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New User
Posts: 1
| I am looking to upgrade my horse trailer in the next year or two. I want either a 2 or 3 horse slant, gooseneck, aluminum trailer with a dressing room. I am wondering what brand is best, what brand of used trailer you would trust, etc. I would like this to be my last trailer I have to buy, so want quality that will stand the test of time! I'm OK waiting a bit longer to purchase it, if it would be better to buy new. It will need to last at least 20 years for me. Growing up, I always heard that Sundowner and Exiss were the top aluminum trailers. In doing some searching online, I've found that Sundowner isn't producing as many trailers as they used to and that older trailers are having trouble with the steel frames rusting. So....now I'm a bit leery of Sundowner. I've also heard that Gore trailers are very good quality. I know nothing about Gore trailers. Educate me please! What are your favorite aluminum trailers and why, etc. Thanks in advance! |
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Expert
Posts: 3853
    
Location: Vermont | C&C, but they are no longer made...
Next, I like 4 Star...
Edited by PaulChristenson 2017-09-03 5:10 PM
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Veteran
Posts: 102
Location: Waaaaay back Slaughter Hollow | Probably the most common ones people will recommend are 4Star, Elite, Platinum, Eby, C & C, and Hart. They are all very well built.
I have owned 2 Elite and 2 Harts. My Hart was their entry level Medallion and the quality was superb, plus it pulled like a dream. It is the only trailer I really regret selling.
My Hart had a honey combed roof that was well insulated. We lived in it in an open hay field in the summer with the walk through door open to the rear for added space and had no issues cooling it with the roof a/c.
I do now own 2 older Featherlites, a '99 and '03. I am very happy with both, although I looked at new Featherlites and was not impressed with their quality.
Edited by Cutter1999 2017-09-03 10:12 PM
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 Expert
Posts: 1877
Location: NY | You can not go wrong with an Eby
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Veteran
Posts: 108
Location: Lawrence KS | Some brands are more popular in different parts of the country. I suppose this is due to dealer network and manufacturing facilities.
In the Midwest some of the top of the line trailers ( as mentioned above ) are Hart, Elite, 4Star, Cimarron.
?A little lower priced is Lakota, which seems to have a good following for a mid level priced trailer. |
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New User
Posts: 4
| Lakota my number one pick! |
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Expert
Posts: 1989
Location: South Central OK | You've been given great advice ^^^^^.
I'll add that you need to make sure there is a dealer you like/trust close enough to do even minor repairs. Don't buy a trailer that's going to be a two day drive to get service. Getting a used trailer may mean that parts are harder to source and thus the drive may be longer to find proper service.
I have been to most of the factories listed above and I live in OK, trailer country. Sundowner is made within 150 miles of my ranch yet you hardly see anyone pulling one, to me that speaks VOLUMES. Elite trailers have the best fit and finish (no metal burs to scratch a critter) followed very closely by Hart and the old style 4Stars (not the Runabout models.) Turnbow makes one heck of a trailer, they are basically the Volvos of the trailer world IMO. Soild built and you hardly find them for sale because it's a one and done kind of trailer and they do tons of custom trailers by percent of production.
I wouldn't own an exiss unless it was built before 2000 as the quality took a steep dive at the time they released the "Sport" models.
I have a Featherlite cattle trailer and it does exactly what it's designed to do, haul cattle and pull easily. My Elite is my favorite between the two as I find it's quieter behind the truck and the axles are placed better for tight manuvers. They are not exactly the same size or design so comparisons are really not fair, but I would buy another Featherlite and I'll never sell this Elite. |
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Regular
Posts: 56
Location: Shawnee, Oklahoma | 4 Star is the original "high end" top quality built trailer...different engineers from 4 Star started C&C, Elite, and Platinum, who all put out similar high quality tough built trailers. Of course C&C is not around anymore and 4 Star's Runabout doesn't count. I also think Hart is very high quality, although a heavier trailer. For various picky reasons, Cimarron and Bloomer go to upper middle of the road for me, although they sell well. Bottom feeders are Bison, Kiefer, Exiss...good to drag to a trail ride or weekend event but not for serious over the road professional trainers or rodeo guys & girls. If I had a small budget and wanted a safe, well built tank of a trailer, I'd buy an older 4 Star and the year wouldn't matter!!! |
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New User
Posts: 4
Location: Maryland | Cindy at Trailer Deport wrote: If I had a small budget and wanted a safe, well built tank of a trailer, I'd buy an older 4 Star and the year wouldn't matter!!! Thank you Cindy at Trailer Depot. The above is exactly what I did. I had a small budget but wanted a safe, well built tank of a trailer. Two years ago I bought a 1993 4 horse slant 4 Star Deluxe trailer. It had been owned by a mechanical engineer and it had been meticulously maintained. I love that trailer. |
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Member
Posts: 9
Location: Cullman | I've never heard anyone classify Bloomer as upper "middle of the road".4-Star is good but Bloomer in my opinion is every bit as good. I can't tell you how many people at horse camps ask to look at my Bloomer with Outlaw conversion and say that is their 'dream' trailer. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 720
| wblaylock - 2017-09-20 4:38 AM I've never heard anyone classify Bloomer as upper "middle of the road".4-Star is good but Bloomer in my opinion is every bit as good. I can't tell you how many people at horse camps ask to look at my Bloomer with Outlaw conversion and say that is their 'dream' trailer.
Your Bloomer is their dream, or the Outlaw is? I've seen many folks drool over a trailer, when in fact they were infatuated with the glitz of the interior, rather than the structure and welds of the chassis. Gosh- I saw a blog post the other day where Outlaw Conversions will be at Congress in Kiefer trailers this year.
Just my .02, but I've seen enough Bloomers with structure and leak issues to be as wary of them as anything else. Like many companies' products, some years are better than others. It seems as if you have one of the good ones. |
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Member
Posts: 9
Location: Cullman | They meant Bloomer in general was their choice not my trailer specifically.Bloomer has a very good reputation in my area. |
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Regular
Posts: 56
Location: Shawnee, Oklahoma | Bloomer trailers are very well marketed. They make sure they get into the hands of people who haul a lot. We are one of the bigger trailer and RV repair shops in Oklahoma and you are more than welcome to stop by anytime you are in our area when we are working on a Bloomer (which is often). We will be glad to show you first hand the differences in them and Platinum, Elite, 4 Star, Hart. Upper middle of the road is not bad...just engineered different. |
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Expert
Posts: 1989
Location: South Central OK | Agree with Cindy, Bloomers had major issues that were quite well known having to do with trailers not being square and flooring issues. The details ellude me but can be found by a quick search I'm sure. They were well covered in these forums at the time. |
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Member
Posts: 8
| Having just completed a used trailer search and purchase, I am convinced that most of the manufacturers have had bad years and good. Eliminating a manufacturer based on a single 'lemon' would shorten the list to so few, that a 'final' trailer purchase would have been all but impossible.
Your purchase should be based on the expectations you have for the usage of your 'final' trailer. When you have defined what you do and expect to do with your horses, you can build a list of your needs (must haves), wants (expected, but not required), and hopes (would be great, but not expected). It took several days to compile that list with what we do (road warriors, show all around at breed shows, two weekends a month). With list in hand, we found our list of manufacturers greatly reduced.
We decided that no matter the quality of the living quarters, we would only purchase a trailer from a manufacturer with a solid service reputation (almost all companies have an occasional problem, but how well they deal with a problem speaks volumes). This eliminated several manufacturers from Our list.
These are my opinions, after years of research and study. They are based on my experience and the experiences of the many friends we have made across the country these last 30 years. The 'facts' may be different, but this was my approach to purchasing my 'final' trailer. By the way, we ended up with a trailer from the second tier list, as the replacement timing changed in the final 4 months of our schedule.
On to my list....
* Top Tier (some issues, but the company(s) makes a real effort to resolve these issues)
Bloomer
Elite
4 Star
Platinum
Lakota (preference to the Bighorn Editions)
Eby
Jamco I have never seen a bad example of an Eby or Jamco. They are consistent on build quality and durability.
Cimaron
C & C
* Second Tier (Would work, if can't afford or find and acceptable in our time frame/budget)
Lakota (non Bighorn edition)
Bison
Older Sooner Pre 2005
Older Sundowner Pre 2010
Early Exiss Pre 2000
Early Featherlite Pre 2002
* Bottom Tier (Will not even consider, no matter cost)
Newer Exiss
Shadow
Kiefer Built
Titan
Featherlite Post 2002
Cato
Trailet
Any trailer with a wooden floor
Any trailer with a steel frame or sub frame ** There are exceptions, depending on buffer material between steel and aluminum components. Our first Sooner was steel frame with aluminum above, never had any problems **
Any trailer with 15 inch wheels (axles will not handle the load, we were looking for a larger trailer with a moderate LQ, 3 horse with at least 14 foot LQ)
Happy Shopping and best of luck
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Member
Posts: 22
Location: Omaha nebraska | I'm enjoying the various ratings on the trailers,I went thru this several years ago (this one good, this on bad etc.) since I travel extensively in west-Midwest I started keeping score on the brands of trailers on the road working. My results are a lot different. That being said I suggest that you go and talk to as many trailer owners as you can and make your choice based on your needs. Good Luck! |
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Member
Posts: 9
Location: cambridge mn | Jamco they pull well and are very quiet and well insulated |
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New User
Posts: 1
| Nice listings and commentary... HART is not listed but I have heard that it is, or has been a good trailer.
It did not make the list. Do you or another person have an opinion of the NEW HART trailers?
I have seen posts where they regretted selling an older HART H.Trailer.
I am looking to purchase a NEW GN 2 or maybe 3 H. trailer with a good size Dressing area.
Shadow, Exiss, Sundowner Charter, Trailers USA, and Hart are sold new in my area. (I am in N. Central Florida)
I was robbed (it was priced reasonably but !) in buying a piece of crap 2005 model like what I wanted from an individual. It was used (roughly I guess)... When I had it inspected at the repair place it was actually falling apart. I am lucky I wanted some things that were visible repaired to make it roadworthy. It is NOT, nor will it be roadworthy. The cost would be more than a new basic GN trailer.
I am forlorn. I must search again for the right trailer, this time I hope to purchase new.
Recommendations are appreciated
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Veteran
Posts: 102
Location: Waaaaay back Slaughter Hollow | Ummm, I specifically mentioned Hart in the third post from the top. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 402
Location: Valentine, NE | My first Hart was bought in 1998. My latest one is a 2014. No difference. Expect a heavy, great pulling, bomb proof trailer.
I hate:
lastic latches (Bloomer), plastic hold backs, weather stripping on the outside of doors (4 Star), oil canning floors (Plantium), junk tires/rims less than a 17.5" (all mid to low end trailers), paddle style door latches, drop down doors that stick out and won't hold down (Bloomer, Featherlight), roofs that dent easy (most all but Hart and Cim.), less than 4 hinges on stock doors and 3 on LQ doors, bolt on door hinges (Exiss, Featherlight), and I could go on and on.
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Member
Posts: 34
| Geunther - 2017-09-30 9:56 AM
* Second Tier (Would work, if can't afford or find and acceptable in our time frame/budget)
Lakota (non Bighorn edition)
Bison
Older Sooner Pre 2005
Older Sundowner Pre 2010
Early Exiss Pre 2000
Early Featherlite Pre 2002
This is a very helpful thread and I especially like this post with the three tiers. It gets at the question I was asking a few days ago. I don’t know if Geunther is still active on the forum, but I am curious about the second tier ranking of the older Sundowner trailers. I thought those older years had more of the problems with corrosion. I guess what I am really wondering about is where you would put the newer Sundowner trailers — since they don’t show up in your first tier or in your third (never buy) tier.
Thanks again. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 391
Location: Columbia, KY | I'm sold on the Hart trailers. As others have mentioned they're heavy, so you need to make sure you have enough truck to pull (and stop) them. They're super well made and SOLID. As my husband says, the construction is overkill.. but that's OK! I have a 95 bumper pull and a 2007 LQ. Yrs. ago we were camping and a bad storm came thru. the next morning there were trees down everywhere.. A huge tree crashed down on my 2000 Hart LQ and barely dented the hay rack - some other trucks and trailers were smashed and probably had to be totalled. |
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Best aluminum trailer in your opinions please?
