I can’t figure out what I want!

I’ve been struggling to figure out what I want to do. I have been thinking about selling my 8 by 10 house and buying a flip over style. I will need it to fit myself and 2 small boys. I was looking at the Otter Pro Ice Resort, But also like the idea of the Fish Trap Denali IV. I didn’t even put my house out last year because of snow depths and think we would get out more with a portable but want it to be a flip over. Loking for input on the above listed house.
Thanks, DT

Its a touighie…
I started out with a big 8×12 when I was 16 and it was a bear to deal with. Soon I dumped it and went with a flip, it was a good move.
Just last year we built a 10×20 on ML and primarily use it as a base camp and rent it out in winter, summer it is the cabin.

Otter is the best but the resort is huge. Might have issuer loading and fitting in truck. I’d try to find a display and throw it around a bit.

BTW, let me know if u want to use out perm on ML this winter if you are itching to get out. Just pitch in a bit for propane, I’d be happy to let you. -Mark

Those big flip overs can be a chore to load and unload without a couple of guys[tough girls],my brother upsized and cusses everytime he has to heft it.

your gonna need to get something, your schedule is going to change and your watching the kids all the time remember. get one thats just big enough for you and the kids and no bigger, easier to load in the back of the truck.

Geez, 8 post and all of them smart comments. BTW, can I have the night off. I don’t feel good….Cough….Cough.
DT

I have the Canvas Craft suitcase style portable with the insulated canvas and I like that. I tow it in an Otter sled. My set up time is longer and I cannot tow it as fast as my friends with the flip over style with travel covers. But it is important to me that 5 minutes after I light the heater I will be warm, and stay warm all day. Two guys in our group sold their large flip overs because they could not keep them warm with one heater on cold or windy days.

I just saw an Otter Lodge in the classifieds here, looked like a good deal? I hear the guy selling it is a really nice stand up guy, probably cut you a deal if I know him…

DT you have a lot of stuff to consider. I assume that your boys could help you move, setup, load, and unload the shelter.

The Otter Pro package consists of the medium sled, shelter, and two seats the total package weighs 95 pounds.
Dimensions:
Set Up:…….66″ L x84″ D x 70.5″ H
Collapsed:..65″ L x 36″ W x 20″ H

The Pro Ice Lodge package consists of the magnum sled, shelter, and two seats the total package weighs 110 pounds.
Dimensions:
Set Up:…….74″ L x 98″ D x 77″ H
Collapsed:..74″ L x 38″ W x 20″ H

The Ice resort package consists of the large sled, shelter, and three seats and weighs 185 pounds.
Dimensions:
Set Up:…….84″ L x 106″ D x 80″ H
Collapsed:..84″ L x 44″ W x 22″ H

With that said I would forget about the resort but that is up to you. Kids are more entertained with catching fish and if you are fishing inside a shelter you have to worry about the fish moving. If you mainly fish outside and use the shelter to warm your selves the medium or magnum should be more than enough. But if it is really bad outside the three of you should be able to suck it up and squeeze into either.

We got a Denali IV last year, thanks to a great staff at Thorne Bros. We fished 4 people 2 were 210-225,6’1″ one was 195,6′ and a 9 yr old boy. There was enough room to fish had to be very creative with holes to get 2 per person, but it was do-able. With 4 people and gear, with all the holes it was tough to find room for the heater, but the heaer is a mount on tank sunflower type, a different style heater will probably work better. I was able to load and unload the shelter in and out of a 3/4 ton pickup by myself, lifted one end up and set on edge of tailgate, then lifted up and slid it in. With all of the snow last year, it got to be a pain hauling it by hand but hopefully all the snow last year was the exception, and not the rule. As a 2 man shack it is outstanding with all of the room you have. All in all I would not hesitate to buy it again.

I fish from the Otter Resort and fankly I love it. I have an Otter two man for early season trips but come snowmobile time I switch to the big house and enjoy all the extra fishing space and carrying capacity.

So yes, it is huge. But a house called “the resort” is designed to be… BIG. I can fish three of the biggest guys in that house comfortably. Everyone gets their own holes and there’s floor space for flashers, heaters and minnow buckets for everyone. If you’re looking for room to allow kids to move about freely… you could play tag football or have snowball fights in the thing.

And it swallows up massive quantities of gear. My resort carries all the usual fishing gear PLUS a camera crane (12’ camera arm for cool shots out on the ice) that is stored in a full sized golf bag carrier, two tripods, 4 underwater cameras, 2 Marcum flashers, two HUGE tubs full of camera gear (30” x 20” x 14”), an Otter rod case… and a heater with full sized propane tank. Total weight pushes 300#. If you need ROOM… this thing has it. Actually it has room to spare. I’ve never seen another house that even comes close to doing what this house will do with regards to carrying capacity. Speaking of that, the Max Load Rating on this house is 750# if memory serves.

I can easily load the house with seats into the back of the pickup by myself. Loaded you’ll need some big bruthas to get that done. Typically we pull the camera gear out and load that in the truck and heft the rest up into the pickup bed with two guys (one on each side) without any issues.

As for durability and fishability… it is still an Otter. Two years ago my Otter Resort had 860 HARD lake and trail tow miles on it behind my snowmobile in one season. For all intents and purposes the house looked new when I put it away in the spring. I’m completely convinced no other house would have survived the punishment we put it through and the Otter handled it without so much as a loose nut or small tear in the canvas.

I might not be able to answer your question as to which one to get as that comes down to individual needs and fishing style but if you want a BIG pop-up style house…. the Otter Resort is a phenomenal product. I’ll be dragging another one around the midwest and canada this winter.

http://www.otteroutdoors.com/otterproiceresort.html

I went through the exact same thing about 5 years ago trying to decide exactly which flip over to get. I second pretty much everyone else’s comments especially that my Otter is much more durable than any other portable I’ve fished out of.

The only thing I can add to the comments above is that the determining factor for me ended up being ease of transporting it to the lake. I started out with a resort and it was too large to load/unload by myself and it is also about a foot too long to fit in a standard sized truck box without leaving the tailgate down.

I traded it back in for a lodge and absolutely love it… It fits perfectly in the box of my truck so I can close the tailgate and flip down the topper and just keep it in the back of my truck all season long. It’s also big enough to fit 3 adults on a cold day… although not nearly as roomy as the resort.

IMO if you plan to primarily leave with your portable from a resort site or cabin using a snowmobile or ATV the resort is probably the better option, but if you plan to haul your portable to fishing spots in the back of a truck and/or fish by yourself the lodge is definitly the way to go.