jpohlic's shanty design - a 4x8 that expands to 12x8

[jpohlic]

Greetings all, I'm a long time lurker but since the design phase of my shanty is almost finished I thought I'd share it with you and hopefully get some comments and suggestions before I start construction.

The design parameters required my shanty to fit in the back of an 8' truck box, have space for at least 4 people to fish, space for 2 medium sized dogs, room for a card table, sleeping space for at least 2, and a wood stove with enough wood storage to last through the night.

I read through every shanty design thread on this forum and was inspired greatly by the Michiana Shanty 2 http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=118125.0 (thanks for posting all the detailed photos and construction info). I was also inspired by the folding butterfly houses developed in the Philippines a few years ago

My design is very similar to the butterfly house although I wanted to be able to unfold my shanty without help so I made some changes (I didn’t want to have to hold the roof up to unfold the floor). I'm hoping to be able to unfold it single handed in less than two minutes

My shanty starts out with a 4x8 footprint and unfolds to 12x8. Here it is in its folded position ready for transport.

[jpohlic]

Step 1 - Unfold the walls 180 degrees

[jpohlic]

Step 2 – Unfold the floor, place blocking (same height as the skids) under each corner

[jpohlic]

Step 3 – Lift roof

[jpohlic]

Step 4 – Fold the walls into final position and latch them together and latch them to the floor

[jpohlic]

Step 5 – Lower the roof and latch to the walls

[jpohlic]

Some things to note
•   End wall construction will be 2x2 with 3/8” plywood sheathing
•   Folding wall construction will be similar to the Michiana shanty – rigid insulation panels with corner bracing. I’ll probably add some scrap rubber roofing or tyvec in the corners to reduce air leakage and a foam gasket on top to seal to the roof.
•   Floor construction will be 2x3 with ¾” plywood sheathing and 1 ½” rigid insulation
•   Fixed roof construction will be 2x4 with 3/8” sheathing, rubber membrane and 1 ½” rigid insulation
•   Folding roof construction will be 2x2 with 3/8” plywood sheathing, rubber membrane and 1 ½” rigid insulation.
•   The woodstove is raised to allow wood storage underneath as well as a cabinet for the 12v battery, inverter and camp stove. The drawings show a top loading stove but I’ll probably use my front loading cylinder stove so I can raise it up a bit more and add another cabinet underneath for tackle storage.
•   There will be an 80 watt solar panel mounted above the door
•   I’m planning on hanging my folding cots and my 4 man ice cube tent from the ceiling using some hooks and a couple ratcheting straps. I might add a shelf up there for storing sleeping bags, pillows, etc if there is space
•   I’ll be using folding chairs from Costco – they are light weight, sturdy, comfortable and well priced. They’ll hang from the ceiling when the shanty is folded for transport.
•   There is space between the wood storage cabinet and the rear wall for a 2’x4’ folding table
•   There is room for one person to fish when the shanty is still folded up, and space for a cooler, auger, shovel, portapottie, etc on the floor during transport
•   I’ll probably use a small electric winch to haul it up some ramps onto the truck. I think it will be pushing 600 pounds including the stove, battery, solar panel, chairs, etc so it might be a bit much for a couple guys to lift up

[jpohlic]

A cutaway view of the folded position. There will be a rod holder mounted to the ceiling and some hooks to hold the folding chairs during transport. The 12v battery, inverter and campstove will go on the bottom shelf under the wood stove. There is a space between the rear wall and the wood storage cabinet to hold a 2'x4' folding table

[jpohlic]

It will comfortably fish 4 people but I'm guessing you could fish 3 along each side and 1 in the middle and not be cramped too bad.

[jpohlic]

Room for a poker game

[jpohlic]

and room for 2 cots

[jpohlic]

There's space for a cooler, auger, shovel, portapottie, etc on the floor when its folded for transport, or you could even fish one person in the middle.

[RyanW]

I can definitely see the thought put into this. Not bad at all sir.

[NHGunowner]

Wow very cool.
Build it! We wanna see!

[Nutsicles]

Very cool. I've always wanted a permanent shanty, but the lakes I fish are 40+ minutes away. This would be perfect for weekend trips, and camping on the ice.

When you build it, take pictures. I'm sure we'd all love to see the build.

[Drift Dodger]

Very nice concept and layout. You obviously put a great amount of thought and effort into the planning and design. 

One thing you might reconsider is the placement height of the wood stove from the heating and comfort perspective. In all the shelters I have ever occupied, the heat source was most effective and efficient when placed as close as possible to the floor. The current position may create a significant temperature discrepancy between the ceiling and floor, and likely require significant fan / blowers to circulate the heat down. Just a thought ... tight lines!

[lunkahville]

Very nice cadd design. Very interesting design and curious to see build pictures

[DLB]

If I remember correctly someone (mud n fun?) did something similar a few years ago.  I remember seeing pictures of it.  I believe he used a tarp that folded out to enlarge one side of it but I may be wrong.   It was sometime ago and I don't know if the pictures remain up for a long period of time.

[jpohlic]

Very nice concept and layout. You obviously put a great amount of thought and effort into the planning and design. 

One thing you might reconsider is the placement height of the wood stove from the heating and comfort perspective. In all the shelters I have ever occupied, the heat source was most effective and efficient when placed as close as possible to the floor. The current position may create a significant temperature discrepancy between the ceiling and floor, and likely require significant fan / blowers to circulate the heat down. Just a thought ... tight lines!

Thanks, these are the kinds of tips I was hoping for!! I guess I'll try it and see, I can always add a fan later if I had too, or tear the wood storage box out. Either way its gonna be an upgrade from camping on the ice in my wall tent.

And yes, I've been designing my shanty for almost a year now. It's gone through numerous revisions, from an 8x12 version which ended up too heavy and needed a trailer, to a 6x8 version which was much lighter but too small and still needed a trailer, to this current 4x8 expanding version which is big enough, fits on the truck, and hopefully is quite a bit lighter than the 8x12 stick framed version.

I plan to build it this spring and have it ready for next season, just gotta finish my basement development first. My wife wont let me start another project until that is done.

[Sprocket]

Something that kinda jumps out at me - aside from the super innovative thinking - is the amount of seams all the corners and panels create. 

Have you thought about air leaks/insulation to keep airflow/heat loss to a minimum at the joints?  Pipe insulation on the edges to force a squeeze to latch the panels together or something?

I was just looking a the Reflectix website so I've got insulation on the brain at the moment...

Sorry - went back and re-read all of the text - seems like you're onto something really great - taking a lot of effective elements from other designs and incorporating them into one design.

I suggest you copyright/patent/etc. the design, details and how-to's then sell plans for the DIY types

Great work - now get that basement done so we can all see one built!

[pbear]

This is a great design.  What height are you making your centre section?  How tall are the wings?  I wonder how heavy is reasonable for one person to lift it into the back of a pickup?  Maybe a ramp and winch (not being sarcastic, just brainstorming).

[jpohlic]

Center section is drawn 8' high, side walls are 5' high. I was thinking about reducing the weight and lowering it to 6'-6" high center with 4' sidewalls. Less volume and easier to heat. Most likely I would be using ramps and a winch to load it.

[windmill]

Nice job, looks well thought out. I really like the michiania style too, well done. When you unfold the hinged part of the floor, will the edges of the floor have support, so it's resting on the ice ? otherwise it might be tippy.
Don't mean to be critical, Just something to consider.

[jiggenfrogs]

Nice design!  8X12 is a fairly average shack size and fits on a trailer fairly easy and will pull fairly easy depending on how you build it and conditions.  My question would be...why not build an 8x12 shack and spread the weight out with wider skis and not deal with setting it up/taking it down and not so air tight seams?  The build would be a fun and creative for sure.

[Drift Dodger]

Nice design!  8X12 is a fairly average shack size and fits on a trailer fairly easy and will pull fairly easy depending on how you build it and conditions.  My question would be...why not build an 8x12 shack and spread the weight out with wider skis and not deal with setting it up/taking it down and not so air tight seams?  The build would be a fun and creative for sure.

As indicated in the original post ... must fit in a pickup truck box!

[jiggenfrogs]

As indicated in the original post ... must fit in a pickup truck box!

Yup, missed that part.  Should be a fun build!

[Beeler]

Great Design!...A lot of thought went in to this. I built 3 Michiania Ice Shacks and learned something new with each one I built. Wish I lived closer to you, sure would love to help you build this. Can't wait to see when it's finished. Hope you post a lot of picture as your building. Good Luck!     
Beeler

[jpohlic]

When you unfold the hinged part of the floor, will the edges of the floor have support, so it's resting on the ice?

The outer corners of the fold down floor will need blocking the same depth as the skids. maybe some fold out or pivoting legs of some kind

[Mainedog]

Very interesting design.  Obviously you have put a lot of thought into it.
Please post pics of the project.
Best of luck,
MD

[jpohlic]

Shanty build update... after searching all spring and summer and unable to find enough used rigid insulation for cheap, I priced out the materials at retail... sorry guys, this shanty is not gonna happen. Since photobucket is useless I've added another pic in case someone else wants to try building it. Stay tuned for my new shanty design - something a little simpler and cheaper to build - construction for it starts tomorrow!!!