Still deciding what my next trailer needs to be and I’m intrigued by a 2 horse with a side ramp & no tack room–just extra space in the nose for saddle racks & a trunk. Curious if anyone has one of these and if so, what brand you have, if you like the setup, etc. Thanks!
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There was just a discussion about this. Look here:
Not sure how I missed that in my search. Thank you!
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I do, although it’s not a “normal” bp. It’s a custom 8’0 wide 2+1 bp and it is the best trailer ever. The +1 part has never yet and likely never have an equine walk through it, it’s actually the largest tack room I’ve ever had (I’ve set it up in such a way that I could put an 8’ pipe gate across the nose and make it safe to put a 3rd equine in the +1, but that is strictly for emergency evacuations)
I designed it so I could put one carriage on the trailer (the other goes in the truck bed) and there pony gets about a 6’ wide small box (scooter gets the 2’ slot, and I can also set it up with 50/50 stalls). It’s also fully insulated and has a 30 amp box and a couple plugs for not too primitive camping.
So it’s great for driving and then camping (with power) at driving venues, but honestly I love staging out of it for dressage shows so much that now I don’t even unload my tack, I just request a stall close to my trailer and bring my pony there. It’s easier, cooler and more comfortable.
If you can find a good one, I highly recommend the design, although I would spring for stud gates. Also it can get a bit dusty if you just leave bedding forever. I usually refresh bedding often and keep just enough for the horse area. I also keep a battery blower in the trailer and clean it religiously, in part because I keep things clean and in part because it’s me and my navigator’s living area at CDE’s.
Sundowner 2+1 BP. I know someone who got one with (removable) stud/box stall gates- just a walk-on walk-off just with stud doors added and no dressing room wall, built & bought off the dealer lot with that setup. Trailers USA, Hawk, and Kingston all have walk-on walk-off BPs. Trailers USA & Hawk seem to be very customizable. Kingston I think has two standard side ramp models- one with a dress and one without.
Would love to see a pic of that Sundowner!
I currently have a 2 horse straight load gooseneck without a dressing room so it’s just all open in the front. I love it because it feels so much bigger than if it had the dressing room but wish it had a side ramp. I don’t really ever anticipate a need for hauling 3 horses but I would love to have sufficient space in the front to stand a horse to tack up. I am by no means an expert but having a full sized horse in the front of a bumper pull doesn’t seem right to me as far as weight and balance?
Mine is a Trailers USA, but sadly Tay closed up shop about 18 months ago. And that’s a real shame since they were mostly custom high quality aluminum trailers and he really understood the special needs of the driving community.
Technically speaking, a horse in the front on a 2+1 bp is considered “load safe” since the order of safety is over then in front of the axles ( never behind unless balanced). It’s still not something I would ever do regularly for other reasons (it’s my tack room and sleeping area), but there are plenty of 3 and even 4 horse BP slants out there that get along just fine. So if I had to do it for an emergency and I could tie the third horse up by the stud gate so the heavier load was close to the axles, I wouldn’t stress out about it.
I have an EquiTrek - side ramp, BP, tiny LQ (but they make simpler versions), rear facing for horses, weighs 3000#
A friend has a Hawk 2h with front ramp and no real tack room. She is able to haul her carriage in front of the horses.
It’s not a BP, but I have a Hawk 2+1 gooseneck with no dressing room. It’s pretty great. I have hauled a small pony in the front part. It’s also nice for taking hay for long competitions. My favorite use of it is to load my horse by walking her up the front ramp, then backing into the stall. That ramp is easier and lighter to open and close than the rear ramp. That requires not filling the floor space of that area with junk, though. I keep a mini muck tub, water jugs and a small trunk there, taking up maybe 18" of the floor. I upgraded to this trailer from a 2H BP with no dressing room, so I don’t miss not having a dressing room.
That’s a bummer to hear! I had a second hand Trailers USA 2+1 GN for years that stood up wonderfully. I sold it around the same time an acquaintance was selling her Trailers USA side-ramp BP. After that I went with a Balanced Ride (Hawk) which I’ve loved, but the Trailers USA were nice & versatile too
Yeah, it’s definitely a loss for those of us who need custom trailers. I heard he was at that place small businesses find themselves in when they are good at their job, where he either needed to expand or close and he just couldn’t find enough good help to expand and was doing everything himself… I guess he decided that retiring sounded better.
A bumper pull would certainly eliminate the X factor of finding the truck/gooseneck compatibility.
obligatory comment here about the height of newer trucks being HUGELY AGGRAVATING
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