Wheelhouse or Permanent - Revisited

[wintertim]

I grew up in the 70's fishing with my dad on Mille Lacs and spending virtually every winter weekend in our permanent fish house. First a creaky but sufficiently passable 8x14, then a deluxe upgrade to a brand new 10x16, circa 1976. It was a true Cadillac in those days. Well I ultimately inherited that house, but foolishly sold it about 10 years ago, still in great shape. Ever since then, I've wished to have it back and have been telling myself I would replace it someday with a wheelhouse.

But here I am, still fishhouse-less and perched to jump back in. And as the wheelhouse has become more prolific and refined, they seem like the obvious choice for a new fishhouse... but I wonder.

I have kids myself now so I want, and need a good sized house, 8x16 minimum, preferrably larger. That's a large, very expensive wheelhouse that needs lots of good ice and a good support system of plowed roads and resort services, emergency and otherwise. That seems to narrow down the eligible lakes quite a bit. And will I really be dragging a large house from lake to lake every weekend, or is it more likely that I'll just find a good lake and camp out there for most of the winter. Finally, with the surging costs of a large wheelhouse and the soaring prices of gas, will I be better off building a comparable permanent with a roomier 10-foot width for probably half the cost, and pump my towing gas money into the local resort economy instead? These are the questions I'm asking myself and others on this forum.

Signed,

Conflicted (Tim)

[Sonicrunch]

The problem with the full size house is that it can only be on the ice for two months due to the lame winters we have been having lately.

[Ryan_V]

I recommend doing what I do, I have both a wheel house and a 10 X 16 on Mille Lacs. My wheel house is basic, nothing special and since I've bought the house on the pond, my wheel house doesn't get used all that much anymore. If I had to choose today, I'd sell the wheel house. Just something about Mille Lacs is inviting and almost adicting. I just love going up there most weekends in the winter!!! Look around the lake, you'll find alot of good deals on houses up there. that's how I found mine, took a road trip around the entire lake, stopping at resorts, checking bulletin boards and talking to people. good luck with your decision, either way, can't go wrong, IMO

[ice_it_06]

Pretty much a personal weigh in of all your particulars and then your decision.

For me a "permanent" is pretty much that when your talking the size you would prefer. Your going no where but on the lake it's on, and you might not be moving much there.

Depending on what part of the state you fish mostly, and how many and often the kids are with are big factors.

The "wheeled" house I find much more practicable in it's mobility and multi functional use in the summer.

With kids I'd lean even more towards a wheeled unit.

From a budget perspective you can get good sized wheeled house with the heater, holes, and lighting @ a reasonable price. Good used/new are found almost weekly @ good discounts as well.

Finish off in the future as you need and desire.

[wintertim]

I agree Ryan_V, there is something about Mille Lacs for me as well. Probably due to the fact I grew up fishing it. And with a permanent house, you were more stationary and got to know your "neighbors" and were part of the "community". It wasn't as productive fishing-wise, but it was very enjoyable for other reasons. Not that you can't do that with a wheelhouse, you can of course. But that I guess is the root of my question for the large wheelhouse owners; are you really driving to a different lake every weekend or do you tend to stick to one? It's natural for people to defend their investments, and I'm not here to imply that buying a wheelhouse is a mistake, I'm just looking for honest feedback on how folks use their houses. Just knowing that you can move your house at anytime, even if you choose not to, might be reason enough for many to own a wheelhouse. That's completely fair.

Having a nice sized permanent base and a second smaller basic wheelhouse, say 6x10 or so, is a scenario that's starting to sound pretty good.

Tim

[GRAND DAD]

Well I have a large wheel house 8x27 and I use mine year round as a cabin on my property. In the winter I go to LOW and Red lake for about 3 weeks then I tow it back up by my property and pretty much put it out on one or 2 lakes for the rest of the year and thats about it.I also have a 7X14 wheel house that's the one I bounce around to diffrent lakes with to find the fish. And I bought a plow truck to keep up at my property need in case I have to plow any roads.

[Blaze]

If you're on a budget and want the best of both worlds, try retrofitting an old 60's or 70's camper. It takes a little elbow grease and some compromises, but it's a great deal IMO.

Benefits:

* Cheaper than buying a dropdown wheelhouse

* Lots of great features already included in camper (stove, bunks, storage, etc.)

* Very mobile to move from lake to lake

* Can be used as a skid house once on the lake

Drawbacks:

* Usually need additional insulation added to camper

* It takes a bit of extra work to drop to skids and back to wheels

* Added distance between floor/hole compared to a complete dropdown frame house

We didn't go for the size you're referring to, but the principle is the same. We have a 6 hole 7x12 that fits 2 guys perfectly, and 3 comfortably. We paid $200 or $300 for the camper, gutted it, and redid everything to our liking. We've got over $1K into now, but it's just the way we want it. This year, we added a bolt-on skid system so it can be used as a wheelhouse to the lake, then dropped on skids and drag it anywhere we want. When it's time to go to lake #2, throw the wheels back on and away we go.

Travel Mode (wheels):

Perm Mode (skids):

Food for thought...

[wintertim]

That's pretty slick Blaze. I've considered this approach (skids plus wheels) but haven't seen it done yet. Can you make the swap while out on the lake? What's it take for tools? I seem to recall seeing some very early wheelhouse designs that incorporated wheels that were actually removed using a heavy duty cotterpin-like system rather than swinging the whole wheel assembly up. One can imagine the limitations of a system like that, but it might be worth revisiting with a fresh approach.

And for me, it's not necessary to have the floor of the house be right on the ice anyway; I am accustomed to fishing in a permanent house that was never closer than 12" from inside finished floor to the ice (6" joist/flooring + 6" of runners + jacking blocks?). It's not a big deal.

[Blaze]

Tim - yeah, we do the swap out on the ice.

We obviously need a couple jacks for tools - nothing else, really. We tow the camper out to the desired location, jack it up, then pull the hitch pins being used to secure our leaf springs, and put the skids in place using the same collars for the leaf spring plus another set of brackets that we added to the frame up front for stability and strength. Once it's dropped down, we can tow it anywhere.

[fishinalot]

Myself I grew up the same way with my dad having a perm out of Liberty Beach. Great memories and as a kid in a 10 x 14 .....WOW!.

If I was stuck on fishing Mille Lacs all winter... I would get myself a nice perm and keep it as a overnight sleeper/day camp and run around with the portables during the day.

[hanson]

If you are set on fishing Mille Lacs primarily, I wouldn't hesitate to go with a skid house. Something to also consider with a skid shack is you are going to be based out of 1 resort and will need to pay them for tow on & off the ice, as well as summer storage costs.

I have a skid shack on Upper Red Lake, and there were a number of reasons behind that decision. Most importantly was cost. I built my shack for less than half the cost of a comparatively sized brand new drop axle. Having a resort take care of my shack all winter as well as storing it in the summer is pretty huge to me as well. I have nothing but good things to say about the resort that helps me out... Roger's! I have also fallen in love with that lake and the fishing up there. If I could move my house from there, I'm not sure where I'd go.

[wintertim]

hanson- as you pointed out, cost is definitely one of the big drivers behind this debate for me. I know I can have a large, beautiful, fully appointed skid house for under $10k. These days, that only gets me a frame and shell for a large wheelhouse, if that. The other benefit is the 10' width commonly found on large skid houses; there is soooo much difference in interior roominess between 8' and 10' wide houses. That's probably the biggest reason of all for me. If I could legally (without permits and such) pull a 10' wide wheelhouse, I'd probably take out a second mortgage and be done with it. But alas...

And I agree big time with having (and paying) a good resort to support me. I have friends that gripe about resort fees and road access fees and I just shake my head at them. Running a resort for the ice fishing season is butt-bustin' work and the good ones earn and deserve every penny they charge!! Even if I do end up getting a wheelhouse, I'll gladly pay the right resort their going season rate (and patronize their bar and restaurant too! ) for the peace of mind of knowing someone's got my back. Winters have been pretty tame in recent years, but I've been on the lake many times where I've turned down the lantern for the night as I peek out the window at all the nighttime lake "traffic" making their way around all of the carefully plowed roads, only to wake up after a big snow (or blow), look out the window and see no evidence whatsoever of any roads or moving vehicles. Just an endless landscape of impassable snow drifts. When this happens, I don't care what kind of 4x4 you have, unless it's Gravedigger, your hosed until the resort comes and plows you out! And if you're not on some resort's radar as a paying customer, well, you're not a priority and you're really hosed. Hope you brought an extra can of beans!