Is anyone familiar with horse vans - i.e. where the truck/trailer is one unit?  I was thinking of getting one and making half of it into living quarters.  What are the pros/cons?  They seem easier to drive (esp. backing up) and you have only one set of tires/breaks etc to worry about.  Thoughts?

The obvious questions would involve the age and condition of the vehicle. Mechanically, the repairs to make a high mileage unit reliable, could be expensive.

They typically have a large body and enough space in which to build a comfortable living environment. They have a long wheel base, so they should provide a comfortable ride. This would be at the expense of large turning circles, when compared to a truck and trailer. Sounds like a good idea if mechanically the truck is in good shape to start with.

At one show, I saw a long school bus converted into LQ/horse hauler. Used buses are a dime a dozen. This fellow picked up a used, cherry diesel/automatic with air, that had to be sold because of age, not mileage, that lacked its certification. He did a very professional installation, with a nice paint job. Side ramp, three or four horses, about a 10' LQ. He added a new roof and additional height over the stall areas, and faired the two roof lines together quite nicely. He bought a small wrecked RV and cannibalized the interior. When it was all done, he had $8500 invested, plus much of his very talented labour.

Gard

Check out this link for ideas. They are HUGELY popular in Europe.

http://www.horsequest.co.uk/TransportHorseboxes.htm

Thanks for the input.  Wow - the Europeans have the horse van down to an art!!  I wish they made them over here like that.  Too bad it is too $$ to have one shipped over.  I have seen several web sites here in the US, but NOTHING like that!

LOL

But to be fair, having spent a lot of time in France on business, the turns in the roads are quite tight - esp. near and in the cities/towns.

I kind of like the conversion van. 

http://www.horsequest.co.uk/adHome6.htm