Getting ready for a road trip

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charlie4s

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2008
Messages
13
Location
Garrison, TX
Ok lets have a little fun. Not counting the time that it takes to get the cattle ready for a major show.
How long does it take everyone to pack the showbox and equipment and pack the truck and trailer?
 

charlie4s

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2008
Messages
13
Location
Garrison, TX
takes me half day to gather the show equipment and the rest of the day to get it organized.
can pack truck and trailer in couple of hours if nobody bothers me

Have fun and enjoy life
Charlie
 

red

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Joined
Jan 20, 2007
Messages
7,850
Location
LaRue, Ohio
if you're a man & husband- not much time! For the wife, it's packing clothes, getting food ready, making arrangement for things at home, loading up....
It usually takes me a good week to get things together on my end. a day to load the showbox & clean up things. Hubby & I load the trailer the night beore.

Red
 

red

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Joined
Jan 20, 2007
Messages
7,850
Location
LaRue, Ohio
  :))) That was kind of a low blow wasn't it! Maybe I should have said if you're my hubby- then not much!

OK Adam, laugh at this one!

Red  (lol)
 

shortyjock89

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Mar 6, 2007
Messages
4,465
Location
IL
The longest part for us is making sure that we have everything we need, like enough glue, paint, soap, KS, stuff like that.  Packing and organizing the showbox and the rest of the show equip. probably takes a good couple hours.  Packing the trailer is probably the fastest part.  My sister, my dad, and I can probably get ours packed in less than an hour, but we're really bustin our tails to get it done...
 

CAB

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Mar 5, 2007
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5,607
Location
Corning,Iowa
  Red, that was a bit below the belt, but hey, it's probably mostly true. I was wondering if I could hire you to come pack me up? My wife refuses to. I may just go if I could find the ambition to pack. Brent
 

kanshow

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Joined
May 24, 2007
Messages
2,660
Location
Kansas
How long does it take everyone to unpack?  It takes my kids until the next show when they can't find their whatever (clothes, boots,etc) that they shoved behind the seat or somewhere else they'll never look. 
 

AAOK

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Joined
Jan 30, 2007
Messages
5,264
Location
Rogers, Ar

5 minutes to hook up the trailer, and check the lights, and another 5 to load the feed.  We kept 2 showboxes in the front half of the trailer fully stocked.  Shavings were stored next to the showboxes.  I also had a place inside to hang the end panels, hangers, and fans.  The rolling cart housed the tarps, carpets and mats.  The chutes hung outside, on the trailer.  The nose stored the feed pans, water buckets, lights, drop cords, coveralls, rubber boots, etc.  All of these items stayed packed in plastic tubs.  My wife's job was to pack herself and the kids.

After we got good at what we did, we got organized. We would attended about 25 Jackpot shows each year.  Most of those required we leave the house real early on Saturday morning, and get home real late.  We had to stay packed!

Even the last seven years that we haven't showed, I had continued to work out of the trailer.  Two weeks ago, I completely unpacked the trailer, and cleaned it end-to-end.  It took me all day one Saturday.
 

KDSC

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Joined
Nov 23, 2007
Messages
323
Location
kansas
OK my question is, how do you guys get so much in a little place, I will see some people pull up with 20-24 foot trailer, and unload 4-5 calves, a stand up show box, grooming chutes, stall dividers, fans, and still have all their straw and hay in trailer?????????? Also how do you guys get your grooming chutes on the side of your trailer, and then off???
 

showsteerdlux

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Joined
Nov 30, 2007
Messages
1,765
Location
Western NC
You can weld a holder for the chutes onto the side of your trailer, but we usually either put them on the flatbed part of the truck or strap them to the trailer real tight and hope they make it!
 

KDSC

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Joined
Nov 23, 2007
Messages
323
Location
kansas
yeah I knew that part, but I know I cant lift a 7 ftt chute that weighs 150-200lbs :'( :'( But Then I gusse I havent ever Tried to get my chute on the side of the trailer so...

Also Dan how big was the cart that you put stuff on??
 

showsteerdlux

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Nov 30, 2007
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1,765
Location
Western NC
Well I know that if you have one person to help you the chute is alot easier to load. However, I have had to load one(steel) by myself before and even though it wasn't fun i was able to load it.
 

Rocky Hill Simmental

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Joined
Aug 22, 2007
Messages
397
Location
Missouri
I guess it takes me about 2 hours to load everything up... more if you include the fact that I wash all the brushes and bowls so they won't look dirty.

I arrange my showbox neatly and I know where everything is... until at the last minute I realize I forgot something and have to through it on top and by the time we get there, it's messed up again. I blame the blower.  :D

We haul three loads of stuff to our district fair. Sunday we have to go and enter art work anyway so we go ahead and set up the gates and put savings down. Then Tuesday morning we have a truck full of feed, hay, show boxes, cots, and other stuff. Then Tuesday afternoon we bring the actual cattle. Then Saturday at about 3 my mom takes everything home expect the cattle, water bucket, a little hay, and lawn chairs. Then my dad, sister, and I load the heifers up at 6 and bring them home.  ;D The district fair is in the same county I live in so it's not too bad.

All the other shows I go to are short so we only bring one load. We just stack it in the back and extra room in the trailer... but we usually bring less cattle to the smaller shows too because they're farther away. Except one time when they had one right down the road from my house, like only 5 miles.
 

renegade

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Joined
Jun 30, 2007
Messages
725
Location
Caldwell, Idaho
It takes me and my mom about a three hours to clean all tack and load every thing (horse and cattle stuff). Its nice because i am about five minutes from the fairgrounds and that is also where there is a huge hereford show, some steer shows, PRCA rodeo and my drill practices and several horse clinics. We bring everything in the day before weigh in and decorate and then bring cattle in the next day at 5 (the Hottest part of the day ???). We cant bring cots or campers or anything and there are no tie outs and we cant stay on the grounds over night. There is one area to keep horse trailers for tack and feed cause we cant keep it with our animals... there is no room and they wont let us. Then we cant move any animals until 10:00 pm and we have to get slips signed (chaos!!!)
 

AAOK

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Joined
Jan 30, 2007
Messages
5,264
Location
Rogers, Ar
KDSC said:
OK my question is, how do you guys get so much in a little place, I will see some people pull up with 20-24 foot trailer, and unload 4-5 calves, a stand up show box, grooming chutes, stall dividers, fans, and still have all their straw and hay in trailer?????????? Also how do you guys get your grooming chutes on the side of your trailer, and then off???


A place for everything, and everything in its place!  We have a 20 X 7 Sooner with a center gate.  Four BIG calves can ride in the back.

As for the chutes, ours have wheels for rolling; the rest is physics.  I could easily pick up one end, and stand it against the trailer.  A squat, and a grab about 3/4 down the chute, stand up, and place the chute in the braces. We always carried two.  This was my process at home.

At the shows it was completely different. I have two daughters.  When we pulled up to unload, they would just ask a couple of young studs to help.  All we did was tell the guys where to put what.  I did, however get a lot of the upper running lights knocked off. Ha!




 

AAOK

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Joined
Jan 30, 2007
Messages
5,264
Location
Rogers, Ar
KDSC said:
yeah I knew that part, but I know I cant lift a 7 ftt chute that weighs 150-200lbs :'( :'( But Then I gusse I havent ever Tried to get my chute on the side of the trailer so...

Also Dan how big was the cart that you put stuff on??

30" X 60"
 

cattlejunky

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Joined
Jun 22, 2007
Messages
538
Location
indiana
I am with Red!  My sons and I pack the small stuff on the trailer.  We can now do the chute.  We use ramps for the show box.  it is an uprite on wheels.  The longest thing for me is the clothes, food, and cooler.  As for unpacking that may take a week or so.  We get the calves off and the necessary items the rest waits until I recover.
 

char

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 3, 2007
Messages
65
Location
ohio
this time of the year when it seems like we are showing constantly it's not quite that hard....but that is the husband and kids job.....my job is a lot like Red's....cooking, packing for 5 people, remembering registration papers....and making sure everything is good at home to leave.....sometimes I get a little jealous thinking that I always have the hardest part of the show.....not to mention all the laundry when we get home......but I guess I wouldn't do it if we all didn't love it soo much....char
 
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