OK.... usually I find myself to be smarter than the average bear.... but... Im stumped on this one.

We're looking at buying a 2004 Exiss Sport Trailer.  It's 4 Horse w/7 foot LQ.  I know it's factory as we saw a 2006 on a lot this weekend with the exact options. 

Here's my issue:  I was told that the ship weight on the trailer was 6840 (or there about).  The Axle weight on the trailer plate shows 4880 and the GVW shows 9995.  According to the dealer, this trailer has 7K axles under it and the 4880 was the amout of weight that could be added to the trailer for horses, gear, etc.    That just doesn't make sense to me... neither does the GVW being 9995 on a 4 Horse!    Anyone care to help straighten me out on this???  That would mean we couldn't have horses over basically 750 pounds.... great if you've got Minis :)

Ok, the GVW being under 10,000lbs has something to do with CDL requirements, I think.  And the 4880 is for each axel, together it would be 9700lbs.  If you subtract the ACTUAL weight of the trailer (if the dealer is right and it is 6840) from the GVW you get 4155lbs.  That is what you can put on the trailer *tack, horses, feed* with out being over limits. 

It doesn't always make sense, I have a 4 horse with a GVWR of 10,000 and with tack but no horses or feed it is 6,200lbs.  That leaves me room for 4  950lb horses.  Mine need to go on a serious diet to meet that.

Thanks guys.  Obviously when stuff like that doesn't match up, it sure makes you wonder!  On our current trailer (a 3H Slant, Circle J Riata), the Axle weight's 3500 pounds each and GVW is 7500.  Which adds up :)  Im going to call Exiss this AM just to verify what the deal is with it and have the dealer put the trailer across the scale for a weight.

Our horses would have to be anorexic to be that small (heck I've got a yearling filly that's almost that much (975) and our growin stallion's 1500 :)

remember 20%-25% of the trailer weight is carried by the truck, not the trailer axles

I thought of that after I turned the computer off.  I was to tired to turn it back on and figured someone else would pipe up.  I don't remember moving to be so exhausting, it must be the humidity.

Thank you for contacting Exiss Aluminum Trailers.

The trailer you inquired about has (2) 5200# axles, meaning the GVWR
should be 10,400 lbs. The trailer with the living quarters weighs
approximately 7,140 lbs. To find the towing capacity of the trailer,
you subtract the weight from the GVWR. The towing capacity for this
trailer is 3,260 lbs.
If you would like a more accurate towing capacity, you would need to
take the trailer to a truck place and have it weighed empty. This is
really the only way to ensure exactly how much weight the trailer can
carry.
Thanks again from Exiss!

Which still doesn't explain WHY they'd possibly build a 4 horse trailer who couldn't haul 4 - 1100 pound horses (to me, this would be an average size, heck, even if it was 1000).  Nor does it tell me why the trailer is listed at at GVW of 9995 pounds?

Wondering if we should look into getting heavier axles put under it?????  I know the Aluminum would be strong enough to support the weight, and the tires certainly are, but the Axles have me wondering.... seems like anyone else that has a trailer similar to this would be risking severly overloading it by the time you add on horses, feed and supplies?

According the the Universal Trailer website, the Exiss Event (4 horse 8ft lq) comes with 7000 # Axles, it doesn't say what the price difference is between the Sport and the Event.

I have read that for many brands of the large LQ trailers the weight over the axles is at the maximum, before you even put horses in it.  It that is true, how scary is that?  I'm like you before I purchase a trailer, I going do my homework regarding weight, axles etc.

Ours is actually a Sport.  I ended up having a call from the Sales Manager at the dealership we're getting our trailer from and low and behold, he was a Regional Manager for Exiss :)  After he explained everything, we're good to go.  He did say that if this trailer was a 4Star, it would be about 3K heavier.  However, after figuring the weights etc, we're certianly able to load 4 "average" size horses into it, with our load of supplies w/out worry. :)

The 9700 is your combined axel rating.  You would subtract the 6840 from your GWVR of 9995.  So now that I'm awake I get 3155.   I found the best way for me to figure it out is to take it to a scale and weigh it.  If the trucks not over, and the trailer isn't over then I don't worry about it.  I weigh the whole truck, the truck and trailer, the trailer and the rear axel of the truck to make sure I'm not over any limits.