Ice House Search. Quality Questions.

Hey everyone, we were going down the route of buying a Class B or Class C RV but an Ice House makes more sense and will cost about 1/3rd allowing us to rent what we want if we want to travel the US during Covid.

All of that said, what I have read over the years is that all houses are basically slapped together and not very well made. I should expect water damage in a few years with an Ice Castle or Glacier due to the wood, and even a Yetti or Firebrand with an Aluminum Frame will have issues after towing both on the road and Ice.

I’m partial to Glacier for some reason. Though Yetti makes a product I’ve used more. What say the IDO crew? I’ll be towing with a Toyota Land Cruiser that has an 8,000lb Max but may go to a Tundra if needed.

Requirements are a nice dinette, preferred with a fireplace, and a water package for a toilet and shower for summer State Parks

My Firebrand is 6 years old and the only problem is occasionally frozen weatherstripping. I’ve even hauled it from Milwaukee to Yellowstone and back and am still o the same tires. One of the best investments I’ve made.

Other than the SLOW electric jacks, I love my firebrand also. I’m saving up to put hydraulics in it. They are talking 2-3k to retrofit. I’m on my second firebrand. Only issue with first one with 3 years of heavy use winter and summer camping was also the slow jacks. If I was to buy new again, it would be with hydraulics. They just started hydraulics.

Heard a lot of good things about Firebrand. And BlackBear is intriguing as well due to making frames in house and not outsourcing much of anything. That’s why there is such a shortage this year, especially in hydraulic systems.
I’m strongly considering a less robust brand like Grey Wolf/Forest River just because personally I find it insane that some of these fish houses are asking for the price of a luxury 5th Wheel and they all are going to have issues.

$55k and maybe a bathroom and shower? Wow.

Doug Larsen wrote:

$55k and maybe a bathroom and shower? Wow.

Since you’ve already taken the path most people do. “I want the best! Wow! 50k… I’m not paying that!”

If you put a little maintenance into any house you can make it extremely nice. Yes the corners are rough on the woodwork in an ice castle… but 30k less. To me that wasn’t a big deal I spent one hour with a palm sander and it looks as nice as any house I’ve ever been in. I have friends with every style house that’s made and there are issues with everyone. Huge issues? No. I’d still buy any one of them.

Another thing to remember is all of these houses had major issues when they first started. I would not spend money on a first edition Firebrand Yeti or ice castle. Firebrand frames have fixed most of their issues, Yeti frames quit cracking from what I gather, and Ice Castles fit-and-finish has come full circle.

I think you find something in your price range that you think looks good and just enjoy it. There’s really nothing that can’t be fixed.

I hope this helps.

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Exactly Joe, I wouldn’t be afraid of an ice castle either. From what I hear their customer service is top notch. So even if you do have trouble, they will fix it. The biggest reason why I went firebrand was the aluminum frame. First because of weight (I wanted to stay in a 1/2 ton pickup), and second because of the frames don’t rust all to hell in a years time. I got a 1 ton pickup now, so if I we’re in the market I’d look hard at an ice castle with galvanized hydraulic frame.

If you find a floor plan you like, its possible the different manufacturers have a similar model. They each seem to produce the popular floorplans with their little extra touch. You could then compare prices and choose to go check those out? We went to the st Paul show every year and walked through each brand each year and have actually rented a few different wheelhouses over the years so we had an idea of what we liked and didn’t use while fishing for 2-4 day trips.

We ended up with an ice castle outlaw edition.

Like Joe I sanded the wood and put 3 coats of poly on it. Super smooth and gives a nice warm look. One thing I wouldn’t be without no matter what brand it is is hydrolics.

Good points all around guys – Joe, totally fair point. I cringe when I see some of the imperfections but they can be addressed. And the frames have improved. Thanks everyone

Hard to stomach the Ice Castle’s 6600 lbs for a 18ft RV hybrid model.