Ice Shanty Help Please!!!

[MikeyF]

My friend and I want to buy a 2 man flip over. We dont have a quad or snowmobile to tow it so we will be pulling it. What is the best roomy, lightweight, easy setup 2 man flip over?

Thanks for you help! Mikel

[JigginIsLife]

I think you need to sit down and talk about what things you want included on your house, lighterweight typically means less dense fabric which means heat eascapes faster. Do you want comfortable seats or a bench seat (not to say bench seats arnt comfortbale i just prefer captain chairs) Also a big one is do you want to be able to stand up in your house.. SOme flip overs are not 6' ish tall and are basically flip up flip down all the time unless your like 4'8''. also how much stuff do you bring with you. 2 guys total amount of things, or do you share most of your stuff?

[MikeyF]

Good point Jiggin! Ok so then I would say I'm not necessarily going for to much lightweight, More on the easy to pull through snow. I would like a Thermal with nice seats. Will be taking my pole case, power auger, small heater, vexilar. if anything else it will go in my friends sled.

[NCLaker]

This is what you need, can probably build it yourself for about $25

[nofishfisherman]

You'll for sure what some skis on it like pictured above. I have an older 1 man Clam and when I put all my gear plus old Model 30 jiffy on there it can be a real bear to pull through the snow.

How far are you planning on pulling it? If there is more than a few inches of snow on the ice most flip overs can be a chore to haul. With two guys pulling it will be better but still not fun.

2 years ago on URL we took my SUV up with a smaller flip over. We ended up just throwing the pull rope over the trailer hitch and pulling it around the ice that way. I left my buddy sitting on the back of the SUV with the back door up so he could watch for stuff falling out and also stop it from sliding into the back of the SUV if I stopped too fast.

[MikeyF]

Thanks for replying guys! It's pretty sad that almost 200 people looked at this and only 3 tried to help. I have a old one man that I'm going to have to do that to with the skis!! Thanks NCLaker! Fisherman I planned on lugging it as far and as much as it takes to find the fish! I live in Chicago and haven't seen anyone driving there car on the ice out here so that's out of the options!

[aanderud]

The reason you didn't get more responses is that there's no better answer than what you already got. There isn't a GOOD 2 man fish house that's also lightweight, especially by the time you you add in insulated canvas, an auger, fishing equipment for 2 guys, a heater, LED lighting and a battery for your LED lights, 2 flashers, bait, propane, etc. I'd rather have the insulated one that weighs 30 lbs more than be worried about pullability, considering the difference that 30 lbs makes when on skis. None of them pull well when you get snow. Too much friction. Put some skis under it and there you have it, easy enough pulling even though you probably have upwards of 150-200 lbs of gear all together.

[john.wells]

Surface area equals drag. Most sleds you see have channeled ribs that help it track straight and add rigidity, but all of those channels add up quickly in area. Keep that in mind when looking at shacks. Years ago when I was more of a moose, I just pulled the dump out but always thought there has to be a better way. I experimented with skis, but they didn't cut it in the deep snow. I did come up with a weird hybrid type thing that used a flat flexible plastic sled that I tried to curl in front of the mess. It worked "kind of". I never really fine tuned the thing as I got older and lazier, and would just say to heck with it when it came to putting forth that much effort. That said, the old gears are turning about making something viable to solve your dilemma. Necessity is the mother of invention....

[john.wells]

One more bit of wisdom--- You might be better off buying something on your own. Things can get ugly when you enter into a purchase of something jointly with even a family member.

[MikeyF]

I'm sure that different name brand shanties pull a little differently because the design of the sled. Ok well what 2 man shanty do u guys recommend? Thanks for your help john. I guess I need a quad

[magicstix]

What John said!

If your walking a new Nanook or an old, old Genz 2 man and bring minimal equipment.

[Bureaucrat]

I can't offer much help either. My two man is a clam yukon. Love the space, fits the truck perfectly, heavy as hell. I can tough it out on early ice, but it's gonna be an anchor once first ice enthusiasm wanes.

My plan is to save up enough to be able to get a 4 wheeler or sled and a place to store it before I'm unable to pull by hand. Right now, tons of energy yet, not near enough money. Oh well.

[harvey lee]

One more bit of wisdom--- You might be better off buying something on your own. Things can get ugly when you enter into a purchase of something jointly with even a family member.

What he said^^^^^^^

Great way to have issues with a family member or a friend, go into a deal like mentioned above. One of the two will get upset with costs when something goes wrong or one will want to borrow it out to a friend, that goes on and on. Wait a bit longer and save up and do it yourself. You may have to wait to purchase what you want but in the end, it will work out much better.

[zppeterson]

1- Buy the house you want. Whether that means full insulated, thermal top, or not insulated at all. Make sure you have what you think will meet your needs now, and for however long you intend to have the house.

2- Doesn't matter what the weight of the house is by itself, they're all heavy once you load them up with gear (augers, flashers, heaters, propane, ect.)

3- Build yourself a smitty sled for pulling around your new heavy ice house. Makes things loads easier, and you are much more apt to be willing to move to try new spots if things are easier to transport.

[B-man715]

My friend and I want to buy a 2 man flip over. We dont have a quad or snowmobile to tow it so we will be pulling it. What is the best roomy, lightweight, easy setup 2 man flip over?

Thanks for you help! Mikel

Mike, if I were you guys, I would buy a smaller hub shack and two fishing sleds. Divide the gear up in both sleds and you will have a fast and efficient two man team.

[MikeyF]

Thanks for the help guys I really appreciate it! I thought about the hub but then thought about mobility and didnt really know how that would play out. I really need to save and get a 4x4 quad. That would make my like so much easier!