I am in the market for a new trailer. I have always had steel bumper pulls. I will be getting a gooseneck this time. But I am torn between aluminum or steel. I know steel will be a little heavier from my research but not by much. Steel is easier to repair and the price tag is cheaper. The aluminum don't rust and I see more of them on the road. They also cost more.I just need any input or help I can get from ya'll.Thanks
Posted 2010-05-25 6:52 AM (#120524 - in reply to #120521) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
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Posts: 282 Location: southcentral pennsylvania
This has been a controversial topic on this forum. If you did a search, you will find many threads. I am in the minority as a lover of steel trailers. I have owned 3. The first I purchased in 1970, sold it for what I paid for it 20 years later. I repainted it once, and put one new floor in it. Second I purchased in 1990, sold in 2004 for almost what I paid for it. Upgraded to a larger trailer at that time. All these trailers where shed kept and waxed yearly, cleaned out after every use. My friend had a large machine shed roof collapse under the weight of snow in South Dakota this winter. Her steel LQ trailer, stored in the shed, literally held up the fallen shed roof, with only minor damage to her trailer.
And the list go's on and on.... The last bumper pull trailer I bought has a Steel frame, Aluminum doors and ramps, Pine floor, and a one piece Fiberglass roof. Bought it from a small family owned mfg. that's been building horse trailers in south eastern North Carolina since 1964. This particular trailer fitted my needs exactly. I didn't care if it was built of steel, aluminum, adobe, nerf or KL93, it fits into our operation just perfect..... If I were looking at a new or used Gooseneck, I would be leaning toward an all aluminum 4 Star. You'll get all kinds of opinions and suggestions, you'll have to decide what works best for you and your horses......
Posted 2010-05-25 9:48 AM (#120528 - in reply to #120527) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
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Posts: 7
I also don't have a barn or anything to put a trailer under, so it will be in the elements year round. I live in Northeast Texas and the trailer selection is kinda limited. There are Exiss and Elite close to my home, Sundowner is a little over an hour drive and the dealer doesn't have many to choose from.. 4 star which I would love to have is 5 hr drive and they are out of my price range.I am looking at getting an Elite Mustang. From what I've read they are pretty well made trailers.Thanks for ya'll input.
Posted 2010-05-25 11:31 AM (#120536 - in reply to #120521) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330 Location: northeast Texas
Chicadee (Becky),
I also live in northeast Texas. Trying to figure out where Elite is that is considered close. That would be Guld Coast 4 Star I think? Perhaps we have a different view of what is northeast. LOL Anyhow you can get Sooner, Exiss, Cimarron (good trailer), and a couple others in Mt Pleasant along with a host of nice used. There are I believe 3 dealers in Mt Pleasant. Henderson has a dealership but not sure what they carry now. Bossier, Louisiana has Shadow. Canton has Sundowner and Lakota.
Posted 2010-05-25 4:27 PM (#120559 - in reply to #120536) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
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Posts: 7
The elite dealer is in Mt Pleasant, Longhorn trailer on I 30 opposite way of Big Tex. Its only about 45 mins from me.Gulf coast 4 star is over 5 hours from me. Believe me if they were closer I would head down there. And if I had time to make the drive.
Posted 2010-05-25 11:07 PM (#120585 - in reply to #120521) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
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Posts: 31
I have owned a lot of metal trailers and 2 aluminum trailers. Got to go with a clean used Aluminum. Took me a long time to figure the deal out. There are a lot of great deals out there on used Aluminum trailers. If you buy Aluminum, check everything you would on a metal trailer except the paint!! Save big bucks on a used Aluminum and it will hold your money together. They are really nice and worth every penny!! Just be sure and get a clear title!!
Posted 2010-05-26 1:44 PM (#120613 - in reply to #120521) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
Expert
Posts: 1205 Location: Arkansas
We agree with conner. We are in a humid enough climate that rust on non galvanized steel is gonna happen .... We prefer aluminum from that standpoint,and resale value....By the time it is all loaded, the weight difference doesn't make much difference to the 1 ton, and it is just great to not have the rust issue....
owners of a 97 steel GN (rusting some now) CM brand, a good un.
a galvaneal 95 2 horse BP Sundowner (still looks fine, could use a was job)
and an all aluminum GN LQ.
On any given day you can guess which one looks the best.
Posted 2010-05-26 5:34 PM (#120625 - in reply to #120521) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
Member
Posts: 25 Location: Sedalia, Colorado
Originally written by Chickadee on 2010-05-24 10:31 PM
I am in the market for a new trailer. I have always had steel bumper pulls. I will be getting a gooseneck this time. But I am torn between aluminum or steel. I know steel will be a little heavier from my research but not by much. Steel is easier to repair and the price tag is cheaper. The aluminum don't rust and I see more of them on the road. They also cost more.I just need any input or help I can get from ya'll.Thanks
Take an aluminum can, put it on the floor and stomp it.
Take a steel can and do the same.
Which material would you trust to have the structural strength to enable occupants to survive a crash?
Posted 2010-05-26 6:01 PM (#120627 - in reply to #120625) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
Expert
Posts: 1723 Location: michigan
Oh please- thats a silly comparison. A aluminum can and a trailer are two different things..try stomping on your horse trailer and see what happens...try putting your horses into a steel pop can and see what happens....ridiculous.Horses and livestock have been safely hauled about in aluminum trailers for decades. if you can find a trailer that meets your needs and fits within your budget then that is what you should buy.
Posted 2010-05-26 6:49 PM (#120629 - in reply to #120625) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
Originally written by Sundancer's Sidekick on 2010-05-26 6:34 PM
/QUOTE] Take an aluminum can, put it on the floor and stomp it. Take a steel can and do the same. Which material would you trust to have the structural strength to enable occupants to survive a crash? Nuff said!
Nuff said? Hardly. Like some steel trailer manufacturers, your statements have little veracity when compared to real life events. Perhaps you should review this thread and take an especially good look at each of the photos.
If you do, you will see that the trailer did not fail to protect its occupants, welds didn't fail, the aluminum didn't shred, everything is as it should be. The box didn't collapse, the wall is supporting the whole trailer, the aluminum divider prevented the top horse from crushing the one below. The roof, floor and walls are all intact. Compare that to the steel, upturned truck.
If you want proof of the trailer's integrity, look at the two horses standing nearby. They are bruised and a bit bloodied, but alive and well.
I definitely choose the aluminum to protect my horses.
I have seen quite a few photos of accidents where neither the horses nor the aluminum trailer fared well. I probably would classify these photos as the exception rather than the rule. Double D Trailers uses both materials but I can tell you which one I had rather be inside of if it flipped.
Posted 2010-05-27 7:28 PM (#120662 - in reply to #120657) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
" Double D Trailers uses both materials"
Why even bother? You and your business partner at Equispirit, do everything you can to dissuade prospective buyers from owning an aluminum trailer. With fallacious and exaggerating statements condemning aluminum, you attempt to sway the uninformed buyer into purchasing your steel products. Not only do you fail to accept the realities of aluminum usage, but refuse to acknowledge its contributions in other fields as well.
I have no idea why you would fund a second line that probably builds few units. Does it give you license to claim a bipartisan knowledge and capability? Your many statements against aluminum, are the best indicator of what you are trying to sell.
Posted 2010-05-28 12:57 AM (#120669 - in reply to #120521) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
Veteran
Posts: 119 Location: 99320
I had an older steel two horse straight load trailer which I just traded to my sister, and now own an aluminum four horse Sooner. My sister has a steel Circle J stock combo.
Both steel trailers have done well - I only gave up the two horse because my current horse outgrew it before she was three years old. I really liked it - ramp, padded and lined with rubber, the deluxe model for it's day. The stock combo has rubber mats on the floor, no ramp and no padding on the walls or dividers and it's a slant load. Both steel trailers are over 20 years old.
Our aluminum trailer is a four horse Sooner, 2007 model, which we bought new and have owned for maybe a month or so? now. My 1400 pound horse has decided that she's going through her fearsome fours (horse version of terrible twos). She decided the other day that she wanted to sit back and try opening her head side window with her front hooves. She beat on the floor with her front hooves as well and pawed against the wall. I don't know how that trailer managed to hold up, but the wall was not dented and the window looks untouched (glad my trailer has that triple core wall siding or whatever it's called). The floor did end up with some depression from the front pawing, stamping, but it's minimal and does not appear to have hurt the structure at all from what I could see from looking under the trailer. Maybe some day I will need to replace those two planks of aluminum flooring, but it does not appear that it will need to be any time soon.
Bottom line, it's like others have stated - it's what fits your needs and how you care for it that will make the difference.
Posted 2010-05-28 9:36 AM (#120673 - in reply to #120662) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
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Posts: 188 Location: Kinston, NC
I have no idea why you would fund a second line that probably builds few units. Does it give you license to claim a bipartisan knowledge and capability? Your many statements against aluminum, are the best indicator of what you are trying to sell.
Haha, it seems that I have poked the dragon. I guess Gard is the horse trailer expert on this site and only his opinion matters.
As for my "second line that probably builds few units", HAHA! I have 4 all aluminum trailers rolling out this week and another 2 next week, so don't accuse me of having hidden agendas. I may just line them all up and take a picture for you to show that you don't have a clue what you are talking about in your rant.
I am in the business of educating customers, allowing them to decide what is best for them, and offering a full line of customizable products to fit their needs.
Posted 2010-05-28 10:03 AM (#120674 - in reply to #120521) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
Expert
Posts: 1205 Location: Arkansas
Yep' its a miracle I have survived, flying in aluminum aircraft, and wonder that I ain't starved to death, all those hunderds of thousands of cattle in those aluminum bull haulers......yepper, you can have good and bad aluminum, or good and bad steel, why even people can have good and bad opinions. But in my ignorant bliss, I still fly, and it is terribly obvious I am nowhere near starvin, so some of the folks must be doing something right. I am not against either material, they both have good qualities, and I own both. Good lucf with the new purchase, and good luck selling those trailers....it all sorts itself out eventually.
Posted 2010-05-28 10:16 AM (#120676 - in reply to #120674) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
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Posts: 188 Location: Kinston, NC
Originally written by flyinghfarm on 2010-05-28 10:03 AM
you can have good and bad aluminum
At a recent horse show, I overhead a sales rep tell a customer that his manufacturer used 'clean' aluminum rather than dirty aluminum. Clean aluminum costs more and is stronger, that's why their trailer costs more. I later asked him about that and he confirmed it again. I guess he was referring to virgin alum vs recycled alum?? According to him, there is good and bad aluminum, hahaha!
Posted 2010-05-28 10:40 AM (#120678 - in reply to #120521) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
Expert
Posts: 1205 Location: Arkansas
Does seem like lots of folks find lots of reasons to tout their product as 'the best"..... there are a lot of good products out there, a person sometimes has to sort the wheat from the chaff, on people as well as products...
Posted 2010-05-28 10:55 AM (#120680 - in reply to #120678) Subject: RE: HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
Location: Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain...
Originally written by flyinghfarm on 2010-05-28 10:40 AM
Does seem like lots of folks find lots of reasons to tout their product as 'the best"..... there are a lot of good products out there, a person sometimes has to sort the wheat from the chaff, on people as well as products...
HELP... aluminum vs. steel horse trailer
Well said.