Cressy's Cool Cruiser

Cressy & Chuck's Cool Cruiser

Well, we are finally Equus Mobilus. For a while, I've been trying to figure out the best way to acquire horse transportation, since I live so far from everyone and I hate "bumming rides". So, I had a couple of options on a limited budget. Save up and buy a used (and hopefully not a lemon) pick-up with a big enough engine and correct suspension to pull a horse trailer, then save some more and find a trailer that didn't require a complete rebuild to make it roadworthy. Or....

I could buy an "all in one" vehicle for the price of a good used trailer. Hmmm, only have one extra vehicle in the yard, vs two; None of the headaches of driving a trailer (i.e. backing up or having it fish-tail on the highway), plus none of the wiring and trailer brake issues that all my friends seem to have.

I got the horse van inkling after seeing an ad for a 6-horse van for a reasonable price. I went and looked at it, and well, it needed a bit more work than I was willing to put into it. Not to mention it had NO brakes! But I liked the concept....

There was another van down the road from me that I always passed on the way to work, and it was a 3-4 horse. That was more my size. Well, the farm and contents were being auctioned off, and after the auction, the van was still there! I stopped in and checked it out and it was Fancy! Had a power ramp lift, skylights, and it was really nice. Well, I found out why it didn't sell at auction. The owner "misplaced" the key after fessing up to the "occasional" glitch in the transmission, as in "won't go into gear!".
Oh, well. Another one would come along.

It wasn't like I was actively pounding the pavement looking for something, when I happened to check the bulletin board at the store I worked at. And there she was. It had to be fate. She came to me, I didn't go looking for her. When I called, she was still available (Oh, Happiness Is!).
"Did she run well?" Yes. Just had a major service. New tires, new brakes, new hoses, fresh tune-up, recent state inspection...(sounds promising...)

"How's the Body?" Pretty good for something that is 36 years old...not perfect, but not bad, either. (sounds good..)

And best of all, She was already painted in my barn colours!!! (Hunter, Cream and Burgundy...well, the stripe is red, but who is counting) Ok, this is GOOD KARMA!

So I go and see her. She looks good, The paint was faded and chalky, but I rubbed my hand on it and it was shiny under the oxidation. (I'm imagining how long it will take to wax this thing)

And then the lady shows me the Ramp Champ, the spring-loaded device that makes the 200 pound ramp light as a feather. One of the complaints about these vans is that the ramps weigh so much, they are hard to put away once they're out. The Ramp Champ solves that problem, at least when unloading and loading on the left side of the van. It's only mounted on that side. It isn't electric, but so what! Wow! This makes putting this thing away really easy!

So, Hubby and I take it for a test drive; drives nice, it has a 4 speed manual with a two speed rear, all of which worked just fine. New brakes did their job beautifully. Six brand new tires, including heavy-duties in the back for getting in and out of muddy areas. Everything worked except the interior light in the cab, and there was no radio. The seat is in perfect shape, as are the floor mats in the cab. The horse area is in exceptional shape after hauling horses for 36 years and 114,000 miles.

The sliding doors open to reveal a generous cargo area that has its own light. The dividers are adjustable to accomodate two large horses, or three standard horses and can be connected together to form a single large stall (9x9ish), and a smaller stall (about 7x9ish). There is an alarm switch to signal the driver that there is a problem; push the button and it blows the horn.

The horses ride backwards, so the bar in the picture is the butt-bar.

I must admit that I had concerns about whether or not the horses would walk up the steepish ramp, especially Cressy since she's never been thrilled at getting on trailers.

Cressy loads on the van better than onto any horse trailer because it is open and spacious. There is enough room to turn her completely around in the "lobby" in front of where the horses ride. It is HUGE! Normally, loading Cressy in a two horse trailer is a two person job; I can load her on the van all by myself! Even if it wasn't so easy, I'd have the van at home to practise loading, which I do anyways. Chuck, being an ex-race horse, is like, "Ok, where are we going now?" all but self-loads.

Is she "perfect, shiny and new?" No. She has her "ugly spots", and a personality quirk or two. But she is mechanically and structurally sound, and an ideal alternative for us, to the traditional truck and trailer. And the price was unbeatable.