TRAILER TRASH

I’ve been stewing on this one for a very long time.  My low-rent horse trailer needs an interior make-over.  I could probably go hog wild crazy on  it in general but do I want to go to a few rides or pay for a trailer make-over.  I generally have to consider a frugal decision. Or stay home.    So I’ve spent like three years thinking of how I could make my dressing room digs more comfy from a purely aesthetic / but also useful perspective.     I didn’t want to spend money on insulation, new wall materials and all that stuff though it is nice to have, increases the weight of an already very heavy solid steel stock trailer.  Things as they are more or less function, but my sense of order over the course of a weekend unravels to near epic disaster proportions.

 The general interiour chaos...

 The army cot I sleep on which the underneath is packed full of "stuff".

The nose...just say it O-M-G.

 I’d like a place for everything and everything in its place.  To have what I need stowed and ready when I need it, out of the way when I don’t.   An eventual goal is to have riding boots, tights, rain gear, all the essentials in permanent residence out there so that when I’m ready to go somewhere I can throw in the cooler, get in the truck,  and drive off (well---maybe I should load Journey first).

Since I can't hire it out that leaves one option , do it myself.   I started looking at low-end cabinets at the building supply places, still an awful lot of money. I can justify a spend like that for the house, but not the stock trailer.

The actual floor space in the dressing is not all that big.   So I thought that bathroom type storage might be the ticket.   I found pieces that would work nicely but the combined price tag for the fix was over $400.   That isn’t a large amount of money but again, it is a horse trailer, not HOTEL CALIFORNIA.      So giving more thought to the job what did I really want for an end result?    The answer to that was storage, order, and a homey feel in the end result.    After all, I spend a weekend in there every now and then.    So I need out of the way storage for hoof boots (9-10), picks, splint boots, horse blankets, saddle, saddle pads (2), port-a-pot, buddy heater, clothing, rain gear,  food items,  a cooler or two,  a place to sleep, and bedding to keep warm.  The short wall can't be but three foot.   How to make it work?

The only option to garner more of the limited store space would put me sleeping up in the nose of the trailer, though I never have.   Mine has such a low profile that if you sit up, you are going to crack your head on the roof.   I’ve always visualized a noise in the night waking me up, and then knocking myself bloody or unconscious in the process of just getting up.   So my army cot has taken up the bulk of my available storage space.    I have taken the position of “suck it up sister” and decided to give sleeping up there a try.   That decision made -- the next thing was where to get the storage features I needed without spending too much.  Picker’s Paradise.     Every few weeks I’d run in there on my lunch break and look around….pick up the price tag on something that might kind of work…and think, you guessed it, too much money.   So I’d slump my way back to my car and back to work.   Thinking I’d never get this thing done.  Then one day I ran in and spotted a pine bench with a seat that raised up with storage beneath.    It was kind of foo-foo frilly, but otherwise was a nice functional piece.  So I went back and asked them to call the seller and inquire if they’d sell it for my offer which was $65 vs. the $85 they wanted.  The seller would only come down to $80 and that was only one piece of the project.  I thanked the sales lady and told her I’d look around some more.   I turned a corner and a small black dresser caught my eye, next to it was a small black bedside table.  Both were kind of tacky and old, but the black I figured would make a great base for some decorative painting and with clear coat….it might work.   I supplied the sales person with the stickers and she said you know we have another bench in the store?  So I also ended up with a smaller bench that wasn’t all foo-foo for $29 (though not as sturdy as other, takes much less space) ,  a dresser and bedside table for about $60.  These would require some sweat equity, paint, and varnish, but with a bit of modification might just handle the job at hand.  The dresser would handle my clothing storage in two drawers, a horse blanket in one, gas cylinders and buddy heater in another.   The lift up bench should hold hoof picks, curry comb, brushes and the like.  With a little under skirt some storage baskets could go underneath, maybe stow the hoof boots there.   The little bedside table with some modification should store my paper plates, gas stove, silver wear, cups, and napkins.   With further modification.. perhaps a paper towel holder and a bread box on the top for more storage.   It was a loose plan, but at least it was a P-L-A-N.   Next step was to decide on paint color, get some sand paper, and have at it. Since two of the pieces were already black, black seemed like a good overall plan.  Black it is.

My effigy of the Spotted Wonder.

Next project is this bench.  I've already painted it black, and removed the seat which I will recover.

Operation TRAILER TRASH will continue through my vacation beginning Labor Day weekend/week.