Ice Castle

[BearingBurner]

Been looking for a wheel house of some kind for this winter and went to a local dealership and looked at a bunch of ice castles, all of which i would love to have but the $$$$$ is a huge deterrent and what i have heard the durability of ice castles is very low. Any who... I saw the Dakota edition. Was wondering if anyone has fished out of this one and how the fishability was in it??. Im not going to use it as a camper so i want the best fishability out of a house. Would probably add a boat seat or two because some of the hole are in random locations.

If any one has any feed back on any of that, Please share!!

 

[espringers]

I would have to see the lay out. But most aren't very fishing friendly when it comes to how they are played out.

 

[wby257]

Why not buy a frame and build your own floor plan. Im looking at buying another frame like a 6.5 x 16 and building another house. My first one is nice but would never go double doors as I never take my 4 wheel with and they dont seal up as good as a single door does. And you can customize it to your needs.

 

[nxtgeneration]

Anyone know if you can buy a shell from Ice Castle? Just a thought that crossed my mind after reading this. I'm still in the planning stages for building and I would like to just buy the shell and finish the inside but yetti/firebrand shells are fairly expensive.

 

[DarkWhiskey]

I bought my castle 4 yrs ago and wouldn't buy any thing else. I ordered mine the way I wanted it and told them to give me the hole pieces I would put the holes in myself. I was able to put them exactly where I wanted them. You can order the shell and finish it yourself if you are looking to save money.

 

[Holmsvc]

Anyone know if you can buy a shell from Ice Castle? Just a thought that crossed my mind after reading this. I'm still in the planning stages for building and I would like to just buy the shell and finish the inside but yetti/firebrand shells are fairly expensive.

If you are looking for a shell I suggest Yetti or Firebrand.

 

[BearingBurner]

I like the idea of ordering it and putting holes in your self alot. By custom ordering one does that cost quite a bit more? Or what it be actually be less?? And i want to build from scratch but at this point in my life i dont have the time or the place to build one AKA a shop.

 

[DarkWhiskey]

I like the idea of ordering it and putting holes in your self alot. By custom ordering one does that cost quite a bit more? Or what it be actually be less?? And i want to build from scratch but at this point in my life i dont have the time or the place to build one AKA a shop.

I ordered from river city in Bismarck, I did a lot of changes to mine and if memory serves me right it didn't cost that much more. They also order what they call a "River City Special" . kinda plain but fair price and might be what you are looking for. Also had a buddy save $2,000 just by driving to MN to get it himself.

 

[greybeard]

If you are looking for a shell I suggest Yetti or Firebrand.

I agree on the Yetti, haven't seen a Firebrand .

 

[Rustywaterdogs]

I have a ridgeline icehouse. Not a fancy camper but is very functional as far as a fish house. You can order them how ever you want from just a shell to ready to fish. Super light and all aluminum

 

[DirtyMike]

We built ours from the frame up. 8'x16' frame came from Miltona Blacksmiths in Miltona, MN. Here's their website http://www.miltonablacksmith.com/

Everything else was built on the driveway in late spring with the final touches finished up in the fall. I think were right around the $3,500 mark and we made it how we (thought) we wanted it. We would definitely makes changes now but we've also logged a lot of hours in it the last two years. I don't doubt that we'll build another one soon. I think we'll go the same route and probably use an 18' frame this time.

 

[nxtgeneration]

We built ours from the frame up. 8'x16' frame came from Miltona Blacksmiths in Miltona, MN. Here's their website http://www.miltonablacksmith.com/

Everything else was built on the driveway in late spring with the final touches finished up in the fall. I think were right around the $3,500 mark and we made it how we (thought) we wanted it. We would definitely makes changes now but we've also logged a lot of hours in it the last two years. I don't doubt that we'll build another one soon. I think we'll go the same route and probably use an 18' frame this time.

$3500 Total?!?! I have a couple different designs drawn up with full material lists and i'm 2-3x that. I must be shopping in the wrong places. I'm either going to go the miltona frame route and build up from that or just go with a shell from somewhere. Just can't make up my mind.

 

[DirtyMike]

Found the windows, door, and paneling in the "returned" bin at menards. got them for dirt cheap. Propane tanks were already owned. I was chiming in consistently to put in spray foam but the father in law didn't budge from pink styrofoam. Most of the equipment came from icehousesupply.com.

That returned or unclaimed pile at menards has some gems in there. Love that place.

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[espringers]

dirty, how is that roof set up? it looks like it would be tough to keep water tight from the side angle alone.

 

[wby257]

I to built my own house on a Miltona frame. Mine is 6.5 x 14 with a 4 ft V, Am kicking around a 6.5 x 18 with a 4 ft V. My roof is a 1 piece rubber roof from Menards. it was 10x20 and cost 102.00 on sale. I have about 2600.00 in mine and its as nice as any Ice Castle. And everything was on sale when I bought it.

 

[ND58201]

I would be happy to give you $2600 cash for your house if its like you mentioned. I would even come pick it up.. You would be free and clear and could build the fish house of your dreams. Please let me know!! Thanks

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Hell, I would even throw in a few 30's of busch lite so that you stay hydrated while building your next house!

 

[wby257]

I bet you would give me 2600.00. Im going to have to pass on the offer though. If I build another I will give the smaller one to one of my boys.

 

[DirtyMike]

Well the roof is solid and leak proof until it rains. When the hell would it rain in ND during the winter? Last winter it did and we found out it is not water tight. A little spray foam and a hose to test it seemed to do the trick. I suggested we go with a rubber roof. Father in law was too stubborn.

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The angle of the roof sheds water pretty well. The corrugated steel overlaps the wall by an inch or so to deal with wet weather. Our problem was the low side was facing into the wind with a nice, steady rain in January. Leaked a little but oh well. She should be ready to rock now.

 

[espringers]

Gotcha. I couldn't tell it was slanted from the other camera view. If anyone needs some rubber roofing, let me know. I've got an entire roll of the stuff. Give some free to cool guys.