Posted 2006-01-18 8:55 AM (#35649) Subject: What brands do you prefer & why
Veteran
Posts: 143
Location: southeast U.S.A.
Hi all,
Would really like to know what brand preferences that people have without the bashing ect. Not asking which brand is best, but what are your likes about a particular brand as far as quality, features, user friendly ect. It's hard to get to see all the different brands up close without allot of travelling so tell us what you think!!!
Also with your favorite brand, What would you change/improve if anything. I really like my trailer and think that it is quality built but I'd still change a few things if I had my way.
Posted 2006-01-18 9:02 AM (#35650 - in reply to #35649) Subject: RE: What brands do you prefer & why
Expert
Posts: 1719
Location: PA
I like Elite, 4-star, C&C and Hart becasue they have the best horse friendly features, are built like tanks (they may weigh more than other trailer brands but that's because of their construction), and they don't use plastic components (saddle racks, bridle hooks, and brush trays). These brands seldom advertise but they don't have to.
Posted 2006-01-18 9:15 AM (#35651 - in reply to #35649) Subject: RE: What brands do you prefer & why
Veteran
Posts: 202
Location: North Texas
I'm not going to get into the "brand" thing. I feel it leads to dead-end discussions.
I love my two horse, straight load, DR gooseneck for what I do. We use it mainly for dressage shows/clinics, vet trips and an annual 1200 mile round trip from N. Texas to Santa Fe.
I do wish it had an insulated roof. Plan to have that done this spring.
The summer sun is VERY hot here in Texas. Another item on my wish list is that it had an air conditioner in the DR but I doubt that I will ever have that done.
Posted 2006-01-18 10:01 AM (#35656 - in reply to #35649) Subject: RE: What brands do you prefer & why
Veteran
Posts: 143
Location: southeast U.S.A.
I'm not going to get into the "brand" thing. I feel it leads to dead-end discussions
Keep in mind that i'm specifically asking what you like about a particular brand (not which one is better or brand x is better than brand y).
If people would post to that question then i feel that it would be very informative.This group does seem to get pretty defensive at times about brand issues but without comparing different brands surely we can all get allong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 2006-01-18 10:09 AM (#35657 - in reply to #35649) Subject: RE: What brands do you prefer & why
Member
Posts: 25
Location: arizona
I perfer 4 Star, the construction is wonderful, I have owned 2 now, I did have some trouble with the air ride, but that was fixed (over 2 yrs ago) and I have never had ANY other problems!
Posted 2006-01-18 1:12 PM (#35670 - in reply to #35649) Subject: RE: What brands do you prefer & why
Expert
Posts: 1283
Location: Home of Wild Turkey Whiskey
I do Living Quarter Conversions and no body builds a better trailer than 4 Star. I have done Sooners, Exiss, Kiefer Built(Very Square but still a cheaper trailer), Hart(None of that FRP stuff for me.) and Elite. I have also been in a number of other brands Nobody can beat a 4 Star overall.
Posted 2006-01-18 1:36 PM (#35671 - in reply to #35649) Subject: RE: What brands do you prefer & why
Expert
Posts: 1989
Location: South Central OK
For small steel trailers you won't find a more sound trailer than a Jackson. They are hard to find and I'll never sell mine.
Stidham makes a great trailer too, they were the first to put horses on the slant and now have a full line of Aluminum trailers. They'll be making my next one!
Posted 2006-01-18 4:14 PM (#35684 - in reply to #35649) Subject: RE: What brands do you prefer & why
Expert
Posts: 2453
Location: Northern Utah
There are several things I liked about the brand of trailer I bought. Lots of trailers had some or all of the features. But not at the same price as the trailer I bought.
I like an Aluminum trailer. For weight and no rust.
Drop down feed doors on head side, Large Bus windows on butt side and rear doors. I want lots of ventilation. Drop down windows operating latch should be at bottom of window, So it's easy to get a hold of, even for my daughters. Should have drop down Jail bars also to keep horses head inside when windows are dropped down. Also the latch on the jail bars should be easy to operate.
Mine has a triple layer roof. One piece Fiberglass top, Foam insulation in middle and Aluminum skin on the inside. No seams to leak, insulation to help keep the summer heat out.
Triple layer walls. Outside Aluminum skin, Inside skin and lined with Rumber up to the bottom of the windows in the horse compartment. Outside skin, insulation, inside skin covered with a indoor/outdoor carpet in the Dressing room or paneling in the LQ.
Lots of lights. Mine has one light per horse stall, two load lights on rear near roofline, two lights on side of trailer to light up outdoor living room. Plenty of lights in DR or LQ. I prefer flush mount lights. Inside nothing for the horse to hit his head on. Outside nothing to tear off as I drag the trailer down a forest service road that may have low hanging branches that sweep the trailer.
I prefer 50/50 double rear doors. Good solid hinges - usually 3 per door. A cam lock for each door. Much like the back of a semi truck.
I prefer Jailbird panel dividers. Where they are solid on the lower half, but jail bars on the upper portion, so I can look through and see all my horses. I don't carry studs, so I don't care about stud dividers. I want my dividers to colaspe so I can fold them tight against the head wall. It allows me to squeeze 4 horses into a 3 horse trailer if I don't use the dividers. Of course you need horses that get along! Padding on dividers. More so that I don't unload a horse with a big aluminum smear on his hip.
Rumber flooring and rumber wall liners. Quieter, longer lasting than wood. Easier to hose down and doesn't soak up water or urine.
Trailer should have a built in spare and "Jiffy Jack" usually located under the GN
Battery
Screen Door on DR or LQ. If it's warm I want to be able to let in lots of fresh air with out letting in the bugs.
Good hinges on DR or LQ door. In fact it should be a TRUE door like you find on a quality RV, not just a panel that fits over an opening.
As mentioned above, a quality tack room that will hold saddle, blanket bars, bridle hooks. Plastic just doesn't hold up. Tack room should be seperate from DR or LQ. I don't want to smell horse when I try to sleep in GN.
Posted 2006-01-18 6:23 PM (#35692 - in reply to #35684) Subject: RE: What brands do you prefer & why
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 379
Location: Columbia, TN
I think how you are going to use them makes a big difference in what kind you might buy and what kind of features you are looking for. If I were going to bump down the road every week several thousands of miles a month. I would probably get a 1. Bloomer 2. Hart 3. Elite 4. 4 Star . If you are going to afew shows or trail riding one a month it doesn't make a lot of difference. They will all probably hold up. My big thing whatever kind you have keep it inside. You can keep them 10 or twelve years and still get good money for them. I know they are alum but they still need to be inside. There are a lot of good trailers out there these just happen to be my favorites.
Posted 2006-01-20 8:48 AM (#35758 - in reply to #35649) Subject: RE: What brands do you prefer & why
Regular
Posts: 54
Location: Danielsville,Ga.
Originally written by Ardly on 2006-01-18 8:55 AM
Hi all,
Would really like to know what brand preferences that people have without the bashing ect. Not asking which brand is best, but what are your likes about a particular brand as far as quality, features, user friendly ect. It's hard to get to see all the different brands up close without allot of travelling so tell us what you think!!!
Also with your favorite brand, What would you change/improve if anything. I really like my trailer and think that it is quality built but I'd still change a few things if I had my way.
Ardly
My silver star gn purchased in aug. of 03 has 235,000 miles.I've had no probems with this trailer.I haul horses all over the country.The feature I like best is the one-piece roof and the 3in. insulation ,makes it warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer and when horse bangs his head into the ceiling,it hits the soft insulation ,not hard metal.I think it was a good value for the price.
Posted 2006-01-20 10:30 AM (#35763 - in reply to #35649) Subject: RE: What brands do you prefer & why
Veteran
Posts: 127
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
I looked at several brands of trailers this summer before purchasing a new 4-Star. I was impressed with the quality of several manufacturers (Hart, Bloomer, Platinum, Cimmaron, Integrity, Elite, and some others) and I made my decision to buy based on quality, the features I wanted, dealership, and price. It was pretty apparent that there were several tiers of quality of trailers and depending on what you are looking for, each one has it's place in the industry. I was looking for a trailer that I could keep for many years and would hold up well and retain value in case I ever needed to sell it. It was also very important to me to have something that would be safe now and 10 years from now to haul my horses in. I found everything I wanted in a 4-Star......excellent quality, the exact features I wanted (I special ordered the trailer), a dealership that has been wonderful to work with, and a great price.
Before you buy, I would suggest making a list of "needs" and "wants" for a trailer, set a price range that you're willing to spend, decide how long you intend to keep the trailer and how much you will be using it, and look at resale value in your area of the country. After that, go look at everything you can. I did research on the internet, e-mailed dealers within 250 miles of here to get pricing and inventory on both used and new trailers, looked at all brands when shows were in town, and talked to friends about features they liked and didn't like on their trailers. After a month, I had it narrowed down to 3 brands and then it became a pricing and dealership question and the dealership and salesman I bought from made my decision very easy.
Features I LOVE about my trailer: Low latches on drop down windows, WERM flooring, rear tack, boot box in dressing room, rear doors latch independently of each other, walk through door to horse area, 60 / 40 rear doors, step up ledge around entire trailer.
Posted 2006-01-20 4:45 PM (#35768 - in reply to #35649) Subject: RE: What brands do you prefer & why
Member
Posts: 28
Location: Omaha, NE
Ditto to champhorse. We looked at quite a few trailers ended up with a 4 star. Love the trailer thought it had more to offer than for example the Sundowner and the price we paid was less a comparable Sundowner. Love the lower window latches. large tack room door, and pulls great.
Posted 2006-01-20 9:53 PM (#35775 - in reply to #35772) Subject: RE: What brands do you prefer & why
Regular
Posts: 71
Location: Franklin, TN
A couple of years ago, I was looking to buy an aluminum 20 ft stock combo but wanted to make some custom modifications to better meet the ways I use the trailer. I went to every major aluminum manufacturer and Elite impressed me the most. They built my trailer on time, with the changes I wanted and the quality was 2nd to none. The way they wire a trailer is most impressive...every joint is soldered. Virtually eliminates any possiblity of having electrical issues.