Convert a horse trailer - yeah or neigh?

[reberic]

I've been lurking on the list for a month or so -- you folks are all right! I don't think I've every seen a more collegial or helpful internet forum. Your enthusiasm is contagious (and will soon be expensive, no doubt).

We're planning to start a TD project this spring. We're not after anything fancy. We'll mostly use it for extended weekend trips, bluegrass festivals, short adventures here in Oregon, etc.

We've figured out that we'd like to have:
* Bunk bed for our infant daughter with room for her to grow (we like the 2+2 design as well as the Generic Benroy).
* Simplicity over bells and whistles.
* We like the look of the wooden sides and the aluminum roof.
* My wife would like to have a bed that folds up into a small couch for inside seating. For this reason, a cabin car or Shasta design might be an option, but those look more complicated to build.
* We need to be able to tow it behind a Honda Odyssey. Looks like they can tow 3500 lb with a tow kit, 2000 lb without.

So, we have this horse trailer that we got a couple years ago for about $900. It has outlived the horse and we are only using it to store our precious collection of three empty buckets. I suspect that it's a pretty beefy frame.

The tires are almost new and it tows fine. I'm wondering if I can remove one of the axles and remove some or all of the rest to make room for the TD.

The trailer is a 5x8, I think. Inside width is about 58".

What do you all think?









Cheers,

Eric

[Chip]

eric, ya got a lot of beef thar for a teardrop frame,,, Just a suggestion,, clean her up and sell it for a horse trailer and take that money and build a teardrop from the ground up,, I think you will have a lighter trailer that you will be happier with in the long run,,, all that extra weight is just wear and tear on ya tow vehicle and at the price of gas,, lighter is mo better,,,

welcome to the maddness,,,

chipper

[Will Smith]

if the horse does not mind sharing with you I say go ahead. grin. I think you should have another door besides the rear door, an escape hatch so to speak.

[TRAIL-OF-TEARS]

welcome reberic,
You could just convert the horse trailer to a TTT just add some bunks and A/C and your set. or do as Chip suggests sell it and build a tear from the ground up.

By the way if you plan right you can get more people in a tear than you think, we will be sleeping 4 in ours of course one is 2 months the other is 2 years old. by the time it gets too crowded in the tear the boys will be sleeping in a tent attached to the trailer. I hope.

[angib]

Eric,

Welcome. This sounds like a workable idea.

That trailer frame has got to be big enough for what you want, though it is sure to be a lot more heavily-built, and heavy, than you need or want - but that's likely to be no more than a 100lb penalty or so.

I don't doubt you're right to think about removing one axle. The existing leaf-sprung axles will have the adjacent ends of the leafs on each side meet on an equaliser that (wait for it...) equalises the load on the two axles. A single axle can't use this equaliser and will need a separate mount. This illustration from a Dexter catalogue shows the idea:



This is not a problem, as leaf spring axle components are largely standard. It does mean you'll probably need a little bit of welding to fit the new mount, but then you'll need a bit of welding anyway to reposition the axle.

Those tall wheels mean that you'd be a bit limited about what you can do in the way of a layout - you'd either have to stick with the 5' body width or plan to have something quite high over the wheel wells. For example, if you put a transverse dinette at the back (simple, gives seating) it would have to be raised quite high to get the seats above the wheels. This would give yu something quite like the Lemon Drop.

Just a thought - why not keep most of the existing body? They're a lovely shape, as aerodynamic as could be and someone else has already built it for you. It might take a bit of re-skinning here and there, fitting a door to the rear, adding some windows and a splash of paint, but it's all there. I'm even getting an idea for a fold down canvas extension on the back - I cant see a ramp, but presumably you have one.

OK, you'll get treated like the poverty relations for living in a horse trailer (but then you could really let your standards slip delightfully....) and you might have to do a bit of cleaning to rid the trailer of any current, ahem, odour.....

And when you think this trailer lark might be expensive, I bet you've failed to add in the cost of the replacement building in which to display your 'precious collection of three empty buckets'.....

Andrew

[madjack]

well Eric, welcome to the board...ya started with pics so that is a big for me...

First thought is...SELL IT...you can do a bare trailer frame for a TD on the cheap side around 250/400 bucks and on the top end for 6oo or so

Second thought is...USE IT...leave the body as is and convert the whole thing into a TTT(same caveats that Andrew gave)

Third thought is...convert it...this would be my choice of no other choices available choice..you would haveta remove both axles, and remount one more or less centered where the two used to sit...junking the body, probably the floor...way more beef in frame than needed...don't forget to check those old bearings, lights, wire, etc...is it worth all of that...only you can answer that one

Whatever you do keep us informed and keep the pics coming, 'cause we do luv da pics
madjack

[Tony]

Reberic, I can cetainly understand where you are coming from ... check out my web site. I got a frame for free, but I had to do alot of work to it to get where I am today. As long as the frame is solid, it is a do-able project. Although, if there is a next time ... I will start from scratch and build the frame myself.

Welcome to the rubber room
Tony

[Juneaudave]

Is it only me?...and not to suggest some sort of copyright infringement, but I see a Camp Inn "Raindrop" knockoff in that nag wagon. I really, really like what Cary did with the Model 560. http://www.tinycamper.com

[Ron Dickey]

Did you say what you were pulling this with?

Horse trailer will be heavy would hold one or 2 horses weighing 2000 lbs each.

I would ride nice, Homepower magazine had a guy that was going to fill the floor with batteries and a solar collecter on top. If you live in an area with few mountains I's say do it, if not I would go with Madjack and fix it up and sell it.

Or make it into a 2 story and be the talk of the teadrop meets.

Welcome aboard
Ron D.

[Sonetpro]

Or make it into a 2 story and be the talk of the teadrop meets.

What an idea. A lil'diner with a loft.

[bennelson]

Wow angib!

I have never seen such a nice CAD drawing of a bra before. (Scroll back up!)

[angib]

Go sit on the stairs, and you can come back and play when you're ready to say sorry for your potty-mouth.....

Andrew

[SteveH]

OK, so we all know where Ben's mind is.

[doug hodder]

I'm with JuneauDave on this...get a plasma cutter, and chop it!! and if all else fails you could haul around Shetland ponies in it.... all kidding aside...I think you might be better off to clean it up and sell it, put the dough into a frame and axle that won't require as much work....just my opinion however.... Doug

[Slayer]

"but that's likely to be no more than a 100lb penalty or so."

100lb may not sound like much, but it can reduce gas milage by 2%. Theres a reason for all the plastic parts on your car.
Look at it this way. With the price of gas at just $3.00 a gal over the life of your trailer that extra 100lb could cost you hundreds if not thousands of $$$