horsetrailerworld.com is a great resource to sell a used trailer, but I can’t find anything like it for a horse van. I’m in Wellington, so I should be able to get this thing sold this winter. I put it on Facebook, and I have signs on it, but where should I advertise it? I’d like to reach the dressage and the hunter/jumper peeps…Any suggestions?
Where is Wellington? If in North America then I’d use Horsetrailerworld. Here’s an example of one.
https://horsetrailerworld.com/home/trailerdetail.asp?ID=1117611
But if you’re talking UK or Australia, then can’t say I have a recommendation, sorry.
@ladymcts Wellington is in Florida, so North America.
@fancy.pants How large is your van?
The problem may be a lot of people - including riders, trainers, barnowners - use their truck as a daily driver & so don’t want the bother of having to bring the horse compartment with every time they go to the grocery store.
I suspect this is true.
Professional and large amateur operations might find them useful but for most the truck/trailer combo is infinitely more flexible and useful.
Shortly after I moved to TN in 1990 I was in Bristol and visited Streamliner (I’m pretty sure that was the name of the place). They had some MONDO KOOL horse vans and a some fancy trailers. They also sold Featherlite trailers, which is what I was looking for. I thought about the van, but decided it was an ill considered allocation of assets. The place quit the van/fancy trailer business within a year.
In a place like Wellington you might be as well off on Craig’s List (which I do not normally recommend) as anything else.
G.
Well, plenty of people use horse vans. That’s not the issue. The reason I’m leery of using horsetrailerworld.com, is that they don’t have a search for horse vans. Only trailers… I’m going to take it to the hunter/jumper show next weekend, and put flyers around town. Maybe I’ll get t hit.
back in the old days we used vans, the number one complaint I would have was putting the ramps in place.
OP if your van has lightweight easy to put in place ramps for loading/unloading that do not require two weight lifters to pull out and place I sure would high lite that feature
When we moved south we changed over to using trailers as one person could transport a horse by them self
if your van is smaller, not requiring a CDL be sure to make note in sells flyers
They are importing 2 horse Euro style vans now, with a ramp that flips up and forms the side wall of the van. The horses face backward, and the ramps are balanced so that a child could lift them! The vans are so small (its a Dodge Ram truck), that they fit in a normal parking space! Its a great improvement over the Frank Imperatore days! Got rid of one of those, myself, many years ago. Google Stephex horse vans.
gumtree, I think they fell out of favor because a lot of women can’t put those ramps up alone. I couldn’t. My van is a very different animal–see post above. I’m not posting a photo, as I’m not trying to sell it here…
OP, I have seen some of the vans like yours and those are nice… the ones I saw were built on that Mercedes tradesman work van
as Gumtree noted you can find an “old-style” van like the one in post #8 that can be nearly forty years old but have less than 30k miles on it …but those ramps, some horses would refuse to load as they were not going to walk up that slope, others would jump off when unloading
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We were posting around the same time. You know the name and the ramp so you much be an east-coaster, lol.
Yup the old ramps were a bear, esp when you’re a kid. I can still hear my mother cursing. They worked a lot better when kept well greased.
The upgraded aluminum ramps with much better rollers made for much less work.
I’ve ridden in a Stephex horse van when in Europe. Fabulous, but kind of pricey for the average horse owner. Worth every penny though.
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I suppose it depends on the old style make. The ramps on the one I pictured were a PITA to get in and out depending on condition, As I said to the OP the upgraded ramps were much easier.
The ramps on the Imperatore made vans/bodies were quite long so the pitch/slope wasn’t as steep as others. Large sides that fold up and down on to the ramp. Never had an issue with a horse loading or unloading and I had loaded lots over the years. Most of us used “coco matts” on the ramp also. I’ve had far more trouble getting some horses on to GN or BH trailers then I ever had with a van. Had plenty “jump off” of them too, lol.
Vans were so much the norm in the east that just about all “proper” farms built “van ramps” so you just pulled the van along side and lined up the door. Still see them at a lot of farms.
IMO for somebody on a budget vans are the way to go. Excellent value for money usually. The 6 horse Imperatore that Ladymcts linked to is a bit pricey for one with that many miles on it. Didn’t say if it had AC either. Much bigger than most people want/need.
I love those Stephex vans. What do they sell for used, Fancypants? Send me a link when you post it if you don’t mind. I am not in the market right now so this is not a sale opportunity. Wondering down the line if I could have a different daily driver and a van for horse stuff, instead of my truck and trailer.
that said the worst thing I have seen at a show is when I was walking to my trailer and someone pulled up with a 6 horse van. A horse foot was sticking out the broken window. They were flagged down and when it was opened up…OMG. Dead horse bled out with at least 1broken leg…and the drivers swore they never heard a thing. I always thought a van would be closer to the horses but I don’t know if they were in denial or what happened. Mare was supposedly a bad traveler but it was gruesome. The other horses…can’t imagine they hauled well after that but horses are so forgiving.
Not really a fan but if I were going to do this I’d start with a used expediter truck like one of these:
https://www.commercialtrucktrader.com/listing/2007-Freightliner-Business-Class-M2-112--5001397813
https://www.commercialtrucktrader.com/listing/2007-Freightliner-Business-Class-M2-112--5001261538
https://www.commercialtrucktrader.com/listing/2007-Freightliner-Columbia-120--5001213733
It would take some modifications but when you were done you’d have a fairly modern vehicle, maybe even with automatic transmission, and a place to stay/hang out at your destination. Add a hydraulic ramp (rear or side) and you’re in business. Pull a toad and you’ve got wheels when you get to the show, event, or other grounds.
There are other versions without the fancy sleepers that go for less money.
This site, and Truckpaper, might be places to list your van. Truckpaper has a free option, Commercialtrucktrader starts at $19.99 for two weeks.
Good luck in your program. 
G.
