Do you like Trails West Trailers?

[4horses]

I’m looking at a 2005 Trails West bumper pull. It is steel with an aluminum roof and aluminum fenders. The price is very reasonable $3500. My only concern is the weight. It is right at the weight limit of my truck when fully loaded. I have decided to stop at a weigh station to get an exact weight on my horses. May have to do the same with the trailer. Typically I only trailer one horse. Maybe twice a year I trailer both. My truck only tows 5000 lbs, but I believe it can tow more if I add a weight distribution system. I’m not sure I need a weight distribution system though…

I am sort of hoping this trailer works out, as it looks in decent condition, and is close by so I won’t need to drive a couple hours just to look at it. Of course, I haven’t seen underneath it yet to check the under carriage.

if you have a trails west, how do you like it?

[costco_muffins]

I love Trails West. We have used both bumper pull and goosenecks and they always seem utilitarian and user friendly. It is my preferred brand due to the combination of cost-effectiveness as well as quality.

I cannot speak to your weight questions.

[soloudinhere]

I question the assertion that a steel trailer has an aluminum roof. That would be a very strange design choice.

Also, towing at the max of your vehicles capability is not ever going to be fun. You are signing up for increased wear and maintenace at the very least. Towing horse trailers is not particularly easy even with a well equipped vehicle since the cargo is top heavy and moves.

[TullyMars]

I did not like mine. It had VERY bad corrosion issues and we had soft spots in the wall, etc. Any where there was trim put on we had corrosion. I had a 2006 I believe and a 2010. I will not buy again. They were heavy, but it was comfortable inside, just a corrosive nightmare! Did the one that you are looking at live outside or inside? I had the Sierra trim model.

[notlost]

I liked mine well enough that I traded it in for a second one (both 3 horse LQ trailers, the second one with a slide). They were both affordable. Both were heavy (so much so I had to trade my F250 in for a Dodge 3500 dually). I felt like both kept my horses safe/held up inside…but BOTH of them had a bad axle so that I actually lost a wheel while driving. Now THAT is terrifying. I put a lot of miles on both of them, and finally sold the last one and bought a 4star. A lot less affordable, but safe, well built, and when I sold it three years later, I got MORE than I paid for it.

[Obsidian_Fire]

I have a 2005 BP and I LOVE IT. It’s been a fabulous trailer, and it’s big enough that larger horses fit comfortably.

[cutter99]

A weight distributing hitch will not change the amount of weight your truck can tow. It will make the towing smoother, but will not change the weight.

5000 lbs. is not much. You need to include fuel, weight of driver, passengers, cargo, etc. in addition to the weight of the trailer and horses. It adds up quickly!

[soloudinhere]

@cutter99

A weight distributing hitch will not change the amount of weight your truck can tow. It will make the towing smoother, but will not change the weight.

5000 lbs. is not much. You need to include fuel, weight of driver, passengers, cargo, etc. in addition to the weight of the trailer and horses. It adds up quickly!

Well, not quite. A lot of 1/2 ton trucks and older trucks do have higher ratings for weight distributing. My Yukon was 5000lbs weight carrying and 7800 weight distributing due to the axle weight ratings. That said I would not even try to tow a bumper pull without weight distribution unless on an HD truck. You need the sway control built into a lot of weight distribution systems if you have a very light truck.

[cutter99]

Ford’s 2018 Tow Guide includes the weight distributing hitch in the ratings, so they do not increase with the addition of the hitch.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/towingguides/Ford_Linc_18RV&TTowGuide_r8_May15.pdf

[soloudinhere]

@cutter99

Ford’s 2018 Tow Guide includes the weight distributing hitch in the ratings, so they do not increase with the addition of the hitch.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/towingguides/Ford_Linc_18RV&TTowGuide_r8_May15.pdf

She doesn’t mention anything about owning a 2018 model truck.

my 2002 did in fact have different tow ratings weight carrying and weight distributing and so did my 2014 Ram.

[cutter99]

Two articles that both state a weight distributing hitch does not increase a vehicle’s towing capacity. I’m not sure you are correctly understanding what a weight distributing hitch is designed to do. Maximum trailer weight is set by the manufacturer based on the options of that particular vehicle. It is a set amount, not static. You might want to double check the tow guides on your vehicles.

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-…g-capacity.htm

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-…n-systems1.htm

And a question from the etrailer page.

https://www.etrailer.com/question-35321.html

Have an accident with an overloaded truck and trailer, and you will find out quickly why the maximum tow number is so important.

[soloudinhere]

@cutter99

Two articles that both state a weight distributing hitch does not increase a vehicle’s towing capacity. I’m not sure you are correctly understanding what a weight distributing hitch is designed to do. Maximum trailer weight is set by the manufacturer based on the options of that particular vehicle. It is a set amount, not static. You might want to double check the tow guides on your vehicles.

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-…g-capacity.htm

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-…n-systems1.htm

And a question from the etrailer page.

https://www.etrailer.com/question-35321.html

Have an accident with an overloaded truck and trailer, and you will find out quickly why the maximum tow number is so important.

I am stating what is in the owner’s manual for the vehicle in question. I am not saying anything about the vehicle’s actual towing capacity. In the owners manual, this is often stated in a chart implying there are two different capacities for a given axle/wheelbase combination, one weight carrying and one weight distributing, with the weight distributing number being the max tow capacity and the weight carrying number being lower. That is what I am referring to and what the OP is referring to.

since you seem to be struggling with this, here is a summary article. It is a question of liability and axle weight ratings and has nothing to do with what the truck can physically move for weight.

There is a nice graph in the article if you’re a more visual person for what is stated in the owners manual for each vehicle, but here’s the good parts:

“For instance, the 2015 Ram 1500/2500/3500 owner’s manual says a weight-distribution hitch is required for trailers weighing more than 5,000 pounds.”

“GM’s 2015 Trailering Guide lists typical hitches for Class IV trailers (5,001-10,000 pounds gross trailer weight) as weight-distributing or fifth-wheel, and notes weight-distribution and sway control are required for towing more than 7,000 pounds with a 1500-series Silverado or Sierra (at “50% hitch distribution”).”

“Ford’s towing data list weight-distribution required on F-150 for trailers more than 5,000 pounds (or 500-pound tongue weight) and 6,000/600 pounds behind single-rear wheel SuperDuty pickups.”

https://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/to…-still-needed/

In other words, in order to ACCESS the maximum tow rating of the vehicle, you must be using a weight distribution hitch. I believe we are saying the same thing but you are arguing with me about the way this is presented in the owners manual; I’m not sure what you hope to gain by implying that I’m an idiot who doesn’t understand physics. I am not stating that weight distribution increases a vehicle’s towing capacity. I am stating that the failure to use it REDUCES the towing capacity. There seems to be a reading comprehension issue here, and for that, I can’t help you.

[cutter99]

No need to be insulting soloudinhere. I never called you any names or implied anything.

[soloudinhere]

@cutter99

No need to be insulting soloudinhere. I never called you any names or implied anything.

You might want to reread the entry for “condescending” in your nearest dictionary. Your post implied quote readily that I cannot read correctly and further interpreted what I was saying incorrectly.

[cutter99]

@soloudinhere

You might want to reread the entry for “condescending” in your nearest dictionary. Your post implied quote readily that I cannot read correctly and further interpreted what I was saying incorrectly.

Well bless your little heart soloudinhere! You just have a wonderful day too!

LOL!

[4horses]

Notlost- that sounds scary! What caused it to break? Just normal wear and tear? Did you get it repaired? After reading that, i might just pass. It’s a shame, as the trailer looks in really good shape, but i definitely don’t want something unsafe!

​​​​​As for weight distribution, with a standard bumper pull i can tow 5000lbs. If i get a weight distribution system, i can tow more than that according to Fords booklet.

Cutter99, i had the same confusion. The articles you refer to do not mention that a weight distribution system increases towing capacity, but according to Ford it does!

Soloudinhere- thank you for clarifying the issue.

I took my current trailer down to the scales. My horses weigh 2120lbs (combined weight). The empty weight of my truck and trailer was 7760. That is way more than the weight listed on the title. I believe my truck title listed the truck as 4500lbs or something. Now i know not to believe the title on either.

As a side note, when i weight taped the horses i got 1050lbs so i guess the tape was pretty close to their actual weight.

[mvp]

OP, with all due respect, I think Ford has a vested interest in… uh… taking a rather sanguine view of what their vehicles can haul. I’d take that with a grain of salt. But I think that much is obvious to you.

And another thing! I think that hauling live, high-center-of-gravity, might-freak-out weight is different from obedient, inert weight. I’d be loath to belly right up to the line of what my equipment could handle.

[TullyMars]

My F350 tips the scales empty of passengers/cargo, but full fuel at 7001 pounds. My Trails West clocked in empty at 6,011. I haul with most often 2 warmbloods that 1) 1310 and the other 2)at 1255. I work at a equine hospital so we can actually weigh the horses. So before passengers or anything I am at 15,577 combined weight.

[Foxtrot_s]

Older Trails Wests had a rust reputation and were all metal. Newer ones, I hope, are better quality. Perhaps the OP means an aluminum skin, rather than just an aluminum roof. My trailer (different brand) is aluminum over steel and has spent twenty years out in the rain (PNW rain, that is), and has no rust on it at all. I am very good at keeping up the maintenance.

[DoubleDown]

I have a 2015 that I bought new on recommendation from friends, and I absolutely love it. I did have a weld pop on the divider, and the dealership replaced it, no questions asked.

I won’t hesitate to buy another, and probably will upgrade mine at some point, keeping it in the TW family.