I’m in the market for a 2h trailer with dressing room, and I live in a climate that’s basically a sauna in the summers. As a result I’m prioritizing a trailer that stays as cool as possible. Is there an appreciable difference between fiberglass and aluminum roofs when it comes to interior temperatures?
AL is an excellent conductor of heat while fiberglass will be less so. I’m not sure how much difference that will make from the horse’s point of view.
One thing that I know from personal experience that makes a difference is roof color. A trailer with a light roof will be significantly cooler than one a dark roof.
Stock type trailers will also have significantly better air circulation and a full enclosed trailer.
G.
Back drops are a great cooling feature. Even with an uninsulated alum roof, the 3 horse GN trailer is cool like a run-in with all six drops down. I did this when we got stuck in crawling traffic for 15 miles. The horses had their heads out ogling the cars and people next to us.
I’ve never had a trailer with an aluminum roof. I am certain though, that my fiberglass roof trailers have been MUCH cooler than my steel roof trailer. I’m pretty sure if you go with an aluminum roof you are going to want it insulated in your climate. Oh, and get the tallest trailer you can too.
I once took a nap on a 90 degree day at a show in my Brenderup (fiberglass roof) and the trailer felt nice and cool. I’m very much a fan of fiberglass roofs.
I have a dark colored steel trailer that you would expect to be a hot-box, but the people before me had the inside of the roof sprayed with foam. Makes a hug difference. Nice bonus is that its padded for those moments a horse decides he needs to throw a fit.
I had a Hart trailer with a honey-combed roof that they make specifically for their trailers. I believe they are a specially constructed fiberglass roof. You could walk in the rear of the trailer and immediately feel the drop in temperature. We actually lived in the trailer at one point and I had no problem air conditioning the rear by opening up the walk through door to the rear and running the air in the LQ.
If I were ever going to custom order a trailer, it would be a Hart because of the roof. This link actually talks about the roof.
Depending on what brand with fiberglass ( how it is made ) , about 15 degrees cooler with open windows… the other benefit with a couple of brands using fiberglass roofs is no seams so no leaking, there are at least several types of these on the market so they are not all the same…
aluminum skin roofs all have seams all the way around that are riveted and “caulked” so will leak at some point.
Risa
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I’ve had both and I agree that the fiberglass roof seemed cooler.
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I would just make sure it is insulated regardless of the material. That IMO makes the biggest difference along with fans on the horses.
I can only compare steel and fiberglass, as I have not had an aluminum roof. But I feel my Trail-Et with fiberglass is much cooler than the steel ones I’ve been in. I can’t see aluminum being much different than steel as far as temps inside.
Mine is all aluminum. I’ve never had fiberglass so I can’t compare. But fans are fairly inexpensive and easy to have installed. I had 2 added to my trailer, and it seems to help my horse stay cooler. Especially useful when we get stuck in traffic.
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Thanks, all! Really appreciate the quick feedback.
Secondary question-- which brands have the best options for ventilation? I’d prefer to have something that I could close up in winter months (i.e. stock trailer sides are out) but that either has big drop-down windows or large sliders. I prefer straight-load because I often just haul 1 horse and the extra stall space is handy for hay/shavings storage.
I live in TX, so don’t have easy access to a lot of brands that keep coming up as highly recommended (Merhow/Hawk/etc. dealers tend to be far away). What recommendations do you have?
