having just bought a brand new trailer, I know what I felt was the super important stuff, and what stuff was nice, and also what stuff I didnt care about.

Super important to me was the latest in brakes, lights (inside and out), suspension, flooring, matting, padding, etc. all the stuff that matters in terms of safety and horse comfort. I was delighted to pay extra to make sure I had top of the line stuff here.

also super important to me was door latches (inside and out) that an exhausted scared person could open with one hand in an emergency. Drop down windows. an open, airy inviting interior that was big enough for my horse. quality of welds and softness of rolled edges. (ie no sharp corners for horses to cut themselves on)

stuff I didnt care about? what color the trailer was. (it came in white, and I was cool with that). what the graphics looked like. the fact that it came with aluminium wheels. what the inside of the dressing room looked like (tho I wanted one that was insulated, and asked that they put in mats instead of carpet).

I guess I'm more of a form follows function kind of gal and the safety and comfort of my horse comes before mine.

But what if they charged for those options??? what now? You have trailer A) that is standard (without) and then B) WITH that now has all of those but costs $XXX more... what would you do?

My ideal trailer would include:

All aluminum construction. Extruded plank flooring. Drop windows head and butt with screens that stay closed in place. In a DR model, a completely removeable rear tack. No rear center post or butterfly latches, camlock fasteners on each rear door. Vent windows on each rear door. Slant load, over size stalls, 7 1/2" high, 7' wide with running boards. Escape door first stall. 16" wheels with LT tires, over capacity axles. Extruded siding, painted aluminum roof, awning, exterior lighting. Top mounted or additional turn/stop lights on the back of the trailer. Adequate external and internal ties, extra set of roof vents, making two for each stall. Insulated stall roof area.

Air in the DR, seperate roof vent/escape hatch over bunk, camper door/screen, screened opperating windows, insulated, adequate lighting, a battery and AC shore cord power source, basic storage cabinets, porta potty, built in water tank (triangular corner). Moveable, built in DR door step, walk thru door to stalls from DR, cowboy shower, Radio/external speakers, micro wave oven.

Because we like the narrower trailers, manger storage areas are not practical. Nor do we like ramps.  One of our trailers has a hay rack. After using it once, it has never again been utilised. These three items are well though of by some other owners.

If you are considering a LQ, the sky is the limit on options and pricing. It's equippment is a whole different ordering experience, not unlike building a home.

A custom builder can offer these any many other options, to enable you to configure your trailer exactly to suit your needs. They can also offer many ideas you may not think to ask. Generally it is more expensive to retrofit a trailer than have it completed from the beginning. Later adding accessories, can involve cutting and welding structural items, stripping out existing interiors etc. It's easier to have this done when the trailer is fabricated, whether or not you immediately install those options.

I've bought one new trailer built to my specifications. The additional expenses, amortised over many years of ownership, were a pittance compared to the utility and pleasure we gained from a reliable and useful trailer.

Our last two present trailers were obtained used. With each, we were able to purchase a better equipped trailer, with more options than we would have specified, for a fraction of a new trailer's price.

A while ago I spent several months pricing out a "run around" trailer built to many of the specs I've previously mentioned. With the many options I specified, A 2H DR GN trailer from many builders averaged $22,000, with a high of $25,000. We elected to continue using our "little" 3H GN as the run around. Per use, it was not worth purchasing a third trailer, for the limited service it would provide.

Since then, I have seen a few used trailers that were built very similar to what we were looking for. Their prices are in the $9,000- $11,000 range built by some noteably good companies. Even if it needed some fabrication of accessories, it would be quite reasonable to duplicate the new trailer for less half of its new cost. This is exactly what we have done with our two LQ trailers.

Unless we hit the lotto and wanted to be excessive, I will not spend the new trailer costs. Our two trailers are exactly what we want and use, and will suffice until we can no longer enjoy them.

What you're comfortable with is whether you think spending more or less for options is worth it. People view things differently.