Fish House rv Build

[Papa Bear]

I have been building my 22' wheelhouse and figured I would share since I got a lot of ideas and information from following others builds on here (namely Mr. LipRipperGuy). So here it is:

 

My wife and I looked at countless houses from all the brands and never found quite what we were after. The Yetti Legend came closest to what we wanted but farthest from our budget. So, glutton for punishment that I am, I sketched out some plans and made a very detailed material list as best I could. Finding sources for a lot of the parts that go into one of these was one of my biggest hurdles. The house is a 22' +V with a bump out in the back for the bay window. The trailer is aluminum. A few pieces needed to be made of steel and they are galvanized. It will have most of the RV type features offered now. The toilet will be a cassette type that I think will be much more convenient for winter use. Finding a dump station, rinsing and winterizing tanks after every use was a concern. I wanted to be able to use the plumbing in the winter with as little hassle as possible and I hope that will be the case. All water lines will be run inside the house and with a constant slope to them so that they can be "winterized" after use by just opening a valve at the low point before packing up to head home. The tankless water heater and fresh water tank will be drained the same way. The cassette from the toilet can either be dumped in a bucket to freeze or in a toilet on shore. Rinse with a little RV antifreeze and you're good to go. Maybe I overthought it and maybe it won't even work but this was my best guess at it. The roof is a single piece of aluminum sheeting. It's lightweight, seamless and easy to install. Seemed like the way to go. The subfloor is a fiberglass reinforced foam. Its slightly lighter than wood and will never rot. Kind of pricey stuff but seemed like a good place to splurge. I've been using Google Sketchup for several years now and can't imagine trying to take on a project like this without it. A few things changed slightly since this drawing but this is pretty close.

 

....and some of my wall layouts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The frame and all the aluminum tubing for the walls and roof...

 

 

The walls are 1"x2"x1/8" and the roof is 1"x3"x1/8".

 

I had the diamond plate for the wheel wells bent by the supplier. I then cut them to size and welded the top to the sides/back. Its sitting upside down in this picture.

 

I also had the siding pieces bent ahead of time by the supplier. To mark the windows I propped the piece on a straight edge clamped to the frame and then traced the window opening from the inside. The first few I cut out with "slicer" wheels in an angle grinder which worked fine but I ended up using a carbide tipped circular saw blade for the rest. Much faster and seemed to be a bit easier to hold the line. After the window opening was marked I installed the window and then the sheeting covered the window flange.

 

The siding is of course held on with VHB type double sided tape. I let all the siding sheets run tall and then ran the saw along the top to trim them. This cut was not critical because the roof sheeting folded over the siding and was then covered by trim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rolling the roof out.

 

The graphics. The roof trim isn't completely installed in this picture. You can see the way the roof overlaps the siding.

 

The wife insisted on an awning. I didn't think we needed it but was glad to have it working outside a few rainy days.

 

 

I was losing warm weather and decided to get the first coat of spray foam on the walls before wiring. This worked out alright but I have to say, spray foaming it myself is the only thing so far that I would definitely think twice before doing again. Because of the outside temperatures I didn't get nearly the yield out of the kits that I should have. I ended up having to buy extra.

 

The bathroom with pocket door.

 

 

Wiring

 

 

 

 

The "help"

 

We decided to go with cedar planks to cover the walls and ceiling.

 

 

 

And the start of the cabinets

 

This is where I'm at so far. There's a lot of finishing work left but I'm still hoping to get out in it before the end season. Quite possible some things will end up getting finished up in the spring. I'll update as things progress.

Edited December 29, 2016 by Papa Bear

[Moon Lake Refuge]

Looks great!

[randerson]

Looks awesome I'd be interested to see what yours VS LipRipperGuy will end up on finished weight. Similar builds but still apples and oranges I like the awning too! 

[Surface Tension]

Really Nice Job. 

[1lessdog]

I would like to know the weight also. The cost of the frame had to be over $5000.

[rundrave]

looks fantastic and appreciate you taking the time to put together a write up with pics etc I know that takes alot of time. Nice work!

[Papa Bear]

Frame weighed in at 1500 lbs. Steel frame of that size is around 2300 lbs. I was told Yetti 21' models are about 5200 lbs finished. I imagine I'll be right around there. I was actually more interested in aluminum because of the rust issue but weight savings doesn't hurt. I know the galvanized frames are popular now, I just personally wonder how long the galvanizing will last on the bottom of the frame getting repeatedly frozen to the ice and lifted off.

[pikestabber]

Fantastic build. Here's hoping you get to wet a line or two this year, yet.

 

Good call on the awning. As a unit that doubles as a camper, you won't regret it.

[rossco1418]

Looking great. Love the live edge cabinets. That is a nice touch!

[randingo]

looks amazing! great craftsmanship there. How much you estimate the total cost of your project vs buying the yetti thats already built? It amazes me that you can do that kind of project with the little ones around!

[Papa Bear]

3 hours ago, rossco1418 said:

Looking great. Love the live edge cabinets. That is a nice touch!

 

Thanks! Good eye!

[Papa Bear]

1 hour ago, randingo said:

looks amazing! great craftsmanship there. How much you estimate the total cost of your project vs buying the yetti thats already built? It amazes me that you can do that kind of project with the little ones around!

 

Its definately a challenge with the kids to entertain. Having the wife on board with the whole thing is key! Cost...I'll just say my estimated total cost is just slightly less than an ice castle of similar size and amenities. 

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Aluminum frame=drool.

 

Nice work!

[Papa Bear]

Made a little progress. Got the flooring down last week and worked on the cabinets and couch frames over the weekend.

[BartmanMN]

This house is looking beautiful.  You should be really proud to be the owner/builder of that. 

Can't wait to see the finished product.  Keep up the excellent work!

[Moon Lake Refuge]

What kind of flooring did you use?  Not worried about slipping from water/snow?

 

[Papa Bear]

2 hours ago, BartmanMN said:

This house is looking beautiful.  You should be really proud to be the owner/builder of that. 

Can't wait to see the finished product.  Keep up the excellent work!

Thank you!

 

1 hour ago, Moon Lake Refuge said:

What kind of flooring did you use?  Not worried about slipping from water/snow?

 

 

It's adhesive backed vinyl plank. The adhesive didn't stick to the subfloor at all so I ended up gluing it all down similar to how sheet vinyl or VCT would be. We wanted something that would clean up easy. The pup sheds a lot so carpet was out. It has a pretty good texture to it and looks to be very tough. Tracking snow in over weekend didn't seem to cause any issues but time will tell I guess. The real selling point of this stuff was the price at only $1/sqft.

[fishinfan]

Do you level house out before you put walls on? I built a house about 3 years ago but I had wood studs. we cut all to the same length and put on house. when we would raise and lower house the frame would bend and walls would move. so we took all the walls off, leveled frame completely on blocks, and built the entire house like this. after walls, roof, siding and spray foam were on it never moved again.

 

just curious if you have noticed this? we only noticed when we lowered house to ground the bottom of frame didn't touch ground everywhere.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

2 hours ago, fishinfan said:

Do you level house out before you put walls on? I built a house about 3 years ago but I had wood studs. we cut all to the same length and put on house. when we would raise and lower house the frame would bend and walls would move. so we took all the walls off, leveled frame completely on blocks, and built the entire house like this. after walls, roof, siding and spray foam were on it never moved again.

 

just curious if you have noticed this? we only noticed when we lowered house to ground the bottom of frame didn't touch ground everywhere.

I'm guessing this was due to the camber that is built into the frame to allow for it to be flat when all the weight is added.  When you level it on blocks, and build the structure, it is then locked into place and can't move/flex.  

[Papa Bear]

Like he said ^.  This frame actually had more of an upwards curve to it than I think the frame builder planned for. I think because it is aluminum which acts like that. Before welding the walls in place I attached the tongue to the truck to hold the front down and then weighted the back down to flatten it out.

[Papa Bear]

Has anyone used "soft close" type hinges and drawer slides on their cabinets? Wondering if there is enough resistance with these to stop them from opening going down the road. I've seen the little clip/peg retainers that IC, Yetti, etc use. Just looking for a different option. Other ideas?

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I have both.  The drawer slides work well, but they do open up sometimes going across the lake.  I don't think I've ever had a cabinet door open, though.    

[fishinfan]

57 minutes ago, Papa Bear said:

Has anyone used "soft close" type hinges and drawer slides on their cabinets? Wondering if there is enough resistance with these to stop them from opening going down the road. I've seen the little clip/peg retainers that IC, Yetti, etc use. Just looking for a different option. Other ideas?

 

 

They make a rail that when it slides closed it drops about 1/4". I have these and they are nice for driving down the road but my 3 and 5 year olds can't open them up!

 

For the doors, I used an rv type style clip. To open you have to push in and then they pop open.

[Papa Bear]

Thanks guys!

 

32 minutes ago, fishinfan said:

 

 

They make a rail that when it slides closed it drops about 1/4". I have these and they are nice for driving down the road but my 3 and 5 year olds can't open them up!

 

For the doors, I used an rv type style clip. To open you have to push in and then they pop open.

Any chance you have a brand, model or picture of these? I think I get what you are saying just haven't seen them before.

[fishinfan]

1 hour ago, Papa Bear said:

Thanks guys!

 

Any chance you have a brand, model or picture of these? I think I get what you are saying just haven't seen them before.

The drawer rails you just want ones with "detent" on them. I think ours are set to 10lbs.

 

Here are pics for the doors.