Trailer issues

[Sue_C.]

Kendra, I love your little porta-stall...are those pellets?? I have been considering them in the trailer, but thought they would be like standing on marbles; if that is what you use, they are obviously working well enough. I don't like using shavings because I worry about them blowing around, and have never found fly masks that fit over the eye area loosely enough to suit me.

Is that stall bolted right through the floor to the frame of the van? If not, I would worry about it tearing out in the case of a hard swerve when the weight of the horse could make it go over. Sorry, just me...always thinking worst case scenario. I have even devised a cargo netting to go across the trailer over the main bulkhead...just to help keep flying buckets and such from the horse area in case of an accident.

 

[Kendra]

Kendra, I love your little porta-stall...are those pellets?? I have been considering them in the trailer, but thought they would be like standing on marbles; if that is what you use, they are obviously working well enough. I don't like using shavings because I worry about them blowing around, and have never found fly masks that fit over the eye area loosely enough to suit me.

Is that stall bolted right through the floor to the frame of the van? If not, I would worry about it tearing out in the case of a hard swerve when the weight of the horse could make it go over. Sorry, just me...always thinking worst case scenario. I have even devised a cargo netting to go across the trailer over the main bulkhead...just to help keep flying buckets and such from the horse area in case of an accident.

Yes, they're pellets. The one's we use are 'Advanced Bedding Material' or something like that. It's great! Absorbs all the moisture and most of the odour. We also use it under straw in our foaling stalls (which is pretty much the only time we stall). The only trouble I've had with it is when Jamie decides to paw and sprays it all over the front of the van ... now I only bed the back half for her, since she's a girl, keeps it out of reach!

Yes, the stall is attached to the frame of the van. My Grandad built it for me, with safety in mind for horses and humans.

 

[Sue_C.]

Well, I am going to give the pellets a try then...most excellent.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

LOL! After some of the big old Army trucks I have driven, and the trailers full of LOX and propane, it doesn't bother me at all to hit the road with this rig. Then again, our roads are generally wider than a lot of the narrow twisty rural roads I encountered in England...but some, not by much more than a hairsbreadth.

I have driven seriously large vehicles , too. I would not have a problem driving just about anything, but the Police would have a problem with me doing it without the correct license!

I shall look into the brackets- although at the moment I am seriously considering an alloy, open top trailer- I could get the cart and pretty much all my junk, including a few fence panels, on the trailer....

 

[Sue_C.]

I have driven seriously large vehicles , too. I would not have a problem driving just about anything, but the Police would have a problem with me doing it without the correct license!

I shall look into the brackets- although at the moment I am seriously considering an alloy, open top trailer- I could get the cart and pretty much all my junk, including a few fence panels, on the trailer....

Is it that difficult to get the license? I think in the US one has to have a different license to tow the larger trailers, and they have to sop at weigh stations as well...so far, not here. If and when they do require one, I will get it.

I have seen some of the huge lorries they use in the UK for horses, do you mean to say they don't need a special license for them...they are every bit as burly a vehicle, and surely need a trucker's license.

 

[LazyRanch]

When people say this I wonder what cargo trailers they're thinking of- the little tiny tin cans on single axles? The Wells Cargo ones I've seen done for minis are bigger than my horse trailer, fully reinforced, double-axle, and meant for hauling expensive race cars or other large and valuable objects. Even my horse trailer dealer has said they are safe for minis and very well-designed! You just need to add windows and appropriate ventilation and dividers and such and they're great.

Leia

This is one of our favourite mini trailers - and I had no idea it was a Wells Cargo! The man who made it doesn't do them any more (possibly dead by now). But it is a beautiful trailer. The minis can look out the windows, At events one gate closed makes the trailer a stall. There is a winch to bring the cart up on the roof. It's only downfall is the single axle, but no one has had any problems with that in 10 years. The tackroom up front is big enough to hold a lifetime of drill team and CDE equipment!

 

[LazyRanch]

This is one of our favourite mini trailers - and I had no idea it was a Wells Cargo! The man who made it doesn't do them any more (possibly dead by now). But it is a beautiful trailer. The minis can look out the windows, At events one gate closed makes the trailer a stall. There is a winch to bring the cart up on the roof. It's only downfall is the single axle, but no one has had any problems with that in 10 years. The tackroom up front is big enough to hold a lifetime of drill team and CDE equipment!