True Cost of a Wheel House?

[MuleShack]

Has anyone build their own wheel house?

Just wondering what the true cost is of building your own versus buying one from a dealer. Obviously it would equal to less $$, but wondering what material costs you encountered and how much labor involved. I was looking at buying a frame from Road King trailers. (They seem to have a quality product)...((after reading up on the sponsor above, fish house supply has a solid trailer also))

I like to work on projects and stuff but never built something like this. I want it done right, but yet looking to save money. Probably looking at an 8' x 16' drop frame trailer. anybody have experience here and how much did it cost and how long to build.

What is the best product to use for the outside and roof?

Last question is were you glad you did it yourself or did you wish you had it built when it was done?

Thanks for any insight

Steve

[CatManLee]

first thing of course, you will have alot of labor ahead of you. If you enjoy this kind of thing, I think it's a great way to do it. Gives you some pride in your work and just knowing "you" built it yourself is a good feeling, I think you'll like it more just because, of that. As far as saving money, you will save money, but is it worth all the work? If you add up all the hours spent on it, in the end I'd bet you didn't make very much an hour if you were to get paid! The point is, you'll have to like doing this stuff to really make it worth it.

Now if your a thrifty person and can shop around for the best deals, etc. You'll save way more than the person who just goes out and buys what you need, on sale or not!

In the future I plan to build my own. Funds won't allow it just yet, but when the time comes, I'll buy the trailer and build the house myself.

I guess it comes down to how much work your willing to do??

[Sarpy Creek Boy]

I built my own 6.5 x 17 v-front a couple of years ago. I bought the frame. I have 5300 invested + my labor

I used Liquid Rubber for the roof and steel siding.

The only thing I would do different is make sure everybody who said they would help actually showed up....

[Windy]

I built a 10x16 wheel house 3 years ago. I had a guy make the frame and I did the rest myself. I used 1" tubing for the side walls, 5/8 plywood on the floor, riveted paneling to the inside and had the outside urethaned. This is a very light house and really warm!! It is alot of work to build but it is rewarding in the end. It took me a week to complete mine but I do not have any fancy stuff inside either. Total cost of mine was around $4000 with an Empire heater. Hope this helps!!

[blue_healer_guy]

Here's what I did. Bought a 6.5x16 and had the manufacturer build the shell also. This way the outside looks great and professionally done, but this also let me finish the inside. Everything was square and real easy to finish. I have built my own from scratch, yeah it served a fishing purpose, but not as far as professionally done. Cost of the trailer and shell was about 5500 and finished product about 7000.

[MuleShack]

Yea, i hear ya with that friends helping friends thing. there almost always had to be carrot out front with some beer.

[MuleShack]

Actually i like your idea...!

buying the trailer and having them also do the shell. That was the part that i wasn't comfortable with. That way i can still do the wiring and the wood and trim...(the fun stuff)

Thanks

[End of the Line]

I built my own other than the trailer. Its 8'4" x 16' plus a 3' V-nose to 19' overall shell. I have done one from scratch before that. I would never consider doing that again. I probably could have had it built for not a whole lot more. My guess would be I saved $2,000-$2,500. I certainly could have worked more overtime and paid for the time I spent working on it. The reason I did mine is that I wanted certain things that one manufacturer had, and another that someone did, and could never have gotten a finished project exactly the way I wanted it. If I do another one, I would consider having the shell built too, and just finish the wiring, paneling, gas lines, cabinets, etc... I think mine looks professionally built inside and out, and its great with me and the guys I fish with!

[huntingmaxima]

end of the line, where did you get that siding and how does that trailer work in the cold weather. i see it is has a hydrolic system

[MuleShack]

EOL,

Nice Place you got there!

Foam insulation? if so did you use it in the ceiling also?

How much does that one weigh?

[End of the Line]

I got the aluminum sheets from Jay Soderbloom in Cromwell Mn; he's a sponsor here. Nice thing about the sheets from Jay is that they are 49" wide for overlapping the seams, and Jay is a great guy to deal with.

No problem with the hydraulics, went to Burtside in Ely last weekend and it went right up at -7 F when we left Sun morning. Although its not hard work it does take alot of "pumps" on the handle, so this summer I'm converting it to an electric pump vs the hand pump since I have the pump here already.

Its pink foam sheets all around 2" in floor, 2.5" in walls, and 2.75" in the celings. However if I was to do it again I would spray foam it like the last house I built.

I weighed it and I cant remember the exact number now, but its overbuilt and if I remember the shack came in at 3850#. I cant pull it on the ice with my wheeler, and my truck weighs well over 5500# anyway.

[End of the Line]

Heres an old link from this site to the topic alittle while back with more info:

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=938537&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1

[huntingislife]

One of our sponsors, Sportsman Fish Houses, has three levels of completeness available. They have a shell, a basic, and a deluxe. They sure look like one heck of a house. For my next house I would just buy the shell from them and finish the inside myself. They are priced very reasonably too.

[pail-fish]

this might be a stupid question, but what would be the benefit of using spray foam insulation over foam sheets? i imagine it makes a better seal all around, but im just curious. is there a special product to use or just cans of expanding spray foam from the hardware store? im just thinking that would add up to a lot of cans.

thanks for the input

[End of the Line]

Spray foam on a larger product using means it comes in 55 gal drums and sprayed by a dealer of that product or similar. The advantage is quick application, better seal, better R-Value per inch and a slight increase in structural integrity if its the Urethane closed cell application.

[wintertim]

EOL, I'm a new member to the forum, but have read with great interest your previous postings on your journey through the design/build of your fish house. Nice job, nice house, my compliments. I have been planning and saving for the day when I can get my own house. That day is finally here. I too will be taking the path of having the frame and shell professionally built and finishing the inside myself. I've been gathering estimates that range between roughly $6500 to $8000 for a 8x18 tandem axle trailer and empty shell. It's very challenging, however, to zero in on a supplier as they are so spread out geographically making it very difficult to visit them personally. And some do not necessarily have anything to show you, even if you can get there. I will forge ahead nonetheless as the excitement and anticipation are really building.

Tim

[bassNspear]

now that is a house. Nice place man

[wintertim]

EOL, You've already been very generous and thorough with your time and postings regarding your fish house, but I have a couple questions if you don't mind my beating a dead horse, so to speak. I am very interested in your trailer and thought I read a post about who built it, but I can't find that again. Can you restate that info? Also, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the house size. You posted that you previously owned one that is 22 feet long and built this house smaller. Was the 22 footer just too much house to drag around? I grew up spending my winter and summer weekends living in my Dad's permanent fish house parked on Mille Lacs (long before drop-downs hit the scene). We started with a 8x14. Then in 1975, Dad built a new 10x16... wow, it was like a palace in those days. What a difference 2 feet can make. But it was also more work to deal with the larger size. I'm trying to find the right size that will be enjoyable for the kids and I to spend a weekend in, but still be manageable. 8x20 has been my initial instinct, but I'm beginning to think 8x18. Anyone have any thoughts or experiences on that?

Tim

[End of the Line]

The trailer is my design, manufactured for me by a company, its never been posted. If you want their name call me. 218-879-6237.

22 feet is definitely too long IMO. Going over pressure ridges, Pine Island at LOTW in March slop, and up and down some landing to access lakes is too scary! For instance at Burntside last weekend I would have never been able to do that with my last house. The other thing is weight; when I go I try load everything in the truck first. I have a larger wheel spacing on the truck to disperse weight and I dont want the extra weight pushing me when I want to stop going down an icy grade. IMO your way better off going legally as wide as you can at 8'6" and shortening the length. I thought about a slide out like all the new campers but I didnt feel that I would actually gain anything as far as fishing comfortability. In other words; make a slide out, still same floor space where you can punch holes because they're all in the 'center' area because the slide out would have to be a few inches higher and there would be no way to seal it off to the ice decently.

If you have a skid house that changes the whole idea like you say for width. The wider the house, the more whole placement options. If you see most 6 1/2 foot wide houses, the hole spacing is only 2 wide. Some of the 8' wide like DreamShaks use 4 wide. Mine is 8'4" and I use 3 wide. Less tangles at LOTW or Burntside when your fishing past 30 FOW.

If I would build another one, and I might, I would go 8'6" x 16 again with the V-nose. Maybe up to 18' w/ V-nose, but I would certainly not go over that. I have a 1 & 3 yr old and we did just fine even with the Pack-N-Play set up at night.

Everything has to do with the layout. Ive preached it a few times, decide layout first, then pick or build what you want. Hope this helps! Questions are no problem.

[wintertim]

Thanks for the insight. I'll definitely call about the trailer.

And to anyone else monitoring, the thread, I couldn't agree more with EOL's urging to pre-plan and think through the layout. Although I haven't owned a wheel-house yet, as mentioned previously, I've spent years of weekends in permanent ice houses. For me, it's got to be as wide as possible and it's got to have a pretty open floorplan. When we went from an 8x14 to an 10x16, the additional length was hardly noticed, but the extra width completely transformed the space. Obviously you can't build a wheel-house 10 feet wide, but the point is- wider is much better.

On the point of open layouts, never underestimate the amount of "stuff" you will be bringing into your house on a typical weekend. Every Friday night, we'd walk into a clean, uncluttered house and within 2 hours there were duffle bags, buckets, coolers, rods, finders, etc. everywhere. Even with a relatively spacious 10x16, we were constantly arranging, organizing and stepping over all of our "dump" (I use that term with true endearment). Some of the drop-down fish houses I've recently looked at are set up more like RV's than fish houses. I mean they're beautiful inside, and my wife loves them, but I look at them and just know that they are too cluttered for me to fish out of on a regular basis. But that's just my opinion, take it or leave it.

Tim

[MuleShack]

Quote:

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Spray foam on a larger product using means it comes in 55 gal drums and sprayed by a dealer of that product or similar. The advantage is quick application, better seal, better R-Value per inch and a slight increase in structural integrity if its the Urethane closed cell application.

---

I was thinking of doing the spray foam for the entire 3.5 inches of insulation all around the walls and ceiling...and somehow maybe the floor?

I know it is more expensive but is this the best way to go for structural integrity and insulation value?

[End of the Line]

Absolutely! And you don't need more than 3" really. If you talk to most Urethane spray foam dealers that spray residential homes, you'll find that they are usually no more than 3" sprayed in the wall cavity anyway. IF I built another it would have 2" in the floor, 2"-2.5" in the walls and 3" on the ceiling. My last house had that combo and I felt it was a better seal/insulated compared to this house which is relatively the same with the pink styrofoam sheets.

Side note: I just finished with all my tax info over the weekend and I actually spent alot less to build my house than I thought. Total house package for me $10,998.68. That includes everything except the TV. So my guess is I probably saved more like $3,500-$4,000 IMO for what I have than could have bought it for; at least that's what I think. And don't forget I have a few things that I got for free or next to nothing as part of my goodies.

[Xplorer]

I can attest to the comfort and "useability" of EOTL's house, as myself and my 4 year old had the honor of spending the weekend up on burntside with he and his son. The thought he put into it in allowing for storage under the pullout doubles, the hole placement (especially for ease of electronics and with kids in mind) and even right down to having a section of linoleum next to the door (for wet boots to stay on) and carpeted for the remainder were well thought out. Tho we had windchills that were easily in the -20 to -30 range, it was toasty warm all weekend long.

Thanks again for the invite EOTL, we'll try and get the kids out locally sometime when it warms up a bit

Xplorer

PS: I pretty sure I left my big B-side map in the sleeper, will give ya a call and stop by sometime.

[BendnSend]

EOl, Quick ? for ya? Whats the reasoning for putting thicker insulation on the walls and ceilings versus the floor? I was under the imppression that the floor is were you would want more insulation since its virtually on the ice and of course heat rises. I wouldnt mind having alittle less insulation at the top but not on the floor were its always seems to be 10 degrees cooler?

[End of the Line]

Its true you loose a lot of heat through the floor when the holes are open especially if there is alot of wind and no snow to bank it up. I just mounted the fans a little closer to the ceilings and aim them at a downward angle towards the floor to help. When you put the cover back on at night then things change. Heat will always take the least path of resistance, then it will rise. Its the principle of the hot air ballon, or just as in a regular house, there's always more insulation in the attic.

[BendnSend]

Ok I understand the whole heat rises concept, but what i meant to ask is, then since its already hot near the top of the house why would you need to better insulate and hold that heat that is already hot up that high. I would think that you would want the hottest air of the house out? Im just asking cuz i cant seem to keep my floor warm enuf inside of my house, and it sounds like I have the same thickness of insulation as your along with the fans and I just wish I wouldnt need to turn the heat up so high that its like a sauna up top and still cold enuf for a beer on the floor?