I've been looking on horsetrailerworld for a new trailer for awhile.  I know of the "better" brands, and would love to buy one, but money isn't free and I have to be reasonable!

I've really been looking at the Bison trailers, they are on the lower price end, but is the quality on the lower end too?  I always stick with the saying "you get what you pay for", but I can't pay 50,000 for a trailer! 

Any thoughts, experience???

It would be a LQ trailer, 4 horse too.

Everybody will have their own favorites. Mainly because of the options that each person find important. I woudn't worry so much about the brand as the features that the trailer has you want.  Like you I don't have money growing on trees. I refuse to borrow money to buy toys. So I've had to buy my trailers with what cash I had at the time. And I have done several upgrades over the past 15 years as I was able to add a little more money to the project.

I like an aluminum trailer. but I have not saved enough to buy a 4 Star, Platinum, Hart etc. So I've stayed in the middle class of trailers. I have owned two Classic trailers. I worked them hard and they held up well. The last two trailers have been Logan. They build a Stee Frame with an Aluminum skin. And they have held up well.  Both of these companies install their own LQ.  They use cabinets that are made out of particle board with a hardwood veneer. These are competitively priced interiors. I found them very functional.

I have liked my Logan the best. Mainly because it is 7'6" tall and 7'3" wide.  The extra room is definitely nice.

I live in Utah and it gets cold in winter and pretty hot in the summer. I want to be be to close the windows in the winter and open everything up when it's 100* outside. So I prefer drop down windows on both the Head and the Butt side. And some sort of window in both rear doors. I prefer Jailbird dividers vs the solid panels. I like to see my horses in the trailer, let them see the other horses and let the air move through the trailer easier. I like the ONE key fits all locks. An earlier trailer I owned must of had 5 keys to open everything. What a pain.  On trailers with out mangers/under manger storage, I like a mid tack. I frequently stuff 5 horses in my 4 horse trailer. With a rear tack their is no stuffing an extra horse in the trailer. Plus alot of rear tack rooms are colapsable. This means they are not sealed. Horses pee on the floor and what every you have laying on the floor in the tack area gets wet. Not a problem with the mid tacks I've owned.

I don't go to horse shows or hang out at fairgrounds. I need a trailer that can get down a forest service road and not leave it's bumper or holding tanks along the way. I'll put up with a higher step up for the horses vs dragging over bad spots in the road. I rarely use the stove and never have missed not having an oven. I do use the microwave and I cook outside a lot on either a grill or George Foreman type electric grill. I usually roll out my awning and leave a kitchen set up under it outside of the trailer. I've gotten kinda spoiled with my hydraulic jack. Not sure I'd want to go back to a manual crank. I rarely use my A/C. but I frequently use the furnace. When the sun goes down at 8000' elevation it's cold not hot.

I haul a generator in the pick up bed. I always install Hi Ties to the outside of the trailer so I can tie the horses at night. The Logan trailers come with a 35 gallon tank for horse water in addition to the water inside for the LQ. which I appreciate.

I would look at brands that are readily available in your area. The more trailers of a given make in your area, the more choice you have in what you purchase. I'd probably consider a trailer that was made closer to home for you. It gives you the chance to visit the factory, see reps at trade shows, have warranty work done, buy spare parts etc.

Good luck.

Thank you for taking the time to give me such good information!!!!

I really like the 4stars, sundowners, Bloomer's, and such, but they're a bit out of range!

I really don't know the advantage or disadvantage of a steel frame with aluminum skin, or all aluminum?

I've checked out the logans too, nice lookin rigs.  I'm going to the midwest horse fair in 2 weeks, I hope to kick a few tires there.  You would think there would be some deals around with the job market so down?  (although I hate to benefit from someone else's troubled times). 

Thanks again, great info!

While the Bison may appear more affordable now you may end up having to put more $$ into it down the road.  A friend of ours who is an obsessive researcher before making any purchase of any kind did look into the Bison trailers and found them to hold up okay the first couple of years but after that the troubles started.  The aluminum skin is much thinner than most of the other brands and he was able to push a dent into the skin by hand.  Of course, every manufacturer can have a "bad run" but the man of which I am speaking talked to many trailer owners in person and online.

We have an older model 4-star.  We too were on a pretty tight budget.  We bought it used on Horse Trailer World and have been very happy with it.

I would buy an older model all aluminum trailer over a newer aluminum skin.  Our first LQ trailer was a Sundowner all-aluminum which was 5 yrs old and was in very good condition.  We kept that trailer about 3 yrs before trading it in on a new trailer.  We got the $$$ we were asking for this trailer when we traded it.  The all-aluminum trailers seem to hold their value.  We currently own an Exiss Event LQ and have enjoyed camping in it.  We were able to get an all aluminum trailer with the LQ we wanted without having to pay for lots of fancy extras that we did not need.  I would purchase either of these brands again. 

The problem we had when we were looking for another trailer last year was trying to find one within our budget that was not overdone or fancy.  I personally did not need anything with a fireplace or copper sinks.  I needed room for 4 horses; 2 kids and plenty of storage.  Finding a late model used was almost impossible.  They either cost as much as a new one or did not have a floor plan to suit my family.  Only you can decide what is in your budget and the personal wants you have in your next trailer.  For me, it was bunk beds for the kids, a generator, ramp and a trailer to last to next 10 years until my kids graduate from high school.  Universal trailer who makes Exiss and Sooner have been great to work with. I feel we got a quality trailer that we could afford. Good luck in your search.

My  last trailer was an Exiss.   The real selling point for me was that I could get the Exiss built to exactly my specifications.  Some of the other manufactures have two or three different floorplans that they mass produce and no or very little customization is possible.  With the Exiss, it was no problem to get exactly what I wanted.  The trailer has held up very well, and the current owner is as pleased with the rig as I was.  When I am ready to hit the road again Exiss will have the opportunity to build my next trailer.

Marla

We traded our 2000 Sundowner in 2008.  It was a 3H with a 12' shortwall and a 4' mid-tack.  It was 8' wide and had a blocked axles.  It was 7' tall and had a dropped nose.  We pulled this trailer monthly for camping trips over the 3 yrs we had it.  We live in GA  and traveled many times to the mountains of TN, North Ga and Alabama.  We hauled it down some questionable roads and many interstate miles.  The previous owner of this trailer used it quite a bit; but usually for going to horse shows.  I don't think it saw the rougher road until we purchased it.  It was a great trailer, but we outgrew the sleeping accomodations as our girls got older.

If I was to buy another used all-aluminum I would look for blocked axles and a 7'6" tall and 8' wide.  You get more space in your LQ and horse area.  We also never drug a tank while hauling this trailer.  We ordered blocked axles on our Exiss when we purchased it last year.  Our Exiss also came with small rollers  (2) mounted just under the the back doors.  We did not request this, but these little rollers work great to help from dragging over low spots and especially over RR crossings.  I don't know if this is something that can be added to any trailer, but it's a really neat idea and works great.  The other thing our Sundowner had that we did not really like was the axles were set really far back.  It made it very hard to turn and back into tight campsites.  Aside from that it was a great trailer and we learned a lot about what we would want when we did purchase our next one. 

yep to Clinton several times, park over down at Soutfork.  Clinton is the Cowboy Rendevous ... the western woodstock, of all time!

Oklahoma, ... Clayton to some friends, Robbers Cave, Cedar Lake, friends over in the east part by Westville...

Will check and see, Camp Robinson is maybe somewhat close, or maybe Village Creek campground?