I am considering adding a back ramp to my Featherlite 4H S/L, which is currently a step-up model, bacause my dang horse is such a whimp and hates to hop up into the trailer.
He is a bugger to load, will load fine into a trailer with a ramp though.
Has anyone had an after factory ramp installed on their horse trailer? Was it pricey and did the ramp look ok?
its around 1300 and it looks fine
We like ramps as it makes it easier to haul and load our motor toys, but $1300 just because your horse won’t load? Hire a pro. For a couple hundred bucks they will have your horse loading consistently.
I am of the mind that every horse needs to load in anything you point them at. You never know when you will be in an emergency and and may not have the use of your own trailer.
Your wimpy horse can handle hopping into a trailer!
its the hopping off of a step-up that mine objected to…shipping became less stressful after the ramp was added
I’d be guessing that Featherlite “probably” sells a 1/2 ramp which could be mounted to close over the outside of your existing trailer doors. Or any trailer dealer or metal fabricator could come up with the same sort of solution. Probably for a lot less than $1,300!!! Some horses just prefer a ramp.
Well, I am going off of what I paid to have a Sundowner ramp put on at a Sundowner dealer…and yes, I looked at all other options before I did it. For safety and warranty reasons I went with a dealer. I do not regret it.
Sundowner makes very nice ramps. My Sundowner ramp is longer than the ramp on my old stock trailer, much lighter, and non slip. You might pay less for a less deluxe ramp. However, I would spend whatever it takes to get what you want.
gee, I hope you do not use whippy horse for trail rides …. We moved from Kentucky to Texas…everything we had in Kentucky was ramp load…get down here and most everything is step-up… asked an old timer why… he had a pretty good answer…if the horse couldn’t step into a trail how was it going to handle anything on a trail…
Thought I would add to this thread. I just bought a used trailer with living quarters, featherlite, 2 horse straight load all aluminum frame gooseneck. The only thing it was missing was a ramp. I found THIS thread when I Google “adding ramp to horse trailer”. Before purchasing I called closest featherlite dealer in Northport, NY he said approximately $1,000 cost to add ramp. He added he can have the ramp included in the next new trailer they were having delivered to save on shipping. Based on this quote, I purchased the trailer. A week later I found another featherlite dealer in NJ (much safer drive through country roads) who just quoted me $3,500 to install ramp! He says the other guy is wrong and it’s not a bolt on ramp but needs aluminum welding AND ramp alone is $1,800-$1,900 before $600 shipping!!! My dream of Using this nice 2 horse trailer with living quarters is crushed. I am typing this hoping it will save someone else from making this heart breaking mistake. I think I’m just going to put the trailer back on the market for $8,000 and continue paying the ridiculous over priced rates at the Saugerties Hotels during horse show season…
just my opinion but more and more people are “babying” their horses. These creatures have us trained not the other way around. They survived for many years before people stated using them. Blankets, ramps, and treats make horses soft. If your horse doesn’t have a medical condition that makes a ramp a necessity then i would pass on it. Teach the horse to load in the trailer you have.
And like Clantar said if the horse cant step up into a trailer how is it going to step over anything on a trail? how will it jump over jumps?
[QUOTE=hudsonhunter;8525582]
Thought I would add to this thread. I just bought a used trailer with living quarters, featherlite, 2 horse straight load all aluminum frame gooseneck. The only thing it was missing was a ramp. I found THIS thread when I Google “adding ramp to horse trailer”. Before purchasing I called closest featherlite dealer in Northport, NY he said approximately $1,000 cost to add ramp. He added he can have the ramp included in the next new trailer they were having delivered to save on shipping. Based on this quote, I purchased the trailer. A week later I found another featherlite dealer in NJ (much safer drive through country roads) who just quoted me $3,500 to install ramp! He says the other guy is wrong and it’s not a bolt on ramp but needs aluminum welding AND ramp alone is $1,800-$1,900 before $600 shipping!!! My dream of Using this nice 2 horse trailer with living quarters is crushed. I am typing this hoping it will save someone else from making this heart breaking mistake. I think I’m just going to put the trailer back on the market for $8,000 and continue paying the ridiculous over priced rates at the Saugerties Hotels during horse show season…[/QUOTE]
I’m really confused. If the first guy is willing to do it for a thousand bucks why are you not just taking it to the first guy? No other dealer is obligated to match that quote but I think you could do better than a sample size of n=2 on getting a price?
I hate my trailer’s ramp and wish I had gotten a 2h slant step up instead.
[QUOTE=i<3dogs;8525610]
just my opinion but more and more people are “babying” their horses. These creatures have us trained not the other way around. They survived for many years before people stated using them. Blankets, ramps, and treats make horses soft. If your horse doesn’t have a medical condition that makes a ramp a necessity then i would pass on it. Teach the horse to load in the trailer you have.
And like Clantar said if the horse cant step up into a trailer how is it going to step over anything on a trail? how will it jump over jumps?[/QUOTE]
I appreciate your opinion however I do not feel comfortable loading my horse or unloading with out a ramp, that is my opinion. Every trailer I have ever used and owned has had a ramp. I’ve never used a trailer with out a ramp and I realize it is a very personal decision however I personally need a ramp. I understand others do not.
[QUOTE=soloudinhere;8525893]
I’m really confused. If the first guy is willing to do it for a thousand bucks why are you not just taking it to the first guy? No other dealer is obligated to match that quote but I think you could do better than a sample size of n=2 on getting a price?
I hate my trailer’s ramp and wish I had gotten a 2h slant step up instead.[/QUOTE]
I don’t know what you mean by “sample size of n=2 on getting a price?” Is that a typo?
Original quote given to me was wrong the ramp is $1,800- $1,900 for the ramp alone before shipping or welding, otherwise OF COURSE I would be taking the first guy up on the offer… I appreciate that a step up works for you, it does not work for me. I realize this seems to be a topic people get quite passionate about but I would never really insist anyone do anything they are not comfortable with with their horse from the size, load, make model of trailer to the whether they choose to stall their horse or keep them in a pasture with a run in shed…I really get it’s a very personal decision but there’s a market for adding ramps on trailers so obviously I am not the only one who has gone this route. I purchased what I consider a solid aluminum frame trailer that had everything I wanted except one thing AND 2 horse straight load trailers with living quarters in this good a shape are hard to find used for even three times what I paid. I went into this knowing I needed a ramp, which is why, before I even made an offer, I called an official featherlite dealer and asked first. Personally, I prefer straight loads with ramps. I understand you appreciate a slant with a step up. No harm there, we’re both entitled to prefer different trailer models… but my intentions of adding to this thread were to hopefully have it pop up in future searches for anyone in my position. Between seeing $1,300 written above by another user and then getting a quote from a dealer for “$1,000” I felt somewhat confident making the offer on the trailer that I did. Now that I am being quoted $3,500 I’m kind of in a state of shock as I would have offered $2k less on the trailer had I known that was the case. I hope that clarifies…
Hudsonhunter I think what Soloudinhere was saying is you got prices from two places (that is what sample size of n=2 means) so maybe you should call around and get more prices.
I like ramps too so I am not thinking you getting a ramp is a bad thing.
Have you talked to the dealer that gave you the low price? Why do you assume the expensive guy is accurate that he low price is not accurate?
I would definitely call him back before I sell my whole trailer assuming it is not doable.
Edit to add - the $1300 price in this thread is from 2011 so it would not surprise me if the price is more now.
(Which is not me saying you should not call the first dealer back and confirm the price they gave you before buying the trailer and making them do it for the price they said they would do it for.)
[QUOTE=i<3dogs;8525610]
just my opinion but more and more people are “babying” their horses. These creatures have us trained not the other way around. They survived for many years before people stated using them. Blankets, ramps, and treats make horses soft. If your horse doesn’t have a medical condition that makes a ramp a necessity then i would pass on it. Teach the horse to load in the trailer you have.
And like Clantar said if the horse cant step up into a trailer how is it going to step over anything on a trail? how will it jump over jumps?[/QUOTE]
It really depends on personal situations.
I have a ramp because I used to have to unload my horse on to wet asphalt in the dark. IME, a horse who can turn around and jump down for that situation is usually okay, but any situation where the horse has to come off backwards is potentially dangerous because a horse is not made to come off a big step backwards. They can’t jump down both hind legs at once and the physics of the situation tend to make the hoof that steps down go under the back of the trailer.
The situation is better if it’s a smaller trailer and not as high off the ground (less load rating for the axles), if you are always unloading on to dirt, if the edge of the trailer is well padded, or if the horses can always turn.
By contrast, if what you do all the time is trail riding, a ramp can be a problem because the parking area may not have room for a ramp, or may be so unlevel that the ramp can’t be put down solidly.
If your trailer is used for other livestock (cattle, pigs, sheep) that aren’t necessarily led around with halters, the ramp may make it impossible to use various kinds of chutes.
If you use your trailer for moving anything that doesn’t move itself with legs - hay, a refrigerator, furniture, whatever, you may find that “babying” yourself by not having to lift those items 20" off the ground each time, but instead using a dolly with a ramp, is much appreciated. 
So it’s not about “babying” a horse as much as it is about knowing what your needs are and meeting them.
Hudsonhunter, I would call around a bit more. $3500 for adding a ramp aftermarket feels way too high to me. Of course, you have to include the cost of gas and time to take it to whichever place does it, but I think a number more like $1500-$2000 is what I’d expect.
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