Semi Trailer Lodge Project
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: loprofile
09-Aug-19
loprofile's Link
We were selling old semi trailers at work for scrap so I decided convert a couple of them to a Five Star lodge. Turned out to be a little bigger project than I had anticipated but the end is in sight. Really cool experience with some great volunteer friends. Not sure if this link will work. If not I will post some individual pictures. More to come as completion nears.
From: drycreek
09-Aug-19
Linky no worky for me...
From: loprofile
09-Aug-19
Going to try something else.
From: Ambush
09-Aug-19
APauls should be all over this one!! Get one with a working "reefer".
From: loprofile
09-Aug-19
46 footer
46 footer
Going to have to go the slow route. A couple at a time. These are the start. Both trailers are 1970's vintage. Longer one is 46 footer, shorter one is 28.
From: loprofile
09-Aug-19
28 footer
From: loprofile
09-Aug-19
sorry about sideways pics - any help appreciated
From: loprofile
09-Aug-19
Image tools works!
From: loprofile
09-Aug-19
We sold these creampuffs to fund the new project.
From: loprofile
09-Aug-19
From: loprofile
09-Aug-19
From: Buffalo1
09-Aug-19
So are you buying a 18-wheeler tractor to pull with? I don't think a 5th wheel unit in back of p/u will work for towing.
From: loprofile
13-Aug-19
LOL No, these are going to be fixed position permanent.
From: loprofile
13-Aug-19
Moved them to farm and removed the axles. Took a helpful friend, cutting torch, tractor and winch.
From: loprofile
13-Aug-19
From: loprofile
13-Aug-19
From: JTreeman
13-Aug-19
I’ll be interested in this thread, I’m probably too lazy at this point to follow suit, but should be cool. Thanks for sharing.
—Jim
From: loprofile
13-Aug-19
Buddy Steve with the torch.
From: loprofile
13-Aug-19
Here is a picture showing the long trailer after removing the axle. We blocked off two walls of our pole barn with the trailers which made a really nice open interior space withing the barn.
From: loprofile
13-Aug-19
From: loprofile
14-Aug-19
The basic concept is to convert the small 28 foot trailer to two 8 by ten bedrooms and a bathroom with a sink and shower and the in the large 46 foot trailer build have an 8 by 10 bedroom on one end, a kitchen area on the opposite end (with cabinets, refrigerator, sink) and a living area in the middle. A sliding glass door opens to a 24 x 16 foot deck.
From: loprofile
14-Aug-19
the basic design
From: Grubby
14-Aug-19
Looks like a great project,thanks for sharing.
From: loprofile
14-Aug-19
loprofile's Link
From: loprofile
14-Aug-19
Sorry, can't figure out how to get movies from Iphone to Bowsite
From: loprofile
14-Aug-19
This is a view of the wall dividing the pole barn in half. Sorry for the construction clutter.
From: loprofile
14-Aug-19
Skipped a bunch of steps that I will go back to but this one gives a pretty good picture of the concept.
From: Joey Ward
14-Aug-19
Nice to be able to work on stuff in inclement weather.
From: loprofile
14-Aug-19
Wish we had some inclement weather here in Alabama. The heat index is brutal on this project. Fortunately at this time we have air conditioning in both trailers so interior work is no so bad.
From: loprofile
14-Aug-19
Removed rollup doors and framed in.
From: loprofile
14-Aug-19
Lapboard siding.
From: loprofile
14-Aug-19
Lots of after work hours
From: loprofile
14-Aug-19
From: Joey Ward
14-Aug-19
Hardie?
From: loprofile
14-Aug-19
Yes, from Home Depot.
From: MarkU
14-Aug-19
Is this considered a true redneck project?
From: Joey Ward
14-Aug-19
Awesome. Paint it. No maintenance.
And it looks like whoever installed it knows what they’re doing.
From: loprofile
15-Aug-19
I am overwhelmed by the help I have had from friends. Plumbing, electrical, heating and air, carpentry, all done without a nickel out of pocket. Jumping a million steps but this picture shows part of the crew who worked last night under the lights til 11:00 pm
From: loprofile
15-Aug-19
framed rollup door space from inside
From: loprofile
16-Aug-19
A view of the large trailer after ripping plywood off the walls, sanding the white oak floors, and nearly completing the lapboard siding on the end.
From: loprofile
16-Aug-19
Also sliding glass door on left and entrance door on right. Sliding glass door goes to deck and entrance door goes to barn.
From: loprofile
19-Aug-19
One of the things that got me excited about this project was the floors. The trailers are about 45 years old and the floors are white oak, butcher block. They are scratched and gouged by years of hand trucks. The next two pics are of the floors after sanding and then after applying polyurethane.
From: loprofile
19-Aug-19
From: woodguy65
19-Aug-19
Pretty cool - you have some good buddies.
From: shiloh
19-Aug-19
There's a big ol rattle snake on those porch steps. Didn't know if y'all had seen him!!!
From: loprofile
19-Aug-19
Good eye Shiloh! That one is an old mount but we have some good timber rattlers down here. This is one with my grandaughter Addy last fall.
From: grubby
20-Aug-19
I like those floors!! That snake though.........
From: shiloh
20-Aug-19
Dang!! My wife is from Choctaw County and they have some trophy rattlers down there too!!
From: loprofile
20-Aug-19
Another cool thing about the trailers was the baseboards. These are 12 inch boards bordering the bottom of the walls to protect them. They looked pretty rough but we removed them and sanded them to reuse them in the project.
From: loprofile
20-Aug-19
The next couple of pictures show a mess but give a pretty good idea of what the plan for the big trailer. We put rigid foam insulation between the metal ribs on the walls and the ceiling. We screwed 3/4 inch furring strips on the ribs and horizontally along the ceiling so we would have something to nail the paneling on. The paneling is 1/4" 4 x 8 sheets of engineered pine.
From: loprofile
20-Aug-19
The picture is pretty distorting on size. The main room here is 36' x 8' and the bedroom at the end is 8 x 10
From: loprofile
20-Aug-19
The pictures are a little distorting on size. The main room is 36' x 7.75' and the bedroom at the end is 10' x 7.75'.
From: loprofile
20-Aug-19
On the back wall is our tankless hot water heater and the inside part of our mini-split ductless air conditioner. Both installed at no charge by friends.
From: itshot
20-Aug-19
nice!
was this a reg trailer or reefer type insulated?]
the pole barn is a beauty
From: loprofile
21-Aug-19
regular uninsulated. We used a combination of rigid foam and fibreglass insulation.
From: loprofile
21-Aug-19
Thanks Itshot. I had access to some reclaimed heart pine boards and one day decided even if I might not have a great lodge I could have a great wall!
From: loprofile
21-Aug-19
Jumping around quite a bit. This one shows the board we put down the center of the ceiling. It covers the space between the rigid foam insulation, hides the wires and provides a base for mounting the lights. It is a 100+ year old 1 x 12 heart pine board salvaged from an old building.
From: loprofile
21-Aug-19
From: loprofile
22-Aug-19
a couple of pics showing buddies doing the electrical
From: loprofile
22-Aug-19
From: loprofile
23-Aug-19
A few pics of various steps
From: loprofile
23-Aug-19
From: loprofile
23-Aug-19
From: loprofile
23-Aug-19
From: loprofile
02-Sep-19
A ways to go but a lot of progress. Shooting for completion by opening of whitetail bow season on 9/15
From: loprofile
02-Sep-19
From: loprofile
02-Sep-19
A buddy at work. The panels are made out of hog wire panels.
From: scentman
03-Sep-19
some great ideas, thanks for sharing.
From: hdaman
03-Sep-19
This is a great project to follow along on! Keep the pics coming, please!
From: loprofile
03-Sep-19
Skipping around a bit. This one is a pretty good look at various parts of the project. I salvaged most of the blue and pink foam insulation from a remodel of our warehouse. This project ate more 2 x 4's than I ever imagined.
From: loprofile
04-Sep-19
Same view as above after trimming
From: loprofile
04-Sep-19
Ceiling shot of same room. Ceiling is merely rigid foam insulation stuck between ceiling ribs with a heart pine center board for looks, light fixture, and hiding wires.
From: loprofile
04-Sep-19
The blue on the right is just a piece of insulation blocking the sun through the window until I get blinds
From: Beav
04-Sep-19
What a cool project! Looks great!
From: loprofile
04-Sep-19
thanks. My wife said she is tired of the project. I told her "you should be doing it". A really fun time though with a lot of friends stepping up to the plate.
From: loprofile
06-Sep-19
We made all of the ceiling, corner, door, window, etc. trim by ripping old pine boards salvaged from barns and houses. Required nearly 800 linear feet by the time we finished.
From: loprofile
06-Sep-19
Discarded lot because of bug damage, appearance, cracks etc. But lots of it was pure pine gold.
From: loprofile
09-Sep-19
Have been using portable metal steps for main entrance. Built these yesterday. All of my help was dove hunting and it is a pretty tough one man job.
From: loprofile
09-Sep-19
From: loprofile
09-Sep-19
Still have to add safety rails. Moved the portable steps to the deck to use until we get around to steps there.
From: loprofile
11-Sep-19
cutout and placed old cast iron farm sink. Going to put old tin on the open end of the sink cabinet.
From: loprofile
11-Sep-19
Have to tile the cabinet surface before final sink installation.
From: loprofile
16-Sep-19
got the tile on yesterday.
From: loprofile
16-Sep-19
finished the cabinet with rusty reclaimed tin
From: loprofile
16-Sep-19
Added 12 inches to the main countertop for space, trimmed with heart pine, and tiled
From: loprofile
16-Sep-19
Added 12 inches to the 24 inch counter top, trimmed in pine, and tiled
From: Grubby
16-Sep-19
Looks like you are getting pretty close to the housewarming
From: loprofile
16-Sep-19
Sure hope so. My to do list is getting pretty short for sure.
From: Grubby
16-Sep-19
Let everyone know what to bring
From: loprofile
18-Sep-19
Will do. Should be a sparse crowd I believe based on interest in this thread! I was looking at options for towel rack ideas in the bathroom and came up with this one. Turned out way better than I dreamed.
From: Brotsky
18-Sep-19
This is awesome, turning out great! The beer budget alone with all those buddies must be staggering :-) Good stuff!
From: loprofile
18-Sep-19
Old Forester Bourbon stock should be on the rise!
From: BigStriper
18-Sep-19
Sure looks nice, you fella's are going to have a nice place to hang out in when your done.
Kurt
From: boothill
18-Sep-19
That is going to be a really cool place to get away for weekends. I'm sure it will enjoyed by everyone.
From: loprofile
18-Sep-19
Thanks Boothill. Actually, I am retiring effective November 1. Goal is to have a nice place where my wife can visit me during bow season.
From: hdaman
18-Sep-19
This has been one heck of a transformation! Keeps the pics coming.
From: dakotaduner
18-Sep-19
I’ve been following this and I’m enjoying your ingenuity and progress. Looks like a great place to hang. With a little bourbon
From: loprofile
18-Sep-19
Thanks all. Fun project that I hope to wrap up soon. By then I can figure out how to post a video of the final results.
From: Loprofile
19-Sep-19
Finally got sink in
From: Joey Ward
19-Sep-19
The rectangular frame at the end of the sink cabinet, on the outside wall....what is it?
From: greg simon
19-Sep-19
Looks like some real handy work going on there. I'm impressed. Good job!!!
From: wooddamon1
19-Sep-19
Awesome project, nice work!
From: loprofile
19-Sep-19
The rectangular frame is a tankless hot water heater. That is the entire unit. I supplies unlimited hot water to the shower as well as the bathroom and kitchen sink. Perfect because you don't have to store hot water. This one is just under 4 gallons per minute and was just over $300 at Home Depot. Friend installed it.
From: wild1
19-Sep-19
Well done!! Enjoy !
From: Loprofile
20-Sep-19
Microwave and toaster oven
From: Loprofile
20-Sep-19
Modern communications
From: Loprofile
20-Sep-19
Towel rack for shower
From: Loprofile
20-Sep-19
The lamp two pictures back was made from the hub of an old wagon wheel. Gift from a friend
From: 5575
21-Sep-19
This is really cool! Nice job, you will really enjoy that place I'm sure and so will many others!
From: BigOk
21-Sep-19
Looks great.
From: Loprofile
21-Sep-19
Ad for Old English.
From: Loprofile
21-Sep-19
Friend gave me the cabinets from his old house
From: hdaman
22-Sep-19
5 star lodging! Really nice work.
From: loprofile
25-Sep-19
Found this in my wife's "store forever" files in the attic. Thought it fit the decor.
From: Loprofile
05-Oct-19
These are 6 hunting buddies we have lost over the years. Ages range from 38 to 78. Remember them everything day
From: Chris S
05-Oct-19
I love the wall of fame. Very nice touch. May it never grow.
From: Loprofile
06-Oct-19
Project never seems to end. Built steps-decided I needed a landin
From: Loprofile
06-Oct-19
Finally finished the bathroom.
From: Loprofile
06-Oct-19
Finally finished the bathroom.
From: hdaman
06-Oct-19
Looks great!
From: spike78
06-Oct-19
Hate these threads makes me realize how lazy I am lol. Looking great so far!
From: Loprofile
08-Oct-19
Landing complete and right side up
From: Loprofile
08-Oct-19
Should have put septic tank in before deck. Tight quarters fo my volunteer backhoe man Mark. Quit last night under the lights. Hope to finish tonight
From: loprofile
08-Oct-19
Got to get this done tonight so I can head for Illinois Thursday for bow opener. And Alabama season opens on the fifteenth. Wife has been great but after five months her patience is starting to wear a little thin.
From: yooper89
08-Oct-19
What an awesome project. Thanks for posting and continually updating. I love this kind of stuff
From: loprofile
08-Oct-19
Thanks. Hope to put it all together soon in a youtube video and post the link. It has been fun and has really shown me a lot about friendship
From: Loprofile
09-Oct-19
Little overly optimistic on this project.
From: Loprofile
09-Oct-19
Quit at 10 pm. But lots of progress
From: Loprofile
09-Oct-19
Took time during a break for a hand towel holder
From: loprofile
22-Oct-19
My office staff had the perfect retirement present. Custom fire pit with whitetail buck, gobbler, quail, and my wirehaired dachshund tracking dog Fred. Taking it to the farm this afternoon. Absolutely blown away.
From: loprofile
22-Oct-19
From: loprofile
22-Oct-19
From: Grubby
22-Oct-19
That’s very nice!!
From: smurph
22-Oct-19
Thankyou for sharing. Some really clever recycling!
From: hdaman
22-Oct-19
That's great!
From: Bowfreak
22-Oct-19
I can't wait to see the video. Super cool!
From: Loprofile
10-Nov-19
Getting closer. First fire
From: Loprofile
10-Nov-19
Another view
From: Loprofile
10-Nov-19
Found just the right table
From: Loprofile
10-Nov-19
Three of my buddies
From: Scar Finga
11-Nov-19
That is very cool! Great work, craftsmanship and recycling!!!!
From: Loprofile
11-Nov-19
It’s been fun. Getting to finishing touches. Plumbing is all working but need to get field lines completed and covered for septic system
From: Loprofile
11-Nov-19
Speaking of recycling. Found this in my attic. Caution - rifle kill
From: Loprofile
11-Nov-19
From: Treeline
11-Nov-19
Man! What an ambitious project! Turned out to be an awesome hunting camp for sure! Great work!
From: Loprofile
11-Nov-19
Trophy wall
From: hdaman
11-Nov-19
I've been wondering how you were doing with this project. One of the neatest builds I've seen! You will create many memories with friends and family there.
From: JohnMC
11-Nov-19
Can we get a better picture of those bass the gal is holding?
From: Inshart
12-Nov-19
From: Loprofile
12-Nov-19
Thanks for pix fix
From: Treeline
12-Nov-19
Yep, looks like a few trophy pics there on the trophy wall:-)
Although might need to make it spin to a blank wall or church social pics for when a wife shows up!
From: Loprofile
13-Nov-19
Wife said I had a better chance at a 200” whitetail
From: Norseman
13-Nov-19
So your saying there is a chance...??????
LoL
From: The last savage
17-Nov-19
Very nice work!!! Its very rewarding doing it yourself... way to go...
From: Candor
17-Nov-19
This is awesome. Thank you for taking the time to share it.
From: Loprofile
20-Nov-19
Neat idea for shelf brackets over kitchen sink.
From: Iowabowhunter
20-Nov-19
Man this is fantastic!!!
From: axle2axle
20-Nov-19
Nice work...some good craftsmanship there! Kevin
From: Loprofile
20-Nov-19
Thanks. Right now we are trying to finish the septic field lines between rains. After that it’s mostly cleanup. Eating in to my hunting time but end is in sight
From: Loprofile
21-Nov-19
Saved the worst for last
From: Loprofile
02-Dec-19
Just about done. Close to a video tout
From: Loprofile
02-Dec-19
Just about done. Close to a video tout
From: Loprofile
03-Dec-19
A little break from the grind
From: hdaman
03-Dec-19
As mentioned previously, this was an excellent project to follow. Thanks and enjoy the holidays!
