Now that I have sold my old trailer, I am looking for a new one. I will be going from a BP to a GN and have found 2 possible fits in my price range. Since I have never owned a BP or a slant, I would like some opinions (both positive and negative) on the following trailers.

Trailer 1:

2004 Sundowner 727 Sunlite - Collapsable RT with swing out saddle rack, drop downs on head, bus windows on rear. Rear doors are 50 / 50 doors. Steel frame with aluminum skin and alum floor. Trailer is used so no transferrable warranty. A/C and heat in DR. Trailer width is 6'9", height is 7', and length is 21'2". Stalls are 42" wide.

Trailer 2:

2002 Keifer Built Genesis - Collapsable RT - saddle rack does not swing out. . Drop downs on head, bus windows on rear. Rear doors are 60 / 40. All aluminum trailer. Screen door on DR. Trailer is a demo so has never been sold and warranty does apply (3 yr. hitch to bumper with leak-proof guarantee, 8 yrs. structural). Trailer is 7'2" wide, 7' tall, and 22'7" long. Stalls are 40' wide.

Most of the other features are very similar but I was wondering about the all aluminum verses steel / aluminum, warranty verses no warranty (have any of you ever used your warranty?), and the overall size, weight, and door openings on back. Any thoughts and opinions are appreciated.

Just a little background......I will be using this trailer primarily for day trips for trail riding. I have 2 horses, a 14.3H QH and a 15.3H Appaloosa. I will be pulling it with a Chevy Silverado 1500 SL Extended Cab.

Your best bet would be to do  a search on this board for past discussions on aluminum vs. steel, slant vs. straight and the brands which you have mentioned.

I'm not sure why the warranty on the Sundowner would not be transferrable if it is used. I bought an '03 Exiss used, and the warranty was transferred over to my my name. Having the warranty, while you may never need it, it is there and gives you peace of mind.

Are you looking at 2 horse or 3 horse trailers? Check to make sure your truck is suitable for the trailer you wish to buy.

Good luck!!!

Well, according to the web site it is so it looks like there would be 1+ years bumper to hitch left and 6+ years structural. There are some manufacturers who state the warranty is good for the original purchaser and when I called about this trailer, I was informed it did not come with a warranty. I will have to check further into that.

As far as the questions about 2H or 3H, I need to stay with a 2H due to the towing capacity of my vehicle. Also, I usually only haul 1 horse at a time so 2H is very sufficient.

Sundowner charged a $100 fee (as of my transfer) to transfer the warrenty.  Call the factory customer service line.

The selling dealer may not be a Sundowner dealer.  The factory was most helpful since I bought my trailer through a private sale.  (E-bay !)

Edited to add some detail

Nobody here can tell you what is suitable for you- you need to figure that out. if you're planning to trail ride and no overnights, then it sounds as if either one can be good for you.  If you're not spending much time in the trailer, the AC/heat is a non issue, you probably won't be using it anyway ( unless things change and you plan on some overnights) The door width is primarily a personal preference- I have 60-40 doors and its nice to have a bit more space to the horse area since I haul stuff  in the first stall. If you just loading horses, I shouldn't think its  a real big deal. Alumuinm/steel combos are popular- I had one. My current trailer is all aluminum since I was concerend about rust. But a combo can hold up very well.

When I bought a new trailer I asked about the warranty- basically it covered little. Unless the trailer folded up in the middle, it didn't cover squat.  So if you're concerned about the warranty- make sure you fully understand it- don't assume it will cover a ding or dent, leaks etc...it might not. You might find that after its all over and done, it may or may not be worth it. I bought a used trailer without warranty- no problems and quite frankly, I wasn't concerned.  

I looked at a lot of trailers before I bought my 1997 all aluminum Sundowner two horse slant and what feature I most like about it, is that there is no middle bar where the doors come together in the back. Most of the trailers I looked at either had a fixed bar or a removable bar that took two hands to deal with. With mine, you can collapse the tack door while hanging on to the horse since there's no bar to deal with. Also, my saddle rack does swing out, so you can totally collapse the door flat to the wall, which gives a nervous or not so easy loader a huge opening. One more thing about my all aluminum Sundowner is that evern though it's 8 years old, it still looks like new.

This Sundowner was my second GN slant that I had ever bought and now that I have a little more experience and information, there are things that I would want my next trailer to have that this one doesn't. A)Next time I would buy a trailer with Drop down windows that have seperate bars. When I drop mine, the bars stay with the window, so I have to put up mesh screens to keep the horses heads from sticking too far out the window when I'm going down the road.  B) I would like an escape door, which mine doesn't have. C) My trailer has built in mangers for both horses which I don't really like. It takes up too much horse space, so my next trailer will not have that. (Because of the built in mangers, it's harder for a horse to turn around if he doesn't back out well and they are just a bit more cramped.) Mine do fine, but you never know when I may get a horse that doesn't like to back out. I think those are the only major changes I would do. My budget was limited, so I was not able to buy the perfect trailer this time around, but maybe next time.

Anyway, good luck and do lot's of research before you take the plunge.

Well, apparently the Sundowner is a 2002, not a 2004 like it was originally listed and confirmed to me on the phone.      Makes me a little nervous about what else might change.

Anyway, I am going to look at new models of both this weekend to compare 2005 prices, features, quality, workmanship, design, etc. and that should help me decide not only which one will work best for me but which is the best value for the price. With both these trailers being 150+ miles away, I want to have most of my questions answered before I drive that far to look.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and opinions. They really do help !!!

I personally like the 50/50 doors. My horses have no problems getting in or out. If I absolutely needed a bigger area to load a horse, I could open the the left door, pull the pins on the rear tack walls, swing the saddle rack out and open it up for the horse. After 5 years and different horses, I have never had to do this. I have big western saddles and the bigger tack door makes it easier. Also I love the swing out saddle racks. There would be no way I could get one of my westerns saddles in there, especially on the top rack if they didn't swing out.