I converted a small Ford Transit Cargo van to transport my minis in and I absolutely love it! It is perfect for us! It also fits in my low ceiling garage. Easy to park, GREAT gas mileage, don’t have to fool with a truck/trailer combo, all I do is load up and we are ready to go. Here is the thread on my conversion:
https://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/threads/pony-express-van-conversion.139605/
And a thread about the many adventures I, and other people, take our minis on… of course when I go out for an adventure I haul using my van….
Adventures!
Now an SUV conversion might be a little more interesting. Would you take out the seats? Or just use the “trunk” area? If you take out the seats, then I would think it would probably work depending on how big your future mini would be. It would have to be a smaller mini because of the height. As long as he fits in there, I wouldnt worry about him hitting its head. My big horse, Riffics, hit his head in my horse trailer ONCE, he never acted silly again and would always reach to see where the ceiling was located. I would also say goats and chickens would fit. You could probably put them in some sort of caged crate. If you plan to use the trunk only, I’m not exactly sure how you would get a pig or a mini in there or out for that matter. The trunk on my Jeep Compass SUV is pretty tall, my cargo van “trunk” door is much lower to the ground. Now if you take the seats out, then I would probably load up through the side doors and not the rear trunk. You just need to be careful about “flying” animals!! You would need to either tie them up or have some sort of safety jail bars installed so no one comes flying through the windshield or in your lap. You’ll need to put down mats, plastic, or tarps to protect all that carpet from poop or better yet, rip out the carpet
I don’t know, maybe trading your SUV in for a cargo van might be easier for you? But if not, I’d say go for it, just remember safety first!!
How do you transport hay and feed for all those critters? My cargo van is surprisingly huge on the inside, with the luggage rack on the back, it can hold 13 square bales (50pounds each) of coastal hay (7 bales on the inside, 6 on the out).
Having had both, a small 1500 & a big 2500 truck along with a 2 horse slant load trailer, or my Ford Transit cargo van, hands down I would pick the cargo van any day of the week. It suits our purposes just perfectly, I am so glad I sold that big ole truck and trailer.
Good luck and keep us updated!!
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The additional plus is that the small trailer is useful for other farm tasks like picking up hay or other large items, that kind of thing. But that's just my opinion! There are certainly some folks on here who have done conversions and hopefully they'll chime in. I'm hoping, when the time comes, to be able to find a well-maintained or refurbish-able older 2h trailer, a lot of those only weigh 2000lbs or so and can easily be pulled by an SUV especially if you're only hauling minis or small livestock.
