Wheel house first timer - have questions

[Guest]

I am looking to invest in a wheel house for the first time and have some questions.

1) do people prefer the 6 1/2 foot wide houses or the 8 foot wide houses.

2) is the 8' house tougher to crank up or does it not matter

3) I currently have an 8 x 12 skid house. Has anyone transformed a skid into a wheel house and if so, how do you attach it to the frame.

4) does a 6 1/2 house tow easier than an 8 foot wide house is or does it not matter. I am leaning towards something approx 14 feet long at least for now.

5) where is the best place to buy a frame and what should I look for, I don't want to miss something that will cause me an issue later

6) should I go with an aluminum trailer or steel.

Thanks

[BuckSutherland]

I am looking to invest in a wheel house for the first time and have some questions.

1) do people prefer the 6 1/2 foot wide houses or the 8 foot wide houses.

2) is the 8' house tougher to crank up or does it not matter

3) I currently have an 8 x 12 skid house. Has anyone transformed a skid into a wheel house and if so, how do you attach it to the frame.

4) does a 6 1/2 house tow easier than an 8 foot wide house is or does it not matter. I am leaning towards something approx 14 feet long at least for now.

5) where is the best place to buy a frame and what should I look for, I don't want to miss something that will cause me an issue later

6) should I go with an aluminum trailer or steel.

Thanks

1. Hands down for fishing the 8' is better. 6.5' is better down the road.

2. The heavier it is the harder it could crank. You can get some nice winches and put rollers in to help it crank up easier.

3. If you are going to put your existing onto a trailer you need to bolt through the trailer all the way through the sill plate on the skid house. I have 8x16+3'V. I have twenty-five 7"by 1/2" bolts that go through the 4 inches of steel tubing, 5/8 plywood, and 1.5" of sill plate. I have also heard of guys that just use self tapping screws from the sill plate through the frame.

4. 6.5' tows easier for sure. You will feel cramped fishing in it though.

5. Many places have frames. Others can help you more than me. I built mine.

6. I went with steel simply in case you break down somewhere there are not a lot of guys welding aluminum. Also, by the time the ice is ready for 1/2 ton truck the trailer weight from steel to aluminum makes no difference. Make sure to either galvanize, or bed liner the frame. Nothing else last, especially paint.

[dirt292lv]

Just about all 14 ft houses are 6.5 ft wide

Are you early ice guy I would say hands down 6.5

If you going to wait to pull it out with a truck get an 8 ft wide you will be glad you did

[Glockwinger]

I will echo what others have said. If you fish alone, the 6.5 is great for fishing out of and goes down the road great. If you have others with you, the 8' is better. I am a big guy at 6'2" and the 8' wide house if perfect when I fish with my son and/or dad. The 8' wide house pulls like a pig, but is awesome once on the ice. For early ice I use a portable. Just my .02.

[hayseed]

I can only help with a couple of your questions.

#1 Depends on the number of people. My 6.5 wide is good enough for the wife and I, but more would be crowded.

#4 My 6.5X14 tows great with a Dakota.

#5 If you purchase a trailer here are some things I found out from my purchase after the house was built . Check the underside to make sure all the joints are welded. Some of mine were missed and it's a pain to weld them after the fact. Be aware of the paint job. Mine was horribly bad with lots of missed spots. I ended up under the house for too much of the summer repainting with POR 15. I also replaced all my cables with Stainless steel when I found out the builder apparently knew nothing about cable connections.

Good Luck.

[Guest]

I own a Chevy trailblazer. Would I be able to pull an 8 foot wheelhouse with that?

Where is the best place to get a trailer. I am having a hard time finding info on trailers.

Thanks for all the input. I am starting to think it might be to much of a pita to put my skid house on a trailer. May be better off building my own

[elkoholic]

With the vehicle that u have i would highly recommend 6.5 width. I have a 8.6x18 plus 4'v,i pull it with a 3/4 ton pickup. If u get into some wind while pulling it u wouldn't want anything less. But for me i would never b able to get rid of 8.6 wide house! If ur looking for a frame go to Miltona Blacksmith,great guy great frames!

[dirt292lv]

We also have a trailblazer my 6.5 pulled great with it if your looking for a trailer hsolist has deals now and again going to be rough this time of year just make sure its a good trailer look it over a few times or go name brand that has a warranty just seems like some want an arm and leg for them

Or look into buying a newer 6.5 ice castle I've seen some good deals on them

[38bill]

As noted most all of the shorter wheel houses are 6 1/2' wide. That's because the wheels in an 8' house take up so much interior floor space there isn't much of an advantage to go 8' wide on a shorter length. If you keep an open floor plan a 6 1/2' works fine (for me) with up to 3 people. Its when you start adding tables and cabinets that they can get pretty cramped. I have a 6 1/2' X 12' + 3' V wheel house and it tows so easily that I hardly know its there. This could be a problem because in slippery conditions I have to remind myself to add some extra stopping distance. I also like the narrower house because I can see around it when towing and backing up. It really just depends on what you want your house to have. Cooktop, table, closets, number of beds, bathroom, etc will determine the size needed.

[Redlineracer12]

I am looking to invest in a wheel house for the first time and have some questions.

1) do people prefer the 6 1/2 foot wide houses or the 8 foot wide houses.

2) is the 8' house tougher to crank up or does it not matter

3) I currently have an 8 x 12 skid house. Has anyone transformed a skid into a wheel house and if so, how do you attach it to the frame.

4) does a 6 1/2 house tow easier than an 8 foot wide house is or does it not matter. I am leaning towards something approx 14 feet long at least for now.

5) where is the best place to buy a frame and what should I look for, I don't want to miss something that will cause me an issue later

6) should I go with an aluminum trailer or steel.

Thanks

1) The 8' is much better for bunks going sideways in the house, once you finish the inside you are left with bunks that are barely 6' long in the 6.5' models, not much room to stretch out.

2) The 8' houses generally have a couple more runs of cable back and forth from the wheel to the suspension, which is basically like reducing the gear ratio. So the effort to crank is probably similar, but you just have to crank more times.

4) 6.5' tows very nice and you as mentioned above you can see around the trailer still. Especially if you don't have AT LEAST a half ton truck/SUV. With an Ecoboost F150 I can get about 12mpg pulling my 6.5x12 Yetti, which I am super happy with as it used to be about 9mpg with the old 5.4L F150.

6) I went with Aluminum (Yetti) and it still looks great today. The paint is chipping off the steel suspension components, but that is a much smaller project to touch up.

Also, I am aware that a lot of people have bathrooms/closets, ovens/stoves, countertops, dinettes, etc, but I have no problem fishing 3-4 people in my open floor plan 6.5x12. The most I have fished was 6 people. We can sleep 3 but it is a little cozy.