Posted 2015-09-03 12:21 PM (#164611) Subject: Conversion from four horse straight load to slant
New User
Posts: 3
Location: Idaho Falls, ID
I am starting a new project and was unable to find much in the way of examples. So I decided to post my progress here for others. We are not experts nor do we have any previous experience in doing this. Expert advice welcome. Background: I just bought this 1973 Tru Trailer. It is a standard four horse straight with a half divider. It is 4 feet 10 inches wide by 16 feet to the nose, 14 feet to the edge of the horse flooring. The previous owner partially converted on stall into extra tack space. To date when have torn out what he did as well as what was left of the manger area and exposed rust and repairs we need to make before proceeding. I have a link to some photos. https://www.flickr.com/photos/135957610@N04/shares/G6pJ6W
Posted 2015-09-07 6:43 AM (#164627 - in reply to #164611) Subject: RE: Conversion from four horse straight load to slant
Expert
Posts: 1989 Location: South Central OK
You may find the cancerous rust makes this project a money pit. I see lots of frame rust in the pictures. With the trailer being so narrow I'm not sure a slant is the best option, as slant loads require a wider trailer in order to be space saving. Measure your biggest horse and work the math backwards to insure that your dividers are far enough apart once closed.
Posted 2015-09-07 8:07 AM (#164628 - in reply to #164611) Subject: RE: Conversion from four horse straight load to slant
Expert
Posts: 3853 Location: Vermont
Well, you are about to learn at the school of hard knocks...your welding and metal fabrication skills will be stressed, to say the least...you are going to find that you are are going to be making major cuts to get rid of that rusty metal especially where it is part of the structural framing of the trailer...and if the bottom frame is as rusty as the pictures you have posted...you may end up doing an almost complete re-fabrication of the deck...as it is bad form to have horses falling through the floor of a trailer...:(
Posted 2015-09-15 3:50 PM (#164710 - in reply to #164611) Subject: RE: Conversion from four horse straight load to slant
New User
Posts: 3
Location: Idaho Falls, ID
Update on the project: Due to the narrow width of the trailer we decided to only modify the front stall area. The entire manger area was removed including the floor. The frame underneath was completely refurbished and painted. The wood floor in the front was replaced but the rear section was good and left. The floor that was directly under the manger area was replaced with aluminum. We hired a welder to reinforce the weak spots and create the metal frame for the divider. The welder was able to reuse all of the old divider steel. We used 3/4 inch plywood for the wall. Added a front strike plate we reused from a good piece of the removed manger. Reused plywood from the manger area to pad up the floor so its was level. Installed carpet on top of that in the tack room. We repainted the entire inside. Here is the link to the album. <script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8">
Conversion from four horse straight load to slant
