Will a 17' stock trailer work?

[Yip]

We were looking at a 17' bp Adam stock trailer today with the intention of pushing a 2 wheeler, haffie sized, cart in the front *stall* and loading a horse or 2 behind in the second stall.

The shafts are going to be at least 6' long, plus the size of the cart itself. I didn't think it would fit even if the shafts could poke up through the stall door, which went floor to ceiling with air slots running through.

Do any of you use this setup to haul a full sized cart and a horse or 2? How do you make the cart fit?

The trailer was step-in so no ramp. Would hubby (strong) and I (not so strong) be able to lift a 200# cart up into the horse box?

Any other thoughts?

\We are limited to this size or smaller right now because we only have an F150 with biggest Ford V8 back in 2001 to tow it.

Thanks for your input on this. I don't want to make a mistake - but the deal was super. If you knew for sure it could work, I might be able to call and put a hold on it.

Wendy

[49'er]

This would probably work, but you will have to face the shafts to the back and up to the ceiling. The ponies would ride under the shafts. The other way is to put the ponies in first and then put the shafts sticking out over the back gate. I have done it both ways. You would need a set of ramps, also.

[Drive NJ]

Should work with Pony gear
we have a 19 ft BP trailer and fit 2 draftX horses and a horse size meadowbrook type cart
Cart goes in first - wheels first
then shafts are tied high to a crossbar
(our trailer is fully enclosed and the front is a former dressing room with wall removed)
shafts ride over horses heads and it doesnt obther them at all - (at least they arent saying if it does;)

Our BO fit a large pony road cart(suspended from the ceiling), a pony kuhnle, a 4 wheeler, lots of haybales and gear boxes

AND the pony (loose in a boxstall in the rear) in a 20ft stock

If you want it bad enuf - you can make it happen

[Yip]

Thanks for the input! I was so hoping to hear from people who actually haul this way.

Do they call 14.2 haffie type vehicles pony equipment? Good to know. There are so many small ponies and 2 sizes of minis being driven, I don't know what's proper terminology.

Wendy

[pricestory]

A freind has a 16', She puts the ATV in, puts the cart on ramps so it goes over the ATV, closes the door with the shafts over the door, then the pony. The marathon vehicle goes in the back of the truck. Works for her.
You can buy ramp ends from Lowes and attach boards to them to make 2 ramps for the wheels. You can also buy alumunmum ramps but they are much more expensive.

[Yip]

Pricestory, that is nothing short of amazing! Please forgive me if I DON'T tell hubby about this, LOL! We'd be taking the ATV with us too!

Do you have any idea how much the trailer weighs when fully loaded?

And what is your friend pulling it with?

Wendy
NC

[jcotton]

My suggestion is to borrow it and load all your stuff in it to see if it will work for you.

[pricestory]

I'm not sure what size truck but at most it is a 250, certainly not a 350. I also don't have a clue what it weighs. It is an alum. stock trailer so it can't be very heavy. She drives a 14.1h pony so all of her stuff is cob size.
My trailer is 18' and I can get the marathon carriage, an ATV and the pony in easily. It's a gooseneck and when I load the 2 wheel cart, I put the shafts in the gooseneck so I'm not much help with the floorspace with a 2 wheeler.
The worst arrangement I know if is a 3 horse slant and a 2 wheeler. She puts the pony in first the the cart, with the shafts over the pony but boy is it a pain to do and almost impossible if you are alone.

[Yip]

Price, I think my Kawasaki weighs just under 400#. It's big and bulky, but it isn't really very heavy.

I can hardly wrap my mind around the fact that you can load ALL of that together! I can see the GN would be great for shafts. We already have a WDH, I believe, so we're backing away from GNs at the moment for $$ sake. But who knows what we'll be thinking tomorrow?!

Wendy
NC

[amdfarm]

My .02 cents. I was always taught/told to put the heaviest "item" in the front on a bumper pull.

That said when just hauling horses, I put the largest/heaviest horse in front and so forth. When hauling horse plus vehicle (16' stock) horse in front, shut divider gate, back cart in w/ the help of ramps or just muscle and shafts stick out and over the back gate. I put thick foam around the shafts tied w/ twine to prevent rubbing. This is w/ a draft horse and draft sized meadowbrook cart pulled w/ a 2500 (3/4 ton) Ram.

[olehossgal]

I was taught the same about the weight distribution--and the heavier the horse, the more important, for safety in hauling, for the horse -- IOW, the HEAVIEST part of the load--to be up front, most directly over the axle(s).
I drive only minis, so 'get away' with NOT following the 'rule', but would do things differently if I had larger horses, for sure! I have a 14' stock combo straight load (I dislike slant loads)BP...means it has a front end like any SL two horse trailer--feed mangers, w/ a tack compartment underneath...leaving 11' of rectangular load space. Into that, I can put ANY of my three mini-sized 4-wheeled pair vehicles, shut the 'center' gate(which is actually NOT at the center, but divides that 'rectangular' load space into an about 7 1/2' and an about 3 1/2' space), and get TWO @ 34" minis in the back, quite comfortably! It actually gives me SEVERAL good options--and the horses can also ride up front, as they can enter AND exit via the 'escape door'(something you could NOT do with 'fullsized' horses!) I am a huge fan of stock trailers, for that very versatility!
I would not spend $$ on an ATV; I don't like them--but there would be room even in my 'only-5'-wide' stock combo(I'd recommend at LEAST a 6' wide one; nowadays, you can get them even wider, though I personally wouldn't want an 8'er) for a bike, or an electric scooter!
I would think a 17', basic(meaning fully 'open' inside) stock trailer would certainly work for your needs.You ARE correct, though, to consider the weight rating of ANY trailer, and towing vehicle, and the probable LOADED weight of any trailer, for all-around SAFETY!!

Margo in NM

[Drive NJ]

Weight distribution and placement
You need to contact and ask the trailer manufacturer about this

Our COTNER trailer (19ftBP) was built to carry the horses in the rear ONLY
everything else goes in the front or where ever you can find to put it

When we bought our trailer - from the inside you could see the trailer frame and the outer skin. We lined the interior (front) with 1/4 inch plywood which has been great for hanging organizers and brackets, etc . We also found out where we needed rings to tie down and installed them into the floor or frame. Winch is up in the nose of the trailer for the big carriage, but its actually faster to just wheel the 2-wheel cart in by person-power rather than hooking to the winch.

[Yip]

I have 2 books about buying horse trailers. One is by Cherry Hill and the other, the Bible of horse trailers, I forget the authors. I need to get them out again and read about loading.

Here is my thought. In reference to a BP only, how can it be better/safer to load the heaviest objects in the front where all the weight will be directly on the hitch?

I was under the impression that with a BP, you want to load the heaviest cargo over the axles. That takes excess weight off the hitch, and should actually balance the trailer better.

???

Wendy

[amdfarm]

Re: Weight distribution. Not ALL of the weight will be on the hitch, it's evenly distributed between the hitch and the axles w/ their hind ends being over the axles. My trailer has dual axles and depending on which horse is in there depends on how much axle coverage there is. The divider gate, I believe, is right between both axles. (It also makes for a smoother ride, IMHO.) Also think of that little ball that's attached to the trailer holding it on. I wouldn't want all of the weight in back bouncing the hitch over uneven terrain and bumpy roads that could potentially jar the trailer from that ball (unless the trailer is designed that way, as Drive NJ pointed out.) So personally, I want all that weight in front holding that sucker down!

HTH

[Cartfall]

I have a BP Shadow stock trailer exactly what you are talking about length wise.

I can put my marathon carriage in with a small atv in the front plus all my show gear with the pony in the rear of the trailer. I can't close the middle gate and my horses face to the rear by choice. All items are secured by straps so that nothing should come tumbling down on horse.

I also have done this with my road cart. Cart goes in with atv under the shafts and horse in rear of trailer. Again I cannot close my middle gate.

Hubby has offered to redo the middle gate so I could have a dutch door of sorts. The top would open and could be secured to let the shafts come through and the bottom half would keep stuff from horse. I have yet to have a problem so we haven't gotten to that yet.

As for Ramps, we use 5 inch channel aluminum. Hubby purchased two 6 foot long pieces, cut them with a chop saw to create a flat piece to form the angle. We had a machine shop do the welding as hubby can;t weld aluminum. I find these work nicer than the purchased ones for pickup trucks. They are longer and flat.

If I don;t take the atv, I can close the gate on my marathon carriage.

I can also (but it is a major PITA) put the marathon in the rear of my duallie and carry the cart. Generally if I am going to a show, we tow with our RV and I lose that extra space from the rear of my truck. So we wind up taking two vehicles. I do this rarely and only for relatively local shows (within 2 hours of my house.)

AS for weight distribution you want your horse over the axles of the trailer. If the trailer is built correctly (and many aren;t) you will have to add some sort of equalizer or sway bars. If your truck goes front end light with the load, you need an equalizer bar. If there is two much sway in the trailer, use sway bars.

Correct placement of the axles should be at about a 60/40 from the front/rear. Many horse trailers put the axles way to far back causing an the front end of the trailer to be way too heavy--end of the teeter totter with the balance set all the way to one end. This front end heaviness pulls the back of the truck down thus floating the front end. Equalizer bars will correct this by bringing the front end of the trailer and end of of truck into a level plane.