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Trailers - Love/Hate

JimHess
Silver Member

Oct 20, 2005, 10:26 PM

Post #1 of 22 (2546 views)
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Trailers - Love/Hate	Can't Post

Here's a question: What do you love or hate about your horse trailer? For example, I really like the fact that our slant load trailer is just six feet wide, with eight foot axles, instead of the usual seven feet wide and eight and a half foot axles. I appreciate it in heavy traffic, on narrow roads, and in toll booths. I also like the fact that it's aluminum, up here in the rust belt. The thing I hate about it is the axles seem to have too much camber in them, causing all four tires to wear the outside edges prematurely, while the inside edge is still good. We were told you would have to replace the axles to fix the problem, so we just keep replacing tires instead. I wonder how common this is. A lot of people don't put many miles on their trailers and the tires tend to dry-rot before they wear out. Other than that, there's nothing much we'd change next time, except for those new sealed wheel bearings.

-Jim

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 2, 2005, 3:38 PM

Post #2 of 22 (2509 views)
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Re: [JimHess] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Jim,
Like you we sure appreciate the aluminum as we can pressure wash it and it looks good. And we don’t worry about rust. I like the larger front tack room so we don’t have our tack piled up. I like the amount of air we can get in our trailer. Window on the face and rump and lots of roof vents.

I like the wider trailer so they can move around. I like the fact that with a pull of a wire I can collapse the rear tack and pull the center post in case I need to.

I don’t like having to pay as much money as I did to get the trailer we wanted……

Mark

justmartha
Member

Nov 4, 2005, 12:37 PM

Post #3 of 22 (2489 views)
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Re: [JimHess] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

My trailer - it's a CM combo stock trailer. What I love - it's stable, cheap, and horses are never hard to load into it. It works. What I hate - it's NOISY, it's old, and lacks almost any bell or whistle you could think of.

Martha in NM
http://www.valverdemorgans.com

JimHess
Silver Member

Nov 4, 2005, 5:01 PM

Post #4 of 22 (2478 views)
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Re: [Mark4510] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

Mark,
I assume since you mention front and rear tack that your trailer's a slant load. How many horse? Is it a gooseneck or a pumper pull? And what brand? Nosey, huh? I'm just curious about what others like and dislike, 'cause eventually when we replace our trailer, there might be something that we hadn't thought of. And yes, I'm sure we'll get sticker shock!

-Jim

JimHess
Silver Member

Nov 4, 2005, 5:12 PM

Post #5 of 22 (2477 views)
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Re: [justmartha] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

Martha,
When you say combo, does that mean it has slant partitions? Yes, stock trailers are noisy, but they're pretty versatile. The first trailer our friends got was an older steel stock trailer. They turned it into a two horse with big tack/dressing room in front. It served them well 'till they made the jump to a 3-horse gooseneck.

-Jim

justmartha
Member

Nov 7, 2005, 10:40 AM

Post #6 of 22 (2454 views)
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Re: [JimHess] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

They call it a combo - I am not sure quite why. I think it's more like a stock trailer than a horse trailer Smile

The front has a removable center divider that we almost never use. i'm not even sure where we put it last time we took it out! Then there is a gate that divides the trailer into a front and back half. So it divides into three partitions should you want it - 2 singles in front and 1 double in back There is a manger/feed area in the front so there's room for tack underneath - that's probably whey they can call it a horse trailer. There's an escape door up front, and the back tailgate has a sliding door so you can have it half-open - we have never yet used that feature, though it might have been handy on our last camping trip when we were living in the horse trailer because it was so rainy. I guess some folks use that sliding door for cattle? I don't know, since my exposure to cattle and livestock has been remarkably small for somebody living in the rural west.

In Reply To

Martha in NM
http://www.valverdemorgans.com

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 7, 2005, 3:20 PM

Post #7 of 22 (2444 views)
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Re: [JimHess] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Jim,
Not nosey at all. I asked all sorts of questions from anyone I could before purchasing. Actually, I still do just ‘cause they are pretty cool and I want the best for the horses.

The trailer I was talking about is a 3 horse slant load, gooseneck Elite with a front tack room that has a 4’ short wall and then a rear tack. Lately none of the boarders we have are performance horses, my wife’s good horse was laid up last year and my old horse got sold/given away so we have not been hauling very much. That being the case, I really like this trailer. It’s nice to have the front stall with an escape door and a stud divider so we can use it to store feed, water buckets and blankets so we don’t have to put them in the front tack room. Each nose side window has a slider window and bars that can either be up or down. We went with bag feeders after seeing a tragedy with the fixed feeders with storage underneath them.

The rear tack is collapsible and the center bar comes out so if we want, both doors can be opened to completely open the back of the trailer.

The rump side windows also have sliders and bars over them in case one fires off that high. I think the only thing I am going to change is to add 3 additional vents on top to increase the air flow when hot.

There are a lot of really good trailers out there today and I figure everyone has their favorites. What we see out here the most, on the high end, are Bloomers, Jamcos and 4 Stars…..mostly 4 Stars. A friend of ours recently bought a nice 6 horse Bloomer and last weekend picked up his new Peterbuilt custom hauler. Those two together makes for a nice rig but pretty pricey. I always dream about my favorite rig and what I would get when I get the money but, the reality is, every time we get enough money ahead to look at a fancy living quarter or new hauler, we choose to spend the money on a new horse. I would much rather pull horses that are worth 4 times the amount of the trailer rather than the opposite.

My wife has started looking for a new prospect and we have started working harder on the cowhorse side so next year might be a very busy one if we keep reining as much as we did this year plus try to do well in the reined cowhorse events. Who knows, with all that travel we might just change our minds on a living quarters…….

Mark

JimHess
Silver Member

Nov 7, 2005, 9:02 PM

Post #8 of 22 (2428 views)
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Re: [Mark4510] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

Mark,
That sounds like a very nice trailer you have there. I know the the living quarter trailers are nice, but man, they just keep getting bigger and bigger. Then, as you say, you need a Freightliner to pull them. You reminded me of a feature that is handy - the front stall escape door. We haul our two horses in the back two stalls and use the front one for hay and supplies, but you can't get to it once the horses are in.
When the weather's warm, we travel with the dropdowns open and guards in place. I built the guards, but now I see the trailers are coming with them. I like to do that instead of opening the roof vents, 'cause you can't get in to close the vents in a downpour. I used to drive through town with the horses sticking their heads out of the dropdowns, but you don't want to go too fast! They really liked it, though.

-Jim

JimHess
Silver Member

Nov 7, 2005, 9:47 PM

Post #9 of 22 (2421 views)
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Re: [justmartha] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

Martha, you're right, they call it a combo 'cause of the mangers. Some trailer companies call a combo a slantload with stock-sides and slats on the right-hand side of the trailer, instead of windows. Maybe that sliding door in the tailgate is like an escape door so you don't have to open the whole tailgate? Or do they call it a "calf gate"? (I heard that term once, thought I'd throw it out there).

-Jim

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 9, 2005, 4:19 PM

Post #10 of 22 (2410 views)
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Re: [JimHess] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

Man.....those roof vents might be my biggest complaint. Cant get to them to shut them when it gets too cold or starts to rain like you say. I wish there was some sort of crank out on the side of the trailer that would open or close them. We like this trailer and as much as I dont like some of the wider longer rigs I sure like giving the horses more room on a long trip.

A friend gave me a reason to not let the critters hang thier heads out when going too fast. We were headed to Burbank for a show a year or so ago and the traffic came to a complete halt....for hours in 100 degree heat. We did all we could to open everything up so when we got going no one wanted to stop. He had a horse get hit in the right eye with a bee at about 30 mph. That poor mares eye was red and weepy for a week.

I am not sure what it is about that show but I have never had any luck there and, no kidding, those groupies and trekkies (sp?) are a pain when they walk around. Those poor futurity and derby horses never know what to think about a whole posse of those oddballs, when they get Holloween dressed up. And for sure I dont know what to think about all those girls in thier latest Hollywood cowboy get ups looking for a chance to be on TV. Until I get whomped upside the head by my lovely wife when I get caught sneaking a peek at one of them.

Sorry....I got to rambling.

Mark

lkvaughan
Member

Nov 9, 2005, 5:09 PM

Post #11 of 22 (2402 views)
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Re: [JimHess] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

My favorite trailer of all time was an older monstrosity that my dad found when i was younger- it was a 'walking horse' trailer- extra tall, long and wide, double axle- 4 horses with a full size (length of stall) escape door in the front and about 4 feet seperating the back (with another human escape door) and front 'stalls'. the front horses could be loaded in facing front or facing back & it had windows all allong the sides. it had a very small tack compartment under the mangers for the front stall. it did have those stupid top vents that were hard to get to but since you could climb thru the human door it wasnt too bad

i have no idea what brand it was (my dad would know) but it was GREAT for hauling 3 kids and 3 or 4 horses and a TONN of stuff to pony club shows all over the south- pony club shows are judged both on riding and barn skills- so needless to say you had to have a ton of stuff with you (not to mention hay and feed...) and it made a great tack room at those shows- after we all left the nest he sold that one

ive seen some recent research about slant loads indicating that there is an increased occurance of one sided (usually front left) lamness in horses that have been hauled long distances (or hauled frequently)- purportedly because of the unequal distribution of the stress on the legs- any one have any esperience with this??

also- what are people thoughts on the slant & straight loads vs a stock type where the horses can be let loose to move about how they wish in their compartments? a steeple chase barn that i used to work at hauled all his horses this way- but ofcourse it takes more room than the straight or slants...

good thread- now i know where to turn when i finally get to buy my own trailer!
kelly

JimHess
Silver Member

Nov 9, 2005, 6:39 PM

Post #12 of 22 (2392 views)
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Re: [Mark4510] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yeah, the ol' bug in the eye. That's why I stopped letting them hang out. My wife said that was bound to happen. It was either that or get them goggles. You're right - somebody needs to invent roof vents that could be operated from outside. That would be quite a trick. They would need little electric motors, maybe. Come to think of it, I think there is a power-operated camper roof vent.

-Jim

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 9, 2005, 6:49 PM

Post #13 of 22 (2390 views)
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Hi Kelly,
We haul at least every week for 3-4 hours round trip with at least monthly trips of 6-14 hours round trip and don’t have any lameness issues that we can attribute to the slant load. But maybe there is something to that. If you can guide me to the study regarding lameness and slant loads I would sure be interested in it.

I would say that, in my experience the horses tend to travel most relaxed in a slant load and they seem to tolerate longer trips in a slant load.

Jim,
sounds like an opportunity to design and patent it so you can retire rich.......

Regards,
Mark

JimHess
Silver Member

Nov 9, 2005, 7:19 PM

Post #14 of 22 (2390 views)
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Re: [lkvaughan] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

Kelly, that was a big old trailer - it must have taken a pretty hefty truck to haul it around! I've never heard of slantload lameness, but we don't haul far. We haul a lot, though, to the pasture and back every day, couple miles each way, or about 3-4 hours to the mountains. They seem pretty comfortable with it, they always hop right on. (May have something to do with the handful of grain in the bucket). Everybody's got different needs and circumstances, but we really like the slantload thing. They make such efficient use of the space, with front tack and rear tack. Another matter of personal prefrence is rampload vs. stepup. Our first trailer had a ramp, and every time you had to open and secure the 2 curtain-doors then drop the ramp, which may or may not be on level ground. Our current trailer has 2 back doors, one for the tackroom and one for the horses. MUCH SIMPLER! They just step in and out. Luckily, our trailer sits fairly low to the ground, I don't think I'd want too high of a step. I know some people like to leave them loose in a stock trailer, but I feel like in the event of rough going they are more secure in between the partitions - can't get thrown around as much. I try to drive as smooth as possible, but s... happens!

-Jim

lkvaughan
Member

Nov 10, 2005, 9:28 AM

Post #15 of 22 (2379 views)
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Re: [JimHess] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

We pulled the trailer with a 3500 series GMC full tonn van with the full towing package (the trailer made the van look tiny) it did well for the most part, but going up a 7 mile mountain it was getting pretty slow by the top when it was packed to the gills...

most of the research on trailering effects in horses have been on slaughter horses- so they have not looked specifically at lameness (atleast i couldnt find any scientific articles adressing lameness)- the focused on the stress levels of the horses. there are a few other sources out there that mention lamness issues... i will try to get the artilces i heard about from the friend that mentioned them- untill then i did find these...

since i ride english, and we tend to have big horses (although i prefer ponies, most of my firends have 16hh plus horses)- one of the things i have seen mentioned is the size of the stall in some of the slant loads may not be big enough to accomidate the larger horses

i agree that the slant loads make a better use of the space- for years my dream trailer has been a 3 horse slant load gooseneck with full tack room Smile

http://www.equispirit.com/...ng-horse-trailer.htm

http://www.equispirit.com/...ticles/debunking.htm

this one is a scientific review article- "A review of revent reserach on the transportation of horses. TH Friend, Journal of Animal Science 2001" http://www.asas.org/jas/jas0910.pdf- if this link doesnt work email me and i will send you the pdf (i have university access)

Horse preference for orientation during transport and the effect of orientation on balancing ability Author(s): Gibbs AE, Friend TH Source: APPLIED ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE 63 (1): 1-9 MAR 1999 "Overall, there was a slight preference for a 45° orientation, no preference for facing either away from or towards the direction of travel, and balancing ability was not meaningfully affected by the orientations evaluated in this study. "

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 10, 2005, 12:20 PM

Post #16 of 22 (2372 views)
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Re: [lkvaughan] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hello Kelly,
I would agree on the slant loads regarding the size of the stall for many trailers. Having said that, many trailers are now 7’6” or 8’0” wide and if you get a taller model then the stalls are pretty roomy.

We have a oversized two horse that is really nice. The extra height makes it seem more open and airy. Not sure it is but it seems that way and I am convinced that the horses like it better.

Mark

lkvaughan
Member

Nov 10, 2005, 12:46 PM

Post #17 of 22 (2369 views)
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Re: [Mark4510] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

my best friend has a 'warmblood' 2 horse bumper pull- extra tall, wide and long- that she loves and our horses realy like it too
it has a ramp and chest bars in the front- with about 4 feet of empty space in front of the bar, no mangers, so there is pleanty of room for them to use their heads and legs for ballance- there is a human access door in the front so it is easy to get to them- only bad thing is there is no storage

her 17hh hanovarian easily fits in it, and her TB mare- who would refuse to get in any trailer except the monstrosity we used to have will walk right in her 2 horse- its open, and i agree, the extra height makes it more inviting- the swingable divider makes it more inviting also

i guess one of the things you need to evaluate when you are buing a trailer is
1) how many horses you are going to be hauling- slants have the advantage of more horses in a shorter trailer
2) the size of the horses- the larger horses may not fit as well in some slants

thanks for all the great comments!

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 10, 2005, 1:31 PM

Post #18 of 22 (2361 views)
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Re: [lkvaughan] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

Kelly, we easily carried my wife’s 17 h TB gelding (that was built more like a WB) in the oversized slant load and he got along very well. Same set up you are talking about. The stalls were long enough so he could move to balance. Narrow enough that he could easily rest against the dividers but not so narrow he felt confined. I would check trailer width, height and stall width/length to determine what is best for you.

Regards,
Mark

JimHess
Silver Member

Nov 10, 2005, 9:02 PM

Post #19 of 22 (2354 views)
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Re: [lkvaughan] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

Kelly- Yikes! I asumed that big trailer you were talking about was a gooseneck. You don't normally see anything that big in a bumper-pull. Must've been a heck of a lot of tongue weight on that van. As far as having enough room in slantload stalls, they seem to be making them larger all the time. We don't need the extra room, and appreciate the compactness of our slantload. We've gotten some big (to us) horses in there, 15-3ish. Sometimes I have to give an extra push to get the divider closed...

-Jim

Cottonhawk
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Nov 11, 2005, 2:01 AM

Post #20 of 22 (2350 views)
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Re: [lkvaughan] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

Kelly,
Not all slant loads are small. We have a 4 Star two horse slant load bumper pull. It is very roomy with an extra large tack room in the front. When you buy a new 4 Star horse trailer, you can discuss with them regarding size and any other requirements you may have. It's lake disign your trailer to fit your horses.

Cotton

lkvaughan
Member

Nov 11, 2005, 9:07 AM

Post #21 of 22 (2342 views)
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Re: [Cottonhawk] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

thanks for all the great advise- unfortunately it will be a few more years untill i am in the trailer market i think Frown

- we inherited a small stocktype 2 horse trailer when we bought our farm so it will have to do for a while... so i will drool over trailers for a while longer

i've been out of the loop for the past 6 years while i was in graduate school- a lot has changed in trailers since then i think :)

i realized that i forgot to say it was a bumper pull Blush

i dont think they make anything like it anymore- it was pretty big for a bumper pull... but it was a steel/fiberglass trailer- so it was lighter than a full metal trailer- you did have to use sway bars and a stabilizer hitch with it- the van was a big 11 passenger one (with a v10 i think) so it was pretty heafty too- it actually pulled it better than our coaches dually

thanks fellas!

Reg
New Member

Mar 3, 2007, 10:22 AM

Post #22 of 22 (1801 views)
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Re: [JimHess] Trailers - Love/Hate [In reply to]	Can't Post

The large one;
Head to head configuration; gives a lot of "face space" in the middle, can load/unload horses in any order at shows (almost a miniature center aisle barn).
Side ramps (both sides) are GREAT for loading and walking off forwards.
Electric over hydraulic brakes.
Air ride.
4-Star quality (what more could I say ?)

The smaller one;
More maneuverable than the big one (-:
Straight load.
Fabric hay "trays".
Only a "pony's weight" heavier than a BrenderUp, but "Full sized" on the inside with plenty of air around the horses' heads.
Jamco quality (no need to say any more on that).

Cons ?
Nope, not on either one. They're different, but both are GREAT !

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