I currently have a 2 horse straight load with no dressing room and I’m considering an upgrade to get my dressing room, but I have really enjoyed the maneuverability of a smaller trailer.
I have a large horse, so I don’t think I can squeeze him into a slant, but I was wondering if there are any models I could look for with a tiny dressing room, so I can still have the shorter trailer length.
I am using Gore trailers as examples, because they are manufactured and have a wonderful dealer near me, and all I have ever owned. Floor plans and all measurements are on this web site.
Two horse straight load bumper pull with flat front and no DR is 13’4”.
Two horse slant load bumper pull with aerodynamic front and DR is 14”6”.
Two horse bumper pull straight load with aerodynamic front and 5’ DR is 16’6”. DR is 3’ on both sides and 5’ measuring into the nose.
So, if your goal is to have a DR and also have a trailer length as short as possible, then a slant load might be the best choice, as overall it is only 14” longer. It is a bit wider, but only by 7”. If you have just the one horse, a manufacturer could modify the divider placement to give your big horse his own big space. Or, just take out the divider, store it away for future use, and have a single horse trailer with one double-width standing space.
I have a Brenderup Baron LSL. It has a tack compartment in front of the horses, but not a full tack room. It’s surprisingly roomy though. Once parked, you can lift the roof to make the dressing room full height, and roll the wall back to the chest bar to add another 3 feet of dressing space (where the horses’ heads would normally be).
I have a 13’L x 6’W x 7’T stock combo: it’s like a stock trailer, but it has a slant divider and a wall to make a good sized dressing room in the front. I have a 16.2H WB who rides in it comfortably with the slant divider removed to make a box so she can ride alone. I would love something “cushier” for my horses, but it is a super handy trailer.
I have two horses, one of them is a little more petite but I do bring two horses nearly everywhere I go.
I’m just not sure I’ll be able to fit my 17hh horse into a slant
Maybe you could borrow a slant load and try him out in it before you decide one way or another. Put a magnetic mount wireless trailer camera back there so you can watch him and see how he rides in a slant load.
Or, maybe you could get a longer straight load with a DR, and a shorter tow truck? I am serious. I have both a long bed 2500 extended cab truck and a much shorter SUV, and the SUV is by far the best tow vehicle for my 2 horse straight load with DR bumper pull. It is much smoother on the road and much easier to maneuver the trailer in tight spaces. The big truck is just overkill for the 2 horse trailer.
Adding a dressing room won’t make that much of a difference to you in maneuverability. The most important thing is having enough room for the horse to haul comfortably. No good having a trailer you can’t get the horse into…
I would find a trailer like you have now but with an added dressing room.
I managed to fit a good sized 16.2 3/4 draft in my standard ie not a special warmblood edition slant load with dressing room. She fit very nicely in there and yes I had the divider clipped in so I could have hauled a second as well. See if you can try someone’s slant load out or if a dealer has a used model they may allow you a trial.
If you want shorter how about one of the brands that offers just some extra space in front of the horses. Not an official tack room, but room for saddle racks and other tack (safely stored).
Part of it depends on your definition of maneuverability and the types of turning/backing situations you typically find yourself in.
When it comes to backing up, a slightly longer trailer will probably be easier since it’s more “forgiving” than a really short trailer. I used to be the official backer-upper for my friend group when we went camping. At the time I had a tiny 2 horse with no dressing room that was a PITA to back into the campsites because it was so wiggly and easy to oversteer. I’d back up my friend’s 2 horse with a dressing room and it was so much easier!
And in the realm of most 2 horse trailers I’d say your ability to turn is probably more dependent on the turning radius of your tow vehicle than your trailer.
I’ve got a turnaround circle by my barn with a tree in the middle. When I had my 1/2 ton Ram Quad cab I could do the complete circle with my trailer (2 horse slant with dressing room) without having to back up/reposition. Now I tow with a 3/4 ton crew cab Chevy with a longer/wider wheelbase and I have to back up and reposition to get around the circle.
A slightly larger trailer may also feel better to tow since it won’t bounce around quite as much.
My Equispirit has a “tack closet” instead of a dressing room. It came with several bridle hooks and two saddle racks installed and there is plenty of room under the bottom rack to put some buckets and a brush box.
If you only have one horse, Equispirit makes a straight load one horse model with a dressing room. It’s 14’ 10" long. They look really nice - the dressing room and tack closet are on the side rather than in the front, so they look like a two-horse from the outside.
I am getting ready to sell my current trailer and keep looking at the one horse as a replacement. I’ve only got one horse now and don’t foresee ever going back to owning more than that, but still, I keep thinking, “what if…” and I’m not quite sold on the idea of committing to a 1 horse trailer.
My 2-horse slant became a 1-horse trailer when I got my big horse. I could squash him in there for a short trip if I was taking a friend along trail riding but it was really too small. However if you’re ordering custom they will make whatever you want. I switched to an extra tall straight load… and promptly bought a pony.
The tongue length on a bumper pull has a lot to do with how maneuverable it is. If it’s too short you can’t turn as tight, so keep that in mind when comparing.
You are quite correct! My teeny trailer is incredibly sensitive to back up but I feel like I have mastered her intricacies.
Maybe I’m attributing more to trailer size than I should but I have gotten myself out of a couple of tight situations (literally) with relative ease in that trailer and I remember struggling more with the big one.
It’s entirely possible it’s my updated tow vehicle or even my improved ability to back a trailer to thank for that.
I agree backing is really tricky with a smaller trailer. I had a Boeckmann trailer for my 18h and 17h horses. I definitely missed not having a full tack room. But it was the bees knees to get out of tight spaces. And I had the front unload ramp which made it so easy when we got to our destination. If you ordered one of theirs without the little tack cubby up front and got yourself a tack locker for the front, like one of the smaller eco flexi lockers, I think that could be a great setup. They are awesome and big horses are cozy in them.
I would also think about a custom slant that’s wider. My big horse could ride in a professional haulers slant load, which I think was 8’ wide. As long as he wasn’t in the section with the wheel arches he was fine. I don’t think I would ship long distances that way, but for a few hours, it was fine, he unloaded calmly.
Thanks! A lot of good suggestions here. Does anyone have any recommendations for trailer dealers on the East Coast/Midatlantic?
My Brenderup came through Traveled Lane in Maryland, and they were great. More recently, I’ve dealt with AJZ Trailer Sales in CT for maintenance and they were also great. I’ve never dealt with them, but Congelosi in NY usually has a lot of inventory.
I have a 2 horse straight load Sundowner Charter gooseneck. The area that “sticks out” behind my truck is only 14 feet long, including the 48 inch dressing room. It’s 7’ 6" tall and I can fit my 17’ 2" OTTB in it comfortably.
The Sundowner Charter bumper pull is 16 feet for the part that sticks out behind the hitch, so my gooseneck is shorter on the floor. You can do this because part of my dressing room storage is in the neck above the bed so you have less floor space needed.
My trailer is 7 feet wide, going to 8 feet gives you more floor space but makes it wider than your truck, puts the wheel wheels inside the trailer, and makes construction zones terrifying.
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