Just bought my first trailer (2H bumper pull, no tack room but has some space in the nose for storage) and I’m getting ready to take it out for its inaugural trip. What would you consider your favorite/most important things that you keep in your trailer? 
Also, any storage or organization tips for keeping everything tidy in a trailer with no tack room? I will only ever haul 1 horse with my current tow vehicle, so I’ve been thinking about putting a trunk or something similar in the extra stall
Jiffy jack
Impact driver and correct socket for the lug nuts
Fire extinguisher
Water jugs for horse
Small first aid kit
Extra halters and leads
Longe line
Containers for everything! Also:
Bungees
Duct tape
Twine
WD-40
Sharp Knife and a spare
Aspirin and/or ibuprofen or Tylenol
Banamine. Having had a horse colic once at a one day show, I won’t trailer anywhere without it.
Twice as much hay as I think I’ll need.
Tylenol.
Toilet paper, cause ya never know!
And I usually bring my own H20 for the horses. Beats lugging buckets.
If your trailer has roof vents, will you require an aid to open and close them? I kept a lightweight plastic step stool in my trailer, but someone posted about using a tool on another thread.
Along with the drive-on jack, consider those reflective triangles for roadside use.
The plastic step stool mentioned above also doubles as a mounting block!!!
check the date stamp on the tires to make sure they are not aged
In addition to what others have said
Trailer-aid ramp
Extension cords
I have a hanging boot organizer, which can organize all sorts of stuff
Zip ties
I use the “fluid containers” like TSC sells as gas cans for water jugs.
Fabric collapsible hose
Oh boy - I keep/ kept a ton of stuff in the trailer (nearly all of which is deemed entirely necessary 
).
Never thought of tow straps!
I’ve had a trailer with no tack room for awhile. I honestly prefer to keep the trailer empty just have my horse, a hay net and shavings.
I put a lightweight cover on the bed of my truck. In there I have a jug of water, water bucket. Muck tub and small pitchfork. I then have a black and yellow tub filled with extras of everything including halters and leads. When I trailer out I chuck my tack and grooming stuff in the backseat of my truck.
Consider a LED headlamp instead of flashlight so both hands are free.
All of the above.
For water I like human water jugs because they’re easy to pour. They’re easy to fill and a plastic baggie and an elastic hair band (braiding elastics in a pinch) will keep them closed.
It’s been a minute since I used a no-tack trailer, but if I stretch my mind back 25 years or so, I used to roll my upright tack locker into the empty side. I’m sure I secured it somehow but that detail escapes me. May have involved tie straps around it and the breast bar.
I also (still actually) have a dedicated foot locker for first aid. A ton of stuff will fit in one of those.
Twine is free if you don’t consider the cost of the hay you scavenge it from and can come in handy. Check it in your tool bucket. Oh yes, lidded buckets are handy for keeping groups of things together and organized.
Thank you all! I have most of the suggestions already, definitely adding a few things to the shopping list 
These lights are great for small dark spaces. We have them all over the place and love them. They’re magnetic AND come with their own attachment strip. You can attach the mag strip anywhere then the light itself just pops onto it. They’re rechargeable and last a long time. I think we charge ours in heavy use maybe once a month? They’re fairly cheap too.
Search this on Amazon, when I copied the link it kept taking me to my account instead of just the product page.
Some things I haven’t seen mentioned that I use surprisingly often:
-Rubber Mallet (am I the only person on the planet who’s coupler can get jammed? I literally use this almost every trip when coupling and uncoupling)
-Axle grease for my ball
-Tire gauge that goes up high enough for trailer tires (a lot of the ones made for cars top out at 50 psi)
-Wasp spray in the warm months (it’s amazing how fast they take up residence)
This is pretty silly, after a few issues parking the trailer at overnight horse shows, I always bring my wheel chocks and my cinder block I rest the jack on when parked every single trip, just in case…
Great advice so far.
I keep all my items organized by stackable storage drawers. The bottom drawer is First Aid Supplies. Middle drawer is tools. Third from bottom is spares (girth, flash, bit, etc). Fourth from bottom is show items (pinnies, extra hair nets, copy of coggins, etc) and stud kit.
One of these: https://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Drawer-Medium-Storage-Drawers/dp/B06ZZDBMDK/
I also have a large Tidy Cats bucket that has extra tools for trailer and/or vehicle repair. This keeps the area pretty tidy.
Does the center divider go to the floor? Or at least far enough to prevent the trunk you plan to carry there from potentially sliding into the horse in the other stall.
I had a lot of years on the road with a two horse, no storage trailer. I’d load up all the above essentials into containers that go into the tow vehicle whenever you tow. Have nothing in the trailer box itself except horse and hay net.
The front wall space under the horse’s nose looks enticing, and I loaded hay bales for overnights there up until I arrived at a destination with a horse having caught a shoe in the baling twine and standing on three legs.
All of the above! I put tie rings on the long wall of the second stall in my trailer so things can be securely bungied in place. Also recommend raincoat, spare girth and spare saddle pad. Yes I once drove three hours and my girth was on the hook at home! Luckily there was a tack store around the corner. Halter and lead and the girth are my two most loaned out items.
we have put three apple airtags on our trailer, years ago we had one stolen from our driveway even though it was chained to a steel post
Used three as one is sort very easy to find a second that is hidden then a backup hidden one
As a note we found that specifically insuring the trailer for an agreed upon value costs very very few dollars a month for full coverage
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
