Thank you for all the great new responses, everyone! It looks like I've been thinking along the same lines as previous conversions so I must be on the right track. The van has a full bulkhead/cargo barricade/"headache rack"/wall thingie pre-installed and if it hadn't, I had my eye on a couple on Craigslist. I was hoping for one with the tow hitch pre-installed too but no such luck! Gonna have to cough up the $$$ to get that added myself.
Daryl, the problem has been that if I move out of the area I would no longer have a vehicle to haul the horse trailer with as the truck I use belongs to my Mom and (funny thing) she isn't willing to part with it.
She doesn't need the trailer so will let me take that but a trailer without a truck doesn't do me much good. Thus the dilemma and part of why I still live at home!
Since I've been wanting a cargo van for a few years anyway so I don't have to hitch up the whole massive rig just to run Kody to the chiropractor for 15 minutes, I thought I'd combine the two and get a van heavy enough to serve as a hauling vehicle as well. It will give me a little more independence as I can easily load even my pair cart in it by myself and I'll be able to camp comfortably without the RV.
When I'm taking them to the vet, a senior center with a tight parking lot or the beach head where turning around the full rig is an invitation to getting stuck I can throw the boys directly in the van and use it as a horse hauler. I'm delighted with the potential versatility! I'll finally be able to take the boys all the places I can't fit with a big trailer.
Anyway, that's why. I would have waited a bit longer for budget reasons but I may be moving quite far away in the near future and couldn't without the hauling vehicle so it had to be done. Hopefully I won't regret it!
Suzie, do you have a better picture of your ramp? That's one of the things I've been trying to figure out. I know the boys will jump in but I'm worried the second horse doesn't really have enough room to land safely with the partition between them closed so I may need a ramp to prevent potential injury. I have some ideas but wondered what others have done.
Hippocampe, I love your divider! I hadn't figured out yet whether to have a completely solid one or rails or what and yours is the best possible combination of both. Thank you! That way I can stack cargo up against the other side without it getting through but they can still see over and better yet, I have somewhere built-in to tie them in the form of that rail. I could easily stretch some netting or metal mesh across the wood rail area and above to protect from flying cargo in case of an accident. How do you attach it to the van? That's the other part I can't figure out.
Mydaddysjag, where do you get the cargo liners? There's already a nice thick rubber one with some sort of cushy temperature-insulation stuff beneath it on the floor of this one but I'd like to protect it with an additional layer. I was going to buy a thin 1/4" stall matting they sell by the foot here but unfortunately it seems like stall mats in any thickness only come in 4' widths and I really need 5'. I can piece it in of course but I figured just like with the interlocking mats I have, urine would simply escape through the cracks and get through. I lifted them from the stalls at one show and it was a lake of standing urine below! The ammonia smell was horrible and that was with plenty of bedding on top.
Anyone know where I can get a good, easily removable liner/rubber matting material in the right width? Would pool liner or something similar work?
My van came with the bins but they make that huge space feel incredibly crowded and I can't get my carts in with the bins installed. I'm going to have my dad help me build my own that will be much closer to the wall and I have some ideas in mind for hanging harness racks and such. We'll see! Definitely don't want things flying at the horses but I need to be able to have wide things back there too.
Interesting idea with the Tractor Supply gates. I would think without padding those wouldn't be comfortable for the horses to brace on but it's definitely a thought. Hmm....
My current mini stalls in the trailer are 23" wide and I agree, that's plenty. I do want them to be able to brace in turns but also don't want it to feel like a prison with floor to ceiling metal dividers like those gates. Both boys get a bit claustrophobic in those conditions even though you can see through them! I'd like a more organic-feeling wooden enclosure with a simple but sturdy partition between them and some sort of butt-bar keeping them away from the sliding door as well. (Yes, I have plans for how to block off the footwell so nobody slips a foot down it.) I'd let them ride loose together but Kody would kick the tar out of Turbo.
Becky, which panels did you get? I can't wait to see!
Leia
