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Cowboy cribs
Converted trailers become home away from home for people, animals
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FarkWhile the word “palatial” never enters your mind when taking a tour of custom-built goose-neck trailers, these cowboy digs offer some spectacular amenities.
Companies such as Signature Quarters, Rodeorigs.com, Blake’s Trailer Sales & Repair and Featherlite have converted the Pennington County Event Center at the Central States Fairgrounds into Rapid City’s newest mini-trailer park.
Sandra and Cal Anderson of Newell walked through one of the converted horse trailers last Friday with some thoughts of taking the “weekender” on the road to follow their daughters’ rodeo tour. One daughter is a team roper, and the other is a barrel racer.
For the Andersons, the display offered something to consider for the future while at the Black Hills Stock Show. But for others, the trailers serve as a home while on the rodeo circuit.
“This is really nice,” Sandra Anderson said of the converted horse trailers.
Features of these homes on wheels include richly appointed custom-designed storage space, recessed lighting, flat-screen TVs, surround-sound entertainment centers, comfortable seating, dual-burner gas stove, sink, refrigerator and freezer, sleep area with air conditioning and heating, bathroom with shower, sink and toilet and even a back door leading into the stock portion of the trailer.
Brady Clark, shop foreman of Signature Quarters of Valentine, Neb., can custom build the space in four to six weeks to a client’s specifications.
“It all boils down to how much you want to spend and how big you want to get,” Clark said.
Trailers range from $20,000 with an austere decor to as much as $200,000, which includes such amenities as marble countertops, fireplace and in-motion satellite dish.
Financing and warranty are included. Clark said with the superior fabrication of both trailer and conversion, it may be the only horse trailer an owner may ever need.
At Signature Quarters, the converted trailers include ample storage for the livestock as well as for people setting up housekeeping up front. One of Signature’s larger models can hold three horses, tack and feed with rubber matting on the floors and ramp to keep animals from slipping. A bailed hay storage area is on the roof. An escape door opening from the side offers a way to unload stock in the event of a rear-end collision.
Go through the back door from the stock trailer and step up into the bathroom, which includes closets and storage space, wooden floor along with shower, sink and toilet and a pocket door for privacy. A 50- to 60-gallon tank provides plenty of water for the shower. A cozy living space offers room to gather with friends and family to watch TV, movies or listen to music. The upper compartment offers the sleep space for a comfortable mattress with window shades and privacy doors, as well as a TV set.
This isn’t your father’s horse trailer, Clark said. Over the last decade, the conversion trailers have evolved. Originally built for people who showed stock and the rodeo people who spent weeks on the road, the living space created a home away from home for the owners, Clark said.
It also offered a way to travel long distances without the hassle of stabling animals in one place and finding rooms somewhere else. “They wanted something more than staying in a hotel room,” he added.
Abby Clark, a member of Signature’s sales and marketing staff and Brady’s sister, said the converted trailers also provided security to some very expensive livestock.
“It allowed the owners to be closer to their animals,” she said.
Instead of traveling back and forth between a motel and stable, owners could stay close and keep an eye on their horses, cattle or other stock, she said.
Courtney Higgins of Rodeorigs.com of Ekalaka, Mont., agreed.
Higgins, owner of Rodeorigs.com, brought along his wife, Crystal, and their 1-year-old son, Cayden, to show off their newest trailers for the professional rodeo crowd and others at the stock show.
“You see a lot of professional cowboys buy these, but you also see the older grandparents who want to watch their grandkids rodeo,” he said.
Last week, Higgins sold a converted trailer that featured in-motion satellite,
surround sound, forced-air heat and central air conditioning, bathroom with shower, double-burner stove, sink, refrigerator, freezer, built-in microwave and bedroom space. The floors were tiled and all of the cabinetry was made of hickory wood. Theme knobs made to look like horseshoes with stars offered a nice touch throughout the rig.
Crystal Higgins recalls seeing her first converted trailer at age 9 in her hometown of Las Vegas at an exhibit during the National Finals Rodeo. A former rodeo participant, she said their converted trailers offer comfort, aesthetics and a back doorway through the animal side of the trailer.
“It’s nice when it’s raining, you can come in through the back way and take your shoes off (in the bathroom) before coming in here,” she said.
Switches near the main doorway and in the sleeper control lighting throughout the quarters and a remote control is connected with all of the electronics, so no one has to hop out of bed to shut off the TV.
All this luxury, security and living space sold for a cool $113,000.
“It’s turning out to be a good stock show for us,” she said.
Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.
Shown is the interior of a Hart brand Signature Quarters Custom Trailer Conversions at the Pennington County Fairgrounds Event Center. Custom conversion trailers can cost as little as $20,000 to as high as $250,000, coming with the bare minimum comforts to as much as a fireplace, washer and dryer, and satellite television. (Kristina Barker/Journal staff)
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