trailer question?

[jarmstrong]

the wife is in the market for a new horse trailer and I noticed that the size she is looking at(4 horse) seems to have enough room for our close to stock wrangler that we take on mild trail rides. They also have living quarters so we could camp in it as well.seems that 4 horses have to weigh close to that of the wrangler so weight shouldnt be a problem.The question is, are there any reasons why this is not a good idea? thanks for any input.

JERRY

[Hvy_Chevy]

aren't horse trailers usually partitioned to kind of keep the horses from moving around too much?

[jarmstrong]

most trailers we have looked at so far have had removable partitions inside,and a rubber mat on the floor for the horses to stand on that can be removed.any other drawbacks to this type of trailer? thanks

JERRY

[NJ]

Only thing I can think of is tie down points, which shouldnt be too hard too fab up, and just the height of the jeep and width fitting in....

4 warm bloods would be 4000+ pounds..... about that of a stock/mild wrangler..... dont know why it wouldnt work

see if the trailer dealer or owner would let you load your jeep in there before purchase tho.....

[jeepplr]

I am looking for a 4 horse with living quarters myself. A 4 horse fits a CJ 5 nicely. From my research a Jeep puts less stress on the floor that a horse, but watch the cross I beam spacing that hold up the floor. I was looking at an Adam trailer, the designer said my Jeep would overload the I beams because they are so far apart on center. I have narrowed my search to Exiss of Feather Lite. Both of those manufactures say one I beam will hold the entire Jeep.

[Non Urban]

Shouldn't you be asking the trailer manufacturer or sales about this. I would think the floor is not designed for a vehicle like a car trailer. I don't know alot about horses but they weigh what, about 1500 lbs. spread out over 4 hooves? I would think a Jeep is going to put alot more weight in a more concentrated(sp) spot. My thoughts.

[jeepplr]

Think PSI. A horse has the hooves with a thin shoe on it, all the weight is carried by the very edge not the entire hoof. A Jeep has the 4 wide tires. Also think about having a horse step on your foot vs: a Jeep or car drive over it. Had both happen, horse hurts worse.

[am4x4]

I have a friend that hauls a Sami in a 3 horse gooseneck, he made side rails and front and rear stops out of 2x12 to keep it in place and doesn't tie it down. no problems so far. Watch the door opening width, they had to look around to find one that was wide enough, his is either 69" of 72", I can't remember

[Gummi Bear]

There was a fella showed up at an event last fall at Gilmer, had his CJ7 in his horse trailer. Seemed like a good idea to me, though I didn't get to talk to him about it, or see how he tied it down.

I would think that welding in some flush mount tie downs to the floor would be OK, especially when you rolled the rubber mat back out.

[Trailer Guy]

Think PSI. A horse has the hooves with a thin shoe on it, all the weight is carried by the very edge not the entire hoof. A Jeep has the 4 wide tires. Also think about having a horse step on your foot vs: a Jeep or car drive over it. Had both happen, horse hurts worse.
This is the right way to think about it. The horse puts much more stress on the flooring.

Tie-Downs: Mount some recessed d-rings with backing plates into the wood, right at the edges of the trailer sides. The horses don't step right at the edges to often, and you can roll the rubber matting out and use them. It's a good idea to roll the matting out and spray out the trailer once a month or so anyways. There should be nothing at all wrong with what you're thinking. Most 4 horse trailers have 6k or 7k axles in them, so you shouldn't have any problems.

[welndmn]

When I was narrower, I hauled my bronco in a 3 horse trailer.
Its fine, the wood and crossmemebers on the horse trailer are a lot nicer then my flatbed.
Only reason I stoped is I am to wide now.