Pony Express - van conversion

[Kelly]

I have been wanting to downsize my Dodge Ram 2500 Power Wagon and my 2 horse slant horse trailer to something smaller, easier to handle, easier to back and park...... so yesterday I finally went out and bought a “mini van” for my 4 little ponies. It’s a Ford Transit Connect, I will be calling it the PONY EXPRESS!! I will be selling my truck and horse trailer in the next couple of months.

My hubby is going to put a horse stall in the PONY EXPRESS along with a bed for me, so I will be able to take them camping. I love camping & trail driving with my ponies. I will update this thread as we progress through the build.











As soon as I got it home yesterday I just had to make sure Shadow fit & he did with plenty of room to spare! He is my largest mini standing at 35 inches tall.

What cool and unique vehicle do you transport your ponies in? I’m looking for ideas and I would love to see what conversions you have done with your van/trailer/truck so post up!!

 

[Maryann at MiniV]

Someone else just started a post about this very thing! She entitled it "Van Conversion for Minis".

 

[Sallylou96]

Definitely following your journey converting!! This is exactly what I'd like to do are you planning on adding a little ramp or anything or did you little guy just hop on in

 

[MaryFlora]

That is fabulous, Kelly! Probably a much more fuel efficient model too!

It is an option that makes a lot of sense. Will enjoy seeing the transformation!

 

[Kelly]

The Pony Express is underway! Hubby Dave doesn't mess around!! We went to Home Depot this morning and got the wood for the conversion. He has already removed the black matt out of the back portion and put down the plywood floor. ONE sheet of plywood cost $70 nowadays, geeeez.



Before




Black matt has been removed




Plywood floor is added.




One side is complete! I decided to use cedar on the walls and throughout for the wonderful smell.....maybe it will keep it from smelling like a barn?? But I like the smell of my barn!!

 

[Kelly]

Definitely following your journey converting!! This is exactly what I'd like to do are you planning on adding a little ramp or anything or did you little guy just hop on in

Shadow jumped in the van this time through the side door. Once the conversion is completed he won’t be able to jump in. We are going to install a hitch on the van then are adding a luggage rack to the hitch. Attached to the luggage rack will be a small ramp. The ponies will be able to walk up the ramp from the back of the van, go into their stall, then exit through the side door. The luggage rack will also carry my cart.

 

[Kelly]

Both walls are now stalled. Dave does such wonderful work.... it is turning out absolutely beautiful!!

 

[Kelly]

STALL & BENCH BED



The bed is under construction.






The stall will be on the left and my bench bed will be on the right.
Dave made sure that my microwave would fit perfectly under the bed.














Dave added the extra board to the stall area to keep the horses off my bed. Those black lines are hinges, so when the horses aren’t in their stall, I can fold that piece of wood down to extend my bed.

 

[PurraPony]

Looking great! And coming together fast!

 

[Kelly]

JAIL BARS




For safety, jail bars are now installed. It is bolted to the frame of the van at the top and to the floors. We put wood over the bottom portion of the jail bars so hay and shavings don’t get under the front seats.

 

[Kelly]

BED



The bed is completely open, see how the legs on the left side holding the bed up.






Here the bed is folded up and converted back into a stall for the ponies.
The legs are hanging on the side of the wood by hinges.




Here is a picture of the extension of the bed folded up. Notice the extra wood above the microwave and behind the passenger seat.





Here is the extra wood above the microwave.






The wood above the microwave being extended out.






The portion of the bed extended behind the passenger seat.






Hubby Dave has done a fabulous job, I absolutely LOVE it!! It is exactly what I was envisioning!! I think we are done with the structure itself.....now we have to make everything functional and look pretty..... I like pretty!!

 

[Kelly]

Looking great! And coming together fast!

It came together really fast. My hubby only knows one speed and that’s FAST LOL We only got the van 2 days ago!! Once he starts a project he hardly eats or sleeps until he is finished

 

[Taz]

It looks great! Is hubby available to be rented out?!? LOL!!

 

[Abby P]

Ha ha, I was going to ask if he has any brothers!

 

[Dragon Hill]

Wowza! That is amazing!

 

[HersheyMint]

A great conversion!

 

[MaryFlora]

Beautiful design you two created!

Your hubby deserves a round of applause and a big steak dinner with appetizers, dessert, and a beer or two!

Have fun, be safe, and send photos when you go out ”adventuring”!

The rest of us will try not to covet your pony express!

 

[BSharpRanch]

Will you have a generator? Where will it go? Just curious.

We camo in our promaster city van. We have a butane stove to cook on, which works really well for us. I also have a jump starter that has an inverter that I can run small draw electric items with.

Did you seal the plywood on the floor, if so, what did you use?

Very interesting conversion!

 

[Kelly]

Thank y’all ALL so much!!

Will you have a generator? Where will it go? Just curious.

We camo in our promaster city van. We have a butane stove to cook on, which works really well for us. I also have a jump starter that has an inverter that I can run small draw electric items with.

Did you seal the plywood on the floor, if so, what did you use?

Very interesting conversion!

Your set up sounds so cool!!

Yes, I have a small portable hand held generator, it’s a Honda 1,000. Most of the time I try to go to state or national parks that have electricity and water, so I don’t always need the generator. I like to go to parks because there are people there and since I go by myself, it seems safer to me. Nope, hubby doesn’t camp.... he’s too pretty for that

My BIG trip for next year is going to Palo Duro Canyon, it’s the “Grand Canyon” of Texas. In the mean time, I will have to get them use to the PONY EXPRESS and being tied up overnight to the van, so I’ll be taking short trips that are closer to home.

Yes, hubby is going to be sealing the plywood floor over the next couple of days. First he will sand the entire van, including the floors. Then he will polyurethane the entire van as well, sanding in between coats. Lastly, he will spray a bed liner down on the floor and up the walls of the horse stall about 4 inches or so. We are also thinking about putting plexiglass on the walls in the stall to keep it clean.

 

[Taz]

Have you tried using the portable electric 'paddocks'? You can get them as a kit or buy step in posts, electric tape and a solar fencer. A lot of the endurance riders do it and they work great for camping out so the horses can be loose.