Hoping for some advice - I recently bought a 3 horse bumper pull trailer with a small dressing room.  I am pulling with a Suburban.  Love the trailer - it's Shadow, no complaints at all.  What's the problem? :) 

I go on weekend camping trips every 2nd or 3rd weekend from March to October - endurance riding.

I'm looking for advice/products to make my weekend camping trips a bit more civilized. 

Initially, I tried sleeping in the suburban - not fun and can be very cold.  I have a cot and a rug that I plan to put on the floor of the horse area after it has been swept out.

I had thought about converting the dressing area to a small living quarters, but haven't found a lot of info on this online.

I have several questions -

would love to have power to have lights, coffeemaker inside the trailer.  I do have inside lights in the horse area.  Is it possible to power other things off an auxiliary battery perhaps?

Biggest issue - heat.  I live in the midwest and the spring/fall rides can be very chilly.  I have a Mr. Buddy - that didn't seem to be able to handle the cold.  Trailer inside area is probably too large for the Mr. Buddy.  I am thinking about a generator - other ideas?

Would love to hear any ideas on equipment, modifications to make the next ride season more comfy! 

Get  a porta potty to stick in the horse compartment, I second the 12v. coffee pot, and if you're looking at a generator you will probably want to go with something like an onan if you want to save your eardrums.  Personally, I'd save the $2000 and just get battery/propane powered things. The cot would be a good idea to keep you off the cold floor.

  BTW, I'm a fellow Illinois-dweller.  I'm around peoria.  I know what you mean about spring & fall...but at this point I'm ready for anything above 40 degrees!

Amanda

Any heater that uses a fuel can be dangerous in a closed area, particularly those that are unvented. There was a thread about the deaths of a family camping just last summer. If fuels are used, be sure to follow the usual precautions of adequate ventilation, and purchase a CO and smoke detector.

There are many 12v appliances available, but don't hook them all up to your lighting circuit. It would be better to wire another circuit off your battery with its own breaker/fuse to power the new appliances.

I would also make sure that I was running all of this electrical load off a battery separate from your Suburban. Any one of the appliances or even the lighting can drain a battery. You will always want an ability to start your vehicle.

Primitive camping for me is a full LQ with a broken tv.

BOL  Gard

I started doing CTR's then endurance riding back in the mid 80's when "primitive camping" was the only kind of camping!  How things have changed...

A couple friends used to sweep out their trailers then sleep in them.  you can make it very cosy with blankets on the walls, table, etc.  I think in that sitation a generator is more trouble than it's worth. 

 I have a small heater/cooker contraption that came from Cabellas.  it's very handy and runs off of the small propane bottles.  I'd turn it on at nite to take the chill off then get into the sleeping bag, first thing in the morning turn it on and while it was warming the trailer also use it to heat hot water for hot chocolate or instant coffee.  it's very stable, it will hang from a hook or whatever and also can be turned on it's back to use as a heating burner.  it only cost around $30. 

 I would get a 12V electric blanket and a power box.  I have seen them in Cabellas and JC Whitney for sale. Probably around $30. The power box I have is a 1000W from Sam's for around $49. I have a propane stove and heat water for whatever I need. You could make instant coffee or cowboy brew on the stove.  My friend sleeps in her 2 horse that has a walkway to the dressing room.  She started with an air mattress but upgraded to the Coleman cot. Her porta potti is on the other side of the divider. She uses a Buddy heater to heat up in there and shuts it off when she goes to bed. To keep the trailer warm you can hang something on the interior sides (canvas tarp, blankets, old drapes) this will keep your heat in better. 

For heat you could try the zodi tent heater.  That way the combustion/fumes are outside.  I want to get one for my horse trailer.

http://www.zodi.com/web-content/Consumer/zodihotvent.html

As much as everyone would love to do that.  It isn't practical and not everyone needs or wants a big truck and trailer.   And not everyone can afford it.

Have you considered maybe going the route of a pickup camper & truck instead of a Suburban? You can pick up nice used ones for quite reasonable, and you would have heat, water, fridge & stove AND a dry place to sleep (all without electric hookups if they are not available.) You can still use your BP trailer & will be able get in & out of campsites quite easily.

And I too will caution about using portable heaters in unvented areas - just this past fall 4 people at a Clydesdale show north of Madison lost their lives to CO...

I spent many a night in the front of my bare gooseneck at CTR rides. I've spent many a night sleeping in a wall tent while hunting. I spent a lot of nights hunting and fishing sleeping under the shell on my pick up bed.

Get a good sleeping bag. Don't use the heaters unless you are awake.

I used to warm up the area before going to sleep. Turn of the Mr Buddy Heater,  Wake up in the morning and turn it on as I got up. I spent a lot of nights at 15*-18* and slept just fine.

A Colman stove to cook on.

If you sleep in the back of the trailer or a tent.  Get a cot and put a good pad on it to insulate you from cold underneath.

As mentioned get a small generator. Honda, Yamaha and the Chinese knock offs all offer small 1000 or  2000 watt generators. I dragged a 2000 watt generator along for years.  It will run a small microwave to warm up soup/chili/oatmeal or a danish.  I still keep a George Foreman grill in my trailers.  Plug it into the generator and It can cook a hot dog, hamburger, pork chop, chicken breast, salmon portion faster with that, than it takes to get out and set up the coleman stove.

I just use the Generators to cook food, provide lights and recharge the battery. Not to produce heat.

I saw some folks place a tarp around the Gooseneck of stock trailer. Inside that enclosed area, they put their Porta Potty. Private and far enough away from their bed so they didn't smell it.

And of course you can set up a nice tent, install a wood burning camp stove, stock it up good with wood and go to bed.

You may be warm, but I'll bet you'll be cooking your own breakfast.

Gard

I emailed them and they said they were out of stock.  After googleing them everyone that I checked said they were out of stock too.  I'd love to get one for my small DR.

You sound like as trailer salesman.  

And with today's creative financing

That is one of the scariest things I've read in a while and gets lots of people in trouble.