Portable Ice House for pulling by Hand?

[SteveWilson]

I'm a ice newbie (not much ice in Saudi Arabia where I use to live) and have a question on portable ice houses. I don't own a snowmobile or ATV and will not be buying one so I'm looking at a house that can be pulled nicely. The shelter will be transported in the back of a Suburban with the backseat set up (kids) so that limits the length to roughly 60". I plan on using it for my wife, kids (6&7 yr old) , and myself. I'm looking for something that can be fairly easily pulled when you include the icehouse, seats, tackle, and auger. I've been looking at one from Shappell, just wondering how it pulls when you have stuff loaded on top. It's compact and should store well in the summer. OTH I've been looking at the Eskimo with the bench seat and a couple from Clam and Polar. Lot's to choose from. I like the flip up aspect of some - real portable, and decent for carrying gear. But they look like they take up a fair bit of storage space in the offseason. Any comments or recommendations would be appreciated.

[Captain B.R.K]

Steve- Welcome to ICE FISHING!

Looks like you have already narrowed your search down from pop-up type vs. flip over type fish house. What is nice about the flip over house is that most companies have a zip out door on them. So when you go to set up your house- you can zip/unzip the doors and not lose much heat while keeping the house flipped over. PLUS they are very mobile and easy to pull- just like pulling a bare bones sled. Remember it will pull as light (with less gear)or heavy (lots of gear) as you want. Don't get to caught up in making your sled to heavy with gear(augers, propane cylinders, etc). Having a sled type house, you'll feel like you can put the kitchen sink in it I mentioned mobility, just flip over the house and off you are to a new spot. Easy as that- no hassle of taking anything apart.

As for storage issues- put a cover over it for the summer or store other things in.

Few things to look for in a flip over house

1. Construction of the tub (will it hold up)

2. Material of the house itself (heavy material or lite

material used)

3. Center height (for standing-moving around the house)

4. Size (how many people are going to fish out of it)

5. Length (many options out there, looks like you are

looking for something less than 60")

A few things to look in as you make a decision. I have seen the Frabil's, Otter's (own one), and a Fishtrap (own one of those too ) ) and all are a quality unit!

Best thing to do is get out to the local stores and test them out yourself.

[pkevinb]

I have a Shappell 2000. It was a pain to pull in the snow, and even harder with things loaded on top. I got the ski kit last year and what a difference. It is like you are pulling nothing at all.

I store it in its original box in the off season. It takes up very little room.

[Ed Carlson]

Two units come to mind that may fit your needs. Take a look at the Frabill Hideout #6010 and the Frabill VENTURE #6065. Both very reasonably priced and highly portable shack systems.

Frabill Hideout #6010 (3 man but more of a 2 man)

Light, easy to pull sled system.

I like this model for a walk/drag in unit.

# Sets up to: 72"L x 52 "W x 72"H

# Folds down: 72" L x 36"W x 4"H

# Weighs only 46 lbs

Frabill VENTURE Enclosed Portable Shelter #6065 (3-4 man)

A light and compact suitcase system.

Set-Up: 72"L x 48"W x 78"H

Folded down: 48"L x 34"W x 6"H

Weight: 42 lbs.

[1DIRTBALL]

You might want to consider a Glacier III portable which is very light weight. Lists capacity as 3 but they better be very good friends. Capacity of 2 would be much more realistic. Not sure but I think it only weighs about 26 pounds. If you don't load a ton of gear on it, you can hardly tell you are pulling anything.Hint:Spray the bottom of any sled with silicone spray and allow it to dry thoroughly before pulling it. Sled will almost seem to float over the snow. If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me at: [email protected]

[JimJ]

I saw a polar 4 man flipopen house for sale on this site. That would work well. Having tried fishing 4 out of a 3 man flip over before (2 fish outside freezing while the kids trash your house inside)I would recommend something larger.