Motorized Fish House Made From Water Tank

2017 - Volume #41, Issue #6, Page #38

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The motorized ice fishing housebuilt by retired farmer Virgil Davis looks like a giant turtle with wheels. It’s a domed structure made from a 1,000 gallon poly water tank and an old zero-turn riding mower.
    “I had a dream one night of a water tank on a lake, and the next morning I went outside and saw the old mower and the tank and decided to put ‘em together,” says Davis.
    He began by removing the deck from an old mower and tuning its 19 hp. engine. “Turns out it ran great, and the drive train and transmission were functional, so I had the basic parts right there,” says Davis. “My idea was to to use the engine and drive wheels on one side of the house, build a cradle to carry the tank, and have carry wheels on the back.”
     Davis first built a 3-pt. hitch type assembly on the back of the power unit. From that he angled metal braces down to the undercarriage, which he made from two 4 by 6-in. box beams spaced about 3 ft. apart. The back of the undercarriage is held together with a 2 by 4-in. box beam, which also supports the dual wheels. Davis built the spindles himself and attached 2 floation mower wheels to each one.
    The tank is bolted to the undercarriage and Davis says “The power unit on the front and the duals on the back provide a lot of stability so the house doesn’t tip over when I’m driving it. I can also anchor it down to the ice so it won’t blow over.”
    Openings on opposite sides of the poly tank provide a 2-ft. square windshield in the front and the main entry in the back. The windshield is poly and the entry door is a large piece of plywood with a fold down cleaning table. Davis also has plywood covering the floor, with 4 holes cut around the outside to accommodate fishing.
    Davis “drives” his fishhouse from the original mower seat, now on a swivel, which he mounted to the undercarriage and the plywood floor. He extended controls for the clutch, shift lever, brake, lights, throttle and the steering column into the front of the tank.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Virgil Davis, 2686 250th St., Humboldt, Iowa 50548.

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Motorized Fish House Made From Water Tank FARM HOME Miscellaneous The motorized ice fishing housebuilt by retired farmer Virgil Davis looks like a giant turtle with wheels It’s a domed structure made from a 1 000 gallon poly water tank and an old zero-turn riding mower “I had a dream one night of a water tank on a lake and the next morning I went outside and saw the old mower and the tank and decided to put ‘em together ” says Davis He began by removing the deck from an old mower and tuning its 19 hp engine “Turns out it ran great and the drive train and transmission were functional so I had the basic parts right there ” says Davis “My idea was to to use the engine and drive wheels on one side of the house build a cradle to carry the tank and have carry wheels on the back ” Davis first built a 3-pt hitch type assembly on the back of the power unit From that he angled metal braces down to the undercarriage which he made from two 4 by 6-in box beams spaced about 3 ft apart The back of the undercarriage is held together with a 2 by 4-in box beam which also supports the dual wheels Davis built the spindles himself and attached 2 floation mower wheels to each one The tank is bolted to the undercarriage and Davis says “The power unit on the front and the duals on the back provide a lot of stability so the house doesn’t tip over when I’m driving it I can also anchor it down to the ice so it won’t blow over ” Openings on opposite sides of the poly tank provide a 2-ft square windshield in the front and the main entry in the back The windshield is poly and the entry door is a large piece of plywood with a fold down cleaning table Davis also has plywood covering the floor with 4 holes cut around the outside to accommodate fishing Davis “drives” his fishhouse from the original mower seat now on a swivel which he mounted to the undercarriage and the plywood floor He extended controls for the clutch shift lever brake lights throttle and the steering column into the front of the tank Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Virgil Davis 2686 250th St Humboldt Iowa 50548

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