Horse trailers are doable

[Stymie]

Read posts about horse trailers. Never had a slanted floor in a trailer. Converted a trailer for a friend. Inside  height was 7 ft . Bed folded down onto storage area. Installed  2 rv windows in side. Rv reversible fan. Added chuck wagon box on one side. Storage  box the length on other side. On rear added storage box with solar batteries at bottom. 
Am converting gooseneck 3 horse weekender now. Work in progress.
If a person is considering one make sure it's a Thoroughbred trailer.. These are 7 ft tall minimum. Wider. 
Just my 2 cents..

 

[Ballenxj]

Also, my understanding is they are tougher and have higher weight bearing capacities. I'd like to see what your conversion looks like 
Please do take pictures to post here?

 

[Bud Smiley]

I've always liked the idea. The two drawbacks I kept coming across were weight and urine. They're heavy, and horses pee in them. If you've got a strong truck and a pressure washer, you could have a good setup.

 

[Belinda2]

If you don't go anywhere, then you don't have to worry about it being heavy.
In some sections of the county, they are VERY common to see, and you would blend in well....
However, you NEVER see anyone pull it except with a super-gas-sucking vehicle, so that adds to the poor economics of it.

 

[Stymie]

[attachment=12256N'There is a product that box stores sell that eliminates this, also wood floors are easy to replace. Will post name of product later..

 

[bullfrog]

I believe Featherlite makes a high quality all aluminum horse trailer. At least with a horse trailer you know it will be built to carry the weight.

 

[sephson]

There's one for sale in my neck of the woods.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/rvs/6052812426.html

 

[LeeRevell]

Many years back, my sister was into the whole "horsey thing", and occasionally took her horse to local shows. She bought a rather crusty old trailer. Dad and I rebuilt it. Replaced the floor planks, totally stripped the body and patched the rust throughs, and painted it. They are quite strong, heavy gauge steel. Four wheels, twin axle even though it was fairly short. The round front makes it fairly aerodynamic. The lower front section was for storeage, with a door on each side outside, the upper front was open to the inside. So, a pretty good bit of storeage space built in. This one was about eight feet long inside where the horses stand, so plenty long enough for a decent length bed.
I see them for sale occasionally, as folks realise how expensive horses are, and get out of it. A very high maintenance pet! So a pretty good deal for a heavy duty trailer. Sister towed hers,with a standard Ford F-150 truck.

 

[MrNoodly]

If you don't go anywhere, then you don't have to worry about it being heavy.

Yeah, but the point of it being a trailer is to go somewhere. If someone didn't want to go anywhere, they'd get, oh, a shipping container.

 

[highdesertranger]

I bought a shipping container last year. they are awesome, but not very portable. a couple of things about horse/stock trailers, most except for the aluminum ones are heavy. they sit very low to the ground to ease the loading of stock/horses, not much ground clearance. they are narrow the body sits inside the wheels, to me this is a lot of wasted space. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

I think a vardo design that builds out over the wheels would work well, maybe build doors into the sides opening into boxes over the fenders. For some of us older folks low to the ground ain"t a bad thing and cowboys must really drag these things getting into the places they go with out tearing them up too bad cause they are definitely boondocking. Some of these places I think they must have used the horses to pull them into!

 

[IanC]

I lived in a horse trailer for a couple of years, way back when, but it was the dressing area of a fifth wheel/ 6 horse - 3 side by side, so almost 8ft wide. I loved it. Apart from the fifth wheel overhang, there was just about 4 feet of floor space. it had everything I needed - a big bed, closet, portable toilet, fridge and closet. Certainly prepared me well for what I'm doing now and I got to like showering under a hose almost as much as a regular shower. Not the same as what y'all are talking about, but....

As far as the smell goes - didn't mind it a bit, in fact the smell of horses is like coming home. When I left home right after my 17th birthday I lived in a horse stall, flies and all. Horses make the best neighbors and horse shit is perfume!

 

[DuneElliot]

Horse trailers have pretty decent clearance...I've hauled a couple of mine along some CRAZY backroads that probably are only meant for Jeeps. Most of those are gooseneck trailers that have the better clearance...bumper-pulls just don't have the turning radius needed for a lot of back roads, just like fifth wheel vs TT

 

[bullfrog]

Just think a short gooseneck could become a country boys toy hauler!

 

[ArtW]

Ian, I think you're the first person I've heard admit they like the smell of horse shit, I find it sorta pleasant, too

 

[DuneElliot]

Ian, I think you're the first person I've heard admit they like the smell of horse shit, I find it sorta pleasant, too

Having been a horse owner for years I like it too. It's the urine that gets most people and you don't want the two to mix.

 

[Zizzer_Zazzer_Zuz]

I had looked at a goose neck horse trailer. It had a bunk space over the 5th wheel and then space for horses in a separate section. I was thinking at the time that it could be split between living space and a workshop in the horse section. Seems perfect for a mobile blacksmith, sail maker, woodworker, etc.

I don't find horse shit all that offensive. I have a neighbor that brings me hay/straw from her stable floor for my compost heap and it's great. It does smell to high heaven though.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

As far as the smell goes - didn't mind it a bit . . .

 . . . It's the urine that gets most people and you don't want the two to mix.

After cleaning out the manure trough in a barn during my childhood and teenage years, the smell is not pleasant for me.

Urine forments fast; poop seems to accelerate the process and gives an added 'kick' to the smell (which is why separating your pee and poo keeps the smell down).

As for a used horse trailer: I would have to replace the floor and pressure wash the heck out of the rest of the interior and undercarriage.  Even if all the smell was removed I would probably still 'smell' it.

 -- Spiff

 

[ArtW]

Yeah the Urine reeks to high heaven, I've mucked a stall or three myself, in return for riding privileges, back before I discovered you could get PAID for riding other folks' horses, and I'd much rather those horses had been running free outside when they peed

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Cleaning stalls is one thing.  I grew up on an old fashioned farm.  We had to load the manure pile into a manure spreader every spring so it could go onto the fields.