[chuck]

One of the new projects for this year is a horse-drawn hearse. The idea is to park it in the graveyard with a talking skeleton driver. Out the back will be 4 skeleton pallbearers carrying a coffin to its final resting place.

First up was to draw out and get dimensions for the hearse.
After a few hours with Sketchup we have a design. The overall size of the hearse will be approximately 8.5 ft long, 6.5 ft tall, and 3 ft wide.

I'm cheap, so I am building this with very minimal expense. I didn't want to spend $50 per wheel for ones that could carry a load. So I opted to support the hearse on 2x4's instead. It isn't like I am going to take ToT's out for a midnight ride. I found 30in wheels at K-mart for $14 a piece.


A friend of mine bought a new house and took these outdoor wall sconces off. These will look perfect mounted to the side.

Today I started the build and was able to finish the base frame, wall frames, and the front and back walls.

Still have lots more to do.

 

[DaveintheGrave]

Wow, that's a BIG project! Good luck with it.

The drawing looks great!

 

[The Halloween Lady]

Chuck, I just wanted to tell you again how great this is looking! I am sooo jealous of those light fixtures!!!! I can't wait to see this baby finished. When can I expect delivery?

 

[xxScorpion64xx]

Hey Chuck, I'm cheap too so take plenty pictures so I can follow your lead and make one for myself, awesome work so far

 

[chuck]

Hey Chuck, I'm cheap too so take plenty pictures so I can follow your lead and make one for myself, awesome work so far

If you have Sketchup, I can send you the file.
If not, sketchup is free and is great for helping design projects.

 

[Woodsy]

I would LOVE a copy of the drawing. I have sketchup on my home PC. This looks like a very cool project.

If you have Sketchup, I can send you the file.
If not, sketchup is free and is great for helping design projects.

 

[Defenestrator]

That looks great already!

This is a very big undertaking, but I promise that it is sooo worth it when done.

Looking forward to watching the progress!

 

[xxScorpion64xx]

If you have Sketchup, I can send you the file.
If not, sketchup is free and is great for helping design projects.

Thanks Chuck, I'll PM you

 

[chuck]

Finished constructing the seat last night. I engineered it so that it will hold a grown persons weight. I climbed up on it last night had a seat, held me just fine, not even a wobble. Should make for some interesting pictures, i think.

I should mention that I also designed this so that it will all break down and store as flat as possible. The seat is one piece that disconnects from the carriage part. Each wall is a seperate piece, along with the roof and base. Just back out a few screws and everything folds down flat.

My wheels should be delivered today and this weekend I will install the crown moulding, wheels, and paint her up.

Once that is done, I will take more than a few pics and break it down to store until Oct. (If only my neighborhood would let me park it out front all year round )

So here is the hearse so far.

 

[chuck]

Found these plastic fence toppers at Home Depot. Thought they would be perfect for finish off the roof corners and add a bit of height to it.

And here is how they look installed and painted.

 

[3pinkpoodles]

Oh man- This is BEAUTIFUL already! Great work--- I wish I could have one of these- It is looking wonderful ALREADY!

 

[JennWakely]

wow. can't think of anything else but WOW. MIND=BLOWN

 

[Scatterbrains]

Found these plastic fence toppers at Home Depot. Thought they would be perfect for finish off the roof corners and add a bit of height to it.

And here is how they look installed and painted.

did you check if you can get the hearse out of the garage before you attached them to the roof? I learned the hard way.

I have a similar setup with the 4x4s and I picked up some furniture dollies (the ones with the carpet on them) at Harbor Freight. I lay a 2x12 (I think) across two dollies and slide it under the front posts then do the same for the rear posts. This makes moving it around a lot easier on concrete. They also add to the height of the hearse too. (notice that I mentioned I learned the hard way above).

Keep up the good work. If you decide to add a Horse, search for a thread here by Homestead Haunt

 

[chuck]

did you check if you can get the hearse out of the garage before you attached them to the roof? I learned the hard way.

I have a similar setup with the 4x4s and I picked up some furniture dollies (the ones with the carpet on them) at Harbor Freight. I lay a 2x12 (I think) across two dollies and slide it under the front posts then do the same for the rear posts. This makes moving it around a lot easier on concrete. They also add to the height of the hearse too. (notice that I mentioned I learned the hard way above).

Keep up the good work. If you decide to add a Horse, search for a thread here by Homestead Haunt

No it will not fit out of the garage when it is completely built. When I was designing the hearse i took into account on how to store it. The entire piece breaks down and packs away as flat as it can. All four walls, roof, base and seat are separate pieces that screw into each other. The whole top frame is then screwed into the base with 8 screws. If I back those out, then I can lift the top portion out of the garage, then move the base out side and place the top portion back on it again. (just did it today to make sure)

Also, since the top is just 2x2, 1/4 plywood, and foam, it weighs about 50lbs.

 

[chuck]

Got her all painted up and ready to attach curtains, wheels, and seat.
I ended painting the frame and sconces with a bright gold and then dry brush some black on them. I also frosted the glass on the sconces and added flicker bulbs to them.

Here is how she looks so far.

 

[chuck]

Played with some lighting last night. I had some blue LED strip lights left over from another project I was working on. I put those up along the inside of the carriage.

I also had a couple of red satin curtains in a storage bin that I hung on the inside to get a feel for how it would look.
As you can see also, I was able to mount the wheels as well.

 

[offmymeds]

That looks beautiful! Great job

 

[Defenestrator]

I love the look....it is really coming along!