NDR - Stuck Ice castle fish shack

Mark W

Mark W

Well-known member
OK, I'm out ice fishing last night and my cousin calls me up. As it has been so nice up here, and the ice not very cooperative to ice fishing, most common sense people have only ventured onto the ice with portables and by walking. Not everyone.

So, my cousin has a 20+ foot Ice Castle. If you don't know what these are, it is bascially a nice camper trailer that loweres itself onto the ice. It has places for hioles to be drilled and you can then fish pretty comfortably. Back to the call.

My cuz put out his Ice Castle a couple of days ago. They go out last night to do some fishing and see there was a pool of water around his place, now frozen. Not a good thing to see. Opened up the place and water had come up through the holes - also not a good thing. His shack is a dual axel rig and all four wheels are 4" into the ice frozen in place. His tongue jack is frozen into 4" of ice as well. They were able to crank the crank and get the shack off the ice. He is trying to figure out how we (like how I got included into this) are going to unstick his shack and pull it off the ice. Solutions suggested so far - some good, some crazy, some I don't know.

1. Take his turkey fryer out to the ice and start boiling water. Take boiling water and pour around tires and hjack to melt ice. Keep doing until wheels are free.
2. Chisel away at ice until free.
3. Take a jack under the shack and crank on jacks until wheels and jack are free.
4. Let air out of tires and pull out shack.
5. Chainsaw around tires and jack.
6. Hammer and chisel round tires and jack.

You get the idea. The bigeesst problem that I can see is how do you then tow the shack out of the ruts? Before today, there was no snow on the ice meaning traction from a vehicle pulling would be non existent. I think if you can jack the wheels above the level of the ice, you attach it to a vehicle and hope the vehicle can pull it far enough forward to get it out of the holes. This will be complicated due to the tandem axels.

Any thoughts?

Mark W
 
I have been in your position before as the nominated helper pulling a friend's five huts. Trying to force it will likely cause severe damage. (Been there, done that!)
My experience was that the only good solution is to take the time and effort to cut / chip away the ice holding the unit in place.
Good luck and tell your cousin that when he leaves the palace out on the ice he should move it away from the holes. A big wind over any open water can cause a seiche that will do exactly what happened here.
 
Chop the tires out of the ice and drag it off. Got any pics? I'd like to see what a 20' ice castle looks like.....

John
 
I'm requesting a video of any solution in action.

Seems if the frame isn't frozen down that would be a huge victory. Can he pull wheels off the and use a spud to break tires free. If he could jack it up enough it woudl be a simple matter of dropping it back down with the wheels on with the holes filled with sand or a board over the holes. Chains on the truck woudl give soem nice pulling power.
 
If you can get the tires completely above the ruts, can you slide a board under them to allow the trailer to roll out?

Sounds like fun!
 
I'm requesting a video of any solution in action.

Seems if the frame isn't frozen down that would be a huge victory. Can he pull wheels off the and use a spud to break tires free. If he could jack it up enough it woudl be a simple matter of dropping it back down with the wheels on with the holes filled with sand or a board over the holes. Chains on the truck woudl give soem nice pulling power.
Click to expand...


On second thought 100' of heavy chain well connected to the trailer and truck frames, a 4 wheel drive pickup with chains on, and a good running start would make for a lot better video than my first idea. Might want to borrow the truck from someone.
 
Mark - For a couple winters, I had to deal with serious ice dams on a part of my roof. I found that boiling water was FAR more effective at quickly melting ice.

Here's a suggestion. Get a source of boiling water going and cut a few channels perpendicular to the house at various intervals. Use the boiling water to free sections and have the channels take the run off away so it does not just re freeze in place. then add 2 x 4s or other spacers as you go around to maintain separation between the house and the ice.
 
Try using some road salt and chip away at the ice it may take some time but it will save you from doing any damage to the shack.
 
First, stop at The Beer Store for supplies. Then fill the camper with foam and wait until spring and float it to shore. Make sure you video the rescue.
 
A couple questions. How thick is the ice? If it's not over a foot let him hire someone to get it out. Seriously, too many people are going through this winter. Is this a blood cousin or one by marriage? :)

Holy crap a 20 footer is a big shack to get out of a hole. I think you will use 1, 2 and 3 before it comes free. I've seen people trash shacks getting them out but they haven't been ones with the value of an ice castle.

If you can't get traction on the ice drill a couple holes and throw the chips and water from the holes onto the ice in front of the vehicle. As long as it's below freezing it will stick fast and make it rougher.

Eat your Wheaties before going out and be careful.

Tim
 
i have no idea what this thing looks like and I have never been ice fishing, but seemmessed with a lot boat trailers. assuming its jus the tire frozen in and not the rim, could you not just cut the tires off and pull it forward on the rims? Seems like it would be expensive but i bet you end up damaging the tires with the other methods anyway and they seem like a lot more work. If all else fails, maybe unbolt the spring perches place logs under the frame and roll the thing out of the way then just try and fee the wheels/axles by themselves? You can move some heavy stuff like this. This is how they built the pyramids, and I've seem two guys roll a 25ft+ panga uphill on loose sand in mexico very quickly.
 
ice chip with spud, use boiling water. Jack also on plywood and keep applying upward pressure. Once enough water and chipping is done, then you should be able to lift up one side, put in some 2x6 or something and set tires back down, then repeat on other side...chains on the truck.

otherwise, get some water softener salt, the big rocks. they melt quickly and last a long time.

give the relative a cuff side the head,

be careful.....

oh, and as asked for...we need pictures. Prefereably a video too!!

best of luck
 
Mark,

Letting the air out of the tires, will release the tires. Can the jack be unbolted? And yes, a set of tire chains for traction of the tow vehicle.
 
Salt and a good ice chisel might get you moving...

You might have luck running lake water through an engine and pump warm(ish) water onto the ice, but I never tried this my self, but know it has been done and works OK. Just don't try to force it out, you won't win.

Good luck!
 
Let me know what lake its on and I'll come up and look the situation over.... With my ice rods in tow of coarse.

><)))>

Good luck
 
I have absolutely no advice to give but would sure as heck like to see pictures of this debacle!!!!
 
Wow, I bet that is a mess and a costly mistake. I would start by re drilling the holes, get a lot of LP and crank up the heat, you should be able to melt it back out. with the cold we have had the last few days the ice has added some depth, and quick. You could also use the boiling water in the shack to creat channels for the water to runn to the holes. I am assuming the heater is not iced in, if so get some portables to do it. I would want the ice out of the shack first, after that the ice around the shack should begin to melt. After a day or to chipping will be a lot easier, and next week it should be warmer to help melt the surface ice if needed.

This is why I strick to portables.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top