Posted 2005-09-05 11:30 AM (#29966) Subject: New Trailer Owner with some ???
New User
Posts: 1
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Hello everyone!
I know these questions will seem like I've put the cart before the horse, but some neighbors of mine had a 2001, 2h slant load, Logan Prestige w/ramp in excellent condition for sale, and they gave me a price that I couldn't pass up.
So now my questions: I've been wondering about the ramp. If I haul two horses, what do I do about the horse in the back blasting out of the trailer as the ramp is being lowered? Is there any way to have a butt-bar installed? Or do I just have a friend stand at the window holding the horse?
Also: the ramp is a complete pain to lift by myself. I'm afraid I'll injure my back, and I'd rather wreck my back riding my horse than lifting a trailer ramp. Will having the springs replaced help at all? Is there a mechanism that can be installed to make lifting the ramp easier?
Posted 2005-09-05 12:57 PM (#29968 - in reply to #29966) Subject: RE: New Trailer Owner with some ???
Expert
Posts: 2689
Originally written by barncat on 2005-09-05 11:30 AM
Hello everyone!
I know these questions will seem like I've put the cart before the horse, but some neighbors of mine had a 2001, 2h slant load, Logan Prestige w/ramp in excellent condition for sale, and they gave me a price that I couldn't pass up.
So now my questions: I've been wondering about the ramp. If I haul two horses, what do I do about the horse in the back blasting out of the trailer as the ramp is being lowered? Is there any way to have a butt-bar installed? Or do I just have a friend stand at the window holding the horse?
Also: the ramp is a complete pain to lift by myself. I'm afraid I'll injure my back, and I'd rather wreck my back riding my horse than lifting a trailer ramp. Will having the springs replaced help at all? Is there a mechanism that can be installed to make lifting the ramp easier?
I'd appreciate any and all advice!
Hi and welcome.
I would EXPECT there to be a butt bar, chain, or SOME way of holding the horse while you raise/lower the ramp - other than being tied, since THAT can come undone in transit. Check for fittings that suggest that a butt bar or chain WAS there at one time, then maybe ask the neighbors to give it up.
"Lift with your legs, not with your back." The trailer probably isn't old enough for the hinges to be seizing, though that is possible. I have seen an ad for a small hand winch for raising heavy ramps, it mounts on the side of the trailer at the back. If no longer available you might be able to adapt a Jet-Ski or Snowmobile loading winch to do something similar.
Posted 2005-09-06 7:44 AM (#29977 - in reply to #29966) Subject: RE: New Trailer Owner with some ???
Member
Posts: 22
Location: Houston, TX
You need a Butt Bar. What if the door came open in transit? Also, You would rather have the horse putting his weight on the bar than the door for sure.
Posted 2005-09-06 10:08 AM (#29978 - in reply to #29966) Subject: RE: New Trailer Owner with some ???
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Posts: 2689
I saw an "interesting" truck at Woodstock CT fairgrounds yesterday,
an international with probably about a 24ft flat bed on it, maybe 28.
The bed is over 4ft from the ground and extends out past the tires.
The ramp was down and I'd guess to be about 7ft long, it makes about a 45 degree andgle to the ground. I though "too steep", but they had obviously got their horses on and off. There are cleats of 2 x 4 across the ramp about every foot.
Here's the relevance to this thread, there is a boat trailer winch on the side of the truck with a cable that routes up to a pulley near where the top corner of the ramp gets to when closed, then to the ramp's corner on the same side as the winch, then across the ramp (on the outside), then up to a fixed anchor point close to where that corner of the ramp will be when raised. Probably under $50 for all that (-:
The sides were built up from C-channel into stake pockets and welded in some places with boards screwed/bolted to the C-channel. I didn't look at the roof, there may or may not have been one. I didn't get to see the horses on the ramp either, though from the tack I saw hanging I'd guess they are drafts, the truck was parked near the pulling area (another clue).
Given that there are no springs to help raise that ramp, that it is solidy constructed (for drafts) and about 7ft long... I'd guess it to be pretty damned heavy. Solved with a boat trailer winch, not a heavy 2 speed one at that.
Posted 2005-09-06 11:50 PM (#29998 - in reply to #29966) Subject: RE: New Trailer Owner with some ???
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Posts: 26 Location: Ontario, Canada
I see a lot of 'rigs' that the draft horse owners use to go to the local fairs, sometimes you wonder what would happen if one of those large horses ever got upset in there, but, they seem to be so mellow it never becomes a problem. I think some of these trucks only go on the road once a year to go to the fair. Anyway, you're right, I have seen a winch setup like you described, but I would wonder about the cable when loading/unloading a horse. Somewhere I saw one that the cable unhooked once the ramp was down, making it safer for the horse, and then would hook back up when ready to put the ramp up.
Posted 2005-09-07 9:01 AM (#30007 - in reply to #29998) Subject: RE: New Trailer Owner with some ???
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Posts: 2689
Originally written by greywynd on 2005-09-06 11:50 PM
I see a lot of 'rigs' that the draft horse owners use to go to the local fairs, sometimes you wonder what would happen if one of those large horses ever got upset in there, but, they seem to be so mellow it never becomes a problem. I think some of these trucks only go on the road once a year to go to the fair. Anyway, you're right, I have seen a winch setup like you described, but I would wonder about the cable when loading/unloading a horse. Somewhere I saw one that the cable unhooked once the ramp was down, making it safer for the horse, and then would hook back up when ready to put the ramp up.
Mark
I don't think that one unhooks, so yes there would be a cable at each side while loading/unloading, could be VERY BAD with a temperamental horse on a ramp that steep - 'specially a LARGE one.
Draft horses are nothing if not mellow (-:
New Trailer Owner with some ???
