Sunday, September 20, 2009

What Came First..

The horse trailer or the truck to pull it AND both horses?

Depends on what kind of deal one can find right?

Well - here is my "new to me" 7 ft tall extra wide two horse, ramp load, bumper pull trailer:




Notice the jack stand? Jim replaced all the wheel bearings and cleaned the brakes when we got it home.


The wood under those mats is in excellent condition. It's got a lot of hay inside in this picture. We cleaned it out really well - even took it car wash and power washed it all. The only "downside" if you will is that it does not have a tack compartment.

We have a Chevy Trailblazer with V6 that we can use to pull the trailer and haul Rosie by herself, but we can not pull both horses at same time. That's ok for now at least we have a way haul them if needed even it takes two trips. I can always borrow a bigger truck if needed but it's not always easy to find a trailer that's big enough for a draft horse.

Found the trailer on craigslist for $2200 I haggled to $2000!!!! I think this is the best deal I've made all year.




11 comments:

  1. ...totally cool. It's so horsey I can't stand it. Lucky!!!

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  2. I would say you made a great deal. Looks like a nice safe trailer, good luck with it.

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  3. One minor correction - Trailblazer has a "straight 6" (which, as all you motor-heads out there already know - has much better low end torque than a V6). However, the SUV has nearly 150,000 miles on the motor. Transmission has been replaced about 6,000 miles ago. Max towing capacity is rated at 5,000 lbs, but trying to pull that kind of weight really tasks the vehicle.

    The trailer is in awesome shape. I pulled the wheels and replaced the inner bearings only because the trailer was sitting for some time. They actually looked really good, but I didn't want to take a chance on a failure down the road (and they were cheap and easy to replace once we found someone who could cross the parts over). Next project is work on the wheels. The wheels have quite a bit of rust and paint chipping. I've been told you can purchase wheels with tires very inexpensively ($120.00 per wheel), so I might do that instead of pulling the wheels and tires, sand-blasting them, and repainting.

    Something tells me a gently used heavy duty truck is in our future. I don't know when, but if Jen uses the same logic as she did when she found Rosie, it will be sooner than later. :P

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  4. So translated "Yes hunny you can buy a truck - just make sure it's a big one!"

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  5. Congrats on the good find. And have fun shopping for that big truck!

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  6. Wow, found you through Kelly's blog and so glad I did! I had horses growing up and now I volunteer to muck stalls, groom and exercise at a 15-horse Arabian stable here in town every Saturday morning. I love it, just wish I could spend a bit more time there! I love our Rosie--she's a beauty!

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  7. Good for you!!! Sounds like a great deal....Love the question about which comes first..
    We do need a stronger truck even for the 2 horse bumper pull trailer we currently have. I would LOVE to have a trailer w/ living quarters......but then I would have to answer that question for myself, and I am afraid the answer is "It is too much $$$ right now!!!"

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  8. Hi Allison welcome to my blog! Rosie is definately a "Dream Horse"!!

    John and Regina - Some day I'll have a trailer with quarters but right now I'm happy just having a trailer!

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  9. WOW! Nice find and though I prefer a slant/ my mare won't get in a straight.This one looks good with the exit door -front.Wish it has a nice "movable divider" for you...but that could be arranged.Really great find!!!

    I got the trailer B-4 the truck! A fellow blogger sold me her 3 yr old, 500 mi Thuro-Bilt trailer for $4,000. I am looking for a v-8..and everyone tells me to get a stick. The transmissions stay intact longer, they say. I just hate shifting with horses!

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  10. KK - the divider is completely removable so if I want to open it up I can. Not sure I'd want to deal with a stick hauling horses either to much shifting.

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Happy Trails!

~Jeni