New horse vans

[greysfordays]

hi

I’m wondering about folks’ experience with the newer horse vans like the Stephex or Annard. I live in Los Angeles with uppity neighbors and a small driveway, so a truck and trailer just isn’t in the cards. I know financially this isn’t a great choice, but we’re trailering enough now that I want my own wheels especially in an emergency (I live 5 min from the barn).

Any experiences would be helpful, especially when it comes to size for the horse? I have a big guy. Also anything you didn’t think of before purchasing that came up that might give you pause buying now?

TIA!

[Chall]

https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/around-the-farm/335142-looking-for-thoughts-about-horse-vans

[mmeqcenter]

I am dying for a horse van, but it is nowhere near on my budget-radar sadly. I LOVE them.

If you’re in a suburb/neighborhood, check you city restrictions on what you can and cannot keep parked in your driveway. When I was in highschool and in the burbs, my dad wasn’t allowed to keep the horse trailer or camper parked in one spot for too long, so they either paid for paid storage or moved it around every week (front of house, side of house, on the street, etc.)

[greysfordays]

@mmeqcenter

I am dying for a horse van, but it is nowhere near on my budget-radar sadly. I LOVE them.

If you’re in a suburb/neighborhood, check you city restrictions on what you can and cannot keep parked in your driveway. When I was in highschool and in the burbs, my dad wasn’t allowed to keep the horse trailer or camper parked in one spot for too long, so they either paid for paid storage or moved it around every week (front of house, side of house, on the street, etc.)

We only have space on the street in front of our house for one car or truck. The rest of the street in front of our house is no-parking. You are supposed to move your vehicle every four days.

[greysfordays]

@Chall

https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/around-the-farm/335142-looking-for-thoughts-about-horse-vans

thank you! I saw that thread but only one person commented who actually had one of the new ones so I was hoping for more opinions.

[drafting_dots]

I want one so badly! Sadly I hear they aren’t great in mud, which we have a lot of here… but I’m thinking you don’t have that problem in LA

[greysfordays]

@drafting_dots

I want one so badly! Sadly I hear they aren’t great in mud, which we have a lot of here… but I’m thinking you don’t have that problem in LA

sadly no… that would require rain and I don’t even know what that feels like anymore

[Guilherme]

@greysfordays

hi

I’m wondering about folks’ experience with the newer horse vans like the Stephex or Annard. I live in Los Angeles with uppity neighbors and a small driveway, so a truck and trailer just isn’t in the cards. I know financially this isn’t a great choice, but we’re trailering enough now that I want my own wheels especially in an emergency (I live 5 min from the barn).

Any experiences would be helpful, especially when it comes to size for the horse? I have a big guy. Also anything you didn’t think of before purchasing that came up that might give you pause buying now?

TIA!

Get the truck and trailer and rent a space to park it at your barn. Problem solved!!!

Horse vans are a nice idea but are very expensive and pretty much good for only one thing, hauling horses. A pickup is good for all sorts of things, including hauling horses. That may explain the decline of the horse van and rise of the pickup/trailer combo.

G.

[BoringEventer]

Admittedly, I’ve never driven one. I think they could have great uses as an equine ambulance but outside of that I don’t really think they’re more practical than owning both a truck and trailer.

I mean, the size of them is the first problem that I see. Yes, overall they are shorter than the combined length of a truck and trailer but even the smallest of the horse-vans are pushing the edge of practicality. From what I can tell, the smallest ones are still 7 plus feet tall and 17 plus feet long. I do drive a fairly large truck around as my daily-driver, and live in a farmer-friendly town, but I still do end up playing a lot of “Will The Beast Fit?” when trying to go places like the grocery store. Personally, I can’t really justify having two vehicles and I really can’t justify having one with such limited purpose. Plus it really wouldn’t resolve storage problems if you had to have two vehicles.

And at shows, I really don’t think I’d like having a horse-van. It can be irritating to unhitch the trailer, but at least I can leave it on the showgrounds if I need to go to the gas station, or I don’t have to argue with hotel employees about whether or not the trailer is taking up too much space.

You might feel differently, but personally I’m not convinced that a horse-van would solve your lack of storage space problems.

[bip]

I didn’t have a new one, but I got it when I lived in Boston with just one underground parking place that couldn’t fit a truck. I didn’t want to pay to store a truck and trailer ($50/each is the going rate), and the van was only $5000 so it was cheaper than a truck+trailer. I didn’t mind that I couldn’t unhitch and just drive the truck, and it was supremely easy to drive (it was an International 4700 with 3/4 horse Imperatore body, so a medium duty box truck). I now have a Silverado 2500 and a 2h gn, and I like being able to use the truck for other things, but most of those things could just as easily be done with the van (perhaps just attracting a little bit more attention).

One drawback for me is that although it was very reliable, the few things that went wrong were costly to repair because it was essentially a commercial vehicle. All the parts were priced for someone using the vehicle to generate income, and designed to last a looong time. And I had to take it to a heavy truck mechanic, not just the regular shop. I was putting like 3k miles a year on the thing, so I never got the value out of the repairs I did. You will have the advantage of a new vehicle (mine had 340,000 miles on it!), but things can get broken or worn out and you will want to ask the dealer a lot of questions about who can service these things and what their warranty is like.

I don’t think you will get away with parking it on the street, especially if you have to remember to move it frequently. I suspect you will need to pay to store it somewhere, which can be a pain, especially if there isn’t room for it wherever you board. For every show, you have to pick up your van first, and it can be difficult (and costly) to find storage. Self storage places can sometimes accommodate them, but for $$$. I was sometimes able to park it cheaply at a mechanics (my BO knew the owner) and at another farm.

When I was truck/trailer shopping, I did consider a new van, but I ultimately decided I wanted to do the normal thing. Maybe in the future, I will want a van again. It was what I needed when I had it, and the new ones are so cushy!

[moving_to_dc]

We just bought a 6/8 horse 2006 Frank DiBella International D4300 van this spring. It is in immaculate shape and we drive it CONSTANTLY, way more than our pickups/trailers. We have used it to move friends entire house contents, picked up all manner of lumber/construction materials (super easy to fit 16’+ boards in the doors and no need to strap anything down!). I even used it to do an impromptu “petting zoo” for a friend’s summer camp - took goats, chickens, ducks, etc and the kids just came in the truck to hang out with them, it is SO BIG! It picks up a ton of feed a week, and if we don’t get around to unloading it immediately, it is perfectly fine stored in the horse box that is fully insulated and bone dry. I just hauled a horse in to the vet for emergency hospitalization last week, and her vitals were BETTER when she got off than they were when I loaded her. It rides like a dream, fully air ride, camera system, etc. It has a hitch on the back to haul whatever we need.

I honestly don’t know how we lived without it.

As far as repairs, it has not been bad at all. The truck had sat for a long time prior to us purchasing it, and has needed a lot of little things fixed. Most my husband was able to fix himself, and the few he had done at a shop really didn’t cost any more than the repairs on our diesel pickups.

The ONLY drawback to the van is it’s height. It is 13’6" tall and clips LOTS of tree branches on rural roads. We’ve lost a window and CB antenna to trees along the road so far. We can’t always scoot over into the other lane to avoid the trees… It is 102" (8’6") wide, which might be intimidating to some, but it is no wider than our 5th wheel camper, deckover flatbed, or gooseneck Sundowner, so we are accustomed to keeping a tire on the white line and the other on the yellow line in order to fit on the road.

[dressagegirl123]

I had one of the new Stephex for 2 years. It was incredibly easy to drive, and could fit in a normal parking space. You can do almost anything with them that you can do with a pickup. I got feed, furniture, went food shopping, etc. And it made going to shows so easy.
BUT. I don’t own it any more for a number of reasons. The most important one is that it was too small for my horses (17 hands and up). I had to leave the doors by their heads open for them to be comfortable, which left them with only some rather small chains tied to their heads, and no chest bar.
The second was that they are top heavy, and unstable for the horses. If you are only on straight and level roads, and go around turns at 2 mph, no problem. But on curvy or hilly roads, my experienced shippers were struggling, no matter how I drove. They are not stable, and I quickly went back to my trailer, with a floor that is much closer to the ground.
That was my experience.

[greysfordays]

@dressagegirl123

BUT. I don’t own it any more for a number of reasons. The most important one is that it was too small for my horses (17 hands and up). I had to leave the doors by their heads open for them to be comfortable, which left them with only some rather small chains tied to their heads, and no chest bar.
The second was that they are top heavy, and unstable for the horses. If you are only on straight and level roads, and go around turns at 2 mph, no problem. But on curvy or hilly roads, my experienced shippers were struggling, no matter how I drove. They are not stable, and I quickly went back to my trailer, with a floor that is much closer to the ground.
That was my experience.

Thank you so much for this, that’s very helpful. The stephex box’s horse area seems much too small to me. I can get an Equi-Trek or Annard with a much more horse room AND a chest bar, which I feel would help them for balance. Would that have made a difference for you or do you feel even with that the top-heavy nature of it would be too difficult? 95% of my driving will be highway.

[poltroon]

In LA, we typically were able to pay an extra fee to the barn to park the horse trailer there. There are a few that don’t have the space but only a few. If that’s not an option, there are lots of places that do RV storage that will let you park your trailer there (of course for a fee).

FWIW when I hauled in LA, the most dangerous part of driving wasn’t the freeway, but pulling in and out of the driveway of the barn and dealing with bits of city streets. Barn driveways off narrow, winding canyon roads are pretty typical, even for show barns.

That said, a horsebox still has a lot of nice qualities and if it’s what you want, I think a good option, especially if you can’t keep a pickup truck at home.

Do be aware of the height issue. You have to be a bit more aware when driving. (Surely there’s some sort of antenna type thing you can add to help warn you before it’s a calamity, at least if you’re driving slowly?)

[greysfordays]

Thanks Poltroon, I always appreciate your locally relevant insights on here! Unfortunately, I don’t have the option at my current barn on the westside for trailer parking. It would certainly simplify life a ton! The problem with RV storage is most places are super far from the barn in Brentwood. I’m tempted to post on nextdoor to see if anyone in my neighborhood would house the trailer. The top-heaviness of the horsebox worries me, my horse is super tall.

I 100% agree the most dangerous part will be pulling onto Sunset Blvd and the 2 miles to the freeway. The barn I trailer into for lessons if pretty easy off the freeway but for sure, will also require care.