I have a Rawhide. :frowns: Here's the good, the bad and the ugly:
It pulls good.
Mine is approximately three years old.
You can drive through it when gathering.
I can't fold it up by myself but I can with my Gator by pushing the panels-carefully together.
The wheels are solid rubber, so never flat but they don't swivel.
I added a second gate at the end of the alley which works as a palpation cage and makes loading a semi easier.
The paint on mine sucks. It's worse than awful. BUT I think they're powder coating now.
Service is beyond 110%.
I can add to it with more panels anytime I choose but the panels are expensive.$500 a pop last time I bought a couple.
I've had cows try to jump out with no success but a stupid 500lb steer went under and bent the crap out of a panel. He bent it because I had the panel supports down. Don't use those things. Let the cows push the pen around. Or back a pickup up to a side if you think you need the support.
Welding on mine was so bad, I thought I'd done it. The two main gates actually fell off the frame. Not at the same time, of course. Two different times but when we needed them most. We re-welded them and added support straps. In defense of Rawhide, they were having some employee issues when I ordered my corral BUT I paid for a quality product and their problems shouldn't have been mine.
I was told about the employee issues during one of my 'complaint' phone calls.
All of the hydraulic couplers have leaked requiring attention.
If the battery goes dead, you can't raise or lower it. BUT you don't have to remove the transport wheels. You just hit the switch to raise or lower it. There is a solar panel feeding the battery.
I have the manual adjustable alley.
I've seen a Blattner. They're heavy. Only thing I wasn't sure about is they're a bumper pull. I've never opened one up. Just moved cattle through it.
I think color is important. There's one that's bright red..is it called The OK Corral? It has a heavy center beam which makes the cattle reluctant to flow. Mine is dark grey with rust highlights :wink:
You have to pick your poison with portable corrals. They're not perfect and they do require some finesse in both man and beast.
You're welcome to come look at mine.