Critique my 2+1 LQ trailer design

[BK6756]

I’ve been dreaming about my ideal trailer and I threw together a layout by combining several things I liked.
I have 2 large TBs and one small QH (14.2h). 99% of the time I would be hauling 2 horses and use the “+1” space for tack, hay etc. I’d probably also want a hay rack on top. BUT in case of emergency I want to be able to haul all 3. I tried to keep the overall length as short as possible for maneuverability while still keeping the critical stuff (real shower, large fridge).
Any comments or recommendation based on your experience?
Is it even possible to have a slide out on a small LQ like this?
Best ballpark guess on what this would cost?

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[Arelle]

I can’t seem to get a larger picture to read all of the details, but… where would your tack go?

Edit: I can’t read on the small scale, but I would worry about the two back side by side horses biting the front horse, or the front horse kicking at the back horses. Is there a full divider there?

[RAyers]

No storage for tack, horse show or other equipment, e.g. tack trunks, buckets, grooming and veterinary gear, clothing, muck buckets, etc.

[BEARCAT]

Where do you store your tack??

[trubandloki]

@BK6756

99% of the time I would be hauling 2 horses and use the “+1” space for tack, hay etc.

The OP answers the ‘where does the tack go’ question in their original post.
The +1 is only for a horse in an emergency situation.

[cutter99]

Most slides require a 10’ wall in the LQ from what I have seen.

[Guilherme]

I had the same question about tack and equipment storage. An alternative arrangement would be to switch to a slant load for the two horses (which would solve the “biting” issue) and give a corner storage option at the back for tack. The front “+1” would end up with a “corner” but I don’t see that a serious issue. Right now that front stall is 8 x 6. Is that adequate our would 8 x 8 be better? Real question; I don’t have an answer.

Hauling horses loose in a “moving stall” has always been a questionable practice, IMO. Consider that a trailer moving at 60 mph is moving at 88 ft./sec., as is everything in the trailer. If there is mishap that causes a sudden stop then you’ve got a 1000 pound loose horse moving into a wall at 88 ft./sec. I can’t see how that’s good for either the wall or the horse. Horses confined in stalls (as shown in the diagram) are confined and, in the event of a mishap, will at least have the chance to influence their own motion as they are facing forward (or even backwards. which some people recommend). If those stalls were slants the result would be the same (and maybe even better). But the loose horse? That’s going to be a real “crap shoot.”

I’m sure you can get a custom slide made if the trailer is going to be custom. All it takes is money!!! IIRC a slide will add from 1200-1500 pounds to the empty weight of the trailer if they are built of quality materials. This will be a consideration for what type of tow vehicle you will use.

We have a “weekender” LQ that is very close to yours in design. The trailer is a 2002 Featherlite four horse, which will be very close to yours in overall size. Our empty weight is just about 7100 pounds. I think yours will be a bit heavier as you have a full shower and we don’t. If you have a standard RV toilet you will also have a “black water” tank and that will be good for 8.3 lb./gal. We use an Incinolet and have not black water issues. We carry 50 gal. of fresh water.

We’ve lived in our LQ for as long as 14 days. It really does promote “togetherness.” And patience.

If it were me I’d add a few more feet in length, add a couch, and forget the “slide.” I think the weight would likely work out about the same and you’d save the slide maintenance issues. It would make it longer and that might be a significant, negative issue. To add a bit of usable floor area use a two person vice four person dinette. Or even a small table and two chairs. If you’re not traveling with children this is a pretty good compromise.

It’s good that you’ve gone to a full 8 foot width. Ours is a bit narrower and I do wish we had the full width.

You’ve got a good basic design. You’ve got my “tweeks” to the design. Good luck as you go forward.

G.

[IPEsq]

I can’t read the dimensions. You will need stud doors separating the box from the 2H part. The interior parts need to be engineered so that the box(es) (when you convert the back) are secure and all surfaces the horses can lean on are able to withstand the leaning. So, when you convert the rear to a box, is there a full length butt bar? Is the front divider strong enough in this configuration? Will you need a big single door?

Finally, I think all 2+1 trailers I’ve seen have the front ramp on the right side and escape door on the left.

[Bluey]

Are you figuring, if wider, wheel bays inside the trailer?

Some designs, with slant loads, you can adjust for wheel bays better than straight loads.

[CLB15]

No comment on the LQ details or cost, but as for the +1 details, make sure the manufacturer makes the center divider for the intended purpose. My trailer was second hand and the full height center divider double doors (one hinged off each wall & meet in the center with drop pins that go into the floor) are carriage-proof, not truly horse-proof.

Definitely get full height doors. I never would’ve thought a 2+1 would be made without full height, but I saw one a few weeks ago that had NO head room ahead of the 2 straight stalls, so the only place for those horses heads to go was I’m the +1 area. Doesn’t look like that’s an issue with your layout anyway though

My trailer has extra long & wide straight stalls, with head room, and I’m having the center divider “horse proofed” in a few weeks so it can handle a horse loose in the box leaning against the doors. My box stall is for a small horse (and a yearling, until she can tie & trailer), so I’m squeezing by with a 6.5’ by 8’ box.
As a side note, with the box stall a separate e-door going into the straight stall area might be useful? Just thinking how it would be if you needed to unload the straight stalls but had a horse or load of hay in the box.

[SimpleSimon]

I have a trailer that is similar’ish that I also custom designed. I probably tend to build my stalls a little long, however, I think your stalls are a bit short. It looks like for the two straight horses you have 6.5 feet between the butt bar and the chest bar and then 2.5 feet for head/neck room. That seems short for two large horses. My straight stalls are 7 feet between butt and chest bar and then 4 feet for head and neck. I probably could have shaved off one foot for the head and neck but I think it would put the dividing wall between the box and the two straight right in their face.

Again, I made my box quite large. I’m having a hard time from your diagram determining what the interior width of your design is. The front shows 96" or 8’ but the diagram shows the wheel wells out the outside of the trailer which leads me to think that is exterior width. If your interior width is 7’ and your box length is 6’ that leaves the diagonal length of the box stall at 9’. Again, that seems a little short to me.

Like you, I typically use my box as a tack room and that works quite well. My living area is shorter than yours so the overall difference on the floor length between your proposed trailer and mine is only 2.5 feet.

Best of luck and hope your trailer turns out to be everything you want it to be.

[Puddin_Pie]

Looks like your horse length is 6.5 feet in the back, is that enough? Of course I had mine built a bit longer because i have a big horse. I have a 7 1/2 foot living quarters with a fill toilet and shower. There is just about enough room to turn around in the “living area”. I have a fridge, sink and microwave, nothing else. The water tank is under the box step to the gooseneck, so it eats into floor space. I have a 3" mid tack and the LQ opens into it, which helps tremendously. I wish I had a 4" mid tack, but opted for smaller to keep the length down. My trailer is actually built on Hawk’s 2+1 chassis, with the wheels moved forward to balance the LQ.

[China_Doll]

Horse length should be 10’

[crosscreeksh]

We have a larger version of this that I designed and had built 25 years ago. Our front ramp in on the curb/opposite side than yours. Easier to load and unload from the curb.

[BK6756]

Thanks for the advice and sorry for the delay in responding- was at a horse show all weekend.

Arelle, RAyers, BEARCAT- The +1 would be used for my tack. I hate the small triangular spaces created by slants. A 6x8 foot box seems like it would be SO much easier to organize and keep neat that 2 triangles. I keep 80% of my tack in the trailer at all times, so big space is important. I also want a roof hay rack.

There would be a full divider between the two horses and the box. My horses all get along extremely well, so I’m not concerned about them kicking or biting each other. They have head contact in my current two horse straight load and they are great. That would be a consideration for future horses or if I ever have to resell it.

cutter99- Thanks, that was what I was afraid of.

Guilherme- I know the 6x8 is a bit small for a stall and the loose box isn’t ideal, but again, it would only be in an emergency when I need to evacuate all three horses, so I’m ok with it.
I included the slide because I was trying to minimize length while maximizing space. TBH I’m scared of ending up with a trailer that’s so long I hate driving it. I was already counting on it being a pretty heavy trailer, but it sounds like I would need to make it a 10ft LQ to have the slide, so that may not be an option anyway.

IPEsq- I would not be using the rear for a box stall ever.

CLB15- Good idea about adding an escape door in the 2-horse part!

Bluey - Thanks for the reminder about the wheel wells… that was a major oversight on my part and I’m not sure where exactly to draw them in. Also, good point about which side the front ramp goes on- I hadn’t really thought about which side is better.

China Doll- Thanks for the budget info. My design crams it all into 24 floor feet, but that might have to increase in a couple places. Yes, gonna add a foot of length to the 2 horse stalls.

SimpleSimon and Puddin Pie- Making the stalls 7 feet is a good idea and maybe adding .5 ft head space. It’s supposed to be 8 feet interior width, but leaving out the wheel wells was a big oversight on my part. I’ll need to figure out placement of those…

crosscreeksh- Good point about which side the front ramp goes on- I hadn’t really thought about which side is better!

[BK6756]

I just tried posting a long reply and it disappeared??

[Bluey]

@BK6756

I just tried posting a long reply and it disappeared??

When it does that, as you go back to the same page and open a posting window, there will be a yellow line asking if you want to restore what was previously typed there.

Click on restore and you should get your post back.

[BK6756]

Thanks for all the tips so far!

Arelle, RAyers, BEARCAT- My tack will be stored in the “+1” compartment. I hate those tiny triangular tack spaces in slant loads. I’m looking forward to a 6x8 ft space to have all my tack neatly organized ( I keep most my tack in the trailer at all times). I also want to include a roof rack for hay. There’s a divider between the 2H and +1. The horse in the 2H do have head contact, but my horses get along very well and actually haul better when they can see/touch each other.

cutter99- Thanks, that’s what I was afraid of.

Guilherme- Yes, the +1 stall is pretty small and being loose isn’t ideal, but I’m ok with it since it will only be used to haul a 3rd horse in an emergency. I incorporated the slide out because I was trying to maximize space without adding length. I’m really afraid of ending up with too long of a trailer where I hate to pull it. I was less concerned about the weight since we’ll have to get a new towing vehicle anyway.

IPEsq- There will be a wall separating the 2H and the +1 space. The 2H will not be converted into a box. Good idea about which side to put the doors- I hadn’t really thought about which would be better.

Bluey, Simple Simon- It’s supposed to be a 8 ft wide trailer and I completely forgot about the wheel wells- thanks for the reminder.

CLB15- Great idea on adding an escape door to the 2H part!

China Doll- Thanks for the budget info. I’m trying to cram everything into 24 ft floor length on the diagram because I’m afraid to get one too long and hate pulling it. Do you feel like the 31 ft is difficult to haul?

China Doll, Puddin Pie, Simple Simon- I think you’re right- I will make the 2H area 1 ft longer.

crosssreeksh- Thanks! I hadn’t really thought about which side is better.

[cutter99]

Hey BK6756- One thing to ask yourself is about the hayrack- do you really think you’ll use it and do you have a way to get the hay up on top of the trailer? I have an LQ trailer with a hayrack that I have never used, and can’t see using due to the trouble of getting stuff up there. This trailer came with the hayrack on it, but a hayrack is not something I would put on another trailer. In the past, our trailers always had an extra slant with a stud gate to hold hay. That allowed easy loading and unloading, as well as storage out of the weather. Even in our smaller trailer that was only 6’8" wide, we were able to get 20 bales of hay in that slant.

I also saw what you were asking about length and can share my experience. My current trailer is 28’ on the floor and 8’ wide, and while it hauls nicely with a one ton cab and chassis truck, I would say it is “cumbersome”. It has tons of space inside, especially if we were doing trips that were weeks long. We had a smaller LQ before that was only 23 1/2’ on the floor and 6’8" wide. That trailer was extremely handy to get around.

I am actually in the process of selling my current LQ and ordering a new stock combo trailer that is a little bit similar to your plan. Mine will have a rolling center gate so I can make a “tack room” in the horse area and move all my equipment back there to have the dressing room for sleeping in. Hay storage will also be in front of that gate area. This trailer will have a walk through door from the dressing room to the rear, and we will put a porta potty back there too. I am trying to keep the total length at 20’.

One other recommendation I can make is to find a knowledgeable dealer, who listens to what you wants and needs are, and can offer suggestions. I contacted a total of 5 dealers on 3 different brands. Two never responded at all. One responded with a price that was much higher than the other two. One dealer took a full week to get back to us, but the quote was slightly lower than the dealer who is actually ordering our trailer for us. The dealer doing the order was very prompt in returning every communication we had, listened to what we do with our horses, and what we wanted a trailer to do. He actually talked us out of some options that would have raised the price of the trailer, but were not “must haves”. In total his recommendations could save us close to $5K.

[BK6756]

@cutter99

Hey BK6756- One thing to ask yourself is about the hayrack- do you really think you’ll use it and do you have a way to get the hay up on top of the trailer?

As far as a way to get the hay up there…I was counting on my DH doing that
Right now I drive a large SUV and pull a 2H bumper pull with small tack room, so we routinely use a ladder and stack a couple bales of hay on the roof rack of the SUV. It is cumbersome, but I like the idea of more space to carry stuff without adding length. I will have so much less vehicle space when we switch from SUV to truck, so all of our horse show supplies/camping gear will have to go somewhere. I guess I’ll have to see how much adding the hay rack is gonna cost and whether I think we would get enough use out of it to make it worthwhile.