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Lifetime minimum maintenance frame


eagle_3464

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This frame will be headed off for galvanizing tomorrow. The liquid dip will be 100% inside and out to eliminate the rust corrosion seen on many frames. In 20 years we'll still have a strong structural frame under the house.

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Not yet installed, there will be a spring bump stop between the spring and tube. The pivot system contains no grease fittings requiring maintenance. Instead, the pivots utilize a material that has been tried and proven without failure on salt water ocean beaches around the world.

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The hitch, like many others, allows for remaining hooked while you drop the frame. The hitch pivot and retainer have thru bushings and not just holes drilled in the tube that over time will elongate.

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Mounting channels are welded to the frame to accept several designs for raising and lowering the house. I have chosen to go with sidewind removeable jacks to avoid bloody knuckles caused by non-braking winches used on many frame. Also to avoid the problematic winch cable issues. The jacks can be removed with a single pin and stored inside for road travel and to deter theft. If at some point winches are desired simply remove the bolted upright and bolt up a new one designed for either single pull or a true double pull.

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Unlike most frames, I have chosen to run the center tube full length to achieve much more structural support behind the wheels where most of the load is transferred when hitting severe bumps. It's good to have a solid foundation to build on.

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The galvanizing will run me about $200 and the remainder of materials about $900 to $1000. Plus lots of hours in building. If you figure your time it's probably better to buy a frame but this way I get it the way I want it.

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I am tagging it along with a load of parts from work so that helps. Even for us they have a $300 minimum charge if you don't have enough weight to equal that or greater. You pay based on finished weight and can figure your frame will gain on average of 6% if it is vented properly to reduce excess pooling of the liquid. If I ever build again I have a formed profile designed for the cross-members that equals the strength of the tubing. This will eliminate the majority of the venting holes.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Finally back from galvanizing and assembled. Turned out very nice and glad I went that route. Now to begin the house construction.

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You'll probably be ok but that doesn't look like much clearance to bring your side jacks down when you're on the ice or did you cut it that close to maximize lift? I guess you'll be ok as long as you have a chizel along. That is a super nice finish, $200 sounds like a steal. Is that the know somebody price or the regular charge? I would never mess with painting or any finish on another frame for that price. Are there any negatives to a galvanised/dipped frame?

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I did place the jacks to maximize lift but there is still 2" clearance from the bottom of the jack pad to the bottom of the frame. So even without blocking the frame I can place a 2 x 4 under the pads and still get the frame down to the ice.

Final cost on the galvanizing was $206 for everything you see galvanized. This is based on the rate we are charged where I work so I don't know if that rate would be the same for everyone.

If I ever build another, it will deffinately get this treatment. The only negative I can see is the extra work in placing drain and vent holes for coating inside the tubes. An aluminum frame will be somewhat lighter but due to the tempering required to equal similar yield strength properties as steel they tend to develope stress cracks quite easily, especially in sub-zero temps.

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Eagle, can you name the company that did the galvanizing for you? I would like to check on prices for a project of mine. Thanks

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jb, we use AZZ in Winsted. I know they have a $300 minimum and our rate I believe is based on a minimum of 2000#. IMO, even at $300 it is money well spent for a finish that will not rust from the road salt, even from the inside out like many frame do.

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  • 2 months later...

After a busy spring we are finally making some progress. So far everything is fitting up as planned. Roof sheeting is on and all edges rounded and sanded smooth. Ready to apply the rubber roof next.

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Advantech flooring installed.

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Wall framing erected.

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Roof framing installed.

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Wall sheeting .040 aluminum fitted and secured with colored stainless screws. Protective film still on until windows and door cut.

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Windows and door installed.

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Windows and door installed.

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Very nice!

Is there any prep work with the metal needed or does the hot dip take care of any oils?

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B-man, the only prep is the addition of proper venting and drain holes in the frame structure. They dip the frame in a solution that etches the steel to remove oils and scale before dipping in the molten zinc.

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Rubber roof is on and termination strip applied. The strip formed around the corners much better than I thought it would.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I finally have the exterior trimmed out with aluminum treadbrite. Next on the list is spray foam insulation.

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Thanks pk, looking forward to many years on the ice with this one. My wife will enjoy this much more than the portable. We can play cards or whatever while waiting for the fish to bite, not so easy to do in a portable.

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You got that right, my wife doesn't fish but my 3 kids love to go. They are 7, 5, and 3 and the porty just doesn't cut it. I have a cottage on a lake in N Wi, I have been looking for a decent skid house for over a year now and have yet to find one. Lots of junk for sale, but I will find one sooner or later.

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"Lots of junk for sale"

That's exactly why I decided to build my own. This way I get it the way I want it and with quality workmanship. I looked for about two years and if it was worth having, it was also $3000 or more than what I will have into mine. Good luck with your search.

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B-man, the only prep is the addition of proper venting and drain holes in the frame structure. They dip the frame in a solution that etches the steel to remove oils and scale before dipping in the molten zinc.

I'm gonna be doing a build next year and I've been taking notes on all the great info that has been shared in various threads. The question I have is about drain holes in the frame. How many do you put in and what size? Thanks in advance.

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westb, shoot me your email address and I will send you a document that details the venting requirements. There are two different methods (internal and external venting) that will work. I used external because I felt it easier to keep internal pooling to a minimum, thereby reducing weight gain. Proper venting is critical to reduce the risk of tube deformation or worse, explosion.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The long awaited spray foam is finally completed and cleaned to the studs. If you scored each side of the stud the foam cleaned off quite easily.

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Next step will be the wiring. I hope I don't forget something important.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Progress has been slow, working on the house when I can between other projects and commitments. After roughly 400ft of CL3 cable, 50ft of coax, and 50ft of romex I have finally completed the wiring and hoping I didn't forget anything important.

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Hawg, I've got those covered. All are red LED's (amber up front) with clear lens and chrome bezels. I think they look much better with the aluminum treadbrite than the red colors lenses.

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I put those same lights except colored lenses on mine last year. 5 of the 10 red ones burned out, no problem with any amber ones though.

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  • 4 weeks later...

A good part of the interior finishing is completed. Now on to the front "V" framing for the oven and then the FRP can go in the "V" before the countertop is installed. Storage bunks are framed and ready to install after the "V" is finished. It's getting closer so we should be right on time with the ice.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
    • leech~~
      As I get older it's really not just about sending bullets down range.  Some of it's just the workmanship of the gun and the wow factor. The other two guns I have really wanted which I'll never have now because of their price, is a 8mm Jap Nambu and 9mm German Luger.   Just thought they always looked cool!  
    • jim curlee
      I had a guy hit me with a lightly used 1969 BAR, he wanted $1650 with an older Leupold scope. More than I think they are worth, I made an offer, he declined end of story.   You know if you look at the old brochures, a grade II BAR sold for $250 in the late 60s, $1650 would be a good return on your investment.    Why would anybody want a 50 year old gun, they are heavy, have wood stocks, and blued metal.  I guess mainly to keep their gun safes glued to the floor. lol   You can probably buy a stainless rifle that you never have to clean, with a synthetic stock you never have to refinish, is as light as a feather, and for half as much money, perfect.   I'm too old for a youth gun, although I've shrunk enough that it would probably fit. lol   No Ruger 10/44s.   Jim      
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