Ice Fishing
Ice Shanty Builds
I have a camper that is about the same size as yours that I will be converting. I plan on getting it and starting all over, putting the stove, furnace, seating, sink and beds where I want them. The sink would be for just warming water on the stove for washing up. A catch bucket would go under the sink. Lights will be LEDs. All of the electricals will be ran off of my boat batteries and I will have an on board charger.
The biggest expense and most labor intensive part will be the drop down axle. I found a place in Minnesota that makes the entire unit. It's just a matter of removing the old one and welding the drop-down in. It can be raised/lowered manually or 12 screwjacks.
But yes, the weight makes it a "later in the season shack". The good part is I am making it for extended stays. No motel.
I have no doubt there are quite a few out there. That sounds like a pretty big trailer though, so you might be limited as to where/when you can use it. But considering that's roughly Ice Castle size, there's an awful lot of potential for something that could be pretty sweet!
Has anyone ever completely tore down a camper and used just the frame off it and build a shack? I’ve got a junk (roughly 8.5x14) hardside camper that had a leaky roof and ran down inside the walls. Obviously a lot of water damage to repair so I’ll just tear it down. Thinking of building another shack this summer.
I built one about 6-7 years ago and I haven’t used it much so I brought it back to life last year and fixed it up a bit. My roof was way to high so be careful with that otherwise they are too heavy and sway a lot. Those frames are meant to go highway speeds, while being low to the ground. I actually lowered my roof and ceiling. Just used 2x6’s and tapered both sides to about 2” with 5.5” in the middle. Also while the roof and ceiling was off I tacked plastic to the “rafters” put the plywood back on for the ceiling, insulation on top of the ceiling, then steel on the roof. Next, I insulated the short side walls and floors. I bought some cheap white 1” styrofoam and 1/4” plywood and sandwiched the foam to the outside walls and floor. Honestly this helped tremendously! Especially the floor! I remember water freezing to the floor before doing this! I have a construction heater, basically a glorified Mr. Heater that you can store a 20lb tank in the back of it. Even with my worn out plywood for sides I got it up to 108° while it was 15° out. For this winter I want to put something on my back bumper so when you get two guys in the back, it won’t pick the front of the shack up! Lol. I hope this helps!!
