trailer survey

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Donna Dochterman dokadaarabians@earthlink.net
I pull an 18 foot bumper hitch 4 horse aluminum slant load trailer with a
fiberglass top from Turnbow.  I like it a lot.  I had some unusual requests
and they were able to do everything I asked at reasonable prices where most
of the others I looked at had varying configurations of trailers but would
not or could not deal with the changes I wanted.

I have the front of the trailer set up as a tack room most of the time.  I
have a removable solid wall (called a stud wall, it goes from floor to
ceiling) to divide it off.  That wall can go in any position that the
regular slant dividers go in.  When I go camping, I often have only one or
two horses.  I move the wall back to leave only the stalls I need and have
double the space as a tack room/feed room.  I might have been concerned
about load balance on those trips but most of the camps I go to you have to
be completely self-contained so the water barrels in the front of the tack
room insure weight balance.  Turnbow tells me it wouldn't be a problem
anyway but I never haul one way in the back with the front empty anyway.  I
put the solid wall in the middle when I am hauling 4 horses since the front
is completely enclosed for the tack room so I prefer the extra ventilation
with a horse up there.  I think if I really needed a stud wall to divide off
one horse, I would put the stud wall in the back position.  Then it would
still isolate the troublemaker but allow everyone including the one in front
plenty of ventilation  The front has a camper door but they added a horse
latch so it would stay secure if a horse hauled in front leaned back on it.
They also added a butt chain across that door and made all the tack/saddle
racks removable, put the rubber mats on the floor and walls, and added tie
loops to the tack room and bars over the windows so it is truly a safe stall
to haul a horse when not in use as a tack room.  The trailer also has a
removable rear tack room.  It has stock sides with easy in and out frames to
hold the Plexiglas windows.  I can easily add or remove windows according to
the weather and ventilation requirements even at a rest stop on a trip.

The trailer is especially handy since it is as comfortable and convenient as
any horse trailer when I am hauling horses but I only have one trailer and
this one also does an excellent job hauling cattle, goats, household goods
on a move.....  I just pull out all the dividers and have a big open 18 foot
stock trailer with open sides to haul stock or completely enclosed to
protect inanimate loads.  Also, it is not that unusual for me to haul 4
horses.  Without the modifications, I would either have no tack room anytime
or be stuck with a tack room of a fixed size and be able to haul no more
than 3 horses.

Donna Dochterman
Dokada Arabians
http://members.tripod.com/~DokadaArabians/index.html