**Horsebox Living, need some help** pls

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Gucci_b

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My horsebox lorry is going in to the garage end of the week to have living fitted,, i need some ideas pls "advise", like what is a MUST and what is a waste of space, all pic's welcome. and how much living space is really needed!!! i have a box stalled for 3 horses but really only carry 2, so was thinking to take a horse stall away for extra living!!!
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be very aware of the weight!! this may sound obvious but our old lorry was rather heavy because the living was huge!! We have a solitaire now which has a really nice living but quite alot of wasted space, i find having 2 tables is really good, 1 small 1 that you use on its own or 1 bigger 1 that goes on 2 legs and is better for eating. Make sure cuboards all have gd closures on them, it is maddening when they come open when you are driving along. And a personal must is a big enough fridge!!
 
It depends how much you will actually sleep overnight in the lorry, or is it mostly day living? If you are staying away for several days, I would probably go for the idea of one less horse stall, just don't fill the space with heavy duty cupboards and you should be fine!

On the other hand, it's nice to have room for things like outside table, chairs, bbq, etc. all of which I tend to shove in the empty horse stall anyway, and that works quite well.

My fridge is a gas one, a real pain to light and can't be left on when we drive. So consequently I hardly ever use it, and instead I use a cold box with loads of ice blocks! So I would probably not bother with a fridge again, but if you are away for several days, then maybe more worth it.

Mine has cupboards above, a couple of cupboards under the sink/hob, and a large space under the rest of the work surface with nothing, so I can shove loads of things (like my cold box!). I quite like that, as I can cart down boxes of food etc for a long weekend stay.

I had a sliding door put in from the living to the horses, which saves quite a lot of space.
 
Thanks so far for the advise
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i just want day living really. lorry going into a horsebox builder, every thing will be new and from scratch, so really want to get it right...
 
Like Llewelyn says, it depends on what you're wanting your living for. Ive got a Maudsley box and only use it for day living. We have a sink and a hob, a table and a nice seating area. The rest of the living space is divided into several cupboards which i find really handy for kit, cleaning equipment and food etc. There is space for a wet room and/or loo but this hasn't been fitted and serves a better purpose for me as an internal tack locker. Likewise the area where a fridge would go is a useful cupboard as i know we would never use a fridge.

Here are a couple fo pics to give you a bit more idea:
BroomeHBx2Aug081.jpg


8qLiIeNPIkH2Ux7Ybcaiwty-r-mvONa7030.jpg


Hope this helps!
 
If you don't have tack lockers then an area/locker inside for these is really handy!

Ours is an old B reg Ford cargo and looked lovely when we got it, has gas hob, fridge and sick. The table goes on a stand that goes into the floor - otherwise it is just plonked up on the luton! We also have storage under the seating so it may be worthwhile having hinged seating so you can keep extra stuff out of the way.

We have never used our fridge as is also gas so maybe I wouldn't bother with this although I would really like to replace ours with a electric fridge that we could maybe run off a second battery charge by the engine (I think you can have this done).

Ooh, and I'm sure your horsebox guy will do it this way anyway but have laminate or wipe clean flooring put down. Ours originally had carpet - looked very nice to start with but no so much after a few months! My sister and I re-did it by buying those stick on 'tiles' from B&Q - it was pretty easy (and cheap) and actually so far they've lasted so well and much easier to keep clean!
 
We have an Ascot Supreme and at present we only use it as day living, although it would sleep 4 at a push. There is a fridge which can be used either off the leisure battery or gas - but we find that for day use you just need to stick an ice pack in there to keep stuff cool as it is so well-insulated. We have a hob, but haven't used that yet as I just tend to take a flask for hot drinks. Good wardrobe space is a must though, plus a mirror on the wall, comfy seating and it is handy to have storage under the seats for infrequently used items. If you are going to use the box a lot in winter and might have to spend several hours hanging around in it, then heating is handy too!
 
[ QUOTE ]
Like Llewelyn says, it depends on what you're wanting your living for. Ive got a Maudsley box and only use it for day living. We have a sink and a hob, a table and a nice seating area. The rest of the living space is divided into several cupboards which i find really handy for kit, cleaning equipment and food etc. There is space for a wet room and/or loo but this hasn't been fitted and serves a better purpose for me as an internal tack locker. Likewise the area where a fridge would go is a useful cupboard as i know we would never use a fridge.

Here are a couple fo pics to give you a bit more idea:
BroomeHBx2Aug081.jpg


8qLiIeNPIkH2Ux7Ybcaiwty-r-mvONa7030.jpg


Hope this helps!

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Thank you benjis_girl, like the dark colours of your cushions, did you buy theses or make them?
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your living looks lovely
 
benjis_girl - who made your wagon?? It looks the spitting image of mine even the apholstery (sp?). We are getting ours in a couple of weeks from S&L in Selby.

I concentrated on storage with ours, I have just over 10ft of living, with fully fitted bathroom and shower. fridge, cooker, luton, sink, H/C water, we have external tack lockers.

Can give you lots of very boring pictures if you want!!

x x
 
[ QUOTE ]
benjis_girl - who made your wagon?? It looks the spitting image of mine even the apholstery (sp?). We are getting ours in a couple of weeks from S&L in Selby.

I concentrated on storage with ours, I have just over 10ft of living, with fully fitted bathroom and shower. fridge, cooker, luton, sink, H/C water, we have external tack lockers.

Can give you lots of very boring pictures if you want!!

****YES pls, every pic would help me, as i want to get it right
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and is it normal to have the sink, cooker on the left hand side? as wanted mine on the right hand side??
 
Absolute must: Good insulation. Wall carpet is second rate stuff and may be used by inferior builders, best is to have foam or glass fibre insulation between battons covered with a thin wood panel.

Insulation keeps in warm at night and cool in the day and it helps keeps condensation down.
 
Yes our sink etc is on the left, we have also changed our bathroom to sit horizontally gave a bit more space in the entrance and seemed to keep it looking bright and airy looking.

I have also had a small wardrobe fitted on the end of the bathroom, we show so it will be handy to keep jackets tidied away. At the end of the sink and cooker section we have managed to squeeze in a wine rack (important things first).

There is a whole album on my facebook it shows the wagon from being a sanitary disposal truck to nearly being complete.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=543845672&ref=name

x x
 
[ QUOTE ]
Thank you benjis_girl, like the dark colours of your cushions, did you buy theses or make them?
smile.gif
your living looks lovely

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Hi there, The upholstery was designed by the chap who commissioned the box to be built. We bought it a few weeks after it had been finished, it had never had people or horses on it.
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Its really tough fabric too, i liked the fabric as it doesn't seem to show the dust up very easily and is lovely to vacuum/brush clean too!
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Our sink, hob, storage etc is on the right hand side, which gives room on the other side to have L-shaped seating that runs behind the cab passengers seats but still leaves room to get through from the cab to the living.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Absolute must: Good insulation. Wall carpet is second rate stuff and may be used by inferior builders, best is to have foam or glass fibre insulation between battons covered with a thin wood panel.

Insulation keeps in warm at night and cool in the day and it helps keeps condensation down.

[/ QUOTE ]

So don't get no wall carpet then!!!! or yes the best to have in living area!!
 
I did mine on a budget, friends hubby fitted it for me, so could do with a couple of top cupboards and a wardrobe.

Mine has space to carry two and a bigger living, the tack locker is under the seats on the left. I have a fridge on one cupboard and a microwave in another, do use my sink and hob a lot - and portaloo is an essential!!! Oh and a little gas fire for those chilly evenings!

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I recently had a box converted and kept the cost down by having a basic living. Ive got a large double unit on the left wall with hob and sink, small cut through with mirror above then seating in an L shape and a table. My floor is laminate and the walls are clad in some sort of wood effect??? I have under seat storage but regret not having a wardrobe sized cupboard as well. I have no lockers on the wagon so have 2 saddle racks on the back wall in the living which suits me as I cant really see me ever using the living.
 
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