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

I didn't have an AC when I bought the trailer.  BUT found it was needed for OUR marriage.  LOL

It was a relatively straight forward installation if the dealer installed price is keeping you from getting it.

All told, it was about $500 including having the dealer reinforce the framing to support the unit.  So about 1/2 what a dealer would charge.

bought the unit on line, had an existing 14x14 roof vent, wired the unit including an inlet with extra circuit for coffee maker.

We could have another thread to discuss AC installation.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     Ardly

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!

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.

That's probably enough for now.

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.

HWBar,

You have a PM.

SaddleSore

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.

kp