Converting Horse Trailer to Basecamp

SiliconTi

Stuck in the Mud
Hi All,

OK, so searches led me to nothing, sooooo....


Well, I am looking at making a trailer to act as a basecamp - not to take offroad. Around here, horse trailers are a dime a dozen. Anyone convert one to a camper? They are about the right size and height, clearly strong and easy to two.

Thoughts?
 

SiliconTi

Stuck in the Mud
D'OH! I did not even think to search under cargo - thanks!

I'll search now.

Thanks for the TTT link, looks very useful.
 

Mundo4x4Casa

West slope, N. Ser. Nev.
I bought a tiny, tandem axle, two stall N/S horse trailer for $225 a few years ago with no floor. Horse urine dissolved it decades ago. This was the final option (#3) for a bear-resistant trash trailer for our compound. I replaced the floor with two glued/screwed layers of exterior grade 5/8" plywood and primered and painted the rig brown. I also plated over all windows and open areas to further resist bears. It has worked well. I wanted to leave it rusty white and apply 12" letters that called a spade a spade, namely WHITE TRASH, but Jeanie did not cotton to that idea.
Here's what you need to know: This tiny old box made for Shetlands weighs 2500 pounds! Not quite bullet proof but made to resist horses trying to kick down the door. I've used my Cummins and my XJ to haul it to the dump. The XJ is way out of its league trying to pull this even with a Class III hitch. The every-six-weeks dump load is rarely over 250 pounds, luckily, so that part does not make much difference.
Contrast this with my 14 foot, wood plank deck, 7K GVW, steel framed, two axle car trailer on which I tow my CJ8 around. It weighs a measly 1100 pounds, dry. The moral to the story is, I think a horse trailer is too over-built and too heavy to be a good start for a make-over base camp trailer, unless you get it for free. If you do get it and fix it up, you will need a heavy duty tow vehicle to move it. IMHO.
jefe
 

JHa6av8r

Adventurer
My co-worker was telling me that he's getting a goose neck trailer with living quarters in front with room for three horses in back. It's basically a toy-hauler for horses.
 

AbleGuy

Officious Intermeddler
On the other hand......even tho the horse trailer is very heavily constructed and thus weighs a lot, it is much, much tougher and stronger to use pulling behind you on crappy, rutted, bumpy forest roads. And it is narrower usually than gear trailers.

So if you can haul the weight, building a horse trailer into a simple camper for use on the worst back roads in the woods can be a good idea.
 

samthomp85

New member
So I know I am about a year late to this thread but i am curious if you ever went through with your horse trailer conversion? I posed this question a while back on this site and it went over about as well as a fart in church. People shot it down real quick. I hope you did though and would like to see pictures if you did.
 

JSue

New member
I bought a 16 ft, two horse 1973 Miley horse trailor for this express purpose. It had a seperate tack room which I am making into the bathroom. The rust was moderately bad so I double treated with rust stop. Painted the exterior with rustoleum's ivory, spa blue and moss green first to please the neighbors...
Pulled the center divider out, insulated the floor and walls and roof with rigid foam insulation (not too hot not too cold primary goal) and did a checkered blue and white linoleum floor. Put in kitchen drawers, cabinet & double stainless steel sink... Plumbing is going to be primitive.
Painted everything twice.
Bought instant hotwater heater shower, camper toilet and horse trough as tub... I am proud of it. My goal was to be able to park in a nice neighborhood with my dogs and have no one know we are sleeping & living in there if necessary. Including some before to midway photos...
 

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