Another thread mentions not driving with the back top doors open on a trailer. Here in Florida, even with a white trailer with front windows, and side windows open, and roof vents open facing forward to catch the wind - it gets HOT in the trailer. I cannot imagine closing the top doors. If anyone has a solution I am all ears.
Can you point me to that thread? My trailer has three sets of doors and I took the top ones off years ago. Waaaaaay too hot here.
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I do not know the specific thread you are talking about but I will say that many trailers the design of the top doors was not done to be secure with the doors open at speed. With the wind getting behind the open door and pushing on it it puts strain on the mechanism that holds it open, which might not be designed for that.
I sometimes take my top doors off.
When we bought our first Hawk trailer with a fiberglass roof back in the mid 1990s, the dealer told us never to drive with the back doors open. He said it could rip the roof off.
I don’t know if he was mistaken or if that truly was a concern with some trailer designs at the time. I was just a teenage then who was given that info secondhand, so don’t shoot the messenger!
These days I see plenty of trailers of all brands driving around with the top doors open and none losing their roof!
I keep mine off unless hauling foals. I know there are risks involved but I feel they are minimal.
I think there are a couple schools of thought on this.
- Is the trailer still safe to drive structurally with the back doors open?
- If a horse were to get loose will they try to jump through the opening?
3)If it’s too hot then what other way is there to cool the trailer down?
I’ve never seen any proof or warnings on my trailer that state the top back doors must be closed while in motion, etc.
I do know of a horse who had to be euthanized because he freaked out, broke his halter, managed to turn himself around, and got halfway out over the ramp. This all happened in a matter of seconds. Due to internal injuries he couldn’t be saved. For this reason I prefer longer ramps which results in a smaller opening if the top back doors have to be left open. If it is hot and I’m only hauling one horse, I’ll open the top door to the empty side.
If it’s dangerously hot then I’ll open both top doors. I don’t have A/C in my car (of course it’s a black car) anymore so I know how it feels.
I’m in north central Ontario so the doors are usually closed other than the July/August heat waves.
I don’t know about safety. It’s a good idea to wrap or braid a tail that can dangle out the open hatch.
It’s the one about Trailers USA … very recent.
The comment was about debris being “sucked in” - maybe a cigarette tossed out by another driver. Some mentioned warnings by trailer salesmen. It’s within the recent / current thread about Trailers USA
Thanks! Will look.
The top doors are not designed to be left open while the trailer is moving. I’ve NEVER trailered with those doors open for a few reasons…
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They are not designed for it and can rip off causing a potential disaster - take them off if it’s too hot
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Debris can get in that way - due to just the wind or idiots on the road (try hauling 3 horses back from a weekend show which always fell on the last day of “Motorcycle Week” when literally thousands and thousands of motorcycles are right next to you in bumper to bumper traffic especially through the toll areas)
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Many years ago some family friends who showed saddlebreds stopped at a gas station, went inside to pay, came out and saw that someone had cut the tail off of one of their horses (it was wrapped up due to how long it was - the horse always put his tail outside the trailer so easy access for whoever)
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And this is down right horrible - my father was trailering our first pony back in the 70’s to a new home down the road to some family friends…for whatever reason our Shetland freaked out and jumped or flipped out the back at a stop sign - she instantly broke her neck and died. This was when there was just a nylon type “curtain” that you rolled up and down (held with grommets).
So NO I will NEVER leave the top doors open while traveling.
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I ordered windows in my upper rear doors so that I could still get good airflow with the doors shut. That said, I will sometimes haul reliable horses short distances with the doors open. I won’t open them on the highway. My trailer is a 1 year old Hawk, and has labels on it about only hauling with all doors shut (however it has the same door latches as my last trailer, which never had a problem)
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Doors shut person here, too. I have a Trail-Et. I have windows in my top doors that I can open for better airflow, but honestly, with the top vents, and all the other windows, open, the air flow is pretty good even with the back windows closed-- and the back windows tend to stick for some reason. And all my windows are screened to keep bugs and debris out.
I do prefer, unless it’s really hot, to leave the windows by the horse’s head closed, too. I think it must be pretty stressful for a horse to have trucks whipping past him on the interstate (which is where most of my trailering takes place.)
However, RHRT, I think the trailers with the intermediate upper doors are designed so you can take the top doors off.
I’ve always hauled with the back doors closed because their will be no added air flow into the trailer. As you go down the road there is no way for air to flow into the trailer through the back doors. Also, the doors aren’t built to go down the road open. I always worry about breaking something. And with the back open people could throw thing into the trailer. You always hear of the horses that die from smoke inhalation due to a cigarette catching the bedding on fire. Parked I definitely open the windows because air can actually flow in.
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Again, if I close the doors, even with two side windows on each side and two front windows and two roof vents, the trailer becomes an oven. Thank you for all your comments.
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I can say that between 1994 and 2012 that extended (and frequent 300+ mile trips) towing of my Trail Et NY with the storm doors latched open about 98% of the time did not result in any loss of roof (or doors).
But I agree with some others, my current trailer has windows in the storm doors and with every window and vent in there wide open and just ONE horse, it becomes a furnace in short order. Two horses would make it the face of the sun. Honestly, getting to a competition with a heat stressed horse is not how I want to start an event.
That said I absolutely never leave the doors open when I am not hauling, so they get a good once over every time they are opened and closed, which is every time I haul.
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I checked with the manufacturer of my trailer (4 Star) and they said my back windows can be open while hauling. Mi e are also not large enough where it would be a concern if a horse got loose.
I once had a horse that didn’t like to trailer. We found out after trying to take him off property twice. He’d break whatever halter and turn himself around in a 2H straight load, somehow. I can’t believe he didn’t try to jump out the open area above the ramp.
I just recently bought a used 2H straight load with top doors. I had a welder friend install a small window (the size of the windows in the escape doors) in those little back doors. Haven’t tested how great they work yet, but I wouldn’t have top doors without windows now! I think I’m pretty smart :lol:
As long as the top doors are designed to be open or removed in transit I always travel with them off in the summer. At first I was worried but I had someone travel behind me and my horse really enjoys looking behind her at traffic during stops.
Some trailers are not designed for the top doors to be open while moving and I would keep those closed.
I took the doors off the back of my trailer years ago - we were gong to a ranch along a gravel road and the weather was hot.
When we got there there was an inch of dust on the back of the horses and Lord knows how much they breathed in.
Nowdays, I trust that the sliders will be enough to give a draught.
