Aluminum Stock Trailers

[Manitoba_Rancher]

was wondering what guys that haul alot of cattle think about Aluminum stock trailers? We are in the market for a new trailer and are looking to buy in the US due to the high Canadian dollar and better prices. I was looking at a HEAVY Sundowner STOCK Trailer. Does anyone have any comments good or bad? Any other suggestions dealer locations would be appreciated.

 

[JF Ranch]

I purchased our 24' Wilson stock trailer in 1994 and have been very satisfied with it. This summer I had it in for some repairs which consisted mainly of worn out gate latches and some cracks in the welds around the rear gate frame.

When I was considering this purchase, it boiled down to welded construction vs. rivets. At first I was leaning towards the welded Featherlite trailer. A friend had one and it looked good to me. However after careful consideration, I was convinced that Wilson made the best trailer on the market. This conclusion came to me after I considered which company had the most experience with aluminum trailers over the many decades.

My salesman convinced me that in the event of damage to the side panels, the Wilson design that incorporates vertical panels riveted together was much easier and less costly to replace than the full length horizontal panels on the welded trailers.

The argument against rivets seemed to be that they would work loose, but my experience after 13 years of use is that none of the rivets have started to fail, whereas cracks have appeared at the few places the Wilson trailer has welds. It is my belief that it is certain that welds can and will fail, but rivets "give" just enough to eliminate that stress.

There may be other riveted trailers on the market, but I would gladly get another Wilson without a second look at another make.

 

[JF Ranch]

Oh yeah, my Wilson pulls like a dream. You'd hardly know it is back there and if my memory serves me right, it weighs less than a comparable welded aluminum trailer.

The first year I had it, I needed to haul 3 mature Simmental bulls to pasture along with a couple of horses to trail them to the cattle. The bulls came into the corrals on the fight and after loading them one bull had the other two pinned against the back of the trailer. The only way we could think of to get the center gate latched and our horses loaded, was to get the hot-shots out to force the three bulls to the front.

Once this was accomplished and our horses loaded, my hired man had a fit laughing at the sight. He said it looked like a cartoon where a fist-fight in a house had the building coming apart and steam blowing out at the seams. I couldn't bear to watch as I knew that the trailer would be ruined. We jumped in and took off as fast as possible. We rocked & rolled the entire 30 mile trip.

Once the bulls were delivered and I had a chance to survey the damage, I was pleased to find the trailer intact and straight. There were a few new wrinkles and the center gate was slightly warped, but otherwise unharmed and has functioned perfectlly throughout the many years since.

This incident proved to me how durable the Wilson is designed and confirmed my decision to buy this brand.

 

[Northern Rancher]

From what I've seen the Wilson's look to be a very good trailer.

 

[elwapo]

We have a wilson and a Keifer. The wilson has been trouble free and we weld on the keifer every year without fail.

 

[katrina]

Don't waste your money..... buy a trailier from Denny or a Titan...

 

[Shelly]

MR, why waste your money on an aluminum trailer when you can get the best trailer built practically on your doorstep? We got a Norbert, and it's the best trailer going. We even have guys with aluminum trailers admiring it and asking questions about it.

 

[Nebraska Sandhills]

I would make some comments, but I think JF Ranch said everything I would've. We have had a Wilson trailer for 8 years and have had absolutely no problems with it. We too were convinced the riveted trailer over the welds would be a better investment and it has been for us thus far. It is a triple axle, 30' long, and in all honestly when pulling it empty you really cant tell it's behind you unless you check the rear view mirror. Good luck in your search--there's a lot of good trailers out there.

 

[JF Ranch]

One other thought that has come to my mind is that I like the tread or diamond plate style of floor the aluminum trailers have. They don't get slick like wooden floors do.

Since I haven't shopped for trailers for many years, perhaps there is an all steel trailer with this kind of flooring. I wouldn't know. But this is an advantage in my opinion.

 

[Brad S]

I have a featherlite and its less trailer in about every way than a Wilson - I can buy a featherlite at the plant so its a money deal. It used to be that there were too few Aluminum trailers so resale was excellent, this is diminishing every year.

I'd say if your trailer hauls horses to pasture, bulls to pasture and occasionally a criple to town, steel would be a good purchase. If you're on the road mostly, aluminum wins out.

 

[EJ]

Don't waste your money..... buy a trailier from Denny or a Titan...

I with you Katrina, I bought a new Titan 2 yrs ago close by you and it has a rumbar floor, we really like it. Have talked to some guys up in Denny`s country and they said he really does a great job. Have to see one next time we`re at our daughters palce which is near Denny,

 

[Denny]

Wilson or a Duralite would be the two I would pick.Wilson would be top of all They make cattle pots that stand the test and their livestock trailer's are no different.

The welded aluminum are'nt able to flex like the riveted trailers.

Here's a couple I've built..

Here's a 80 x 20 I built

This is my personel trailer it is a 8x28 it has 3 8000# torflex dexter axel's 215x17.5 16 ply tires on a 3/8" plate wheel it has 11 gauge deck plate welded solid 12 inches high with 14 gauge sheets above that. The sheet under the neck is 11 ga. it has a rubber floor all cross members and uprights are 12" on center. The neck is made from 2x8 1/4 wall tubeing.I have a 1 piece center gate set back 5 ft from the front.A slide center gate at the front of the fender's and a pair of dutch doors behind the fenders that fold flush against the wall.I can haul 17 to 18 cows 21 bred heifers and about 30 550 to 600# feeder calves.Most of the time I haul 1 horse.

 

[Faster horses]

Ok, we've had a Titan, a Wilson and a Featherlite.

The Titan was a nice trailer. Heavy, but nice. Then the paint started peeling, then rust started showing up so we traded.

Then we got a Wilson.
It pulled the best of the three. BUT...we had brake problems with it...
and the rubber tore off the back end...we took it in to get it fixed and
the trailer place let us take a Featherlite home as we just could not be without a trailer for the length of time it was going to take to fix the Wilson. After using the Featherlite, we traded the Wilson
for the Featherlite for 2 reasons. 1. The Wilson we had was too close to
the ground; it didn't have enough clearance. Now we've seen lots
of Wilsons that DO have more clearance, don't know why this one
didn't. 2. And the other reason we traded was because Mr. FH hauls
a lot of mineral in the trailer. He loads it with a cart and a ramp. The
Wilson floor was NOT good for this as there were ridges that ran
from the front to the back of the trailer. Man, that made it
hard to navigate the cart holding 10 bags of mineral. The floor
of the Featherlite was much better for this particular job. (I realize, however, this wouldn't make a bit of difference to most of you.)

The back door of the Featherlite hasn't held up at all, so Mr. FH had
a roll-up door similar to a Wilson installed in the Featherlite. Other
than that, our Featherlite is a 1999 model and probably has been
pulled more than any other trailer in this country...on gravel roads and
highway and it has held up magnificently. We haven't touched it with
a welder.

Would we go back to a steel trailer? NO.

But if we were to, I think we'd have to consider Denny's.
And I do like the Titans. Any problems we had with the Titan
(axles and paint), Titan took care of it. I can't say enough about
how they stand behind their trailers. Ours was new in 1990 and
we used it for 7 or 8 years. ?We also have a 1994 Titan flatbed
that has been used hard and has stood up well.

 

[Manitoba_Rancher]

Denny,

How heavy is the 28ft too pull? And how long would it take you to build one?

 

[CattleArmy]

Last fall both my parents and I were in the market for a trailers. I love the look of aluminum but hate the price tag that goes along with them. I have been told you pay for the look and some believe they are a lot lighter to pull. It ended up and both of us got used. My Dad traded my old trailer to a guy in town for some welding work and a trailer he had gotten "in a deal". Then an older couple had an auction and had a trailer they had hardly pulled so my Dad looked at that one and suddenly I was an owner. They are both Diamond D trailers and so far we've been very happy with them. Sometimes shopping around saves money and you can find nice trailers without paying brand new price.

 

[Denny]

Denny,

How heavy is the 28ft too pull? And how long would it take you to build one?

I pull it with a 3/4 ton ford with a 5.4 liter gas and a 6 speed manual tranny and can cruise right along at 70 with a full load.The design of the nose makes a bigger differance than the weight of the trailer in the pulling.The place I worked for years ago made a 17' Flat nose bumper hitch that pulled harder than a 8x24 v-nose gooseneck.I delivered trailers for him and hated those flat front trailer's they suck.

It would be the last week of November or there about's to get one depending on the axel's as I would have to order those and they take 2 weeks from my order date which is every other wendsday.We have 2 20' trailers to build as soon as parts show up.Were short roof bows right now but I've got 80 on order coming in next friday.