Wheel House

Hey all.

I am looking to get into a wheel house that will double as a camper for the family camping trips in the summer. I am wondering what brad of house you would recommend for the most reasonable price. I am looking to stay in the 12,000-14,000 dollar range and nothing bigger than 16 foot. I would need the model to be finished as I dont have the extra cash laying around to finish it.

For those of you that have something that fits into the basic design that I am looking for, do you have an a/c unit and how well does it cool the house? Have you found a design that works great for having kids in the house that gives them the most room for ‘activities’?

Do you have any recommendations on a dealer to purchase through that has the best customer service?
Thanks all,

I have a 16+3 Yetti. Self finished, bathroom in 1/2 the V and stove/oven in the other half. Dinette/bed with 32″ bunk overhead.
I Have a 3yo son. I can honestly say that with 3 individuals (even 3 adults fishing) a weekend gets cramped.
I opted for no A/C as the roof top units call for a 3000 watt generator and I just did not want to buy 2 Honda 2000 or a larger 3000. On a MT camping trip this summer I bought a 12000 btu portable AC unit. I vented it through the ice hole. It worked OK in no shade 80 degree days. If I were to be looking to camp more than 1 or 2 time a summer with it I guess I would want the roof top unit looking back.

I guess I would be looking to get into as many houses as possible to see different lay outs as possible. You do not list a location but Milaca Unclaimed freight (Milaca, MN) has a ton of Ice castle houses in their lot to check out. and Northland Auto center just across the street has quite a few Yetti and Fire Brand house to look at also.

I just got a used wheel house/RV unit this spring. I didn’t know what I wanted in a house same as you, but I got lucky. The guy I bought it from thought of everything when he custom ordered it. I would for sure suggest an AC. I would also suggest an awning. I do not know what they cost to add but anybody with a RV fish house should look into adding one. It’s a life saver on rainy weekends, and provides nice shade in the heat of the day. I would also suggest the door beeing on the passenger side when hooked to a vehicle. Most campsites if not all are set up that way. We just got home from our 6th camping excursion since Memorial Day, kids are sunburned and sleeping, mommas all tanned up and happy, and I’m satisfied I provided a fun affordable weekend for my family. Definitely the best purchase for the family I have made. Good luck shopping, you will not regret buying one.

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@ryanthomas90 We have used Glacier Houses the past two seasons and we like them. They have some really great models available, and likely are in your price range suggested. Check out their website to find a dealer near you:

http://www.glaciericehouse.com/

I just upgraded houses myself. My family wanted to camp and fish, with an emphasis on fishing. We looked for a few years and in our opinion the Ice Castle has been improving to the point where the value is hard to beat.

We purchased a Mille Lacs edition hybrid. We decided not to do the RV edition because I didn’t want to deal with a shower or bathroom during the winter. It would just be added weight and wasted space for us. Everywhere we camp they have showers and bathrooms. We have a dry place to sleep with and AC unit so it’s quite comfortable.

This house is an 8′ x 16′ house and it’s amazing how much room there is in these things. I can’t think of a better layout than the Mille Lacs. The Lake of the Woods model is similar but the door is on the front. In the winter the door would be packed with slush so that’s why we picked the Mille Lacs. As you can see the house has two top bunks, a fold out couch and the double bed/ dinette. You can sleep 6 if you wanted. There are deals on these houses right now. You can find em for 13,000-14,000. Unclaimed freight in Milaca or the dealer in Little Falls has great deals.

Have fun! Our Family is loving ours.

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Used 16 ft for sale on vp online auctions out of Faribault mn. Price seems right

I would really take a serious look at the Team Lodge fish house!! Best made house on the market, hands down. You can buy factory direct in Brookings, SD

I have a Yetti 6.5 x 12′ that I bought unfinished and added cabinets up front and bunks on the side. It is the toy hauler style and an ATV fits nicely inside. I do not have a top mount AC unit and I wish I did! I have a small window AC unit that I use when I have full hookups and it works great. It’s small and cramped, but when you’re out camping, you shouldn’t be spending much time in it anyways!

I had a 12 x 6.5 Yetti for a couple years and replaced it with a 21ft RV edition Ice Castle last year.

I loved the Yetti. When it was just my 8 yr old and I, it was perfect. It had a window unit AC for summer, hand pump sink with a 5 Gallon fresh water / 6.5 grey water set up, port o pot for the kid in the summer and I’d set up a portable ice house as an out house in the winter. Loved it… Oven and stove, TV with DVD mounted on the wall, forced air furnace. It was perfect.

Then my wife started coming with. Then she wanted to use it in the summer too. Then the dog was coming along too.

The Yetti just wasn’t big enough anymore. With only two bunks, I started setting up a cot. That really sucked in the winter because the cot covered some of the holes that should have had rattle reels. The porto pot got over used. Gross is all I’m going to say there. It just wasn’t working anymore. The poor Yetti was a victim of it’s own success and became more popular than it had the space for.

Now I have an Ice Castle RV 21ft. I like it. It’s big …roomy and works well for all seasons. I miss the Yetti sometimes. That house just made sense.

MNdrifter wrote:

I just got a used wheel house/RV unit this spring. I didn’t know what I wanted in a house same as you, but I got lucky. The guy I bought it from thought of everything when he custom ordered it. I would for sure suggest an AC. I would also suggest an awning. I do not know what they cost to add but anybody with a RV fish house should look into adding one. It’s a life saver on rainy weekends, and provides nice shade in the heat of the day. I would also suggest the door beeing on the passenger side when hooked to a vehicle. Most campsites if not all are set up that way. We just got home from our 6th camping excursion since Memorial Day, kids are sunburned and sleeping, mommas all tanned up and happy, and I’m satisfied I provided a fun affordable weekend for my family. Definitely the best purchase for the family I have made. Good luck shopping, you will not regret buying one.

I remember seeing that house for sale on another site. You got a hell of a deal on it. Glad to hear its working out well for you.

I wouldn’t get anything without an aluminum frame.

I would 2nd the Ice Castle Mille Lacs Hybrid. I do not own one but I have a friend who has several of them that he rents out in NE So Dak. I have spent quite a few overnights both on and off the ice and have zero complaints on space or comfort!

Until you get 3-4 grown men and gear. Not much space for walking around

Look at pleasure land RV they have a lot of ice houses and they are cheap.

We have owned two houses now. The first was a Grand Lodge 16′ plus 4′ V. I would not buy a Lodge ever again. Ours leaked and it ruined the inside. The leak was because the screws rusted out as they didn’t use stainless. The second shack is an Elite Premium custom aluminum shack. These are built however you design them so essentially any size you want. Ours is a 21′ plus 4′ V. These are very well built and meant to last. The floor is a composite and will never rot. This much larger Elite shack only weighed about 300 pounds more than our Lodge. The main frame on the Elite is 2×6 with 1/4″ wall thickness. I will caution you that Fred with Elite is not great at returning phone calls or meeting deadlines. Our shack took three months longer than promised but it was worth the wait.

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so has fred taken any anybody to the cleaners? With the bankruptcy filings.

That really sucks hopefully not. We really like our house and I think he had a good product. They just were not good with timelines or returning calls and I am sure that is what pushed people away. I am happpy we got our house but sucks that there will be no support from them if we need something.

elite has filed for bankruptcy?

I’m not sure just going by what cast iron cowboy said on that. I know I could not find a working website for elite though. We had some modifications done to our house the end of February 2017 and everything was fine.