Otter XT 1200 Lodge help

I just bought a Otter XT1200 Lodge and i was setting it up, everything was going smooth until i put the canvas on it. i had the cross bars in place i started on the right side of the sled (rear) and snapped on the rubber connected to the canvas to the sled then worked my around the back to the left side (front) for some reason the the canvas didnt fit in the front of the house (By the door) so i took the cross bar off above the door and it fit ok. I Velcroed the straps and went to put the crossbar back on and it was like 2-3″ long if i really forced it i could get it but there would be a lot of stress on the canvas by the Velcro straphs. I tried adjusting the front bar and all that does is makes the bar thats supposed to be on the ice come off the ground 4-5″. Has anyone had this problem before? Thanks for your help

Are you doing it in the house/ heated area? The canvas needs to stretch.
Also don’t use the Velcro straps until the canvas has relaxed and stretched out.

If you’re talking about the wind bars, mine is the same way. You’ll have to use it a little bit and let the material stretch a little first. Try and put it in while you’re using it, works better.

How much does it streach? and also do you tighten the velcro snug? i just called Otter and they said to leave some of them loose? i figured you would want the canvas tight to the poles

ps0345 wrote:

Are you doing it in the house/ heated area? The canvas needs to stretch.
Also don’t use the Velcro straps until the canvas has relaxed and stretched out.

I put it up in my garage, its not heated but isnt freezing in there. i let the canvas sit on the frame and ran my Mr. Heater for an hour or so last night trying to get it to stretch out.

Dan Moeller wrote:

How much does it streach? and also do you tighten the velcro snug? i just called Otter and they said to leave some of them loose? i figured you would want the canvas tight to the poles

I’ve seen them stretch out enough to allow the front bar to drop 3 – 5 inches so I wouldn’t get worried yet. My house this year was exactly like yours before I used it twice and now that front bar rests perfectly on the ice so I’m thinking you need to use the house a time or two. If the canvas wasn’t tight at the time of assembly it would stretch and then the canvas would be too loose.

I leave the velcro loose on the lowest bar (the one nearest the ice when the house is open) and on all vertical bars. On horizontal bars (the ones over your head when the house is set up) you can cinch the velcro down as tight as you want it. You don’t want the velcro on the lowest bar or the verticals tight because the canvas needs to slide up and down the poles when setting up or closing down the house. Make sense?

It makes perfect sense. i really appreciate the help.

This issue seems to come up often. Otter should have a video tutorial on their website on setting them up, or something on here. My buddy bought one last year and had some of the same issues as well but after a couple times out it was just fine.

They really are very nice shacks!

Dan Moeller wrote:

It makes perfect sense. i really appreciate the help.

After you get it on the ice a time or two be sure to let us know how it turns out. Your ace in the hole is Otter will take care of you if the canvas actually turns out to be too small which I think is highly unlikely…. but one never knows.

The other thing I’ve seen that presents issues is when the house is initially assembled it is possible to mix up the vertical bars which will cause the canvas to be very hard to fit to the frame. I’m not saying this is the issue but I’ve helped a couple guys out with their “tight canvas” that ended up being due to having the bars for the #2 and #3 verticals (starting from the back of the house) mixed up. That might be worth a look as well if you have a few minutes to kill out in the garage.

Once you get it the way you want it you’re going to love the house! The 1200 is so comfortable to fish out of we joke that if they came with Lazy Boy chairs none of us would ever need to go home.

So do you think it would be better to leave it up in my garage with the wind bar on to stretch it out of collapse it and wait for the ice to form and take it out then?

Dan Moeller wrote:

So do you think it would be better to leave it up in my garage with the wind bar on to stretch it out of collapse it and wait for the ice to form and take it out then?

If you’ve got room in the garage I say go for it now. I put mine up in the studio here at work and run the heater inside it for a couple hours which really seems to get the process started. This will get some of the stretch you need but nothing works as well as getting it on the ice as I think the moisture from being on the ice and the melting snow and ice inside the shack seems to really move things along. But it certainly won’t hurt to get it in the garage now. Just take proper precautions with the heater.

James Holst wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Dan Moeller wrote:</div>
It makes perfect sense. i really appreciate the help.

After you get it on the ice a time or two be sure to let us know how it turns out. Your ace in the hole is Otter will take care of you if the canvas actually turns out to be too small which I think is highly unlikely…. but one never knows.

The other thing I’ve seen that presents issues is when the house is initially assembled it is possible to mix up the vertical bars which will cause the canvas to be very hard to fit to the frame. I’m not saying this is the issue but I’ve helped a couple guys out with their “tight canvas” that ended up being due to having the bars for the #2 and #3 verticals (starting from the back of the house) mixed up. That might be worth a look as well if you have a few minutes to kill out in the garage.

Once you get it the way you want it you’re going to love the house! The 1200 is so comfortable to fish out of we joke that if they came with Lazy Boy chairs none of us would ever need to go home.

i made sure the poles were correct but it is worth another look just to be sure. I cant wait to get this on the ice. My brother has a couple Clam Jason Mitchell x2 houses that we use up at LOTW every year. With all our gear and a heater it gets pretty tight. Ive heard nothing but good things about Otter and i thought the extra 3 sq ft would be perfect.

I love mt new xt1200 resort. first couple times i had to weigh down the front by putting the auger on the flap, but its finally getting to where it sits all the way down. thankfully Otter made the front 2 wind poles adjustable, so i could adjust them as needed as the canvas started to stretch.

One thing i think is odd is that they dont have the main bar going from front of the sled to the back for the seats in the resort like they do the next step down. not complaining as it seemed sliding the chairs were a chore. With the system they employed in the resort, moving the seats are a little easier.

shane123 wrote:

I love mt new xt1200 resort. first couple times i had to weigh down the front by putting the auger on the flap, but its finally getting to where it sits all the way down. thankfully Otter made the front 2 wind poles adjustable, so i could adjust them as needed as the canvas started to stretch.

One thing i think is odd is that they dont have the main bar going from front of the sled to the back for the seats in the resort like they do the next step down. not complaining as it seemed sliding the chairs were a chore. With the system they employed in the resort, moving the seats are a little easier.

Do you have any pictures of the Resort seating system?

I encountered the same tight canvas. So tight I can barely open up all the poles. Contacted otter and the sent me poles for the back and center that are two inches shorter. Not really happy with that solution buying a $1000 dollar house to put shorter poles in. Called today and the only person that could send me (hopefully) a new canvas is at the ice show. One person to handle customer service? Now I still don’t have a house to use this weekend. Know I wish I could have bought one assembled.

UPOW, that was their solution for me also – send shorter poles. I didn’t realize the canvas would stretch as much as James is saying, so I put the regular poles back in for now. It got quite a few hours of ice time this weekend, but I haven’t noticed much difference yet. Hopefully the canvas stretches out before the seams blow

I also put a otter together this weekend mine is the XT1200 cabin things fit perfect just wondering if everyone uses the self tapping screws? Instructions say they are optional I may want to remove cover for storage. t Thanks for your thoughts.

I didn’t use them as I’ve never had an issue with the trim lock coming off on my previous shacks. The less holes the better for me.

I don’t put the screws in mine because I pull my canvas off for summer storage. I have never had an issue with it coming off.

Finally got a hold of the 1 person at otter that could help me with the canvas issue. Told him I wasn’t satisfied putting shorter poles in the house. He claims there wouldn’t be much difference just to give it a try for now and if the canvas stretches over time I might be able to put the other poles back in. I did not really want to spend more time on this, but he said they have no canvases for two weeks. He also told me the canvas is made to fit each individual house and a new one might not fit right exactly either. Sounds kinda funny to me, but what do I know. He also said that they might go away from the stitched in trim into the canvas since they have had so many issues. Bottom line is pay to get your house assembled so you don’t have to deal with any of this bullshit. Otter has not fixed the issue they have been aware of for some time. At least send the shorter poles with each house and explain you made need to use them if the canvas doesn’t fit at first. Sorry for the rant, but for the price you pay for there houses there shouldn’t be unresolved issues.

Brining this topic back to the top. So has anyone’s canvas actually “stretched” out and fit better? My 1200 Cabin is still horrible. I literally have to stand in my sled and push with everything to get my poles to lock in. It’s rediculous and Otter makes it sound like I’m the first one with this issue. Weekends like this past with cold temps just compounds the problem. Attached is a picture for yesterday after the shack had been set up and heater running for several hours. The skirt barely touches the ice!

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I have the same shack as you Gotem and I have had it out twice now. It takes a little to lock poles in but my bottom bar is only about a 1/2 ” off the ice and the skirt lays down great. I have my Velcro on that bottom bar loose to allow it to be on the ice until canvas stretches out more. No complaints from me at all and feel bad for guys having an issue. Awesome house hope it gets better for you. Did you try putting in your wind braces to allow for more stretching?

I haven’t put the wind poles in for fear of seams splitting wide open. To me it seems like it’s the seams are what’s holding it back and I can’t see them stretching. I’ve been using it since November and nothing has changed. Just gets frustrating. And it feels like Otter is stringing me along until the winter is over and the warranty is up…

I’ve been fortunate as the place here in Iowa I bought my 1200 lodge and cabin from, assemble them free of charge and never have a problem with the canvas being tight or a problem installing the wind poles.

I picked up the XT650 Lodge at Gander Mtn about a week and a half ago and it was the floor model so it sat setup for awhile and had time to stretch out. Took it out for a couple hours just to see how it would hold heat and how easy it would be to setup and I did notice that the front was up in the air a little bit once it was setup but I just stuck all the wind poles in and the front pole I just put some down pressure on it and it sat ok then but not great.

That’s bs! The canvas obviously doesn’t fit right. Something is off. Send otter the pictures and I would think they’d help you out.

Gotem wrote:

I haven’t put the wind poles in for fear of seams splitting wide open. To me it seems like it’s the seams are what’s holding it back and I can’t see them stretching. I’ve been using it since November and nothing has changed. Just gets frustrating. And it feels like Otter is stringing me along until the winter is over and the warranty is up…

how can you expect it to stretch without the wind poles? Put them on, step on the front bar, lock them down and go fishing. No way the seams would fail if done slowly over time. Good luck.

why should you have to put wind poles in if it isn’t windy. The material is too tight?? something is not right either in the assembly or the manufacturing. You should not have to stretch out material, in my opinion. You may need to tighten things up if they do stretch over time, which should not be a problem??? Paying this kind of money and so many having so many problems with this over the last couple of years , which ive read about on this forum is??? There is a problem either with making of the materal or the directions on assembly???

After having a similar issue w/my new XT1200 Cabin, the good ole internet took me to this site and I read all the comments/responses to. I’ve been a long-time Otter guy and have and have used most of not all of their ice fishing stuff at one time or another…

My issue was this: After assembly, my fabric was tight as a drum. I read on this forum that the fabric needs to stretch, which I figured. I set up the cabin in my basement with wind poles and even but a buddy heater inside. I did this for an hour each day and tried to gently hand-stretch the fabric.

A few days later, I noticed it was still tight as a drum and (like others have said) my bottom main frame bar was sitting off the ground about 3 inches… I’m thinking to myself that this is NOT acceptable! The seams at the corners at the back main frame bar were stretching out!

So…. Knowing that Otter does NOT make an inferior product (at least from what I can attest to), I figure it’s my fault. I went downstairs and sat in the Cabin and started looking. Where did I make the mistake? Why does the fabric seem to fit so tightly despite my efforts to stretch it out, etc??

Then I looked online at the directions (cause I bailed mine in the garbage) and it hit me! The back and front main frame bars are backward!!! In the online directions, they are p/n 11 (back and center) and p/n 10 (front). So, from back to front, the main frame bars go p/n 11, 11, 10 and then the obvious bottom frame bar that sits on the ice. **The front main frame bar is roughly 1.5″ longer, which created my whole issue!!

After switching the main frame poles, the fabric fits as it should and my bottom frame bar rests perfectly on the ice! Operator error on my part! I really hope this helps!!

Brandon V wrote:

So…. Knowing that Otter does NOT make an inferior product (at least from what I can attest to), I figure it’s my fault. I went downstairs and sat in the Cabin and started looking. Where did I make the mistake? Why does the fabric seem to fit so tightly despite my efforts to stretch it out, etc??

Then I looked online at the directions (cause I bailed mine in the garbage) and it hit me! The back and front main frame bars are backward!!! In the online directions, they are p/n 11 (back and center) and p/n 10 (front). So, from back to front, the main frame bars go p/n 11, 11, 10 and then the obvious bottom frame bar that sits on the ice. **The front main frame bar is roughly 1.5″ longer, which created my whole issue!!

After switching the main frame poles, the fabric fits as it should and my bottom frame bar rests perfectly on the ice! Operator error on my part! I really hope this helps!!

I’m sure your post will be helpful to anyone experiencing this type of issue. I posted early that I’ve helped a handful of guys that thought they had their house assembled correctly only to find the vertical poles switched. It happens. I know I’m one to assemble let first and read the directions after things don’t quite turn out right.

James Holst wrote:

Dan Moeller wrote:

It makes perfect sense. i really appreciate the help.

After you get it on the ice a time or two be sure to let us know how it turns out. Your ace in the hole is Otter will take care of you if the canvas actually turns out to be too small which I think is highly unlikely…. but one never knows.

The other thing I’ve seen that presents issues is when the house is initially assembled it is possible to mix up the vertical bars which will cause the canvas to be very hard to fit to the frame. I’m not saying this is the issue but I’ve helped a couple guys out with their “tight canvas” that ended up being due to having the bars for the #2 and #3 verticals (starting from the back of the house) mixed up. That might be worth a look as well if you have a few minutes to kill out in the garage.

Once you get it the way you want it you’re going to love the house! The 1200 is so comfortable to fish out of we joke that if they came with Lazy Boy chairs none of us would ever need to go home.