Home made Float

[Carly Rae]

Hi,

So my dad bought me this old single roofless horse float (I mean old its missing a tyre and it has such a bad paint job I can add photos)

So my dad said it can be my project to fix it up (with his help) and we can use it to transport my minis places. It was all a great idea until we found that we could only fit 1 mini in there you could fit 2 but they wouldn't have any comfort.

So my dad said I can do it up, give it a new paint job and put better tyres on it and I can sell it. With the money I earn I can buy a second hand box trailer and make a 'Mini' float. We will make a roof for it and sides and a front window pretty much like a horse float but the sides wont be rounded. We are going to take the gate off the trailer and build a ramp and make some sort of divider. It will still probably only fit 2 minis but they will be more comfortable also the registration will be more affordable because its single axle not duel axle.

We have had people pick up minis in just a plain old box trailer, we have transported a mini in our box trailer but that was just down the road with no drama. But I would like to have it all closed in because it can get cold.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should put in it? Here is a list of what I want to put in/on it:

-Rubber floor mat for comfort and grip

-air vents

-front window

-side windows (maybe)

-ramp

-dividers and the place to tie them (dont know what to call it sorry)

I also wanted to paint it a yellow (My favourite colour) with stickers of horses (My cousin tints car windows and he makes stickers for cars, companies ect so should I get the window a light tint or leave it? )

Thanks

This is what I mean by a box trailer It has a cage.

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Here is from the back

 

[Minimor]

Please reconsider fixing that box trailer up for use as a mini trailer. No offense, but if someone showed up with that trailer--even closed in and done up as a horse trailer--if they showed up here to pick up a horse I would cancel the sale and send them on their way.

Single axle trailers are really not safe for hauling horses --nor are they a comfortable ride. That trailer looks like the center of balance is too high for hauling horses.

 

[amysue]

Is the picture that you posted of the actual trailer you intend to fix up? Or is it what you are saving up for to buy? Either way, please do not put your horse (or any horse for that matter) in that trailer. That is not a safe ride for horses, and even if you have seen others do it, that does not make it a good idea. It is just an accident waiting to happen. As minimor suggested, you really should have a double axle trailer for horses so they do not bounce around so much and to better distribute the weight of the horse in the trailer. The one pictured looks too small and too high off of the ground to safely load horses, even with a ramp, that would be a steep incline to load up on. If the horse slipped or jumped off of that he/she could be seriously injured. I have seen plenty of safe and reliable either homemade or completely refurbished horse trailers out there sell between $300 and $500 dollars that would be perfect for minis. It sounds like you are considering doing quite a bit of work on your trailer so buying a fixer upper should not be a problem, as long as it can be used to SAFELY transport horses. If what you have is intended for horses or livestock, then please consider fixing that up for your horses. They make and sell replaceable canvas roofs for horse trailers, or your dad could bolt/weld cross pieces that you could screw a sheet of metal roofing to. My gooseneck cattle trailer has had steel barn roofing on it since the day we built it. You can buy trailer tires and rims cheaply, especially if you look for second hand ones. I can find perfectly good rims at the junk/scrap yard and good treaded take-off tires at the local garage for cheap money. They do not have to be new, just safe. You would be amazed at what a good sanding and a coat of paint could do. The trailer pictured may be okay for moving a small goat or maybe a day old calf or some small pigs with a roof and tailgate added to keep them enclosed, but a mini horse (even a foal) would have such a hard time standing up and riding comfortably in it that I would strongly advise against it. I got my first trailer, a 1961 stidham Arabian trailer for $500. That was when the price of scrap was high up. It just needed the rust sanded, a paint job and new wiring, the floor, tires and body were good. I still have, and use this trailer today, it was a good investment as it is safe, easy to hitch and tow and it is the perfect size for minis. If you are planning on putting so much work and effort into a trailer, do it to the horse trailer instead of wasting the time and money on the little utility box/lawn trailer since it will never be suitable for horses. Good luck, and please re consider hauling horses in that lawnmower trailer.

 

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

I have a single axle trailer that I use for going up the road like a mile. I wouldn't go much further in it it can't be comfortable. I've sat in it before and it's very bouncy.

Always use double axel trailers for any distance and tall enough to stand in (there is nothing worse than a mini freaking out and you can't get out of the way cause of the roof)

 

[Carly Rae]

You see so many home made floats around here

The float I have now will only fit one mini I tried to fit two and it barley works. Here even the worst of floats are still up around the $2000 mark we dont have that kind of money. And my dad looked up on registration on the float and its $200 just for rego. Will just not worry about the box trailer, sell our float and save the money until I get a job and keep saving to buy a horse float (horse floats are way too big and I have only ever found one miniature float ever) I don't think ill bother with one though.

Thanks.

 

[Minimor]

Thing is you want your horses to be safe.

A single axle is not safe no matter how many people use them. it would be sad to learn that the hard way by having a blow out on one tire. With a single axle and a high center of gravity a blow out could be deadly.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Try looking up some trailer / Horse float companies that are local to you. They may be able to convert a two horse double into something that you can use to safely transport your minis. There are companies out there that make the panels used to convert floats.

I agree with the others , I wouldn't be transporting any kind of animal in one of those trailers, In my opinion they are good to transport boxes, rubbish to the tip ect........... but I wouldn't trust them with livestock on board....

You will be amazed at the number of floats out there that are really cheap and don't require a lot of work ......

Most importantly , they are designed and built to transport animals.

Keep us posted

 

[amysue]

Is the old horse trailer that you have made for one big horse? Is it the really narrow "one horse" skinny trailer? Or is it a small 2 horse without the divider? How tight was it trying to fit two minis? You do not want them to have too much room, like in a box stall where they can spin all the way around, because they bounce around a lot. You don't want them so tight that you need a shoe horn to wedge them in either. Some trailers have boxes in them, instead of a divider in the middle, but minis bounce around in them a lot. What are the inside dimensions of the horse trailer that you have?

 

[MiniNHF]

I took a regular two horse trailer and turned it into a "mini trailer" and it can fit 3 minis and the front area is the tack room (would be where the big horses put their heads and hay nets), heck if I need to it could fit a mini there as well with no problem. We made out own dividers out of aluminum but you can easily do that with plywood etc. which I have seen done to be on the cheaper side. It was made in 1995 and needed some TLC but its solid and I was able to get it for a good price and even talk them down a lot. But I agree with everyone else, I would always haul a horse of any kind in a trailer with a dual axel.

My question would be is, what will it cost to fix it up and what does a used one already done cost? if the cost is the same or very close I would just save that money you plan to spend on that one and get a second hand one that is already done.

 

[Carly Rae]

No, I haven't purchased that trailer and I wont make a float out of one, I might just do up the one I have and use it and sell it somewhere along the track when I get a job then Ill save up for a mini float or a normal one, but they are quite expensive here, I found a beat up old one all rusted and barley usable for $4000, so I have a bit of saving but Id like to get a job ASAP so I can get riding lessons and get my confidence back and buy a riding horse, obviously a future goal and a lot of saving

But thanks for informing me on that about the trailer

 

[Carly Rae]

Here is the float I have now. It is pretty old but the red on it is old paint work not rust, It was originally red and people have painted over the red without sanding it back. But dont get me wrong there is a bit of rust

I think 2 minis might fit in if I were to move the 'Tie bar' up and remove the board so they can move up about 1 meter. It also needs a door obviously haha. But yeah here is my big flash 'rocket' as I like to call it.

Here is with Willow and Toby in separately please mind Toby's belly he was a bit fat then and he was so fluffy and the way he was standing made it all 'stick out' but yeah What do you guys think? Should I just do it up and keep it or sell it, save and buy another?

 

[amysue]

I think that you could build a divider like one found in a slant load trailer and you could fit two minis in there. I do not think the trailer looks that bad, you can definitely make it work.

 

[Minimor]

What is the inside width and length?

I would be inclined to put a cross divider in it at a bit of an angle and haul one in front and one in back --it looks like they would have enough room that way? Side by side would likely be a tight fit.

 

[Carly Rae]

The width of it is 80cm (800mm)

The length is 2.7 meters (2700mm)

And the length from the tie bar to the end is 2 meters (2000mm)

That sounds like a good idea, If i was to do that 2 could fit?

 

[amysue]

I think two would fit on a slant but not side by side. Load them like this \\ not like this || so that one is slightly behind the other, I think the trailer is long enough to load them at an angle. They would be one in front of the other but standing somewhat sideways. If you build a divider on a hinge, so it swings flush against the wall, you will have an easier time loading up. Load one, gently push his rump over to the side, swing the divider and secure it, them load the other and push her rump over so you can close the back door.

 

[Carly Rae]

Awesome thanks, Ill see what we can do

 

[paintponylvr]

If your parents allow you to do FaceBook, there is a group called Horse Trailer Conversions. You and your parents might want to check it out.

I've seen some of the conversions in person - the group was started by a woman here in NC.

 

[Carly Rae]

Awesome I'll check it out, I have been allowed Facebook since I was 10

 

[MiniNHF]

I am on that group and its an excellent group and people help out a lot with questions.

 

[aliasmel]

Hi,

I can see you are from Australia, so am I. Single axle trailers are so dangerous and not to mention illegal to carry horses in.

Secondly even that single float with double axels I would not put my horses in there. Single floats are so terribly balanced and tip over way too easily. You just have to look at the height of the float compared to the width to see how it's balance would be affected.

A double horse float is SO cheap now days second hand. My nan just sold her 2 horse caprice float for $3000 and it was only 13 years old.
I bought my double float for $2000 and put $1000 into it fixing it up and have a perfectly safe float now.

Here is my float from when I first bought it to nearly completed, I need to put a new photo in but it's not much different to the last photo in the album.
Th floor was rotted, the walls were rotted, the frame was rusted and broken and the more I pulled it apart, the more I found wrong with it. Originally it was just a new floor and a paint job but as you can see it was totally re-built.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151758571101534.1073741832.572916533&type=1&l=e3d9b48f97