Permanent Ice Shanty Questions

Hey all! I just bought a 12.5' x 6.5' ice shanty from craigslist.  It is a "home made" shack that sits on a trailer.  This is my first permanent shack, and it will be sitting on a lake all winter.

What tips and suggestions could you offer to ensure I have minimal issues with leaving it on the lake?  What's the best equipment to use to jack it up and rest it on all winter on the ice?  I will be removing the tires so the bottom of the shanty can sit closer to the surface of the ice.  One concern I have is if the temperatures rise and then refreeze, causing the whole unit to sink lower into the ice which might make it harder to remove at the end of the season.

Any tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! 

Also, I would be careful pulling the shanty with a fourwheeler. Yes, it can pull it, but it is way heavier than it was designed to pull so it can be dangerous. My hitch got bent on mine and I couldn't bend it back. Solution is to get a weight distributation dolly type hitch. This helps go through deeper snow.

I put my last name and phone number on my shanty, but I put the town that is closest to the lake on it too. Not my real town I live in. That makes it look like I could be living on the lake and be watching my shanty 

I have an old camper style shanty. I have 14" long x 12"diameter PVC pipe to put around the hole which goes through the floor. This keeps the wind out. As for people breaking in, I try not to leave anything of value, but I do lock it and leave my curtains open. I put a picture of my kid holding a fish in the window and a sign that says" little kids fish here, nothing of value left inside, please don't break in" .  It is not hard to redrill a hole through the old hole with the right auger.  Try not to fry anything in any type of shanty or it will smell like a fast food place (or Grand Chute) lol for the rest of the season.  When I leave I usually pull the wheels up on a 2 foot 2x6. If you are going to be away for 2-3 weeks pull it up on a 2 foot 2x6 with a 1 foot 2x6 screwed into the middle of the 2 foot section. 

I like the Dilly Dilly flag!!

30 years ago I had a wooden shack . About 6x8 . Used it about 3 seasons as a warmup house .  Had it blocked up on 2x4s . Then we had the dreaded January thaw and the ice got too soft to walk on . I tried to move it a few times until I did not feel safe . It sunk about 3/4 in then froze hard of course  . I rented a long bar chainsaw and gathered a crew . Could not get it out . So one night I went out and cut it off to ice level  . Especially my name  ! Then I augered a bunch of holes inside and put a bunch of rocks and bricks down the  holes . It sunk at thaw in about 35 ft of water.  I did not want to kill a boater or water skier  . In the summer I scubaed, down and it was all in one piece  . Even found my lawn chair and cast iron fry pan . 

Legal ? No but what else could I have done . It was made of wafer board  , so not a lot of strength for a massive removal . 

I have moved mine several times with one.  The camper id all aluminum, well except for the frame. Really doesn't weigh all that much. Pretty much kept it all original on the inside. Just added a forced air 16,000 btu furnace and a stereo 

Voldie, do you think a 4 wheeler could pull a camper like that around on the ice? Just for future reference. Thanks

I have an old (1969) Shasta camper that I converted. Used catch hole covers for hole openings. I don't skirt it at all and just use a bucket with bottom cut out to stop the wind from blowing up into camper. I just block the corners and leave the wheels on the ice.

Move it every few days.  Anything and everything will freeze in. Don't leave anything in it that you wish to see again. They are big fun ,but need to always be on a fresh spot. Have fun .

Wanting to start up this string again.   For clarification. I am putting my first shanty trailer on the ice.  It is a remodel of an old camper.  The trailer will not lower to the ice.  

1. I saw the tip of using carpet for skirting around the perimeter.  But the post said to take this down when not in use?  And put back up?  Why?

2. Do I just put the trailer tires on 2x4's or do I jack up the 4 corners to keep the tires from freezing in?

3. I read that keeping the permanent shanty in the same spot makes it impossible to reopen holes after they freeze back?  Do I really need to move the shanty a few feet each time I use it?   Or is it just difficult to reopen the holes?  

I have lots of ice fishing experience just zero experience with a permanent camper shanty.  Looking forward to lots of coaching here.  

When you put it on the ice make sure to have all the snow off the roof. If it's out there and you get a warm day you will end up with your shack in a pool of water.  When that refreeze you will wish you had it on 12 in blocks. 

I use 2 hi-lift Jack's for lifting. I actually have 4 atv hi-lift jack's and have 2 for sale. 

I also bought a small camping  fan from walmart. Runs on 8D batteries which adds up to 12 volts. Ripped it apart and hard wired to a vex battery. Runs 14 hours. In a big shack you need to push that heat around. 

My shack is a beast. 

DO NOT leave it unlocked as it will turn into a bathroom, I lived that nightmare. block up on 2X4 pieces for quick removal (easy to chop out of the ice) I also made skirting from carpet pieces to attach at the bottom ( attached on spikes to hook to) as wind blocks when I am there that I removed when not there to let air circulate under the shack preventing freeze in. There is not much you can do about someone using it as a wind block (the lake is public property and some have no issues about invading your personal space) As some have said do not leave anything that would invite a break-in I even lost the wood stove and pipe bolted down in the shack on Silver lake in Kenosha county, they tipped the shack up and crawled thru the opening to unbolt and steal it so it was a group effort. Good luck and enjoy your home away from home.

JKB- thanks for your input.  How many 2x4s should I use?  Should i stack more than 1 on top of each other?  

Is it necessary to get 4 RV jack stands or 4 scissor jacks to rest it on, and then put the 2x4's under the stands? OR just simply rest the trailer on the 2x4's?