# Ice house 16' vs 20'



## Carpenter16

Hey guys I'm looking for some advise I'm looking to purchase a new fish house (probably ice castle because of price not quality) but would like some input on a 16' vs a 20' I don't really want the single axle and have to be putting new tires on it all the time and everyone tells me you can take a 20' tandem axle on just as much ice as a 16 bc it rides out lighter is this true. What are the weights of ur fish houses and what amout of ice do u wait for to pull them out on the lake? I also don't have a 4 wheeler just my diesel pickup thanks


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## Dick Monson

Can't help with the Ice Castle. But I have less than 1k in this, not counting the dog power. :beer:


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## Carpenter16

I also have 3 different portable houses but looking to buy one for going north and not having to have to pay to stay the night somewhere


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## sdkylesd

Id worry about the diesel truck falling through before the ice shack falls in your case


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## Carpenter16

Is there anyone that had helpful advise not just a smart comment? It would be aprricated


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## JethroBodine

Hey there! Sorry about all these yahoos on this site. This site has become more of a place to post smarta$$ comments rather than people trying to offer "creditable useful" advice. :eyeroll:

But anyways back to your question. I have a 20ft ice castle. From my experiences i would always want to have the extra 4 ft. If you can afford it by all means go the 20 ft ice house. Sometimes i wish i would have even gone bigger haha. The tandem provides a much better tow as well. Be warned that you are going to need all of a full sized half ton to pull it however. The one tid bit of advice i can give you is once you need a new set of tires don't cheap out on regular trailer tires, BUY 10 PLY! You will definitely notice the difference! As far as going out on thinner ice with the 16 foot is up for interpretation. I would think the 20' would technically spread the weight over a greater area but i have been out with mine on 1 foot of black ice and had no problems at all. If you have any questions dont be afraid to ask! :thumb:

My vote would always be the 20'!


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## Carpenter16

Thanks for the advise jethro I picked up a used 20' this weekend the tires are like new now but I will keep that in mind when I need new ones. People I have been talking to have told me 12-14 inches u can take it out think I will wait for 14 for sure with my diesel 3/4 pickup I'm going to run it over the scale this afternoon


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## JethroBodine

Carpenter16 said:


> Thanks for the advise jethro I picked up a used 20' this weekend the tires are like new now but I will keep that in mind when I need new ones. People I have been talking to have told me 12-14 inches u can take it out think I will wait for 14 for sure with my diesel 3/4 pickup I'm going to run it over the scale this afternoon


No Problem! Congrats on the awesome rig! Ice castles are great wheelhouses for the money. one other thing i forgot to share with you that i do. On your winching cables if you really want to cherry it up for a few hundred dollars. Most likely the cables arnt stainless steel. I run stainless steel cables that are actually winching cables they are much more flexible than traditional cables and if you really want to make it awesome! Take the single speed winches off and replace them with two speed winches. With a two speed winch the handle is able to be moved from high gear to low gear. What i did is i made an adapter for a cordless drill that fits on the winch axels and use the low gear which you can turn with two fingers using the regular handle, but i just put the drill right on it and i can have the house up and pinned in under 2 minutes. :thumb: The 300 dollars is well spent to not have to crank and crank and crank! :beer:


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