Ice Castle vs Glacier House

Quick question…I am in the process of purchasing a used 17ft RV style ice house (use for some ice fishing… 5 or 6 trips a yr… but mostly to park on my lake place in the summer months for my daughters to use as a “she shed” when their friends come up…plus a few badlands hunting trips here and there). I am looking at 2 specific units right now and am going to pull the trigger on one of them (they are both approx 6yrs old). They are both in very good condition and have all the same features for the most part. The 17ft ice castle has zero issues with it and is spray-foamed underneath. The 17ft Glacier has only one issue…the factory fridge went out and they replaced with a traditional dorm fridge, so not DC or propane use with that (I believe that is the same thing in the ice castle though…as they are all trad fridges for that year). The ice castle is $3500.00 cheaper than the glacier. Just curious in anyones opinion, is the Glacier brand worth the extra $$. i know they are very “proud” of their brand new ones. I have read quite a few forums that Glacier seems to have some issues with water leaks due to poor silicone quality used on exterior. Thanks a ton for any feedback.

The main thing for me that’s overlooked is the frame. How old are the units? Ice castle switched their frames after a certain year. Not sure on glaciers.

They are both 2017 units….I was trying to go research on when the ice castles switched stuff up but have not been able to find anything.

my glacier is a 2020 model that i bought new and i havent had a single issue with it. (knock on wood) one thing i hate about mine is that the windows sucks. when its really cold they frost up bad if you have the curtains closed. if there open and you have constant air flow then its not bad. my floor is not spray foamed but i wish it was. im not sure if the ice castles have better windows or not.

i dont care for the factory fridges because they take up space for fishing. in the summer time i just use a dorm fridge and leave it on the floor and take it out for winter use.

17’ should be the better frame on ice castle, berkon? Either one galvanized?

i could be wrong but i dont think they used berkon frames on the older and that small of shacks.

one major thing i would check on both rigs is the tires and make sure both sides are wearing evenly. that will tell you if any of the axles are bent or tweaked

Sorry for confusion, I was thinking the berkon would be on the newer ones like the 17’ years.

Thanks for the info…was able to contact ice castle. Berkon trailers for that year are only in the hydraulic frames….all crank frames are GS trailers. Now not sure what to do.

GS makes good frames too. I’ve always hated the Glacier windows. Pick the layout you like and start fishing.

beardly wrote:

GS makes good frames too. I’ve always hated the Glacier windows. Pick the layout you like and start fishing.

the windows in glaciers are just Rv style windows. They look great but suck for frosting. Some ice castle have them also but most of them have the clear residential home looking windows