Horse Trailer With Slide Out - Why Would You Need It?

A Horse Trailer With Slide Out is the ultimate trailer solution for adding elbow room to the living quarters, period. It can turn your seven or eight-foot-wide Living Quarters Horse Trailer into a spacious retreat on wheels with enough floor to dance the night away!

In this article, we’re going to look at all the aspects of investing in this option. You’ll learn everything you should know before opting for a slide-out feature on your horse trailer.

What is a Slide Out?

Just like on an RV, a horse trailer slide-out is a moveable compartment that can be extended to enlarge your trailer’s interior. Think of it as an opened drawer that allows for more room on the inside. This option always makes all the difference when it comes to useful space.

Slide-outs can be used to extend any portion of a trailer. We’ve even seen RVs with up to four slide-outs extending the width of the rig. Talk about a palace on wheels! Even a kitchen can be fitted into a slide-out, although it’s not the best idea given the water and gas lines involved.

At Double D Trailers, we typically like to include the slide-out in the sofa sitting area or the dinette area. Although we’ve had customers ask for quotes on multiple slide-outs, we typically build trailers with just one extendable portion.

Look at the blueprint example below and you can see how the small addition of a single slide-out can make a big difference in how you use the space inside your trailer. Suddenly, you have more room to stretch your legs, help with meal preparation, and invite more friends over to enjoy your space.

Brad Heath, the owner of Double D Trailers, shared, “I really like the extra space the slide creates…heck, there’s enough room for dancing!”

How Does a Slide Out Function?

If you have dreams of dancing the night away in your Horse Trailer With Slide Out, then there are a few more things you should know. First off, operating your slide-out is easy. Extending or retracting it can be done with the press of a button. We‘ve joined forces with a brand called Liftco that uses a screw-drive mechanism powered by a 12-volt motor. This type of slide-out creates a raised floor area, which eliminates any holes or cuts in the trailer frame. This means the slide-out will not weaken the main structure of your Z-Frame trailer as shown in the video below.

In a pinch, your Horse Trailer With Slide Out can also be operated manually.

(Photo Below - View of the slide out in travel position.)

Maintenance for Horse Trailer With Slide Out Living Quarters 

A living quarters Horse Trailer With Slide Out is easy to maintain. In fact, we were hard-pressed to think of anything extra that you really need to do to keep it working. But here are a few tips to consider when using and maintaining such a rig, just in case:

• Make sure nothing is blocking the slide-out on the inside when stowing it for travel.

• Check for trees, posts, or other objects that may block the slide-out when extending.

• Inspect the side wipe seals regularly for damage or debris. These seals will prevent water from making its way inside the trailer’s interior.

• Keep the slide-out roof clean and free from debris.

• Be sure not to pinch anything – such as tree branches – when retracting your slide-out.

Other than these common-sense tips, any regular maintenance or repairs can be done during your annual trailer inspection.

(Photo Below - Inside view of the slide out during construction.)

Which Models of Double D Trailers Have Slide Out Options? 

We have three living quarter horse trailer models that are available with slide-outs. Our most popular option by far is the SafeTack Reverse LQ trailer. This 8-foot wide combination forward or rear-facing trailer is our top seller. It can be built to fit up to six animals and will easily work for large 17+ warmblood horses.

The living quarters on the SafeTack Reverse LQ can be built with a 10-foot or 13-foot short wall, so you’ll have plenty of room for your hardwood cabinets, soft-touch walls and ceiling, kitchen, and spacious bathroom. The slide-out on this trailer will work well in the dinette or sofa sitting area.

Since this trailer comes standard at 96-inches (8-foot) width, you will be able to use the trailer comfortably even during a quick stop when the slide-out is not extended.

Our next most popular option for a Horse Trailer With Slide Out is the Trailer Blazer Living Quarters model. The Trail Blazer has all of the same safety features found on our SafeTack Reverse including the Z-frame technology, Galvalite walls, options for forward or rear-facing horse trailer design, and SafeTack storage area.

The main difference for this trailer is in the smaller living quarters. It comes with a 7-9’ short wall and a few cost-saving features like vinyl-wrapped cabinets and paneled walls and ceiling. Once again, the slide-out feature will work well on the sofa or dinette area. This trailer comes standard at 7-foot in width so a slide-out can be a great way to extend your inside living space without upgrading to the 8-foot wide trailer.

If you‘re trying to decide between our horse trailers with living quarters, just remember that we create custom horse trailers, so we are ready (and excited) to work with you to build your dream trailer. The first step is to choose the LQ model from our full list, and we'll go from there.

Frequently Asked Questions About Horse Trailer with Slide Out

Since there are so many possibilities when it comes to horse trailers with slide out living quarters, you’d probably have a ton of questions. You might find some of the answers below:

Can you add a slide-out feature to a horse trailer?

Slide-outs can be added to a horse trailer only if the unit is big enough to house at least one. There can be several slide-outs in a single trailer and they can be used to extend any portion of a trailer, including the kitchen.

What is the best type of horse trailer?

It depends on your purposes and needs. If you need to haul several horses and all the necessary gear, then you’d probably need a gooseneck horse trailer that’d be big enough for the animals, the tack, and the living quarters you’d need.

Should I get a horse trailer with a slide out?

Slide outs can provide greater comfort and usability of the living quarters of your horse trailer you have. They don’t need an excessive amount of maintenance, and the cost of one is well worth it, considering the extra convenience they bring.

Can you leave a slide out in winter?

Yes, but cleaning the snow from the top and sides of the horse trailer slide-out is essential to avoid it creating pressure on the unit due to the extra weight of the snow. Also, water damage may occur when temperatures change and snow melts.