As the cold season arrives in Minnesota during November, Rich Lomen and Nate Stener and their four-man multi-farrier practice can expect temperatures to fluctuate between 41 and 9 degrees Fahrenheit over the next 5 months in the metropolitan Minneapolis area.

While their team can warm themselves in barns when available, they spend a lot of time outside.

“Just being outside and getting older,” Lomen says, “I needed some place to be inside and do the work.”

Efficient Workstation

Lomen’s solution was a Dodge Ram 2500 ProMaster and the expertise of Brent Chidsey at Bay Horse Innovations in Cynthiana, Ky. The result was a warmer mobile workstation for his team to shoe the 550 horses that he has on his roster every 6 to 8 weeks.

“In Minnesota, we’re always outside,” he says. “In the van, we can be inside where it’s warm and well-lit.”

Yet, the van is so much more than a warm, dry place to work. It’s designed to accommodate his team in an efficient manner.

“Efficiency-wise, it’s great,” Lomen says. “We can have two guys working all the time. If we have three working that day, one is trimming and shoeing horses and two are working in the truck. We have a pull-out anvil, another stationary anvil inside, three grinders including one to sharpen knives, three drill presses and a band saw to cut pads. We wanted different areas, so we weren’t getting bunched up in there.”

Despite Lomen’s desire for a warmer working environment, he also wants to avoid using a forge that drives him and his crew out of the van. He opted for a Forgemaster power-coated hooded forge.

“Heat still comes out, but there’s not as much in the van,” he says. “It doesn’t heat you out.”

The gem, though, is a Honda EU3000iS Inverter. It provides 3000 watts of power that’s connected to the van’s gasoline tank.

“The generator’s priceless,” Lomen says. “We were down for a week and it sucked because we had to plug in. For years, I’ve dragged cords through the mud. The generator works off the gas tank, so I don’t have to fill up the generator all the time.”

After 30 years and multiple rigs, Lomen has the Badass Rig he’s always wanted.

“I love it,” he says. “It’s my favorite one I’ve ever had.”