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?? about livestock trailers

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wdcook

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Am thinking of trading my 20' steel for a 24' aluminum in order to be able to haul more pairs/trip to rented pasture. What kind of trailers do you like? What is the weight diff between the two? What about the noise in an aluminum trailer?
 
I dont know if its true but I have been told to stay away from Aluminum trailers for pasture work as the vibration of bouncing through pastures cracks the welds. The best steel trailers I have seen are Big Bend Trailers made in far west Texas, they are built for punishment. Second would be the original, Gooseneck brand from Bryan Texas. I have a Dugan 20 ft and am always welding it back togather, and breaking the spring hangers loose.
 
I was told the same things about aluminums, maybe the first ones were that way, but I have a 20' Featherlite and my neighbor has a 24' Sooner and I would never go back to metal that rusts and floors that rot. We have never had to fix a weld, I do need to replace the rubber mats on the floor, thats how much we use it. The Featherlite is 6 years old, the Sooner 7 and we drag these all over the hills out here, more so than on the highway. Another wives tale. I have heard horses screaming going down the highway when a wooden floor broke through and I had a metal trailer before the Featherlite that rusted out on the hinges and a load of cows fell out/jumped out and the trailer was 5 years old. I won't name the brand, but thank goodness thay are bankrupt and out of business
 
I pull a Norberts steel trailer out of Manitoba. Probably the best steel trailer on the road. It has a rumber floor. The EBY aluminum trailers look good but I am no expert on them . Wilson and Merrit make cattle liners so I would think that they should make a good stock trailer.
 
We run a 30 foot Featherlite and a 16 foot Featherlite we sure like them. We had a 14 foot steel and it weighed about the same as our 24 foot featherlite. (can't remember specifics.) I saw a trailor called exess (or something spelled like it) featherlite builds them but not near as spendy it looked interesting.
 
If you are going to buy an aluminum don't cheap out go for the top of the line ; they will hold together better. Several of the local custom haulers have sold their aluminums and gone to Norbert steel trailers! Last longer, don't crack out and pull just as nice!
 
lazy ace said:
We run a 30 foot Featherlite and a 16 foot Featherlite we sure like them. We had a 14 foot steel and it weighed about the same as our 24 foot featherlite. (can't remember specifics.) I saw a trailor called exess (or something spelled like it) featherlite builds them but not near as spendy it looked interesting.

Aneighbor bought an Exess and there were bolts that had fell out of the door hunges when he goot the 80 miles back to his home! Didn't seem too happy about it.

I'm pulling a 22 foot Travelong and I am real happy with it. I'd buy an aluminum if I could afford to trade. But probably not an Exess! :wink:
 
We have a 24' Featherlite trailer that we are real happy with. Along with regular ranch use we use it steady to haul mineral to our customers. It is a 1999 model and has been on a lot of dirt and gravel roads, hauling up to 7 ton. Our 2002 pickup had 60,000 miles on it and most of it was with the trailer hooked on. It has held up well, with the exception of the back door. Something happened to it and my husband says Featherlite has fixed the problem and beefed up the back door. He is going to install a roll-up door similiar to what is found on a Wilson. The back door that is on there now sure does rattle and bang.

We had a Wilson aluminum and liked it too, but it was too low and drug pretty bad in low places. One thing we liked about the Wilson, the door will fold clear around to the side of the trailer. That is a nice feature and I think is only found on a Wilson. The Wilson's cost considerably more than the Featherlites~around here anyway.

Someone called to see how we liked the Featherlite because they know it gets pulled probably more than any trailer around. I heard my husband mention the Exiss, but the other guy had heard or knew something undesirable about them, he was just wanting to know our opinion on Featherlite; wasn't interested in Exiss.

Here is our outfit:

IMG_0252.jpg
 
Thanks all for the replies. My dealer has a 24' Wilson on the lot priced at 13,900. Said he had some Featherlites' coming in and they would be priced at 13,400. Will be sure to check the diff in ground clearance when I go look, FH. How many cow/calf pairs can be hauled in a 24' if cows are in front 2 sections and clvs in back?
 
wdcook, we have a 24 foot Featherlite and have never had any major problems with it, we have also hauled primarily show and sale cattle in it. If you were going to be in the pasture a lot Wilson trailers have no welds, they are rivited together. Eby makes a very nice trailer, but they are more geared towards the registered guys. Example, stainless nose. We priced a 32 x 8.5 Eby with 3 cut gates and the hydro brakes and it will come to around $27,000.
 
We have a Titan 24' steel trailer that I sure like. It has the rumber floor, and is 6' 8" wide with three compartments. It has plenty of clearance between the pickup and the top of the gooseneck so it can travel over rough country without hitting the top of the pickup box. In answer to your question, eight cows would fit in the front two thirds, and the eight calves in the back third. We have sliding gates on all three doors, and that is a "must" on any trailer I buy.

Steel trailers are a little heavier, but the money saved up-front allows a person to buy quite a lot of extra fuel over the lifetime of the trailer. For our rough roads and hilly conditions, I prefer the steel.
 
elwapo- Have you ever had trouble with the rear door frame cracking or breaking out on your Wilson's? Most cattle pots are cushioned somewhat against road shock by air suspension but goosenecks take a lot more shaking from either spring or even torsion suspension. As well we tend to drag them into places where semi's would never venture near !
 
We have Kiefer 28' that spends a few days every year at the welding shop. The back door on it seems to always have a crack or two. As of yet we have not had to touch the wilson 24', but it is only two years old.
 
I'd go with the Wilson-my buddy in Plentywood has one and it's mADE 1000'S of miles in the pasture with no troubles. Heck it's even went up #4 highway all the way to Meadow Lake a true test lol.
 
I've never pulled an aluminum, but the Wilsons are built like the big liners.

I pull a 24' Eagle Iron with 3 axles. It was quoted to weigh 1800 pounds more than an aluminum of the same size with 2 axles.

One factor for pulling ease is the smoothness of the outside. Mine is sheeted outside the standards, plywood lined inside. It pulls easier than older Royal 20' tandams that were 2000 pounds less.

I've had it 6 years now, it cost $12,800 brand new with singage, rubber mats, line-x coating, backup lights etc.
 
Soapweed
I have a 20' Titan with a wood floor. I like the trailer just fine but the floor is too slick and cows sometimes lose their footing. Does the rubber floor provide a lot better footing? I am seriously considering trading just for that reason but wondered if the idea is as good as it sounds to me.
 
We bought a 24' Featherlite 12 years ago. It gets pretty heavy use and up 'til now, it doesn't have a crack or flaw. The only problem has been that the OEM tires were load range "D" instead of load range "E" and by now they have been replaced.

The trailer pulls fairly easy - it pulls as easy as a 16' steel Travalong.

We also have a Neckover 20' which is tough as a $3 steak. Trying to sell it since it doesn't get much use anymore. It pulls hard, but has brush fenders which is a good thing in our country.
Would like to replace it with a 16' Featherlite, but they got expensive.
 

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