They exist.
I see a couple or three of them at new england shows fairly regularly.
There is at least one long distance hauler based close to Boston Ma that uses them for local pick-ups, presumably to consolidate loads for the long distance trips as well as local hauls.
WRT why ?: I think the greater preponderance of relatively large & powerful pick-up trucks in the US make trailers an easier sell(/buy).
Posted 2006-09-03 5:14 PM (#47795 - in reply to #47791) Subject: RE: Why don't we have Horseboxes in the U.S.?
Regular
Posts: 83 Location: Cheshire England
Hi I guess its because your laws allow a big trailer our laws in the uk limit us to 91" wide and has to be less than 3.5 tons so we have the tiny brenderup type trailers or you have a converted box van if you want LQs or to haul more than two horses.. Im in the process of converting a mercedes Atego,it has 20 ft box 8 wide 8ft tall. 10ft horse area the rest is LQs will try and post some pictures if any of you are interested ...
Posted 2006-09-03 5:18 PM (#47797 - in reply to #47791) Subject: RE: Why don't we have Horseboxes in the U.S.?
Expert
Posts: 2953 Location: North Carolina
My opinion: They are a single use vehicle. Expensive and of limited utility. Qualities similar to a Brenderup... (Ouch! that flame was hot!)
I can use my p/u truck truck to haul a flatbed with 10,000 pounds of hay. Can't get that much into a horsebox. Use the flatbed on the way back to haul the tractor and mower. Then... use the p/u to haul the 4 horses and LQ for a ride. The insurance, taxes and maintenance of a single vehicle are also a factor. The flatbed trailer costs $19 per year for tags in NC. Insurance is provided under the towing vehicle's policy coverage. Local conditions dictate how the species evolve...
I think they're quite expensive in the US.
NICE, but expensive.
There are a couple of them on Misubishi Fuso chassis at a local farm,
someone told me they had been shipped here as kits.
Posted 2006-09-03 7:17 PM (#47807 - in reply to #47791) Subject: RE: Why don't we have Horseboxes in the U.S.?
Veteran
Posts: 161 Location: Chino, CA
You will see a lot of them back east. But you will rarely see one on the west coast because back east they use loading chutes.
Just about every major transporter uses them to get horses to go on long distance trips and take the horses to a short layover and the truck actually delivering the horse(s) will pick it up later in the day or in the morning (which ever works out for both parties).
They make great local trucks (at least in kentucky) because they have a better turning radius than you could get with a trailer, darn near every farm has a chute, and its easier to find drivers that are legally able to drive them without teaching.
But the ones on that Oakley website are a tad different than ours over here.
Posted 2006-09-04 9:57 AM (#47827 - in reply to #47791) Subject: RE: Why don't we have Horseboxes in the U.S.?
Veteran
Posts: 202 Location: North Texas
Wow! Imagine how the aluminum vs steel debate would go if these horseboxes were commonly available here . . . What about the ramp vs step-up debate? Slant load? The mind reels with the possibilities.
Posted 2006-09-04 12:54 PM (#47835 - in reply to #47791) Subject: RE: Why don't we have Horseboxes in the U.S.?
Expert
Posts: 3802 Location: Rocky Mount N.C.
Why not an old ice cream or milk delivery truck. Someone on here wanted the horses air conditioned going down the road. Most of those trucks are diesel, some with automatic trans. and have a 26,000# to 35,000# gvwr for the single axle trucks. Get you a saws-all and cut some window holes, fill with "lexan" and hit the road. You can get those trucks with a ramp or.........HYDRAULIC LIFT GATE!!!. that would be sick!
Posted 2006-09-06 10:00 AM (#47946 - in reply to #47791) Subject: RE: Why don't we have Horseboxes in the U.S.?
Regular
Posts: 70 Location: Louisville, KY
They seem to be a thing of the past. They were the big thing to have on alot of the show circuits in the '70s and '80s, but they are pretty rare now...the ones that are still around (for the most part) are dinosaurs. Probably mostly due to the previous statement someone made about a "one use vehicle"...no versatility.
Posted 2006-09-06 10:24 AM (#47951 - in reply to #47791) Subject: RE: Why don't we have Horseboxes in the U.S.?
Member
Posts: 11
Location: Marshfield MO
Honestly, I am not a fan of them---Had two Arabs shipped from New Hampshire to MO back in April & the hauler shoved both of those horses into one box together--they were supposed to get a seperate box each--those were the arrangements that were made--they picked up another horse to haul, so my horses got stuffed in this box. My Arab mare, who is an expensive mare mind you---now has a buldge on her left hip bone---(looks like a horse that is starvings hip would look). Had the vet out to look at it, says he can't really see where it bothers her--she is not lame at all & will run ect---I am just afraid there is a fracture in that hip, so am going to have to have that hip x rayed, which means hauling her on a 4 hour trip to a digital x ray machine. The hauling company will not return my e mails or phone calls about the situation. But that is another issue & my opinion for what it is worth....
Posted 2006-09-13 10:38 AM (#48450 - in reply to #47791) Subject: RE: Why don't we have Horseboxes in the U.S.?
Veteran
Posts: 167 Location: Monroe, WA
We see quite a few up here in the far NW - where people have to haul horses across the water on ferryboats! They charge by the vehicle length, and they measure that to the nearest INCH..... I can assert that a short one-ton FB truck with a two horse straight load, going across to Vancouver Island, was SPEEEENDYYY! I made a run on a commercial hauler (eons ago, when I was young) that was made up from a travelling bookmobile van - big ol' bus on a Peterbilt chassis. It had stalls for nine horses in fullly loaded configuration, though we had it set up for boxes for a pair of mares with foals. Ramps rear and side to load, very nice. Onboard water, lights, a/c in the horse compartment - and a nifty little fully self contained LQ up front.Other than that miserably underpowered normally-aspirated 220 Cummins driving the Roadranger, it was a sweet rig. Often wished I could find that body to slap on a more modern chassis!
Posted 2006-09-14 12:08 PM (#48543 - in reply to #47791) Subject: RE: Why don't we have Horseboxes in the U.S.?
Member
Posts: 6
Location: Connecticut
You all have to think what part of the country your in also.
Here in New England, try going through New York or the Mass. Pike, the traffic is horribly congested at times and God forbid someone will actually let you merge with a car, never mind a truck and a trailer. This whats makes having a horse van so much easier to navigate in traffic around here.
Why don't we have Horseboxes in the U.S.?
My opinion: They are a single use vehicle. Expensive and of limited utility. Qualities similar to a Brenderup... (Ouch! that flame was hot!) 
I made a run on a commercial hauler (eons ago, when I was young) that was made up from a travelling bookmobile van - big ol' bus on a Peterbilt chassis. It had stalls for nine horses in fullly loaded configuration, though we had it set up for boxes for a pair of mares with foals. Ramps rear and side to load, very nice. Onboard water, lights, a/c in the horse compartment - and a nifty little fully self contained LQ up front.Other than that miserably underpowered normally-aspirated 220 Cummins driving the Roadranger, it was a sweet rig. Often wished I could find that body to slap on a more modern chassis!