I’ve had a Stephex for almost three years now. I used to haul with a Boeckmann which I liked very much but couldn’t park at my new house.
There are some real plusses to the Stephex. I like that the horses ride backwards. If you need to break, they just kind of bump into the wall and it seems less stressful. I don’t tie my horses and put my hay on the ground and they eat the whole time head down. For my ulcerey horses, I think that’s helpful. they will pop their head and look out the window sometimes.
It stays quite cool, there is an air circulator and windows. I live in southern california, so that’s a big plus. I also like that most anyone can drive this thing, all the grooms have my house gate code and know where I hide the key so they can easily get the thing if there’s an emergency. Again, socal fires make this a definite plus.
The tack room to me is really huge, but I travel pretty light. I usually set it up so I can easily open the doors to the stalls. On longer trips, it’s easy to give them more hay and water when we stop for gas. I like that I can load and unload by myself and horses seem happy to get on it. The only dicey moment is when you open the ramp, you’re at street level and the horse is way up high and all that’s keeping them in is the big fabric strap. I’ve never had a problem but I move quickly in that moment bc your eye level is at their knees basically!
One big plus I didn’t consider is if you drive with a truck and trailer in California, you are limited to 55mph on the highway and I’m always surprised but cops will give you a hard time if you’re pushing 60-65. If you’re driving from Los Angeles to Sonoma, and you can go 20mph faster in the long middle section that’s dead straight and cars are going 90, that actually cuts down kind of meaningfully on the trip time.
Negatives above are definitely true, if the horse behind the drivers seat kicks, it is terrifying. The horses are very high up in the air, so you have to drive slower than you would with a trailer on turns. I crawl once I’m off the highway and streets are bendy. You don’t jostle much with the horses, but if it’s windy and empty in the van, it’s like a sail, you have to be careful. Coming home from thermal with no horses and lots of wind is not fun.
It’s funny everyone says why would you want a single purpose vehicle, I use my pickup truck all the time once I unhitch the trailer etc.
And for us, this van is almost more useful than a pickup, and gets much better gas mileage. Because it’s so expensive, I’ve kept it meticulously clean, so we use it to move around all kind of things. Furniture, art, christmas trees, equipment and materials for my remodel. It’s easier to get things in and of than a truck too. the ramp is easy to lift alone.
Any kind of errand you want to run, it’s super fun to drive. Your only major concern is height on underground parking lots. But with all the cameras, it’s easy to park and no longer than a long bed pick up truck. It is HILARIOUS to drive up to valet with. Highly recommend that. So at shows, I really don’t mind having it as my driver back to the airbnb or grocery store.
Overall, I really like it, I get a ton of use out of it. For a while my kid would spend hours playing in it, switching the light to blue and white etc. It’s not for everyone, and its stupid expensive, but I’m pretty stupid, so it works out for me.