Horse Camping with a Living Quarters Trailer — What We've Learned

One of the tactics we've developed is evaluating potential campsites before showing up with horses and a full rig. We don't always make a dedicated scouting trip — but whenever we're traveling for other reasons and find ourselves near an area we've been curious about, we take the time to drive through. We use mapping and tracking apps on our phones to pull up local trails on the spot, check road conditions, and get a feel for whether a location is actually going to work for our setup.

What we're looking for: tight turns on narrow roads, overhanging tree limbs that can catch a tall trailer, uneven ground that could stress or tear sewer connections, and whether there's enough level space to set up the rig comfortably for a multi-day stay. A campground that looks fine in photos can have a loop that simply doesn't accommodate a longer gooseneck. Finding that out before you arrive with two horses and a full load of gear saves a lot of frustration.

We also rely on social media and other riders' experiences when researching new locations. This website is our way of centralizing what we've found and sharing it with other horse campers who are doing the same research.

A living quarters gooseneck is a long, tall, heavy piece of equipment. Not every campground that welcomes horses is designed with that in mind. Trailheads can be even more limiting — some simply don't have the turning radius or road width to accommodate a larger rig safely.

Before committing to any new location, we think about overall length, turning radius, road surface, and what the approach looks like. Narrow forest roads that work fine for a pickup can become very stressful with a gooseneck behind you. We've turned around more than once rather than risk getting into a situation we couldn't get out of.

One of the most useful things we've done is build a dedicated pre-trip checklist using the Do app on our phones. It's a simple checklist app — similar to the Notes app but with checkboxes — and it can be shared so that when one person checks something off, it updates on both phones. No more second-guessing whether something got done.

Our list has grown to 63 items and covers everything from horse needs — hay loaded, water tanks filled, extra water containers topped off, propane checked, horse treats packed — down to the smaller personal things that are easy to overlook, like making sure you have your wallet. Every time we get somewhere and realize we forgot something, it goes on the list. It keeps growing and getting better with every trip.

If you don't use the Do app specifically, any shared checklist app works the same way. The point isn't the app — it's having a system you trust so you're not running through everything in your head at 5am before a long haul.

When we're camping in more remote areas or boondocking, we bring portable panels that fit in our third stud stall and set up a hot wire perimeter. Many of the locations we camp in — particularly in Colorado and Wyoming — have active wildlife moving through. Elk, deer, moose, or even bison could decide to visit your camp, especially at night.

Our approach is to keep the horses in sturdy panels overnight when wildlife activity is higher. During the day when we're not riding, we blend the hot wire with the panels to give the horses more room to move and graze safely. It's a setup that takes a little time to configure but gives us peace of mind and gives the horses more comfort during long stays.

Water is not something to improvise. Our LQ has two 48-gallon water tanks in the hay rack up top, and we supplement with additional 7-gallon containers depending on how long we're staying and how remote the location is. For campgrounds with water hookups or spigots, planning is simpler. For primitive camping, you need to know exactly how much you have and how long it needs to last.

The principle we operate by is straightforward: the horses had no choice in coming along. They depend entirely on us for water, hay, and their basic wellbeing. If water or feed starts running low, we head home. That's not a difficult decision — it's just the right one.

We start watching weather forecasts a few weeks out from any planned trip. Early forecasts are general, but they give us a sense of whether conditions are trending in a useful direction. As the date gets closer and forecasts become more reliable, we check more frequently and are willing to adjust plans — sometimes to a different location, sometimes pushing the trip back entirely.

For trips into the Colorado Rockies and higher elevations in surrounding states, we pay close attention to overnight lows and the possibility of snow even in summer months. Conditions at elevation can change quickly and aren't always reflected in town forecasts. We've camped at sites above 9,000 feet where overnight temperatures dropped well below freezing in what was otherwise a warm stretch of weather.

There are trips where we bring both the gooseneck LQ and the Trails West bumper pull. Having the second trailer gives us significantly more flexibility once camp is set up — we can haul out to different trailheads for day rides without tearing down the whole camp. Both rigs stay together on the road and we only consider locations that have room for both setups.

When evaluating a campground for a two-rig trip, we're looking at total available space, whether sites are pull-through or require backing, and whether the roads in and out can handle both trailers moving at the same time.