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Question for connoisseurs of fine stock trailers

S

Soapweed

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Joined
Feb 11, 2005
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Location
northern Nebraska Sandhills
This morning Peach and Sunflower went to Gordon to accomplish some errands. Enroute they went by a pickup pulling a nice aluminum horse trailer that had blown off the road into the ditch. My question would be, how many more miles per hour of wind would it take to blow a steel trailer off the highway than it would take to blow off an aluminum trailer of similar size? I'm sure the heavier steel trailer could withstand more wind before falling victim, but how much more is the question. Mainly I'm trying to justify why I prefer the cheaper and heavier built steel trailers. :wink:
 
my uncle has a 24 ft aluminum trailer,we had 60 mph gusts and it blew it on its side,was unhooked from the truck,didnt take much to right it again
 
On these roads up here it seems that the aluminum trailers are good for the first year or two. Then they start to develop cracks, most common is the door frame.
Soapweed, you have an advantage in having a welder in the family. For most folks though, it is simpler to weld or repair a steel trailer.
 
gcreekrch said:
On these roads up here it seems that the aluminum trailers are good for the first year or two. Then they start to develop cracks, most common is the door frame.
Soapweed, you have an advantage in having a welder in the family. For most folks though, it is simpler to weld or repair a steel trailer.
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:lol: Yep, there's a reason all aluminum trailers over two years old have a safety chain wrapped around the door. With the winds I deal with, I'll stick with a heavy, cheaper steel trailer :wink: .
 
I have a '95 24 ft Featherlite and the main reason I have it is that when I bought it, it was as cheap as a brand new steel. The only thing I dislike about it is that it was built for draft horses and is 7 ft tall. It is nice and light for pulling, so it helps when hauling a load of cows. But as tall as it is, if I hit a head wind, it really sucks to pull!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Depends on how or what your use for the trailer is. If you are like us and run a lot of highway miles an alumium is cheaper to pull and keep clean inside. However if most of your hauling is out in your pasture use aq steel trailer. An old rusty one :!: But Soapweed your right ,the wind can really give you that (lightheaded feeling) :mad: when you are empty in a cross wind. Have a good day. RD :)
 
Well......since aluminum trailers are getting knocked pretty hard on this thread I suppose someone should step in and take a few shots for them. We have had a 2000 Model Wilson Aluminum trailer for 8 going on 9 years this spring and the only problem we've had with it was a flat tire. It doesn't have any welds to fix because it is riveted, and when you're loaded with cows its kind of cool to look down the sides and see them flex a little as needed. It pulls so easy that you can honestly just about forget you're pulling it empty.

I won't deny the fact that they would be a lot more likely to blow over in a strong wind, but I personally would rather take my chances on the handful of days out of the year that we have 50+ mph winds than pull a steel trailer the other 360 days a year.

I will say we pull the old steel trailer more than the aluminum trailer this time of year because of all the salt on the roads.
 
Great thread.

I am planning on building an aluminum trailer, but I can do it for cost.

Sure am interested in other folks opinion on pro versus con.

If the cost wasn't so high, would folks still turn their noses up on aluminum?

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Switched to Aluminum 6 years ago. Would never go back. Have not the the cracking issues that you speak of other than the door design was poor on mine so we rebuilt it when it was new (bought the trailer at cost and knew of the problem then). Try not to work cows in the wind anyway.
 
bverellen said:
Great thread.

I am planning on building an aluminum trailer, but I can do it for cost.

Sure am interested in other folks opinion on pro versus con.

If the cost wasn't so high, would folks still turn their noses up on aluminum?

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I can build them at cost also which is normally $1000 to $1500 below the sale price.Unless you can buy the aluminum for the price the big boy's pay I'll bet you a silver dollar you can buy one already made for even money.Large loads of materials save you money not enough materials for one trailer unless you can get aluminum for cost from a bigger company.There's more to it than a weekend.We figure 55 to 60 man hours in a 20' stock trailer if you get more labor than that your loseing money fast.
 
Generally speaking, you're absolutely correct Denny.

I can't compete building trailers with the guys who buy loads of steel, hire cheap labor and most of their components don't have a shipping and fuel surcharge that reflects just how close to Cuba we are really located.

However, after pencilling a few things out, I can build a 24' aluminum trailer for about 9k, while a similar one sells around here new for close to 16k.

Granted, I will have a boat load of my own time invested, but the economy around these parts is grinding real slow and the phone isn't exactly ringing off the hook......

Best Regards....

bart.

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I have a 22 year old 7X20 Featherlite aluminum that I sure can't complain about. It's not fancy, but it seems to be holding up and it doesn't rot or rust when I don't take the time to clean it after every use.
 

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