Home > News & Stories > Dream Rig - Practical & Smart

Dream Rig - Practical & Smart

More often than not, this article features the latest in horse transportation along with its designer kitchens and bathrooms, reverse cycle air conditioning, sound systems, DTV etc. etc. They are all fabulous rigs, but they come at a price. At Canberra Royal, the last Royal we will see for a while, we were intrigued by a rig camped nearby. It was a float with a kitchenette and a spacious canvas annex literally attached to the side. Set up, it had all that one would need for a show stay. There was plenty of room in the vermin and fly proof annex which contained all the comforts of home. Not many years ago this outfit would have been the top of the range show accommodation.

Perhaps this time of enforced home stay will inspire some to take on a project to fine-tune their show accommodation at a realistic price, and not the many hundreds of thousands needed for a grand lorry. The COVID-19 crisis will hit the horse professional very hard, but it might, in the long run, benefit the enthusiastic amateur who has time at home to put work into their horses and just maybe get the bug to take them to a show.

Oh, and did I say the float carried alpacas to Canberra? Kristine Jackson, the principal of The Mist Alpacas at Exeter in the Southern Highlands of NSW attended the show with her sister in law, Julianna Millar riding shotgun. So comfortable did they look settled in their camp, that we were curious to see how it all worked, as we are always on the lookout for something different, and when we had a peek in the back of the float to have two indignant alpacas looking back, we definitely wanted to know the story.

“I do have a horse that I transport as well, a 13-year-old ex-racehorse. I have a trainer, April Newman, who comes up once a week and I am just having a go.” Horse showing may be on the agenda in the future, but at Canberra, they were showing alpacas. “My husband purchased this Imperial Float; he didn’t go to see it, it just arrived one day. It had actually been used as a travelling point of sale for a horse rug manufacturer. My husband is really into machinery and really liked that it had a tri-axel, as he thought it would be really stable and safe to pull.

“We gave it a new paint job and fitted it out with a little kitchenette at the front and partitioned off the back for the animals. We put some thought into how we could live in it when we were showing and we found this Jobe and Co horse float annex as well. It just works perfectly and all folds up to a 30cm box on the side when stowed. We have had it for a year and this is our first time camping in it. It would be great to take down to the beach, with stretchers in the back for the kids and it would be lovely for a few days.”

“It has been surprisingly really comfortable,” says Julianna, “I’m not really a camping person, I’m more of a glamping person, but this is perfect and a very smart outfit.”

Photos: Julie Wilson & Kristine Jackson. Article: Anna Sharpley.

The camp with all the comforts needed for a comfortable stay. The annex folds back neatly into the box on the side of the float.

Mist Chanel and Mist Matilda enjoying luxury travel. Photo: Kristine Jackson.

Kristine Jackson’s rig, hitched and ready to travel.

The steel framed kitchen cupboards and sink with the good sized fridge a real bonus.

The bench seen is the hay box and is used as a seat or serving bench in the kitchen.

The door from the kitchen into the alpaca/horse section.

The tail board has an interesting fastening device. The free arm is attached to a 90 degree angle and is fastened by swinging it across and over the metal D and then fastened with a pin. An oldie, but a goodie.

This photo gives a good view of the stable tri-axel. There is a hay bale size box under the Mist sign.

There is another part of the annex that forms an enclosed sleeping space in the gap next to the wheels. It, too, is vermin and weather proof and a perfect place to set up the swag.

The esky once emptied into the kitchen fridge makes a good table for the gas stove.

A view through the back of the float through to the kitchen. The annex is securely attached to the float and well tied down. “It takes a bit of getting used to; where to attach the ropes etc, but you soon get to know where everything has to be and it is quite quick to put up and take down,” says Kristine.

The top bunk is part of the annex and the bottom bed, a stretcher. “It is very comfortable for a few nights at the show,” says Julianna.

The motorised jockey wheel runs on a 12 volt battery. It is perfect for moving floats or caravans without attaching a car. It works better of course on a hard surface, but it can be useful on good flat going to make small adjustments to the position easy.

The back view of the float.

The Mist Alpaca Stud logo. Notice the inlet for electricity.

Sign up to our newsletter

Dream Rig - Practical & Smart

Your browser is out of date!