Hydraulic Frames

[Adam NWI]

59 minutes ago, Moon Lake Refuge said:

I've seen them switch three times now.  Its usually always some kind of reversible plank though that is beaded on one side and flat on the other.

The reversible plank is what they were carrying when I picked it up.  I've just been calling it carsiding because it's what most people are more familiar with. 

 

I have that all stained and polyurethaned on the smooth side.  To me the bead side looks kind of dated.

[Adam NWI]

Since it's been pretty slow on here and I haven't posted an update in a while so I thought I'd give you guys an update on my build.  I've had a couple trips out on the ice with pretty much just the shell done.  Now I'm working on getting it ready for camping trips this summer with my wife and daughters.

 

I was on the fence about adding a livewell or a 4th drawer and ended up going with a livewell.  I don't know how much I'll actually use it, but I'm hoping it'll keep the girls' attention long enough to let me fish a little.  It's made of 1/4" plexiglass and aquarium glue.  I tested it out on my patio before putting it in to test for leaks.  After it passed the test I siliconed all the joints just to make sure.  It's got a water pump to pump fresh water in from the lake on a timer and a drain to dump it back after the water level gets so high.  Probably too small for walleyes, but I think it will work well on our South Dakota perch trips.

 

The main things I have left are the dinette table and top bunks and cabinets.  The dinette table is more of a struggle than I thought it would be because I used flush mount Springfield taper lock bases to mount the poles.  I thought I could just buy a couple of the bottom bushings and use steel tubing from work for the legs.  Turns out I can't find the taper lock bushings anywhere.  West Marine has them on their page, but they cancelled my order saying they are unavailable.  Unless someone has another idea, I'm going to have to pull out the springfield bases and use the ones that fishhousesupply.com sells. 

 

Any recommendations would be appreciated on the table or anything else you see!

[Papa Bear]

Looks great! I've been procrastinating on a few things I'd like to do to ours before summer. I did something similar for a  livewell and I'm glad I did. It was a  hit with the kids. 

...on the table bases. I'm considering skipping the bases all together and making a table that folds. Haven't drawn it out yet but I'm picturing something like a glorified TV tray. Just a thought....

[Adam NWI]

Thanks for the reply Papa Bear.  I was beginning to think this site was deserted for the Summer!

 

That's something I hadn't thought of.  Not using the bases would make it a lot easier to move out of the way when I need to use the ramp door.  I could just make 4 telescoping legs that can change from table to bed height, or fold up to move it out of the way. 

 

If I go that route though, I'll need to figure a way to patch the holes in my floor where I have the flush mounts now.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Those pedestal bases are the most glorious pain in the __________ I've ever seen.  Menards has some folding table legs that work really well.  I'm not seeing them on their page, but Amazon shows Waddell FTL100 Folding Banquet Table Legs that look identical.  The nice thing about this setup is that one person can pretty easily handle the table/bed setup on their own.  

[Jigging Joe]

I agree, just put in folding legs. I just did that with my camper too. Much easier and more sturdy.

 

[Adam NWI]

Last weekend I switched out my ramp door for a bay window.  I'd like to spray foam it, but I'm sure I won't be able to find anyone willing to do it professionally in my area, at least not at a reasonable price.  Last winter I had to drive an hour and a half to get the rest of it spray foamed for about $2000.  One company told me they wouldn't fire up their equipment for less than 1800.

For this small of an area I'm thinking I would be just fine with the foam boards @ 2-3/4" thick with the furring.  Otherwise, does anyone know how well those Menards Froth Packs work?  $360 still seems kind of spendy to spray foam that little area myself.

 

[Hoey]

Looks like a great project.  A DYI froth pak for $500 or so will do 12 sq ft at 1" thick.  Most home improvement stores carry these.  

[Adam NWI]

Thanks Hoey.  At that price I think I will just go with the foam board insulation.  It's such a small area left to insulate and that way I can avoid the mess and the headaches.  Plus I will be able to get it a full 2-3/4" thick throughout.

My next project I think may be to replace the dinette table with a jackknife couch.  Any idea how long those come?  The longest I've seen so far is 72" which to me sounds too short for me to sleep on comfortably since I'm over 6' tall.  Does anyone carry bigger sizes, or do most people build them so they sleep with their head on the armrests?

[HUJU]

On 11/7/2016 at 10:19 AM, Adam NWI said:

 

Edited October 19, 2017 by HUJU

[Moon Lake Refuge]

5 hours ago, Adam NWI said:

Thanks Hoey.  At that price I think I will just go with the foam board insulation.  It's such a small area left to insulate and that way I can avoid the mess and the headaches.  Plus I will be able to get it a full 2-3/4" thick throughout.

My next project I think may be to replace the dinette table with a jackknife couch.  Any idea how long those come?  The longest I've seen so far is 72" which to me sounds too short for me to sleep on comfortably since I'm over 6' tall.  Does anyone carry bigger sizes, or do most people build them so they sleep with their head on the armrests?

You can get longer but at a premium, and I'm not a huge fan because of the different firmness from back to bottom along with the groove makes sleeping awkward.  You could make one easy enough or modify a futon.  Find a used one and gut the hardware out to make your own that will blend in better.

[btupy]

Why did you switch from a toy hauler door to a bay window? I kind of wish I would have done a toy hauler now. Also how is your lift bed working? Is it a one man job to raise and lower?

[Adam NWI]

I originally built it as a toy hauler because I have a half ton truck and didn't want to overload my suspension with both the tongue weight and the 4-wheeler in the back of my truck.  It was sagging pretty bad with just the trailer.  I have since added air bags to my suspension that have taken out the sagging and I would be comfortable putting a 4-wheeler in there if I ever decide to. 

Beyond that, the table is a pain in the butt to raise and lower.  I should have taken the advice of others on the board not to use the removable legs, but I already had the mounts put in the floor.  The bench is much more comfortable and I was able to add another fishing hole.  The main point is it turned the worst seat in the house to the best seat.

[btupy]

How about the lift bed on the trolley system? Do you like it? Anything you would do different?

Have you weighed your fish house?

[Adam NWI]

I like the trolley system, but I can't take credit for it.  I stole the idea from LipRipper.  He's got much better details on how to build one on his latest build blog.  It only takes one person to raise and lower it.  I planned to use linear actuators on a pulley system to raise and lower it, but I realized that would be completely unnecessary with how easy it is to do manually with one person. I have since used the wires I ran for that for another outside yard light in the back of the house.

The last time I weighed the house it was around 5500#.  I would estimate it at around 6200# or so right now.  Whenever I get a chance to have it weighed I'll post it.