An Ice Fishing House - The Deluxe Way To Stay On The Ice
An ice fishing house is named this way because they are often elaborate setups that or outfitted with all of the regular household amenities.
My ice fishing house (I call it “The Shack”) is built out of an 8 x 16 V-Neck flat deck snowmobile trailer. I built the walls and roof out of 2” square tubing, covered it in sheet metal. So now I have an 8 x 16 enclosed snowmobile trailer. After I had the entire outside enclosed I added two sleeping units on the back end. I bought an old camper trailer and gutted it for the interior. Mostly the windows, propane stove and oven, heater, 12 volt lights, cupboards and countertops fold down table and kitchen sink.
I have 6 - 13 inch holes in the floor and 2 - 6” holes in the floor. 13 inch for fishing – 6 inch for fish cameras. I have the heater mounted half way from the front to the back in a central area with no combustible materials in the immediate area.
I have a hundred pound propane bottle mounted on the back side of the trailer to power the stove and heater. The 12 volt lights are powered with 3 - 12 volt optima deep cycle batteries. I have a solar panel to help with the recharging. Last year I installed an inverter and a 13 inch LCD television with a satellite dish attached to the roof. The sink is plumed with running water by way of a bilge pump and drains onto the ice.
There are numerous ways to get your ice fishing house to sit directly on the ice, which is necessary for the house to work properly. If you are building your shack from scratch I would suggest a hydraulic system to raise and lower the wheels. There are cable systems to raise and lower the wheels as well as simply jacking up the ice fishing house and removing the wheels entirely.
My ice fishing house, because it was a trailer is most easily placed on the ice by removing the wheels. I have built a number of ice houses with friends that are either lowered with hydraulics or with cables, both systems work equally well.
So that about sums up what an ice house is, basically an ice house has all the amenities of your regular house. Eat, sleep, watch television and do the dishes with the added luxury of catching a few fish all the while.
If this sounds more like your style, then for you an ice house is probably the way to go.
Invite all your friends over for a few wobbly pops, catch some fish, and hey maybe catch the big game, all at the same time.
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