Ice Thickness

How much ice should I be safe on pulling a 22ft RV edition ice castle on a dolly with a crew cab Polaris Ranger?

12+

Fizzy23 wrote:

How much ice should I be safe on pulling a 22ft RV edition ice castle on a dolly with a crew cab Polaris Ranger?

This sounds like a brag! Nice set up, when are we going fishing???

7″ consistently or 3 feet.

I would say a minimum of 14″. That’s a 7k lb+ combo.

North of a foot with numerous other similar rigs in front of you.

maybe the end of January if you are lucky!!

You guys are tougher than me. I would be sick if that much money went through the ice.

Yeah I wouldnt do it with less than like 18 inches.

Youbetcha wrote:

You guys are tougher than me. I would be sick if that much money went through the ice.

i concur……with that setup….i’d need all of 18 inches.

Jason wrote:

I would say a minimum of 14″. That’s a 7k lb+ combo.

The 7000 lbs is not on a single point… with the hitch dolly, its distributed over at least 7 points of contact

I know nothing about that particular house, but I do know a Crew Cab Ranger is not much under 2500# dry. Throw in yourself and a partner, a little gear, fuel, and that alone is 3000# minimum.

I’d probably shoot for 15″ of good clear measured ice (not counting the packed cloudy stuff near the top). Sure, it can be done with less some charts or calculations say but ice rarely is consistent.

Ice thickness guidelines by weight
You are responsible for knowing the weight of your vehicle, equipment, and bodies. Recommendations are based on average equipment weight and assume solid, clear ice. Learn the different ways to check for ice thickness.

Ice Depth (in.) Max Weight (lbs)

4” 800

5” 1,250

6” 1,800

7” 2,450

8” 3,200

9” 4,050

10” 5,000

11” 6,050

12” 7,200

13” 8,450

14” 9,800

15” 11,250

16” 12,800

17” 14,450

18” 16,200

19” 18,050

20” 20,000

They park rigs like that on top of eachother on 12″ on Rush lake. That’s with diesel pickups towing not atvs.

Denny O, thanks for that chart…….thats really helpful. printed it off for future reference!!!!!!!!!

grubson wrote:

They park rigs like that on top of eachother on 12″ on Rush lake. That’s with diesel pickups towing not atvs.

Yes. 12 inches is the safe rating for the dnr to say trucks are good. Knowing 8 trucks are going to be sitting side by side.
Always use judgment and caution driving on the lake. But that rig,dolly,and shack I would be using on a good 12 inches of ice. If it were heavy wet snow and crappy ice I wouldn’t go on 12.

Common sense really needs to kick in at some point.. to wait for over 12″ of ice for a UTV and Ice Castle/Dolly hitch is crazy… pickups drive on that. Its like the 2 pics below… one is heavier than the other on ice, but they are the same weight. Distribution is the key.

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I have more than once had my half ton and 8×16 castle on 13/14 inches without issue, sometimes you push a little water up. I would think the weight of your set up would be about the same as mine with the heavier pull vehicle and lighter house.

Looks to be every one used common sense, some are just more cautious. Not a bad thing.

12″ if it’s your rig.
!5″ if it’s mine.

About 4 years ago, we went to Minnewaska, we had the Ice Castle and the ATV with the Hitch Dolly… we looked out and seen multiple Trucks with castles on the ice. We drove out too, I went in front with the ATV and punched holes… found 9-10″ consistently. That was about the lower end of the thickness for the combination we had, but it was fine. One thing to remember, there is no such thing as safe ice… only safe behaviors. Always check the ice first.

I wouldn’t hesitate with 12″

You’d never break through with 10-11″ of clear ice, but might run into some flooding depending on the air temps (warm ice sags more). Less than 10″ would be a no-go with that size shack (for me).

My numbers and comfort level come from experience with pulling out and fishing in wheelhouses.

With a 2012 2500HD w/ 6.6 Duramax, I would not or out on any ice less than 16″ period! I don’t feel comfortable unless I see 18″ and more! Delivery weight is 8,000 lbs. Plus me my topper,tools , friends and their gear. If there were 3 to 4 in the cab and gear I’d be near 12,000.

So a semi and lowboy hauling a D8 dozier should be able to cross a lake with 10″ of ice as long as trailer has enough axles?

“When the ice is 1 meter (42 inches) thick, it can support a truck fully loaded with over 40 metric tons (44 tons) of fuel. Full trucks traveling north have a strict speed limit of 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) per hour.”
USGS requirements for Ice Road Trucking.

It’s all math.. which is hard. And throw in a little common sense… fishing from a dozer gains what advantage ?

big_g wrote:

fishing from a dozer gains what advantage ?

It is very easy to clear the snow off the area you want to fish.

They sent an otter onto the ice on Ottertail Lake yesterday. He got a reading of 6″, he also said that half the lake was wide open, and none of the lakes up here should be trusted as good solid ice all around. Holes are opening and closing almost at random.

Maybe next year.