2010 Fish House Build

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

It's a little early for most people to start thinking about ice fishing, but for me it's never too early! This will be my second fish house build, and for this one I'll be starting with a hydraulic Shack Rack frame. I need to throw in a plug for Ern at Shack Rack...he was absolutely fantastic to work with, returned phone calls promptly if he didn't answer when I called, and is dedicated to building a quality product.

I put in my order around mid-March, and picked up the finished frame last week. Here are a few (low quality) pics of the frame.

If you look closely, you can see the pins behind each wheel that allow the frame to drop down.

Hydraulic drop hitch, and tongue pin.

Close up of coil spring suspension, hydraulic cylinder, and brakes.

I'm at a bit of a standstill until I get the wheel wells finished. They are being built now, and I should have them by Monday or Tuesday. I have my first sheet of plywood (Advantech) down, and I'll be starting on the walls this weekend.

I look forward to any suggestions anyone may have along the way!

[BucksnDucks]

Absolute beauty of a frame you got urself there! I cant wait to see this one in progress and the finished product! The best looking frame I've seen so far, looks to be very well built.

[Rodrunner]

Looks good lip ripper..Keep the progress pics coming..

[ac777]

Looks good, Looking forward to watching this one.

[Chnginthhofl]

I look forward to any suggestions anyone may have along the way!

[landscaper]

looking good already!! Cant wait to see it grow!

[Bigtom]

Looks like fun.

How long is the frame?

Are there locking pins for the tires to stay up, or do you depend hydralics not to fail?

I was just wondering if it was like a snow plow pump with check valves.

[Rippinlip]

Very nice, looking forward to see it all come together.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Looks like fun.

How long is the frame?

Are there locking pins for the tires to stay up, or do you depend hydralics not to fail?

I was just wondering if it was like a snow plow pump with check valves.

The frame is 8'x12' on the square, and 3' for the v front. If you check out the first picture, just behind the right wheel you can see the pin. It is also visible in the close up picture of the hydraulics. There is also a pin in the tongue. I think you'd be asking for trouble to not have some sort of a backup safety system.

I will have more pictures soon, but the wheel wells are built and installed, and floor is down, and the top and bottom plates and all the fun angles are cut and ready for wall building. I should be able to get 2 or 3 walls built tonight.

[SapperACE]

Dude it's about time! I've been dying to see your new toy. Looks like Ern knocked another one out of the park. I only have one problem with your new frame... your's has hydros and mine don't! I'm way jealous! Oh well, I guess now I have something to shot for on my next one.

Congrats on the new frame and good luck with your build. I can't wait to follow this thread!

[McGurk]

Nice looking frame! Looking forward to your open house this winter on the lake of your choice.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Dude it's about time! I've been dying to see your new toy. Looks like Ern knocked another one out of the park. I only have one problem with your new frame... your's has hydros and mine don't! I'm way jealous! Oh well, I guess now I have something to shot for on my next one.

Congrats on the new frame and good luck with your build. I can't wait to follow this thread!

Thanks much for all your help! I went down there thinking I would probably end up buying a crank down (which is one of the slickest crank down setups I have ever seen), but after seeing the hydraulic system operate, I was sold on that. For me, $450 extra to have the house go up or down in 7 or 8 seconds seems like money well spent.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

The floor is down, glued and screwed with self tappers. I used a 23/32" product called Advantech. I haven't seen this used in a fish house application before, but I did quite a bit of research and this seems a lot better than treated plywood. It is used extensively in high end enclosed trailers, and most manufacturers warrant it for 15-25 years...exposed to the elements both top and bottom. I'll have spray foam on the underside, and Rhino Liner on the top, so there really won't be much if any moisture getting to the wood.

A friend of mine built the wheel wells for me out of some scrap steel sign material. They turned out perfect, but if I were to do it over, I would have paid the extra $150 or so to have E&T build the wheel wells for me.

Last night I ripped all the 2x4's and cut them to length for wall studs, built the 3 walls for the v-front, and the 8' wall. Tonight I'll tackle the 2 long walls, and maybe the roof.

I'm also trying to decide whether to build it inside-out, or outside-in. That'll be a decision that has to get made in the next few days.

[wahoo]

Terrific! Thanks for sharing. any idea on the final weight? I'd like to do one a bit smaller.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I've done a fair amount of figuring on the weight, and my best guess is 2500#, +/- 200#.

[Rodrunner]

What size is it..I bet you wont have any troubles tipping the scale to at least 2500#..Look'n good. Keep the progress pics coming.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

8'x12'+3'v. The frame is estimated to weigh 1,000#. I'll be adding around 1,500#. When it is all said and done, loaded up with batteries and propane, and ready to fish it'll be 3,000 or so.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Got a fair amount done this weekend. The framing went much quicker than expected. One thing that really made life easy was a cordless impact I picked up. It absolutely rocked on the 3 1/2" screws...MUCH quicker than a normal drill.

The windows and doors are just temporarily in place to make sure my tape measure worked.

Access door for the hydraulic pump and battery.

Double checking where the holes will be cut. The bait bucket gets its own cabinet.

I'm still trying to decide on finishing the inside or outside first. I'll make that decision today, and then I'll either be ordering my siding and finishing the roof, or picking up the tongue and groove and getting going on the inside right away.

[perchking]

Looking good...

[Acemac]

so awesome!

I swear some of you guys need to write a book on getting the wife to agree to this kind of stuff...

[SapperACE]

Acemac, just tell your wife it will double as a camper. Plus, if you build it yourself, you can fish out of the thing for 10 years and still be able to sell it for more than you'll have into it... thats if you do it right like lip ripper is doing.

[SapperACE]

Ripper,

I would suggest doing the outside first unless you have a place to work inside that it won't hurt for you to tie up for a while. If you have that, go for it! I think it would just be nice for you to be able to pull a trailer shell down the road, or move it outside into the elements, in case of emergency. I'm sure you've thought of all of this. Just throwng my opinion out there.

I'm just curious why people think it is benificial to finish the inside before the outside? I'm really not trying to be a smart @$$, I just wanted to hear the reasoning people have, without hijacking your thread of course. I'm assuming it will make wiring a little easier for you, but i'm curous as to any other benefits.

All of that said... that thing is looking awesome ripper! you're really flying along! Keep up the good work and thanks for all the pics.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Really the main benefit would be making the inside a little bit easier to wire. Another small benefit would be being able to wrap the outside with Tyvek after having spray foam sprayed against the inside. In theory, any moisture that could make it behind the siding would have a waterproof barrier, keeping it off the wood studs. And third, I would be able to keep moving along since I haven't ordered my siding yet.

That said, I am probably going to finish the outside first, just to get the house out of the garage.

[bottom-bouncer]

Looking good so far lip_ripper. I have a few questions for you is that frame made of channel and then boxed in it looks in the pictures like it is stitch welded along the top. It looks to me like the front ram is going to be extended when you are traveling down the road exposing it to the road grime and sand if that is the case I would figure out a way to cover it during travel or it will pit in time taking cause it to wear out the seals I also noticed the hoses under the frame hanging down I would make sure that they are tucked up in there as tight as possible it would be a bummer to snag one on a chunk of ice. Noy sure of your interior plans but I would be sure to allow some heat into the area that holds your hydro I would also recomend using the oil that is designed for the snowplows stays very light even in extreme temps.

[SapperACE]

Really the main benefit would be making the inside a little bit easier to wire. Another small benefit would be being able to wrap the outside with Tyvek after having spray foam sprayed against the inside. In theory, any moisture that could make it behind the siding would have a waterproof barrier, keeping it off the wood studs. And third, I would be able to keep moving along since I haven't ordered my siding yet.

That said, I am probably going to finish the outside first, just to get the house out of the garage.

I can see your point with the moisture thing Ripper. You definately want to take care of the wood studs, and moisture is their main killer. That said, i've been told before that water is a bi-product of burning LP, which is a big reason why windows always seem to "sweat up" inside a fish house. I'm no chemist, so I dont know how true that is or not, but it makes sense. I think that that, combined with the moisture that comes from tracking snow in and drilling holes, it seems like there is always moisture/condensation INSIDE a fish house too. Maybe even more than outside because there isn't as much airflow inside (the wind) to dry things out.

I've tried everything to cut down on moisture inside the house, but there always seems to be some. Those studs might get moisture on them from the inside, with the method you mentioned above, as much or more than if the method was reversed. At least that's how I see it in my pea brain. I don't think it's going to hurt your studs any more of less eaither way you decide to do it. My father in law, who has been building residential houses for 30+ years, told me that it's important the studs can breath too. That's why tyvek is a great product for the outside because it's a direct moisture barrier, but it still allows the house to "breath", drying the studs out in the process.

I'm really sorry for that ramble Ripper! I really don't want sound like a know it all. I just wanted to share some things I've learned (and dreamed up in my own mind) over the years.