2010 Fish House Build

[crappiekid]

my 6 and a half by twelve took 100 hours. I kept track. That is not including the puchased frame and spray foam profesionally performed. it is stressful but well worth the sence of accomplishment!

[crappiekid]

Did you use 2 x 4s for the bunks?? I am about to build mine and am going to span 90 inches for my top bunk. Thought about using 2 x 3 frame with a 1/2" top and paneled bottom for the bunk to keep the weight down and 2 x 3s for the wall supports hoping not to have to use any chain or cables to help hold it up.

do you have access to some aluminum or ss angle say 1.5 inch X 1.5 inch .250 thick? that wored for me on 2x2 framing

[jerkbait]

Why won't it work for wood on metal? It works for wood on glass.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

It's been awhile, but I figured I'd throw the finished pics up here. I've used the house a bunch, and it has been absolutely fantastic.

In my opinion, the hydraulics are the only way to go. When I pull up to my fishing spot, I pull the hitch pin, slide out the pins behind each wheel, and it drops down in 10 seconds. Including drilling my holes, I can be fishing within 3 minutes, easily. When I'm done fishing, I plug in anything that needs charging, pop the catch covers on the holes, and in 10 seconds the house is up, slide the pins, and I'm on my way. Once I get home I just plug the house in, and everything is ready to go for next time.

Fully finished outside. I added the antenna and DNR ID plate from the other pics. Behind the window, you can see the transmitter for the wireless weather station.

The interior was pretty well wrapped up in the last pics. I added the 26" LED TV, DVD, and programmable thermostat.

Inside the front, left hand cabinet is a 3 bank 30amp on board charger. This stays permanently attached to the 3 batteries (1 for hydraulic pump and brakes, 2 for furnace, radio, and lights). This thing charges up the batteries in no time.

To keep an eye on the batteries, I have a battery gauges hooked to momentary switches (so they won't get left on a drain the batteries).

And then in the front center, I have the furnace, and the 2 main batteries. There is a positive, and a negative terminal strip, so each battery lead runs to its terminal. From there, I have one fused main line running to another terminal strip in the ceiling, and then from there the wires go out to each switch, and then out to each fixture.

What I am surprised by, is that after everything is said and done, there isn't really anything I would change. You learn a little bit with each house, but it turned out exactly like I expected.

[JimmyJames]

Very nice , I'm not the type to get jealous, but I think I am. Very nice!

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I'm going to build an 8x20+v, and either buy a Yetti or Soderbloom all aluminum, or build one similar.

[Rooster7]

This was a great thread Lip Ripper! Awesome house! Are you going to do a play by play on your next one?

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I am planning on it. I really enjoy building the houses, and the pictures I took were very beneficial to refer back to.

[Rooster7]

Appreciate it. It give me lots of ideas on how I can do mine someday!

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Thanks, Ace! I've enjoyed this house, and I'm pretty excited to get going on my next one (which will be documented again on FM!).

[BLACKJACK]

Lipripper, thanks for bringing this to the top, I was going to try and find it and look into some of the details on construction.

But does a person spend $6400 for a yetti shell and slowly add to it, using my own sweat equity, or buy an Ice Castle for about $7500, it gets you on the ice and can be upgraded later? It all depends how much cash a person has.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I think that is a pretty common thought process for most. A lot of people (including myself) enjoy building the houses. It would take quite a deal for me to buy pre-built, especially knowing the quality (or lack thereof) of the manufactured houses. You'd probably be talking about $18k+ to buy a house comparable to this from Lodge.

[BLACKJACK]

Lipripper, just did a quick peruse through this whole thread to get some ideas, you really put some extra time and effort into this house!!! Custom cabinets and all!!! The hydraulic lift looks sweet!!

One other thought, did you have enough windows or would you add more to the next shack?

Questioning my ability on the wiring and gas lines though....

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

The ONLY thing I would change would be to add a window to the back. I had the window bought, but decided against it. I was worried about it being cold for sleeping.

Hydraulic is the way to go. It makes it so easy to move around and take the house home at night. The system is pretty simple, so I don't anticipate any problems with it.

[Cast A Way]

How did the furnace placement work up in the front of the V? I would like to do that, but wondered about venting and road debris(snow/slush from pulling)

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

It works great. I had some concerns about it at first, but through lots of miles on the road this winter, there was never anything that hit the vents.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Come on Lip-ripper - You know better

[travlingypsy]

Lip-Ripper Nice Work! I was just wanting some input on the string LED's where did you order yours? Do you like them? What are the goods and bads? Will you be putting the reds in your next house? Sorry about all the questions I enjoy lights!

Thanks, Travlingypsy

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

You don't want the ones I had. I went through (4) of the 4' ($320), and (1) 2' ($40). I've used these before without issue, but there is some serious lack of quality control.

The red light is a must. It is great for late night fishing.

[travlingypsy]

Couple more questions for ya.. Where did you get your LED's from? Was the LED to bright on the eyes? Would you put more thatn one red LED next time?

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

They are from LED light dot com. But I can't recommend that you buy from there. The 6" red was perfect.

[Grainbelt]

You can try superbrightled dot com. Go to LED light bars and strips, then go under rigid light bars. The LED's come on printed circuit board strips. Just hook up +12 dc and double back tape to the ceiling. I got them in warm white and 2 red strips. They sell connectors that plug into the boards and you will need to get some switches to turn them on and off. I have had no problem with them at all and have been real happy with the upgrade.

[Rippinlip]

Great story, start to finish!

What a great accomplishment!

[sparetime]

Great looking shack! I appreciate your willingness to share the build process.

I do have a couple questions too:

You mentioned a 110 volt system, with 4 interior plugs and 1 exterior plug. I assume the TV and dvd player run off this system and uses an inverter to power them when away from a power source. Is there a switch to change from the power cord to the battery as your source power or is there some type of automatic switch?

How much does the siding overlap? How do you account for the width lost in the overlap. Ex. If the overlap is 1” then by the time you do a 12’ side with 4’ panels, you are 2” short. Do you just use the diamond plate to cover up the shortage at the corners? I realize there are 49” wide panels now, but they are more expensive. Also, I’m sure you had to accommodate the material used in the overlap on your stud spacing.

Was it hard to find someone to bend the diamond plate?

Thanks again.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

The 110 volt system is entirely isolated from the 12 volt system. Meaning, the only way to get 110 volts is by running the generator or to be plugged in to an external outlet. No inverter or switch. 95% of the time when I'm using the house, it'll be with the truck, so I'll have no issues with carrying the generator. The other 5% of the time, I can probably do without the TV.

I have the siding overlapping about 1" (the width of the 3m tape). We started about 1" in from the back corners. We were able to cheat a little near the V front, so there were no problems with coming up short. On a longer house you may have to do some thinking. Next house I'm doing without the diamond plate corner trim, and I'm going to do the 90 and 45 degree bends with the siding itself. This will eliminate a few seams.

My dad has a connection to get the diamond plate bent. For the 2nd house I built last year, we had the metal supply company do the shearing and bending. Much easier, but it does cost a few $$$.