Anyone build a new shack for this year?

[kcarder]

Hey everyone.  I am new here to mnoutdoorsman.com and excited to be here talking about hard water fishing.  I am working on my first fish house I have built.  It is a 6' 6" x 8' drop axle. I wanted to build this size for easier moving around to different lakes but still have room for a couple of guys to go fishing.  So far it has taken me two 5 hour days to cut the tubing to build the frame and the drop axles and today I installed the flooring and built the walls in about 6 hours (including standing back to look at my work.  I figure I have about another 15 to 20 hours to finish wiring, finish the inside and outside, install the door, install winches (they were out when I went to get them).

I just wanted to share my pics and see if anyone else is building still or finished one recently.

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[kenhuntin]

looks good, nice size for a shack and nice size shop as well. I am jealous. I have built a few but never welded my own frame. I have a feeling you will be asked to produce more. Good luck

[Randy Kaar]

Looks great!

Welcome to MNO!
 

randy

[DDSBYDAY]

    Looking good .  Are you going to do anything special with the lighting?   Welcome to MNO we are glad you found us.  We look forward to seeing the project pics as you complete it.

[kcarder]

As far as lighting goes, I am planning on using some lights from one of the Big Box Stores (Home Depot, Menards).  I saw some there that are LED, operate off of 12V and up to 9 of them can be strung together.  I am also planning on mounting a small florescent that will be wired for 120V so I can run a generator if I need to.

Thanks for the compliments guys and I will keep you updated with photos of the shack as it progresses.

Kent

 

[kcarder]

Anyone gonna claim this fish house as theirs?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzuzYf2Wtw4&feature=related

[Outdoors Junkie]

The house is looking good!  Welcome to MNO! 

[JohnWester]

too small...




j/k, looks good.
here is mine.
http://home.comcast.net/~big_fish_guy/fishhouse.html

[kcarder]

That's a nice fish house you got there John. 

Thanks for the compliment OutdoorsJunkie.

I am gonna do some more work tonight so hopefully some more progress to post later this evening or tomorrow.

[deadeye]

I agree, the shop will make most people here envious.  Looks like a great start to the house.  One question, will you have to unhook to lower it to the ice?  I've seen a few now that can remained hooked to the tow truck while lowered down.   

[kcarder]

This one will have to unhook to lower to the ice.  I had thought about adding that drop piece on the tongue but decided to keep it simpler for now.  I can always add that later pretty easily if I decide that simpler isn't best. 

The only thing that I thought about with the retractable tongue on the trailers is that you still have to mess around with three winches, three times to get it to lower anyway (Maybe not????).  But I did think about it.

[deadeye]

I've never used either so I'm no expert.  I just know that unhooking and hooking up a trailer in the cold, snow and dark is never any fun.   

[greatwhitehunter3]

Looking good 

[kcarder]

I've never used either so I'm no expert.  I just know that unhooking and hooking up a trailer in the cold, snow and dark is never any fun.   

I am no expert either but I would suppose that for the time being that I will become one at hooking and unhooking the trailer unless it sucks royally.  If it does I will add the drop tongue to it.  It is only another 3 feet of tubing, some cold rolled flat bar, a winch and some welding.  It would probably only take an hour or so to add it.  I think if I did that I would also make it completely removable as well.  That would make it close to theft proof if I did that.

I had an hour this evening to work on putting some plywood that will go under the aluminum sheeting on the house.  I got all the plywood put on the outside walls and the roof as well.  This will help to keep the aluminum from being so easy to dent and adds some rigidity to the house.  Next is to insulate and wire it.  Here are few pics.



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[Lure Lightning]

Anyone gonna claim this fish house as theirs?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzuzYf2Wtw4&feature=related

that video is too funny... your house looks like it will be perfect

[BiggA]

Looks sweet. Any interest in sharing cost on steel involved? Maybe sharing some design info on the drop part? I always wondered how that actually works.

[DDSBYDAY]

   One thing I am going to put in my shack this year is 2 computer fans in the upper corners.  One one opposite sides and ends.  They don't take much juice and are very quiet.  They will circulate the lost heat very well.  I am going to  put  a switch on for them so I can turn them on and off.

[bgruschy]

I'm just about to start mine,  I like your frame and swing arm mount, it looks good and rigid.  here a pic of a spring mount on one I looked at,  it looks pretty simple to build. 

Nice job on your ice house.

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[kcarder]

Looks sweet. Any interest in sharing cost on steel involved? Maybe sharing some design info on the drop part? I always wondered how that actually works.

The cost for just the steel wasn't all that bad somewhere around $350 from Garelick Steel in Minneapolis.  I used all 2x3 x 11ga steel tube for the frame, 1/2 x 3 , 3/8 x 3, for the brackets for the drop axle mount and brackets, 2x3 x 3/8 for the axle support arms, with 3 x 1/8 channel for the actual axle support.  For the winch mounts on the back I used 4 x 1/8 channel.  I also used 1 1/2" round stress proof for the pivot pins and 1 1/2 I.D and 1 3/4 O.D round tube for the pivot busings.  There were a few other misc pieces that I needed but they were a very small qty.  You will spend more on axles, hubs, wheels and tires, springs, winches, chain than you do on just the steel.  As far as design stuff goes that would be hard to explain but If you want to send me a pm with some specific questions I would answer them.  I would also add that there are a few things that I would change the next time that I built one to get rid of some excess weight there.  I think that it is really overbuilt.

One thing I am going to put in my shack this year is 2 computer fans in the upper corners.  One one opposite sides and ends.

I also planned on putting one on each end of the house to help keep the warm air nearer to the floor.  It always seems that you stand up in a shack and there is a 10 to 15 degree difference between where you are sitting and the ceiling.

I'm just about to start mine,  I like your frame and swing arm mount, it looks good and rigid.  here a pic of a spring mount on one I looked at,  it looks pretty simple to build.

That one is a good design that is light, and I would have used it but I wanted to maximize the width that I could have inside the house so I could be street legal.  It would have been a lot easier and lighter to build.  It also would have costed less to build as well.  The only drawback to that design is that you have to relinquish some space inside the house.  That is the same design that they use on the drop axle trailers that Northern Tool sells.  Make sure if you want to keep yours street legal (outside of tire to outside of tire no more than 102") that you don't build it over 6 feet wide and that you space that drop axle away from the frame 2.5" to 3".  That one will flex inward or twist a little and can flex to scuff the outside of the fish house when you are dropping it to the ground which is why it needs the extra room.

[Brian]

 :happy1:Nice pics, you got a great start on the new home away from home. Any idea how much it will cost in the end?  What are you going to use to insulate the house with?  Keep the pics comming if you get a chance.

[kcarder]

Well I haven't posted in a while but also haven't had too much time to work on the fish house either.  I suppose that either way it hasn't really mattered much since it is likely gonna be the first of the year before I could or would pull it onto the lakes.    snow.  Well I have worked on the house a little more and am now just about finished.  Here are a few more pictures that I remembered to take.

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[kcarder]

A few more.

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[kcarder]

One more I missed.

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[sandmannd]

That looks great so far. Where do you find the rubber roofing? Is it pricey?

I was thinking of buying a trailer and put a temp house on it, one that I could take off and put on again when I want to use it. Wouldn't drop down or anything. What are thoughts on doing it on a trailer like this:



1720 Lb. Capacity Super Duty 48" x 96" Utility Trailer with 12" Five Lug Wheels and Tires

Description of Haul-Master 94564

Add your own planking to create a heavy duty hauler! Bed tilts to the ground for easy loading and unloading.

    * 2 x 4 brackets are built into the frame
    * Comes with large high-visibility stop and turn signal lights
    * Overweight Item subject to $89.95 additional Freight Charge

Comes with safety chain and 2" coupler
1720 lb. load capacity
12" DOT certified tires with 5 lug wheels

[JohnWester]

hey kcader, becareful putting holes so far in the corners, hard to get the auger in there to drill holes.

[kcarder]

That looks great so far. Where do you find the rubber roofing? Is it pricey?

I found the rubber roofing material in Minneapolis at "Roofers Mart".  It really isn't as expensive as you think that it is.  The gallon of glue, edge material (aluminum strips) and the rubber roofing was only about $85.

I was thinking of buying a trailer and put a temp house on it, one that I could take off and put on again when I want to use it. Wouldn't drop down or anything. What are thoughts on doing it on a trailer like this:



1720 Lb. Capacity Super Duty 48" x 96" Utility Trailer with 12" Five Lug Wheels and Tires

Description of Haul-Master 94564

Add your own planking to create a heavy duty hauler! Bed tilts to the ground for easy loading and unloading.

    * 2 x 4 brackets are built into the frame
    * Comes with large high-visibility stop and turn signal lights
    * Overweight Item subject to $89.95 additional Freight Charge

Comes with safety chain and 2" coupler
1720 lb. load capacity
12" DOT certified tires with 5 lug wheels

I don't know why that wouldn't work.  Later if you wanted to add drop axles to it it could be done very easily.  You would only have to buy new axles and some steel for the pivot arms.  You could reuse the leaf springs, wheels/tires, and hubs.  It would only take about another $75 worth of steel, some time and a welder. 

Actually if the trailer is affordable I think that it would be really cool to do something like that.

[kcarder]

hey kcader, becareful putting holes so far in the corners, hard to get the auger in there to drill holes.

Thanks for the info JohnWester.  I thought about that and the holes are not actually as far into the corner as they look in the photo.  They are also 12" openings and set about 4" to 5" away from the front wall but are closer to the side wall. 

[sandmannd]

That trailer is only $400. They have one that is only rated at 950lb load and folks up but only has 8" tires on it. That one is only $250.

[kcarder]

That trailer is only $400. They have one that is only rated at 950lb load and folks up but only has 8" tires on it. That one is only $250.

I think that you could build that trailer for less if you have access to a welder and can weld (I would bet for $250 to $300).  I would stay away from the fold up one.  If you do have access to a welder you could build a trailer just like mine for around $500 to $600.  Granted it is $100 to $200 more than the one you are looking at but would allow you to put a bigger house on it.  I actually think now after building mine that I could have built it for a little less and it would weigh a little less as well.

If you don't have access to the welder it is still a great idea.