[zwarte]

I started looking for a vehicle that I could haul my horsedrawn carriage in, that would pull a lightweight horse trailer and horse and be flexible enough to be fixed up to sleep in while off on an adventure or Combined Driving Event.
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My dog travels with me and my farm has some extremely steep hills to negotiate.

I have been eyeing the Sprinters for several years and started off shopping those but was put off by scary comments about reliability and dealer networks. The Ford Transit is also appealing but not here.

I liked the promaster because the front wheel drive can pull my steep hills. Ram dealers are everywhere. My trusted mechanic won't work on diesels. Plus, the benefit, pricewise, to diesel is not there these days.

So eve though all the promotional material would have you believe that this is a work truck for rugged muddy men, I bought a promaster 1500 high roof with all the trimmings. I got the wide passenger seat for the comfort of my dog. Given the footspace for the center seat, I can't imagine it would be very comfortable for a human. But the border collie can stretch out on it.

I had never used a backup camera before. This is a eye opener. I wouldn't have one of these vans without it.

I had it home for one day. Judging from the neighbors, they see great potential as a camper. Everyone loves that you can stand straight up in it.

 

[alcatraz]

I have never met anyone who owns a horse drawn carriage. is that you in the picture that you posted? I have to say that the Promaster should be good at performing the tasks that you were talking about. I imagine that you have a pretty nice property to have horses and the need for a Promaster. Where are you located? Welcome to the forum!

 

[zwarte]

Above is a link to a youtube of the sport. Makes dirt bike racing look tame.

That is my carriage and pony but not me driving. I had to hire a driver because I was recuperating from broken ribs resulting from a carriage wreck. I have a farm in between two wilderness areas on the Buffalo River in Northwest Arkansas. Very rugged country.

I haven't taken the Promaster to my farm yet (I am still at my house in town) but am confident it can handle it.

Thank you for your welcoming words.

 

[shoein]

You have a wonderful pony. I am a farrier and am thinking about buying a high roof van to set up a shop in. My wife has competed in a few cde's with her pony magic. We have three horses that all drive. We have been looking for a new cde prospect that will be smaller, in the 13 to 13.3 hand size. I have been playing with the idea of setting up the van so I can quickly empty out the shoeing stuff, then put a small marathon carriage in the front, then put the pony toward the back in a partitioned area, I have done quite a bit of fabrication so this should be possible. Think of it as a couple of swinging dividers in a slant load trailer. If this setup worked we could bring a presentation vehicle in a small trailer behind if needed. Please keep posting on how the van pulls the trailer and the mpg your getting.

 

[zwarte]

I have immense respect for farriers. I am so happy to hear from you.

This is such a tiny little sport. Everyone eventually seems to get to know everybody else in it.

Thinking about space allocation in the PM: I am fairly certain than 125 cm wide wheelbase carriages won't fit through the side door. I am having a winch installed behind the front seats to pull the carriage into the cargo space from the back.

I used to haul my carriage in the back of a pickup and winched the carriage up steep ramps. What a pain and the carriage was exposed to the weather. I have made several trips to Florida and Texas like that but no more, thank dog.

I have already imagined putting a pony in the back of my PM but will probably continue to use my Brenderup horse trailer. It weighs 1300 and with a pony weight of 900, this van should manage to pull it easily. The tongue weight on it is only 3 or 4 percent of the total so it won't pull the back down (and the front up) of the PM.

I am also looking for a new pony and one of the first trips I plan to take in the PM is a driving horse auction in March. It is in Central Ohio.

 

[keithwwalker]

The euro term for a horse hauler is 'horsebox', check out all the Ducato conversions!
https://www.google.com/search?q=fiat+ducato+horsebox&client=firefox-a&hs=LoM&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=-rjeUvWiCceDogTor4HIBw&ved=0CDgQsAQ&biw=1304&bih=704&dpr=1

 

[shoein]

ZWARTE, thanks for the kind words. In the past we have gone to cde's with a three horse slant load with the divider into the tack room removed. Two carriages, two harnesses, one pony and bins full of stuff pulled by a chevy 2500 diesel. Even with this setup we were one of the smaller rigs. It is a wonderful sport but you need lots of stuff. Thought about buying a bigger trailer to fit all the stuff in then had to tell myself to stop thinking big. We go to GMHA in vermont which has narrow, tight roads. With a new pony we will be competing at a lower level for a while so now thinking how little I can bring and still be safe.

I have spent many hours looking at the european horseboxes. Hope they will become popular here.

 

[randy]

welcome to both of you @zwarte and @shoein. I have crazy respect for you horse boys, a buddy of mine splits time between Toronto/Philly/Florida training racehorses...