mr_ed
Toolbag
...why do you rarely see them? There's plenty of cargo trailer conversions out there, but the google machine only turns up a handful of camperized horse trailers.
I have several friends who have enclosed trailers, and the built quality seems rather hit-or-miss. I have personal experience with conventional RV trailers and I know their build quality tends to be subpar at best. I don't have experience with horse or stock trailers, but at a glance they seem like they would be constructed better than a conventional enclosed trailer or camper (i.e. steel or aluminum body, versus plywood and 2x3 lumber shoddily stapled together with some siding material slapped on). Also, they're obviously designed to have multiple 1000 lb+ animals dorking around inside, and a lot of horse camps are a long ways up potholed, washboarded FS type roads, and yet I've never heard of them falling apart. All that, combined with the fact that there seem to be a fair number of decent examples available at any given time for reasonably low prices, you would think that they would be an ideal foundation for all the DIYers out there who want a simple, rugged, and unique camper. I would think it would be kind of like the difference between a regular RV motorhome and a well-done skoolie conversion. Regardless of what some might think of the whole skoolie conversion thing, there's no denying that compared to regular RV construction, school buses are built like tanks.
My wife and I are beginning to plot our post-retirement course, and it looks like it's going to involve a camper of some sort. I've noticed several gooseneck horse trailers for sale near me that have small living quarters in the front (queen bed over the hitch, kitchen, dinette, and bathroom). It occurred to me that it might be pretty neat to use something like that as a base, knock out all the horse related stuff and finish off the interior of the stable section. It would already have the AC/DC, plumbing, and LP systems more-or-less in place, but otherwise would be an almost blank slate to finish out however we wanted. Properly executed, it could be a pretty unique camper without the chintzy mass-production RV feel, and might hold up better going up into National Forests and whatnot.
To be clear here: I'm not suggesting using them as an "off road" camper. I'm only wondering if, in a world where most commercial RVs are really just designed to go down the highway from RV park to RV park, would a converted horse or stock trailer be more up to the task of handling FS roads and byways without falling apart in a matter of a few years?
What am I missing about these trailers? Is there something about them that I'm unaware of that makes them really unfeasible for a DIY camper project?
I have several friends who have enclosed trailers, and the built quality seems rather hit-or-miss. I have personal experience with conventional RV trailers and I know their build quality tends to be subpar at best. I don't have experience with horse or stock trailers, but at a glance they seem like they would be constructed better than a conventional enclosed trailer or camper (i.e. steel or aluminum body, versus plywood and 2x3 lumber shoddily stapled together with some siding material slapped on). Also, they're obviously designed to have multiple 1000 lb+ animals dorking around inside, and a lot of horse camps are a long ways up potholed, washboarded FS type roads, and yet I've never heard of them falling apart. All that, combined with the fact that there seem to be a fair number of decent examples available at any given time for reasonably low prices, you would think that they would be an ideal foundation for all the DIYers out there who want a simple, rugged, and unique camper. I would think it would be kind of like the difference between a regular RV motorhome and a well-done skoolie conversion. Regardless of what some might think of the whole skoolie conversion thing, there's no denying that compared to regular RV construction, school buses are built like tanks.
My wife and I are beginning to plot our post-retirement course, and it looks like it's going to involve a camper of some sort. I've noticed several gooseneck horse trailers for sale near me that have small living quarters in the front (queen bed over the hitch, kitchen, dinette, and bathroom). It occurred to me that it might be pretty neat to use something like that as a base, knock out all the horse related stuff and finish off the interior of the stable section. It would already have the AC/DC, plumbing, and LP systems more-or-less in place, but otherwise would be an almost blank slate to finish out however we wanted. Properly executed, it could be a pretty unique camper without the chintzy mass-production RV feel, and might hold up better going up into National Forests and whatnot.
To be clear here: I'm not suggesting using them as an "off road" camper. I'm only wondering if, in a world where most commercial RVs are really just designed to go down the highway from RV park to RV park, would a converted horse or stock trailer be more up to the task of handling FS roads and byways without falling apart in a matter of a few years?
What am I missing about these trailers? Is there something about them that I'm unaware of that makes them really unfeasible for a DIY camper project?
