Declutter Your Horse Trailer With These 7 Storage Solutions
Horses are fun, but they sure do need a lot of equipment! By the time you pack up your riding clothes, tack, grooming supplies, bedding, extra feed, and food cooler —your trailer might look like Armageddon just descended. A trailer’s storage space can easily become a ‘catch-all’ for horse supplies. Eventually, you may lose the ability to effectively use that space and expensive supplies can become lost or damaged.
We’ve compiled this list of 7 solutions to help declutter your trailer. Each of these features can be added to your custom horse trailer on an ‘a la carte’ basis. Pick and choose the features that will make your trailer neater and stress-free.
1. SafeTack Storage Compartment
The SafeTack design is our #1 feature since it has become wildly popular with our customers. Our patented SafeTack trailer design is a slant load trailer with fully enclosed equipment storage area in the rear corner of the trailer. This SafeTack compartment is mounted on two hinges so it effortlessly swings out like a second door leaving you with a wide open rear entrance for easier and safer loading and unloading of your horses.
The compartment itself is fully enclosed with a lock so you can securely store your saddles, bridles, blankets, and grooming supplies. An interior light and ventilation grate will make it easier to keep your equipment organized, dry, and damage free. Keep your show clothing pristine by hanging them separately in the front dressing room of your trailer separate from your tack.
2. SafeTack Hay Bale Rack
Brad Heath, owner of Double D Trailers, told us about another popular feature — the SafeTack Hay Bale Rack. “Many clients only want to carry one bale of hay and don’t want to soil the back of their pick-up truck or the inside of their SUV,” he explained. “Carrying a dusty bale of hay in the trailer’s front dressing room isn’t a good solution either.”
The SafeTack Hay Bale Rack consists of several small attachments on the outside of the SafeTack compartment. Simply prop your hay bale against the fold down holders and use a bungie to secure the bale against the wall of your trailer. This feature is perfect for 1-day trips where you only need one bale of hay.
3. Roof Mount Hay Rack
The roof of your trailer provides another convenient space to store hay and equipment. You can choose from either an open hay rack (left) or a fully enclosed hay pod with a hinge-able lid (right). Both can be used to store several bales of hay. The hay pod is also handy to store supplies that need to stay dry, however they can cost thousands of dollars.
4. Wall Organizer Grid
Nowadays, most trailers that roll out of the Double D Trailers factory include a wall organizer grid. Brad explained, “It’s one of the most popular options we offer. Being able to utilize the vertical wall space and get all the ‘stuff’ off the floor is fantastic!”
This feature will let you take smaller pieces of equipment and organize them neatly in compartments that are mounted on a wall grid. You’ll never again have to dig through a pile of stuff trying to find a piece of gear! We install the grid panel, and then you can purchase individual organizer compartments from an aftermarket company like organizedbarn.com. These accessories are small, inexpensive, and easy to install.
The initial grids, however, are the most expensive part largely due to their size. They are usually around 3’ x 6’ and are expensive to ship. We buy the grids in bulk to help save on shipping and pass on these savings to you.
“On a bumper pull,” Brad shared, “my preference would be to remove the dress nose windows and install two organizer grids on the front wedge. This utilizes the entire floor to ceiling space for storage.”
5. Storage Tack Trunk and Bench
Another option for storage in your dressing room is a carpeted tack trunk compartment. Many clients prefer to install this in the front wedge nose area of their trailer. It serves as both a storage area and a bench.
If you have a gooseneck horse trailer, a tack trunk can also serve as a convenient step to get into the bed area. These trunks are generally built with depths of 12” to 18” depending on the available space in your dressing room.
6. Cabinets in Dressing Room
Sometimes our customers don’t want to invest in a full-blown living quarters horse trailer. They can still get the most out of their gooseneck horse trailer dressing room by installing cabinets, a closet, a toilet and even a cowboy/cowgirl shower. Remember that every trailer from Double D Trailers is custom designed to fit your specific needs. Pick and choose what features you love and what you can do without.
The types of cabinets and configuration are completely up to you. We’ve had clients request specially sized closets to fit their unique show attire. After you click “Customize Your Trailer,” check out the ‘Hang Out’ features to see a full list of options and costs.
Brad explained, “In the case of a gooseneck with the ‘hang out’ package, much more time and detail goes into the drawing to ensure adequate storage for coats, boots, tack trunks, and whatever special needs customers may request.”
7. Cart or Large Equipment Storage
Horse trailers can be great vehicles to transport your larger recreation equipment. This may mean a cart that needs to fit inside while the horses are on board. Or, perhaps, you want a space for your four wheeler, wagon, golf cart, or even a canoe!
Brad has helped a number of clients store these items inside their trailers. For example, the drawing below is from a woman in Canada who needed to haul two horses, a four wheeler, and a cart. Sometimes she needed to haul three horses, sometimes four and with varying configurations. Brad shared, “We incorporated a solution in the design for each need and challenge she proposed.”
Most of the cart haulers use a SafeTack slant load horse trailer like the one in the drawing below. This client needed to haul three horses and have a front dress. At times, she was going to need to haul two horses and a wagon. To accommodate this, we made a swinging wall inside the trailer so she could roll the wagon up into the dressing room area.
Why Should You Spend Extra on These Storage Solutions?
Your horse equipment is expensive so it makes sense to keep it well cared for and organized. Each of these storage solutions will help you protect your supplies from damage and loss. Plus, you’ll be able to get full use out of your horse trailer without constantly stepping over piles of stuff stashed in every corner.
Brad put it best when he said, “Life is stressful enough and riding horses is supposed to be a pleasurable experience. Having a clutter free trailer will make for a much better experience!”
If you have any questions about the topics in this article, feel free to contact Brad. He’ll help you get started designing your new custom horse trailer.
Questions: What is your favorite storage solution above? Are there any needs you have that wouldn’t be helped by one of these solutions?
