Hello everyone! I currently use a stock trailer to transport my horses. It is getting a little rusty, so I am planning to repaint it. Any recommendations for paint brands and maybe colors? It’s currently silver, but I’m getting a little sick of that color.
Also, I’m starting to do more shows and need a place for tack and a dressing room area. Does anyone have a clue on how to build a wall for a room in the front?
I re-did the interior in mine with rustoleum.
There are places here that will do that for you, as I am sure you know.
A friend won a nice three horse slant as end of the year high point and had it converted into a two slant plus a nice area with bit of living quarters arrangement in front.
They also made some changes to the paint colors, leaving the lettering with the win as it was.
She said it was not as expensive as she thought such would be, looks sharp and she said it pulled well and she and the horses like it.
Maybe check with your local trailer places first, before tackling it on your own, if you are not familiar with that kind of work?
If you want to do the painting yourself, first try using a steel brush on any rusty spots, best with those attachments to a drill or grinder, then painting.
Paint that advertises it can go over rust covers it fine, but doesn’t really last long before rust shows up again.
My husband redoes our heavy machinery. If you want it done right, you should talk to a professional, or find a friend with a sandblaster. You don’t want to just paint over the rust.
I saw a dark/navy blue stock trailer that I thought looked sharp! Do you have barn colors? Maybe you could keep it silver, then pinstripe your barn colors?
Could you add a center gate?
My stock came with this feature & it is where my cart goes when I drive my mini (mini goes behind the gate).
Full escape door in front.
Once cart is unloaded I have plenty room to dress in the space.
Tack/harness goes in with cart on a tack rack that hangs on top the sidewall.
If I needed total privacy it wouldn’t be hard to rig up curtains for the open spaces at the top.
Maybe curtain rods?
Years ago, when I had a 14 foot box steel stock trailer (not Galvaneal steel, so it did eventually rust), I got a quote for $1500 for professional sandblasting and painting. I really wanted something larger, and aluminum, so I sold it rather than putting the money into it, as I didn’t think I’d get it back when selling.
Meanwhile, a couple of trail riding buddies with a similar 16 foot box steel trailer repainted it themselves. First, they used a product (not paint) that was advertised to be able to be painted directly on rusty areas, and claimed to stop rust, then they repainted the trailer in navy. Looked pretty sharp, especially for a non-pro effort, and held up well, as far as I could tell, over the following few years.
As for the wall, I would talk to a fabricator…it shouldn’t be terribly complicated to either weld in a solid wall or add hinges for a swinging tack wall. But you’ll want someone who knows how to do quality work, it’s not really a DIY with how heavy and solid you want a tack wall to be. Have them add some saddle racks and bridle hooks, orr whatever storage configuration you want. You could put plexi panels over the stock slats in the tack area and have a mostly closed room.
Between that and the paint, though, it may be cheaper to just sell and buy something used that already has the features you want. 
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