Posted 2008-10-07 10:38 PM (#92735) Subject: moving wall back in horse trailer to make room for LQ
New User
Posts: 2
Hi there...I have a 6 horse trailer that I want to make a simple LQ in...but I would like to move the wall back one slot and make the trailer a 5 horse allowing more room for my LQ. Any suggestions? Can I just have a welder cut ou the wall and move it back and reweld it? Do you think that would be strong enough? Thanks
One more question what is the material used for the walls that looks like leather? and where is the best place to purchase it? Thanks again - Jaelyn
Posted 2008-10-07 11:04 PM (#92737 - in reply to #92735) Subject: RE: moving wall back in horse trailer to make room for LQ
Regular
Posts: 99 Location: Phoenix AZ
I actually had the same idea with my trailer. However, a welder came out and took a look and said it could be done but would be a big job and not very cost effective. I think he said something about adding new braces for the new wall, etc.
But I only talked to the one welder...maybe that was just his opinion.
Posted 2008-10-07 11:13 PM (#92738 - in reply to #92737) Subject: RE: moving wall back in horse trailer to make room for LQ
New User
Posts: 2
Thanks...I will ask a welder - It just does not look like the wall I would be taking out is a weight barring wall and I had the idea of leaving in the divider and building the wall off of it. What do you think? Thanks
Posted 2008-10-08 12:20 AM (#92741 - in reply to #92738) Subject: RE: moving wall back in horse trailer to make room for LQ
Expert
Posts: 2957 Location: North Carolina
Originally written by Jaelyn on 2008-10-07 10:13 AM
Thanks...I will ask a welder - It just does not look like the wall I would be taking out is a weight barring wall and I had the idea of leaving in the divider and building the wall off of it. What do you think? Thanks
The divider walls are not load bearing. They do serve to stiffen the entire trailer in torsion. But the biggest issue is the horse behind your new wall. The wall must be strong enough and attached well enough to keep the horse in place in a violent trailer movement. (like a collision)
Posted 2008-10-10 2:27 PM (#92880 - in reply to #92735) Subject: RE: moving wall back in horse trailer to make room for LQ
Regular
Posts: 99 Location: Phoenix AZ
Aside from building the wall, there is the weight distribution issue.
Depending on how far back you move the wall and how many horses you haul, you may have a problem with too much weight in the back end of the trailer...making things a bit unstable.
If you plan on adding weight to the front with living quarter stuff like cabinets, sinks, water tanks, furniture, etc., this may even out the load and not be a problem.
Posted 2008-10-12 7:11 PM (#92954 - in reply to #92880) Subject: RE: moving wall back in horse trailer to make room for LQ
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 385 Location: washington
Have you considered a wall between the 5 & 6 horse slot and putting a door into the 6 horse slot where you could have the LQ water tanks, toilet, shower, storage... I just wonder if that would be easier than removing and repositioning the wall. It may not be what you had in mind, but if it would work for you, does anybody see any problems with that potential solution?
Posted 2008-10-13 2:39 AM (#92960 - in reply to #92735) Subject: RE: moving wall back in horse trailer to make room for LQ
Elite Veteran
Posts: 1160 Location: Denver Colorado
Hoping to do the same thing this winter, but from a 3h to 2h. JAG converions remodled the tack room to a bedroom, but want to take out 1st stall for a bathroom. My Logan Coach has a reinforced bracket on the floor where the wall is, which separates the floors from tack room to stall and I was going to leave that as a threshold and may put a door in new wall, then I could leave the Cushion EZ Clean floor intack and the bathroom could also be a mud room.
Might put in a cowboy shower and just have a black tank. Was thinking of putting fresh water tank in hay rack with pump, wanting to use it for horses and me. Nice having a place to sleep in trailer on the road, but a shower would be heaven. Port-a-poties not bad, but I need more room to think and read magazines.
Posted 2008-10-14 10:35 AM (#93030 - in reply to #92735) Subject: RE: moving wall back in horse trailer to make room for LQ
Member
Posts: 19
Location: Pennsylvania
We have a 2004 Exiss. The trailer was a 4 horse. We removed the wall that was there and actually made a new wall out of treated wood and put a walk through door in it. We also added a slot behind the walk through door to put wood panels to protect the walk through door in case a horse got to kicking or whatever. We had no problems doing this and we love the extra space.
Posted 2008-10-18 7:17 PM (#93223 - in reply to #92735) Subject: RE: moving wall back in horse trailer to make room for LQ
Member
Posts: 9
Location: STALEY, NORTH CAROLINA
Have just finished moving the wall in my sundowner going from a 4 to a 3 horse. I drilled out all the rivets and removed the rubber matting , then did the same to remove the aluminum panels. My husband is a welder (thanks heavens). He had the equipment to cut all the welds possible on the wall frame, some places he had to cut framing because did not want to put any cuts in the floor or outer walls or frame, It was tedious and he also had to put in bracing where the roof framing had attached to the slant wall .Additionally he had to get an exact measure of where the roof bows would cross the moved wall and decided to make a slot in the wall at those points so as not to interfere with the bows. When he finished welding this all in place I got to pop rivet all the aluminum panels and rubber matting back in place. IT looks great but was definitely time consuming . The idea of simply adding another wall is a good one . My DIY LQ is coming along but time and finances sure do make it a slow process. Good luck with yours. M
Posted 2008-10-19 11:04 AM (#93236 - in reply to #92880) Subject: RE: moving wall back in horse trailer to make room for LQ
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
Originally written by daafy on 2008-10-10 3:27 PM
Aside from building the wall, there is the weight distribution issue. Depending on how far back you move the wall and how many horses you haul, you may have a problem with too much weight in the back end of the trailer...making things a bit unstable. If you plan on adding weight to the front with living quarter stuff like cabinets, sinks, water tanks, furniture, etc., this may even out the load and not be a problem. Again, it depends on who you talk to.
With most GN trailers, it's almost impossible to unweight the hitch enough to cause a tracking problem. Even by placing a singular horse in the rear most position behind the axle, there is enough mass ahead of the axles to produce the necessary towing weight. As the above poster relates, any additional furnishings will off set the original weight displacement.
The mechanical strength of the bulkhead against the weight of your horse, will be your most important consideration. In a violent maneuver, the horse can be thrown forward, and it has to be strong enough to support this weight. The wall will also contribute strength to the body of the trailer, in preventing the walls from racking as in a parallelogram.
A competent welder should be able to fabricate the necessary brackets to reposition your wall. The final product could then be welded or bolted into place.
moving wall back in horse trailer to make room for LQ
