A couple of years ago as he entered his 30th year of shoeing horses, Billy Romjue began looking for ideas to downsize his shoeing trailer. His service area was limited from southern Pennsylvania to northern Maryland, and hauling his 10-foot gooseneck shoeing trailer wasn’t practical for servicing most of his clients. 

“I became fascinated with fitting gear in small spaces,” says the Glen Rock, Pa., farrier. “I wanted a trailer that is easy to set up, easy to back up and wouldn’t cost a lot of money.”

Recycled Ingersoll Rand Trailer

Romjue found inspiration with mid-20th century Ingersoll Rand air compressor trailers, popular for pneumatic work on construction sites. He eventually found one in need of repair and traded the owner a .30-30 rifle for the trailer. 

Romjue has a background in welding and fabrication, which came in handy in projects building drag racers, so he could do the work in his shop. He tried to keep the appearance as close to the original exterior as much as possible. His wife repainted the body and lettering. After removing the motor, some key installations were adding electrical wiring and building a storage area in the front. He was able to build a functional shoeing trailer by installing a system of slideouts that lock into place using…