How many horses does it carry, 2, 3, 4, 5? And I believe that would be a steel frame aluminum skin trailer if it's a 2000 Sundowner Sierra 8012, 727. That might be a bit much for a F-250.... What year model is the F-250?

Trailer like like this one...?

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I have a 2001 F350 crew cab 4 X 4 SRW with a 7.3 Powerstroke and would not attempt pulling that trailer on a regular basis. Just from a maintenence perspective, more wear on tires, brakes, hoses, lines, etc. than a 3/4 ton or SRW 1 ton is meant to handle. 

My Powerstroke will pull a house, but stopping the house is another issue. I have pulled a 3 horse Elite, 8 ft. wide with a 8 ft. living quarters fully loaded and stopped without the trailer brakes working with no problem, but would not have wanted anymore behind me in that circumstance than what I had.  Extra leaf springs do not help with braking.  

gator12513..... If the 2000 model year 8012 trailer you're looking at has a single DOT stripe around the bottom, it has the steel frame. If it has the double narrow stripe, it's all aluminum.

Yes.

Easy way to tell...get a magnet and go to one of the seams on the smooth skin sheet and see if it sticks. I think HTB is right, but not sure. There was something on a previous post about it. Still searching....

Quote... Easy way to tell...get a magnet and go to one of the seams on the smooth skin sheet and see if it sticks.

Don't think that will work. The steel frame we are talking about is the chassis, or the steel frame that the "aluminum box" sits on. The uprights in the walls are aluminum on the Sundowner. Hawk, Trailet, Equispirit, etc, use a steel skeleton and attach an aluminum skin to this steel skeleton.

No, the uprights are steel. The thread got locked that talked about it. To repair the ones that had rust they had to strip all the skin off of the sides. 3yrHitch was the one that talked about how they fixed the ones with issues. Look at the uprights in the dressing room of this one...powdercoated white... http://www.horsetrailerworld.com/home/trailerdetail.asp?ID=195291 I am still looking for that dang thread...

Sundowner does build an all aluminum trailer. When the discussion went on before, it was said that anything that ended in a 7 was a steel frame aluminum skinned trailer.

Well that will work... The picture I remember seeing, (that's now long gone), showed the steel frame chassis that the aluminum box sat on... It was like loading a big aluminum module onto a steel trailer frame., only the lower part was steel, so it too is a steel skeleton somewhat like the Hawk, trailet, etc?... Maybe it was another brand but I know it was in the midst of a SD discussion, I remember the thread but it may have been more than a year old, if so it may be gone... Thanks for setting me straight Tresvolte!!

I hope I can clear up some of the confusion on Sundowner models.  The 720 and 725 models have been and are present models that are ALUMINUM FRAMED TRAILERS.  The 727 model was originally a Valuelite model that was built from late 1997 to December of 2007. 
All 727 models built up to January of 2008 were steel framed.  An easy way to tell the difference is either by the Vin tag as previously mentioned on this thread, or by looking at the bottom rail of the trailer.  If the bottom rail is covered in stainless material and is beveled, it is a STEEL skeleton trailer.  If the bottom rail is ribbed aluminum and not beveled (or angled), is is a ALUMINUM skeleton trailer. 

The person that posted that he has a 2006 727 Aluminum framed trailer is going to be able to tell by what I have just posted, or if he reads the last of his vin and it is either ZA and 4 digits or HA and 4 digits; he has a steel framed trailer.

There are also a couple of other ways to tell if your trailer is steel or aluminum framed.  Pick up the floor mats and look at the floor planks. They will be aluminum in both the steel and aluminum framed trailers, but the 720 and 725 models use an interlocked planks that run cross ways in the trailer.  The 727 models use a deep ribbed interlocked plank that run lengthwise.  They have about a 1" deel drain channel in them.

The neck structures are also different.  The 720 and 725 models use an A framed neck that is webbed with smaller tube steel, and makes for a "pie crust" look.  The 727 also uses an A frame, but the use angles across the neck from side to side.

If you have a manufactured trailer from January 2008 or newer; ALL Sundowner models will made with aluminum frames.

Hope this clears up some of the confusion.

I hope I can clear up some of the confusion on Sundowner models.  The 720 and 725 models have been and are present models that are ALUMINUM FRAMED TRAILERS.  The 727 model was originally a Valuelite model that was built from late 1997 to December of 2007. 
All 727 models built up to January of 2008 were steel framed.  An easy way to tell the difference is either by the Vin tag as previously mentioned on this thread, or by looking at the bottom rail of the trailer.  If the bottom rail is covered in stainless material and is beveled, it is a STEEL skeleton trailer.  If the bottom rail is ribbed aluminum and not beveled (or angled), is is a ALUMINUM skeleton trailer. 

The person that posted that he has a 2006 727 Aluminum framed trailer is going to be able to tell by what I have just posted, or if he reads the last of his vin and it is either ZA and 4 digits or HA and 4 digits; he has a steel framed trailer.

There are also a couple of other ways to tell if your trailer is steel or aluminum framed.  Pick up the floor mats and look at the floor planks. They will be aluminum in both the steel and aluminum framed trailers, but the 720 and 725 models use an interlocked planks that run cross ways in the trailer.  The 727 models use a deep ribbed interlocked plank that run lengthwise.  They have about a 1" deel drain channel in them.

The neck structures are also different.  The 720 and 725 models use an A framed neck that is webbed with smaller tube steel, and makes for a "pie crust" look.  The 727 also uses an A frame, but the use angles across the neck from side to side.

If you have a manufactured trailer from January 2008 or newer; ALL Sundowner models are made with aluminum frames.

Hope this clears up some of the confusion.

 Flooper; the frames on Sundowners were sprayed with a Canadian made undercoat treatment starting with 2003 models.  They were powder coated first and than undercoated on top of that.  It is a different material than the Suncoat that is used on the necks and the horse area.  Starting with 2003 models, in addition to the undercoating, Sundowner went to stainless steel hardware, and made LED lights standard equipment.