Best lightweight wheelhouse?

Looking at different options for a lightweight house. Currently have a 8×12 aluma lite skid house, works well, but kind of a pain to pull on longer trips, as well as the loading and unloading.

Looking at going with a lightweight wheelhouse and pulling it around on the wheel skis. Probably 6.5/7ft wide x 14ft long.

I know of Yeti and Ridgeline, are there other manufacturers that make aluminum houses? Is there one with better quality than others?

Also, anybody know the weight of a finished Yeti? Thanks

MNBOWHUNTIN wrote:

…
Also, anybody know the weight of a finished Yeti? Thanks

This will completely depend on options and models (basic, toy hauler, rv, etc).

Our 8×21 Yetti Angler with summer package (but no bath, water tanks, etc) comes in a hair over 5k lbs fully loaded to hit the road and fish. From my research when shopping, the Yetti was 1500-2k lbs LIGHTER than an equivelant steel frame and wood structure Ice Castle, Glacier, etc.

Aluminum options that come to mind:
Yetti
Core Ice
Legend
Firebrand

MNBOWHUNTIN wrote:

Looking at going with a lightweight wheelhouse and pulling it around on the wheel skis. Probably 6.5/7ft wide x 14ft long.

I don’t think you are pulling a wheel house around on skies in any amount of snow, aluminum or not. This was something I always wanted to do but the more I asked around, I figured out it’s just not happening.

I think you’ll need to downsize to a Zack shack or canvas sided wheel house if you want to pull it on skis over the snow. An aluminum wheel house the size you’re talking will be around 3000# and would just plow snow with skis on.

I think a light house like you are looking for would be pretty nice to have in conditions like this or early ice. I’ve been researching them as well.

Warning below is an aluminum house rant:

For what it’s worth, I have friends with high end aluminum houses and they might be 1000# less than steel but you wouldn’t know it. They still get stuck just as easy pulling em through a foot of snow. Plus each and every aluminum house that’s in my circle of friends has numerous structural issues. I’m talking top end houses that were built in the last couple years… Firebrand and Yeti to be specific. I can get you good deal on a couple 16’ers or even a 22′ 2-3 yrs old. They are all virtually junk and out of warranty. These houses were babied in my opinion and yet they are falling apart. Cracked welds, broken doors, broken propane mounts (propane tanks rolling down the road isn’t great), egged out holes in tubes (making the drop hitches unusable on every one), broken refrigerators not meant to be in an ice house, broken heaters that were installed with the wrong parts and broken electric jacks and many more issues. They might have better cabinets and wood finish but the rest of the house is falling apart.

The steel houses might be a bit heavier but they’ve built 1000’s upon 1000’s of houses so the silly mistakes that I see from these “new company’s” just doesn’t happen. Did I mention I can get you a real good deal on a few aluminum houses. They are looking to dump em fairly soon.

Joe,
I’ve seen enough of your posts around here to highly respect you as a guide and fisherman…however, I also see/hear/read just as many issues about steel framed houses too. Valley frames on IC houses is one that comes to mind immediately.

Let’s all avoid this rabbit hole of aluminum vs steel. It’s a Ford/Chevy/Dodge(Ram) debate anyway. And there’s plenty of existing threads to go back and hash that out on.

To OP’s original question, your advice of going smaller/lighter/aluminum just to increase mobility on skis is spot on.

Jamin wrote:

Let’s all avoid this rabbit hole of aluminum vs steel. It’s a Ford/Chevy/Dodge(Ram) debate anyway. And there’s plenty of existing threads to go back and hash that out on.

I agree every fish house has issues! and sorry didn’t mean to derail the topic at all. Just wanted to put a couple things I learned over the past few months. We have 20 IC/Lodge frames and 3 aluminum ones in our group. It will soon be 23 IC/Lodge frames.

Many of these aluminum houses are being built and marketed as “toy haulers” imo opinion these are not up to the task of hauling a atv much less a utv. I’ve looked at several used Ridgelines all with repaired tongues or other frame damage. I won’t touch anything that has had frame damage. People get the idea if they can fit it in there it will haul it and pay no attention to the listed cargo weight rating.

Skid or wheel houses can be a pain off ice roads. I’ve devided to go with a smaller used wheel houses park it on the lake. Use my wheeler and portable to do my hole hopping and then the wheel house as a bunk shack for rattle reel time. They make some nice canvas houses on trailers that are worth a look like the Blck Hole Fish House

I know you didn’t, it’s all good.

If the coming snow doesn’t ruin things, I might be reaching out for your guiding services next weekend after my LOTW trip. Wife and I want to get the house out one more time on some panfish and I saw your other post about roads holding up well in your neck of the woods.

(Sorry OP for the minor and now completed detour)

Ice Cap wrote:

Many of these aluminum houses are being built and marketed as “toy haulers” imo opinion these are not up to the task of hauling a atv much less a utv.

Agree! But, I think overloading the toy haulers happens on both steel and aluminum houses.

The aluminum houses I was referring to were just regular houses. Eventually I think someone will design a good aluminum house but I haven’t seen one yet. There are a lot of brands out there so maybe someone already has designed one that will last? I just don’t know which brand yet, so for that reason I’m sticking with steel for a while until there is a clear winner.

Ice Cap wrote:

They make some nice canvas houses on trailers that are worth a look like the Blck Hole Fish House

I’ll have to look at these. Thanks

Jamin wrote:

If the coming snow doesn’t ruin things, I might be reaching out for your guiding services next weekend after my LOTW trip. Wife and I want to get the house out one more time on some panfish and I saw your other post about roads holding up well in your neck of the woods.

Just send a text and I’ll tell ya what I know. Good luck on LOTW.

Joe Scegura wrote:

I don’t think you are pulling a wheel house around on skies in any amount of snow, aluminum or not. This was something I always wanted to do but the more I asked around, I figured out it’s just not happening.

I saw a video of a prototype Big Bite fish house that raised up on skis and it was getting towed around on LOW a couple weeks back.
It was pretty dang slick, not sure how near to production it is or if it ever will be, but it was essentially a wheelhouse with skis instead of tires.

CaptainMusky wrote:

I saw a video of a prototype Big Bite fish house that raised up on skis and it was getting towed around on LOW a couple weeks back.

Just looked this up! Wow! Looks slick! I wonder if its skies only or how do you transport it? This might be exactly what the OP was looking for?

Happen to have a link to that? Sounds pretty awesome.

Jamin wrote:

Happen to have a link to that? Sounds pretty awesome.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Big-Bite-Fish-Houses-146317318771306/posts/

I can’t believe I haven’t heard of these? Looks like an awesome house.

It says it converts from wheel house to ski house. That things awesome

Bearcat89 wrote:

It says it converts from wheel house to ski house. That things awesome

Agree! But being most do not have a tracked out 1/2 ton to pull it with I’d be very interested to see it get pulled with an ATV with tracks, snowmobile or UTV with tracks. Love the concept. I bet 10 yrs from now these will be common place.

https://core-ice.com/ Top of the line fish house.

When conditions are bad lighter is better when it comes to slush, snow ect. I got rid of the heavy house and bought a core Core Ice 15′ unit. It exceeds my expectations in its design, simplicity, function and ease of moving on the lake behind a UTV. Just my two cents.

I like the Big Bite houses from what i seen of them. That’s a cool video but as Joe says if you don’t have a 1/2 ton tracked out vehicle not sure your going anywhere. And in conditions like we have now your not going anywhere with a 1/2 ton tracked vehicle much less pulling a house on skis.

I think after this season you’re going to see all sorts of prototypes from people trying to solve the snow/slush problem. What they forget is what are you going to do once you get there? All that weight sitting in one spot for too long is going to settle in pretty deep. Good luck getting going again.

What they were driving on looked pretty hard pack. Once the people jumped out they didn’t get to far past their ankles in snow. A lot of things will get you around on that.

I haul 2 ATVs in my 2016 8X16 Yetti and have not had any problems. Just sayin……

Joe Scegura wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
It says it converts from wheel house to ski house. That things awesome

Agree! But being most do not have a tracked out 1/2 ton to pull it with I’d be very interested to see it get pulled with an ATV with tracks, snowmobile or UTV with tracks. Love the concept. I bet 10 yrs from now these will be common place.

Oh yeah I agree. But come one 40 k for the house what’s 10k for the tracks on the 40k truck. That’s what fishing is all about

I bought a 16′ King Crow this fall and that is a very light house. I can move it by hand by myself, with no roller jack. I know they are not being made any longer but there are still houses out there for sale.

Thanks for the replies. Maybe the skid house isn’t that bad then. The system I have now, I can pull the house just about anywhere I want. Granted, I fish mostly bigger lakes like LOTW, Clearwater (MB), Winnipeg, Fort Peck, Sakakwea, etc… where the wind blows the snow and its never just 2ft of soft snow. I’ve pulled the house up to 9 miles one way with a tracked Honda Foreman and not had any problems.

Now smaller lakes in Northern MN, where the snow stays soft and deep, and years like this with the slush issues, I’m not sure my house would do it.

I don’t have any experience with the wheelhouse and skis, but I have a strange confidence that a similar size aluminum wheelhouse on skis could go places where my skid house goes. I would love to get some real world experience with a setup like that before buying though, or at least see a video of somebody trying to pull it through some deeper snow.

MNBOWHUNTIN wrote:

I would love to get some real world experience with a setup like that before buying though, or at least see a video of somebody trying to pull it through some deeper snow.

This is probably the best video I have found of a light weight wheel house getting pulled in fairly deep snow.

Take a look the Team Lodge Junior model. 6×14, toy hauler, great light weight shack and lots of room!

http://www.team-lodge.com/

I thought he was going to lose that house down in the trees for a minute!

roger wrote:

https://core-ice.com/ Top of the line fish house.

I looked at a Core Ice unit last week. I was very impressed with the structure itself, not so much with the features inside the house.

If anyone is looking for a used Core Ice house, there’s one on craigslist near Madison lakes for 12 grand. I know the owner paid over 16 grand for this house back in December. This is an 11’er.

Michael Smith wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>roger wrote:</div>
https://core-ice.com/ Top of the line fish house.

I looked at a Core Ice unit last week. I was very impressed with the structure itself, not so much with the features inside the house.

If anyone is looking for a used Core Ice house, there’s one on craigslist near Madison lakes for 12 grand. I know the owner paid over 16 grand for this house back in December. This is an 11’er.

have been looking at these also. Do you know why he is selling? I also am not excited about the interior or the price tag, but looking prices on other brands of wheelhouse, not sure you can get much for under $15k.

I ordered a trailer for hauling my UTV and sleds and stuff. My thought was to put in a few holes and try fishing out of it also. It won’t have a drop axle so we will see how well this works fishing, I’ll just have to reach down the hole and grab the fish a little further. I ordered a single axle to save weight and it is a 5200lb. axle to handle the UTV.

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