Many DIYers or towable trailer fans may have glimpsed a horse trailer flying down the road or parked in a field and envisioned what they can build out of it.
The large open space, heavy-duty trailers and axles, and headroom for tall, farm animals make these trailers an empty slate for some fun ideas.
Family-owned Campfire Trailers of Altamont, New York is doing just that. This small company finds and repurposes old and unused horse trailers and turns them into livable, moveable, and functional tiny houses, campers, or even mobile businesses.
In fact, recycling old or unwanted items is part of the company’s ethos. The company wrote on their Instagram account,
“Sometimes if you just take a minute to look around, so much of our world can be reused, recycled and repurposed. The throw-away mentality of today is bad for people, communities, and the environment. We’re here to demonstrate modular housing can come from one man’s trash. To us, it’s a mini home treasure.”
The company’s initial model, “Mustang”, is a coffee/cupcake shop with a serving window, rear access door, and a side door that turns into a chalkboard menu.
This is just one idea that can be designed from these sturdy trailers. Campfire Trailers has several suggestions for other mobile businesses. They include full-service bars for weddings and other special events, food trucks, florists, or even pet grooming businesses.
During the restoration, the horse trailers are sanded and painted, doors and windows are cut with metal blades. The interior is insulated and designed with items found at thrift and antique stores.
The interior and exterior decor includes nods to the trailers’ original use with horseshoes, rustic metal, and barn wood siding.
The Campfire Trailers can customize any size horse trailer and they have trailers in stock. They also offer finished horse trailers for rent including the Mustang coffee shop on wheels.
You can learn more on their website CampfireTrailers.com and on their Facebook page.
Do they fix up the old FEMA trailers that are rotting away by the thousands?