I like my truck and trailer. An equine van sounds glamorous but we usually haul multiple horses (more than I've seen an equine van can carry) and use the truck for other things. I really wouldn't have the money or time to carry out costs and maitenance on three or four vehicles when I can have two: my truck and my trailer.

Plus I use my truck for everyday farm chores. It makes it easier to just have something I can use for multiple things imo.

 

Yeah I only have my one horse, and always seemed to like the equine vans. I am terrible at backing up a truck to hook it up to the trailer haha but that's one of the downsides to the equine vans, you can't really use them for anything else but hauling the horses. I would see if as a good thing for someone who shows for a living, but for me not so much. I just like to dream that one day my job will only be horses haha

 

In my area we have some pretty big name eventers and events and the pros sometimes have the huge vans for like 8 horses haha, but most of the people around me just use a truck and trailer. Are equine vans more expensive?
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It depends, I saw one on ebay for not very expensive. It was a nice one, very well kept, and it would hold three horses. I begged my husband but he said no of course haha

 

It's an intriguing idea, but having never seen one in person I can't really say if it would be for me or not. I traded in my little fuel efficient coupe for a pickup so I could pull a horse trailer; there's very little else I do with the truck that I couldn't do with a car or DH's van. If it were similar in expense to have a horse van and a little car as it is to have a truck and trailer, it could be very appealing.

 

Agree with Verona. I have a truck that is convenient for things like hauling hay, but not big enough to pull a horse trailer (maybe one of those one horse brenderups, maybe) but I do enough driving that having a fuel efficient car for everyday would be preferable and then have a dedicated vehicle for hauling my single horse and maybe one friend. But having a big enough truck, plus trailer, and then either use the gas guzzler to do my regular driving or buy a small hatchback or something, it would just be to expensive right now

 

That was my thoughts with it! I drive 20 minutes from the air force base we live on into town every day to see my horse. If I had a truck instead of a little honda civic, I would be paying an arm and a leg for gas. SO it would be nice to have a dedicated vehicle for just the horse, and than one for every day use. my husband of course see's things differently haha

 

When we were shopping for a holiday vehicle we looked at motorhomes and trailers. The decision was made for the trailer simply because we had somewhere to stay if the truck had to go in the shop. I'd think the same with a horse van or truck and trailer. Unless one is in to showing a lot or camping with horses, that's a lot of money tied up while the van just sits around.

 

The idea is good, but unless you're going to be showing/riding constantly it doesn't make much sense to have a vehicle that will sit unused a majority of the time.

I'd love to have a horse van but it's simply not practical with my lifestyle, and certainly not pocketbook friendly!

 

The idea is good, but unless you're going to be showing/riding constantly it doesn't make much sense to have a vehicle that will sit unused a majority of the time.

This...it's the reason more people own trailers versus motorhomes. It's basically another whole vehicle along with all the maintenance and expenses involved in such, instead of just a trailer. Most people that only move their horses a few times a year, or even once or twice a month can't justify all the upkeep and expenses (licensing and insurance to name 2) on a whole separate vehicle.

It seems like it would be easy because you would not have to hook up a truck to a trailer (which is your not good at it takes FOREVER!) and than pray the horse will load in enough time for you to make it to a show. Where as the Equine Van everything is already done, all you have to do is to load the horse on.

Horses that don't load well are no more likely to load onto a van easily than a trailer, and honestly, IMHO, for a hard or spooky loader the danger potential is a lot higher given the height/angle/length of the ramps required to load. I might go as far as suggesting a lot of horses are *harder* to load onto a van configuration vs a trailer where the height is but a fraction.

Trailers aren't difficult if you take the time to practice, which most people don't do. Spend a day with a professional driver and he/she will teach you some tricks of the trade that will make it lot easier, then practice those skills.

One of these horse van's could do double duty as a camper for a single person or couple, lots of them seem to have bunk beds, and some have little fridges and tables.

If your signifigant other doesn't mind the smell of horses. As much as I'd like to think it would happen I'd NEVER get my wife to sleep in a horse trailer. :wink:

 

Ooh, that's a concept I was not even aware of! I drive a little car that (for the most part) satisfies my needs, so that's one of the main reasons I haven't gotten a horse trailer. It would require making a huge lifestyle change, getting rid of my little car, purchasing trailer AND truck. I'd love the opportunity to get an all in one vehicle for horses and still be able to keep my small car for everyday stuff.

 

I just had to look some up and see if there were any in my area and there are! If anyone else here is in the NJ/PA/DE/MD area this is pretty close! ..:: Frank DiBella ::..
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EDIT: they also have customizable ones. Im in love, why does nobody have these?!

 

I just had to look some up and see if there were any in my area and there are! If anyone else here is in the NJ/PA/DE/MD area this is pretty close! ..:: Frank DiBella ::..
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EDIT: they also have customizable ones. Im in love, why does nobody have these?!

$$$$$$$ As the old saying goes "If you have to ask the price, then you can't afford it" Not even the bumper pulls have prices with this place and notice that a lot of these vans are powered by Semi-tractors! That's a whole other ball game when it comes to money.

Love the website though! Thanks for sharing! I haven't seen a real live horse van in probably 20 years and didn't know they were available in the US!

 

People buy campers that sit unused 3/4's of the year, but they still need to be maintained, insured, stored.

One of these horse van's could do double duty as a camper for a single person or couple, lots of them seem to have bunk beds, and some have little fridges and tables. I could use it to get hay and pick up 30-40 bales at a time, instead of the 8 I can fit in the back of my truck with the canopy. And if it meant I could get a little fuel-efficient car for my every day driving and get rid of the little truck(which despite its small size, has terrible gas mileage), my SO would be happy.

Now that I know these exist...I'm going to have to look into them a bit...

 

We call them horseboxes in the UK
Its unusual to see a trailer that carries more than 2 horses there and with the cost of fuel a vehicle that could pull the bigger US trailers wouldn't be viable as something you'd use to drive around in the rest of the time
Most professionals over there that are transporting more than 2 horses or want a good living area have a horsebox.
LEHEL 7.5t Horsebox For Sale | LEHEL Horsebox Dealers West Midlands
They are easier to drive.

 

The only issue I'd have with a Horsebox vs Truck & Trailer would be the same one I had with our Motor Home. It was awesome, loved it, comfy, easy to drive, could pull our 3 horse trailer with it if we wanted to. The problem was, it sat for probably 345 days out of 365. If we weren't going to a horse show we rarely used it and it just sat around costing us money. Monthly payment, insurance, registration, tires and of course, it needed routine maintenance and cleaning whether we were using it or not. We finally sold it and just haul the trailer with a truck and sleep in motels. It's cheaper, even when I was travelling all over to shows every single month, than keeping up with all the RV costs. I can see a Horsebox ending up being like the RV. Oh, and don't even talk about the gas mileage, it's more like you get gallons to the mile when you're hauling horses. The tires on those Horseboxes would cost a lot more than the RV tires and they were over $300/a piece. Unless I was a pro, either hauler or trainer who went to a lot of shows and needed it for hauling the training horses, I just can't see it being more cost efficient than a truck and trailer.

 

I loved the link to the horse vans but in the US they are very much a luxury item as they are "one use vehicles. I have a 4WD truck and a car both and on snowy days, I can always grab the truck and get to work. Plus hauling hay or even furniture and items for friends. In truth, the truck has many more "bells & whistles" than the car and is much more fun to drive.

If I really had the money, I'd buy a nice motorhome to pull the trailer. It would still be a better investment than a horse van as camping can be done with or without horses. For showing with a truck or even a motorhome, you can drop the trailer and still go get some forgotten item ?) or pick up dinner!

I suspect that the big hi-powered trucks we have here in the States are very, very uncommon in the UK and Europe plus our gas prices (as bad as they are) are quite low compared with those countries.

 

I suspect that the big hi-powered trucks we have here in the States are very, very uncommon in the UK and Europe plus our gas prices (as bad as they are) are quite low compared with those countries.

That's very true.
The biggest towing vehicles you commonly see in the UK are the Land Rover types which are dwarfed by the big towing vehicles you see here - and even then people who use them usually own a small car as a 'run around'