# Adding LQ to a Bumper Pull



## Phly (Nov 14, 2012)

I'm adding a tack room to the front of our stock trailer. It's similar to yours. Picture this if you can, I'm building a wall that runs from the rear or latch side of the escape door to the beginning of the nose (where the slats stop). I'm welding in angle uprights and mounting the lumber for the wall to that. So if you'd open the side/escape door that be tack area wall to your left angling to your right/front of trailer. You could do something similar and just push the wall back more. I hope that helps.
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## Drifting (Oct 26, 2011)

My friend has a stock trailer and goes camping in the front portion. What she did was get plexi-glass sheets and cut them to fit along the inside so she could make temporary walls to help keep out the cold. It's not a permanent situation but it was more comfortable then sleeping in it without anything at all (i should know, I slept in the back part on a cot after shoveling and sweeping it clean Lol)


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## Annanoel (Mar 29, 2011)

Yeah, that's what we've been doing! It gets cold here for our later trail rides and I may not wake up with functioning toes if I do it too much more. Thanks Phly and Drifting! Our main concern was how to build the wall. We don't necessarily want to bolt support beams through the trailer walls, but we were thinking welding would hold up well. Our pony likes to stand against the nose, so we're assuming she's going to lean right on the slant. It may not be too much room for "LQ" but at least it'll be somewhere warm to sleep..


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Annanoel said:


> Yeah, that's what we've been doing! It gets cold here for our later trail rides and I may not wake up with functioning toes if I do it too much more. Thanks Phly and Drifting! Our main concern was how to build the wall. We don't necessarily want to bolt support beams through the trailer walls, but we were thinking welding would hold up well. Our pony likes to stand against the nose, so we're assuming she's going to lean right on the slant. It may not be too much room for "LQ" but at least it'll be somewhere warm to sleep..


 Most of the cold will come from beneath the trailer so that should be insulated also. Seems like alot of work and money and I don't think it will ever function the way you want it to. I would just have a cot and proper sleeping bag and not camp when it's too cold


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## Annanoel (Mar 29, 2011)

churumbeque said:


> Most of the cold will come from beneath the trailer so that should be insulated also. Seems like alot of work and money and I don't think it will ever function the way you want it to. I would just have a cot and proper sleeping bag and not camp when it's too cold


We live in Wisconsin so we camp year round, the cold just happens. Shouldn't be too hard the BF is really handy and we can get most of the supplies for cost, his father is a builder and floor installer. I think we're going to try it anyways and see what we can do! Thanks for the input though.


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## Stay at home mommy (Sep 25, 2012)

When doing something like this, make sure you go to someone who knows what they are doing. I had a friend who added a tack room and the weight of the trailer was not distributed properly. Three horses were loaded in the trailer, including mine, she got ten minutes down the road and it jack-knifed. Horses all came out fine, only a small puncture wound right above my guys eye. Sad thing is it was done by a professional she paid!


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## Annanoel (Mar 29, 2011)

That's the only thing that worries me...

We plan to have the wall welded, and or installed by a professional. We actually have a "dealer" type location here that professionally installs living quarters and slants into trailers. We're supplying the insulation and materials then they will install which is good. The area won't be too big so it shouldn't distort the weight too much I would think.


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## dbhrsmn (Mar 30, 2012)

It would make me nervous to eliminate that much space at the front of the trailer. It will shift the weight when horses are loaded. if you shift the weight to the back it will lift your tow vehicle's bumper and cause the trailer to fish tail. Your trailer needs to have more than 50% of its weight in front of the axles to tow safely. one training that I took said you should have as high as 80% in front of the axles.
As a bumper pull trailer it was designed with its axles in the best place to balance the weight with horses in it.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Hi Annonel. Congrats on the trailer - darn fine things to have around. Might I ask what you're pulling it with? If it's a truck, might it be a better option to buy a 'shell' (or whatever the proper name is for them) and put it on the truck and work from there. I've done that in the past for camping out and while not fancy it provided good shelter for us and our stuff.


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## Annanoel (Mar 29, 2011)

Never thought of that! Yeah, I am pulling with a truck and it may just be the better and less work. Hmmm, I'm going to have to take a look at the "shells" I'd rather keep my horses safe and pull steady then risking that just to add living quarters...


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## Annanoel (Mar 29, 2011)

I LOVE this forum thank you guys! Sometimes it's really easy to get ahead of ourselves with things. I definitley think the truck camper I guess they're called would be a great idea. Not too pricey at all, more room, less work and can maintain heat better for us. As cool as the idea sounded after looking into weight behind the axles I just CAN'T risk something happening to my horses. Found a few in my area we're going to check out soon.


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## Phly (Nov 14, 2012)

This has given me an idea! I think I'm going to put fold down bunks on my wall. Simple wood bunks that will fold up an lock in place. Ahhh somewhere to nap between runs.
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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

Why not use a tent, cot, good sleeping bag, and maybe a Mr. Heater?

If I were as far north as you I'd winter camp with a good brand -20 degree bag......such as Marmot, Western Mountaineering, ar Feathered friends all who make very good bags.

My wife and I use Marmot Couloir 800 fill zero degree bags and only turn on the heater just before we go to bed, and just before we get up. A good cot gets you up off the ground and helps you get you a good nights sleep.


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## Jim Andy (Jan 21, 2013)

I'm with Chevaux on this if you change the trailer it just might make the trailer off balance when you load your horses. This in turn will make the trailer hard to pull.If your like me all your looking for is a place to sleep that's not on the ground in a tent. A air mattress in the back of the truck with a topper is quit nice. I also have one of those pop up canopies with screen around it that is nice for making a place to eat. Many Happy Trails


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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

_I have slept in a truck shell before (in the summer) and it does work really well. It wasn't a camper one, just a regular truck cap type. With the windows open a bit, and the back hatch propped open, it let fresh air come in._

_The air mattress just fit in the back, so we kept clothes in the truck, which helped keep them from getting damp as well._

_Someone already mentioned that cold air comes from the bottom, I would make sure that you put some sort of insulating matt under the mattress. I always seem to forget that until the next morning, when I wake up cold! _


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