2018 Ice Fishing Shack Project

[OpenSights]

Thought I get started early on a ice fishing shack for the family.

I got a spot on Buck Lake and want a shack i could just move with my quad.

So enough googling and came up with this design.

6.5'X12' with drop axles. Gonna be able to pull out to whatever spot, drop the jacks and lower it to the ground.

End of the day jack it up and pull it back to my cabin.

5 holes, gonna build benches and have a little room for a chair or 2. I will weld up a small stove to keep the kids and wife warm.

Taken a bit only working on it a hour here and a hour there since late spring.

Framing is happening now so shouldn't be that much longer so it is ready for winter.https://postimg.org/image/ndc0avylr/ (https://postimg.org/image/ndc0avylr/)

[OpenSights]

https://postimg.org/image/pv6erwpx3/

[OpenSights]

https://postimg.org/image/ndc0avylr/

[Hilgy]

Looks good. I'm going to be starting on a new one this summer as well. the boys want to be able to stay the night so I have to incorporate some bunks.

[220 Swift]

Good job get a good start now.

Im doing kind of the same deal but building the an insulated/ winterized bunkhouse for the cottage at Last Mountain Lake then we will have a nice place to be at nights and go ice fishing in the day. I dont like driving on the ice so i will have a popup tent on the ice.

Be a good summer place too for extra space.

[Sooner]

Nice, looking forward to the as you build pics.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Truly inspirational! Nice work.

[OpenSights]

I got 2 young boys so i want to get them out fishing in the winter.

I'm trying to keep it as light as possible for the 850 qaud.

So far i think the final weight will be around 1000 lbs which shouldn't be a issue since i have hauled the majority of a whole moose in a tub trailer a couple times in muskeg with minimal issues in the past with my quad.

Probaly just gonna side it with OSB or Plywood and paint it. Tin roof and install a power pack of some kind for some LED lights.

Any of you have any suggestion on anything else that is a must have in a ice shack?

[Stinky Buffalo]

Any of you have any suggestion on anything else that is a must have in a ice shack?

Some insulation - at least in the floor? Should help dampen the noise too, especially with fidgety kid's feet. :D

[35 whelen]

Looks good I would put the windows lower so when you're sitting down you can see your tip ups

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[BEL]

Where did you get the drop down axles? Is it something you can buy outright or do you have to put them together? Can you show a close up pic of the axle setup. I would like to try something like this also. BEL

[OpenSights]

I made the drop axles.

I machined the stub axles and welded it in the square tubing with the angles cut on it. Then welded that to the frame.

Then on the other end of the drop axle just welded a through hole on the drop portion that takes a 5/8" bolt into the threaded stub which is welded to the frame.

Theres a little stop welded so the axle won't swivel down past where it is secure to the frame when lifting the shack.

I zoomed in to the best pic i have to show it.

https://postimg.org/image/7h40kisg1/

[OpenSights]

Built the walls and sheeted them in the earlier pics.

Took it all apart and pulled it out to our cabin.

Threw the walls back up and put the roof on it this weekend.

Sunday I spent most of the day starting to fabricate a little wood stove out of a 18" piece of pipe.

Every time i went out fishing i took my GPS to mark good spots this weekend for future winter days ahead.

Starting to take shape for the winter.

https://postimg.org/image/6ktmuqe1n/

[Shekka]

Looking good!! I hope it brings you many many hours of great memories as well as loads of fish!!

[wildwoods]

Nice work! Make sure to take pics when the hardwater season comes.

[aulrich]

With the invention of good quality of pop-up shelters, is building one still actually a thing. I have a hard time thinking about fishing the same lake all winter let alone the same spot.

What does a fixed shack buy you

[Shekka]

A place to sleep if you wanted. More room, leave your stuff in there and drag the shack off and on at leisure (especially if you have a good place to store it close by). Less setup time. A multitude of things.

I have a permanent shelter that we use for at Slave lake. However I also have a popup one that we use for day fishing elsewhere. I personally like the "fixed shack" better due to the space and the fact that I can sit inside in a tshirt. Another nice thing is that when a big wind comes the sides of the shack aren't blowing in on you.

[aulrich]

That makes sense

[Jack&7]

I noticed that there is no suspension? Or am I wrong?

I am starting my build as well. Same size as you, just not as tall. I had an old 16' camper that I demolished and saved the frame. I am removing the current axle system entirely, making a box frame onto which I am going to weld some stub axles. But the plan is to do the drop-downs like these CAD drawings I saw on the 'net. Seemed like a pretty solid build idea.

I am insulating my floor and also building the walls and roof out of utilidor structural foam panels. Should be lightweight, strong and toasty warm!

I will prob start a separate build thread as well...but here are the pics I have so far.

[OpenSights]

Yes there is no suspension.

Didn't bother with the light weight.

Only going to be pulling it short distances from my cabin to the lake on gravel road to lake. Each trip there and back will be less then a mile.

I looked at the same design with the cable/winch. On another forum for fishing back east where they use these drop shacks alot, multiple guys talked about the cable/winch system screwing up one way or another over time. Then your kinda hooped. With the screw jacks the worst that can happen is a jack breaks and you go grab the jack from another corner since they are the same.

Shekka pretty much hit it on the head on what the benefit of the shack is over a pop up.

I look at it like camping, Tent vs Trailer. Surprising how much more the kids/wife will go out in a trailer compared to just owning a tent and trying to get them to go out on a regular basis.

The dry floor, wood stove and everything being setup will be bliss for the days when its -20 and windy and i'm looking out the window at the guy trying to set up his pop up tent....

[Camdec]

Looks real nice. My biggest pet peeve with ice shacks is the melted snow on the floor. Especially wood floors. Its nice to take the boots off and walk in your socks on a dry floor. A grated back entrance may help knock the snow off boots. That as well as some flooring that doesn't absorb water and stay wet (chip board). I have a pre built from Kramer Auctions / Trailers and the rubberized floor cleans up nice and stays dry when things heat up. Not sure what material it is, but definitely waterproof.

[Dweb]

That is awesome ! Nice build

[Jack&7]

Yes there is no suspension.

Didn't bother with the light weight.

Only going to be pulling it short distances from my cabin to the lake on gravel road to lake. Each trip there and back will be less then a mile.

I looked at the same design with the cable/winch. On another forum for fishing back east where they use these drop shacks alot, multiple guys talked about the cable/winch system screwing up one way or another over time. Then your kinda hooped. With the screw jacks the worst that can happen is a jack breaks and you go grab the jack from another corner since they are the same.

Shekka pretty much hit it on the head on what the benefit of the shack is over a pop up.


I look at it like camping, Tent vs Trailer. Surprising how much more the kids/wife will go out in a trailer compared to just owning a tent and trying to get them to go out on a regular basis.

The dry floor, wood stove and everything being setup will be bliss for the days when its -20 and windy and i'm looking out the window at the guy trying to set up his pop up tent....

I am with ya 100%. I looked at the cable winch and a bunch of other designs, but what really got me was the simplicity of the design in those pics I posted. jack the trailer up a bit to take the weight off, pull the pins out of the ends of the leaf springs and then lower it down. No cables/pulleys to jam. So that is what I have decided to go with.

I already have a 6x12 tent and Mama and the kids enjoy that, but I think they will love it even more when there is a nice solid floor, comfy seats, woodstove, etc. in a hardwall shack. Plus, I have my elderly father who still likes to get out but is severely mobility challenged and has only so many fishing days left in him...so I am taking that into consideration.

[Nederlager]

Mine has stripper pole, surround sound stereo speakers, wi-fi 56" inch plasma tv, and second floor bunk area for well, you know....naps! Don't be jelly.

[cschache]

A place to sleep if you wanted. More room, leave your stuff in there and drag the shack off and on at leisure (especially if you have a good place to store it close by). Less setup time. A multitude of things.

I have a permanent shelter that we use for at Slave lake. However I also have a popup one that we use for day fishing elsewhere. I personally like the "fixed shack" better due to the space and the fact that I can sit inside in a tshirt. Another nice thing is that when a big wind comes the sides of the shack aren't blowing in on you.

Not to mention watching the hockey game while fishing and frying up and eating your catch so you can fish more!! :sHa_shakeshout:

[OpenSights]

Finished up making making the stove.

16" piece of pipe was used and made it sit 18" roughly off the floor.

Made the chimney made out of some 3" exhaust pipe that i had bent up.

https://postimg.org/image/j7lusk2il/

[OpenSights]

https://postimg.org/image/j7lusk2il/

[Hdealex]

Surely my husband and I are not the first ones to think of this? We have been searching the internet on plans for a set of skids and wood platform for a pop up ice tent? We want to tow it around the lake w/o collapsing it all down until off the ice for the evening? It's for a single cube Eskimo tent. TIA