The XC schooling trip this past weekend also marked several exciting “firsts”. The first time Henry has been in the new trailer. The first time both boys have been in the new trailer together (and thus, the first time I’ve hauled the trailer “fully loaded”). It was the longest haul so far with the new trailer, with horses in it. First time testing out and using all the new accessories we put in the tack room. And of course, the first time using the new camera system.
The timing of the trip ended up providing plenty of opportunity to thoroughly test out the camera system. I loaded up at dawn, and with all the doors and windows closed, it was still pretty dark in the trailer. Dark enough for the camera to be using it’s night mode. The picture is definitely grainier, but it’s still plenty clear and light enough to see what the horses are doing. I was worried it might not be. No issues there.
The sky lightened as we rolled along into the rising sun, and soon the camera switched itself over to regular day mode. The picture is pretty darn good in this mode, and I didn’t have any issues with buffering or dropped signal as we drove – both common complaints that I’ve heard about wireless trailer cameras in general. The picture stayed really perfect the whole time, and I could clearly see what both boys were doing at any time.
Like when Presto ran out of hay and started pawing, and Henry got mad at him. Or when Henry blamed Presto for a particularly bumpy part of the road and kept pinning his ears at him after every bump. Or when I felt some weird bouncing and checked the cam to see that it was just Henry being Henry, bucking in the trailer. As one does.
He has a lot of feelings. Most of them are rude.
Anyway, I made a short video of the monitor so y’all could see the streaming quality. Henry was even kind enough to choose that moment to poop.
So far I’m super happy with this camera setup. It was so nice to be able to just quickly flick my eyes to the camera if I felt something weird, or check on them when we stopped at lights or stop signs. I could see that they were both happily munching their hay (or not) and I didn’t have to worry that someone was in trouble. That security alone makes the camera priceless, especially when you’re hauling a baby and/or you’re a really freaking paranoid person by nature. And for Henry, who has a hard time handling heat, I could check and make sure his respiratory rate looked normal and he wasn’t getting hot and sweaty. 10/10 would absolutely recommend a trailer camera system to anyone. It takes the hauling anxiety way down. This is the one I got, although there are a lot of options on the market. I can’t vouch for how they compare.
Speaking of sweaty, the fan seemed to help keep Henry a bit cooler, too. It’s a small fan, so it’s not putting out a spectacular amount of air, but between having the roof vent open, the screen on the head window open, and the fan on, Henry was getting a pretty darn good breeze back there. He stayed a lot cooler than he normally would, for sure.
The saddle racks also survived their first mission! They stayed put and so did my saddle and the pads. I love these Saddle Boss racks, they’re the only ones I’ve ever had any luck with as far as actually holding the saddles and keeping everything stable. It was so still that even the half pad and square pad on top of the saddle didn’t budge. There’s nothing worse than opening the tack room door and seeing your stupid expensive saddles SPLAT on the floor, so I’m definitely happy with this purchase too.
I still have some organizational things to tweak, but otherwise really happy with everything so far. The trailer pulled great, fully loaded, and the boys seemed to have a pretty comfortable ride back there.
breedrideevent.com 
man you’re making me want a camera for my trailer. except I’d be worried I’d look at it TOO much instead of driving…
I want those saddleboss racks. My saddle racks are… not ideal. and saddles tend to fly off them even when you drive carefully enough for a horse!
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I was looking at it a lot in the beginning, mostly because I was really curious to see how they rode when we went around corners or sped up or slowed down or went over bumps. Curiosity and all that lol. By the time we came home it was less fascinating, so I felt less compelled to watch it as much. I think over time the novelty fades. That first half hour was really interesting though!
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I think there could be a Henry/Presto channel and I might watch it nonstop 🙂 Glad the maiden voyage was so easy and I am sure Henry is so much more comfy in there than in the original Betty! He would like it so much better if his baby brother stayed home i bet 🙂 HA HA HA
Makes me wish I had a dressing room. I LOVE my trailer but….dressing room. I can see Remus head thru the front windows so dont’ need a camera really but would love to have one for the barn (I cant see the barn from the house I have to go outside (Well I COULD see the barn if my trailer wasn’t parked in the driveway). The fans are a good idea tho for the trailer…
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You definitely need cameras in the barn!
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How loud are the fans?
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Just like… normal fan loudness? lol
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That camera is pretty spiffy!
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Well. Instead of doing my own research, I just bought that from your link. Hope you get referral credit. Bought the fans too. Why not?
Glad everything went smoothly! Sounds like the new ride is all you hoped for! And the boys seem to like it too!
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I do not get a referral credit but it’s a good camera lol. The install guide is shit, but it actually wasn’t hard to install or get working.
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Bummer! You should!
I will most likely hire a pro… I’m not good with wires.
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I’ve always wondered about saddle racks in trailers. Never had any luck with my saddles staying put, and finally resorted to bungee cords. Haha. Glad to hear I’m not alone in the struggle.
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Yeah I’ve always had to bungee on all the other saddle racks. These are the only ones that aren’t shit lol.
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More things to buy, but thanks for giving these things a test run and reporting! 🙂
Lord I hate finding the saddles dumped on the trailer tack room floor. Or, if I bungee them to the saddle rack, finding them hanging over to the side. I gotta look at those boss racks.
Live stream of a trailer cam – could watch that for hours. Look, his ear moved, that means he had a thought! He shuffled his feet – is he comfortable enough?? I might have to drape a towel over it while in the car.
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We just made the trip up to Colorado Horse Park with the same camera, but in a three horse living quarters, so a bit more distance between the camera and the receiver. It worked fairly well with that set up, though we did have quite a few delays and glitches, but the screen would correct fast and we never missed much. You can buy an extender antenna to help with the signal, which I think my friend is going to do. The picture quality was great. And it was so interesting to watch them go through bumps, turns and stops.
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