Dog mobile in the land of wind

[wykvlvr]

Hello from the land of wind... as in 20 mph with gusts of 30 to 40 is not uncommon and wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph are frequent enough that truckers hate my state... and silly me is thinking of building a foamie or hybrid canned ham trailer.
So with my very limited skills and knowledge I will need lots of input to make sure I do it right starting with the design... The eventual goal is a light weight trailer (under 3000 pounds) that I can use as a base camp at dog shows. The clusters generally run 4 to 7 days and most have bathrooms open during the day but may not have showers...
My design needs are space for 3 to 4 crates for medium to large dogs and the same for small dogs. Plus sleeping room for two people who would rather not share a bed...

Silly design thoughts:
78 inches wide inside will allow me to use regular twin beds and still keep the trailer at or under 7 ft wide outside.
Length as short as feasible so I can park in the driveway but not over 16 ft.

My large dog crates are 24 inches wide by 36 inches long by 25 inches tall. My current thought is to put a twin bed on each end of the trailer and stash 2 large crates under each bed and use a step stool to climb into bed. My small dog crates are 18 inches wide by 24 inches long by 19 inches high. For them I was thinking of making a column of shelves that could hold 3 crates. When there are no small dogs with me that area could be storage...
In the center section I would need a one burner cook top(got to have my tea), a sink and a toilet (thinking of a cassette style so no need for a black water tank)
Nice to have but not required a shower, fridge/cooler(maybe a cooler could be stashed under a bed?), and pie in the sky dream a small 2 person dinette.

[troubleScottie]

As a dog show person, you may have to consider other things.

First is ventilation. Trailers can get hot quickly and the dog will have difficulty with this. Need good air turnover, possible AC to cool. When it is cold many dogs are quite tolerant. Humans less so -- may a heater/heating system is needed.

Second is how does a wet and muddy dog get back in. Obviously, you do not want that in the ring, but you will come back when conditions are not great. Is there a path in and out.

Third is those other show equipments bits: pens, mats, dryers, tack, tents, trolleys, etc. Obviously they could go into the towing vehicle.

Fourth power. Are you using a generator or a battery system to power fans or frig or whatever equipment. Need a space for these and a refueling/recharging system. Maybe something that will work while traveling to and from show sites.

Fifth is grooming. Depending on the weather and/or show site, you might want/need an indoor area to groom. If the beds folded up, it would greatly increase the floor space.

Sixth, not sure about the rules for hauling animals in a trailer. I have seen doggie trailers -- designed for transporting small animals. Of course ventation, heating, etc are present.


A used or even new toy hauler might be more expedient if you lack the skills to build. I have seen ones almost ready for dogs.

[wykvlvr]

All good things for me to think about. The dogs would travel with me in the TV where I can keep an eye on them. The trailer would be used when parked at the show grounds so I can skimp on some things and must have others that some folks would be scratching their heads over. Like room for at least two 36L x 24 W x 27 H crates and two 24L x 18W x 19H crates

MUST have AC and good ventilation even without AC so at least one overhead vent with fan... I mean dogs can produce the grossest smells sometimes so I would want a way to clear the air. Considering our "spring" weather at least a small source of heat would be nice. Of course those would need power and I am still investigating what would work best for my situation. I am currently thinking I want an induction cooktop so that is more power but after the recent disaster in Florida I am looking at a build with as few possibilities of fire as I can get and like many are thinking we need two doors not just one... the fire started in the front and the door area was engulfed in flames making it impossible to reach the dogs in the back half of the RV... Lots of us are now re-evaluating what we want in a trailer or RV.

Dog related items are actually rather limited as I have a couple of wash and wear breeds. So storage for a folded up grooming table/dining table, ex pen, ground rug, 10 by 10 popup, couple of folding chairs, and a place to set/stow the medium sized fishing tackle box I use for collars, leashes, and sun screen for me... Most of those items could be stowed in a compartment built under a bed section especially if it can be reached from outside so that means an adjustment to my plans just like the possibility of a second door... But ya know a second door could be nice if it went straight to those crates I need room for...
AND the length of my trailer just keeps getting longer... sigh I was hoping I could modify a Wanderer 10 floorplan so I am re-evaluating what are really must haves and what are pie in the sky dreams.