cause it was 3/16 angle iron weak frame he said so he tacked a tube frame to the outside of the old frame and then set the wheels back and beefed up the pulley systems so they lift heavier loads.....sucks when wires break on the lake........before it was hard to drive 60 now it pulls smooth at 70-75........makes a world of difference!!!! just a few things to look at....ice castles are nice but have them beef it up worth every penny in the long run!!!!!

[harvey lee]

You could check out these FM sponsors.

www.sportsmanfishhouse.com

www.fishhousesupply.com

www.profishenterprises.com

[Farley]

I dont know if they put these in all their models but a buddy of mine bought an Ice Castle and the heater is not only a pain in the butt to get to (under the bench seat) but the heater has a fan that runs off your battery. If your battery dies, you have no heat.

Check out King Crow fish houses too.

[bbqhead]

if your buddy makes it up to forest lake,

coates rv center has a few ice castles

if he wants to take a close look.

bbqhead

[crapjeye]

Last spring the wife gave me the green light to purchase a new house since most manufacturer's had year end clearance. I asked many questions & opinions of current house owners and did my research. I chose a King Crow and absolutely love it. Great orbis furnance and heavy duty frames. Been to Red & LOW and giver 70 m.p.h down the highway.

[Ole the Guide]

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

I'll pass it on to my friend.

Good Fishin'!

Ole

[The Yeti]

I will say this. At the ice fishing show this year. Ice Castle was by far the biggest bang for the buck. Besides building one yourself..

[anyfishwilldo]

I am not sure if they changed things at all, but a friend of mine bought one 3 or 4 years ago, and the first trip out, both axles bent. He wasn't beating on it or anything, it was on the drive up to Red. By the time they got off the lake, the tires were almost rubbing on the side of the house. They warrantied the problem, but it could have been a real big problem.