Horse Trailer Reviews

[besttwtbever]

I know you were asking about 2H options, BUT, I have a 2005 Sundowner GN. 2 + 1 with a dressing room and I LOVE it!! I bought it used last year and the floor had already been replaced with rumber which I am actually in love with. I highly recommend both the rumber and the GN on whatever trailer you choose.

My trailer is quite large and that is my only real complaint. It was FANTASTIC to haul my 3 horses all the way across the country and for any other longer hauls but it’s a bit of a bummer when I just want to take me and a friend to some local trails for a few hours.

[GallopHer]

I love my Gore 2 horse straight load. Very well made. It’s about 10 years old and still looks like new. I’ve had no service issues at all.

[DancingFoalFarms]

I second this! My Hawk 2-H WB Elite was awesome. Lightweight to haul, but very roomy inside.

[marta]

another vote for the Gore. i have a 2000 or 2002 (can’t recall) 2 horse, step up. the kind that looks a bit like a stock trailer. love it! i bought it used from the dealer. it hauls like a dream. all the horses that i ever needed to load onto it, walk right on. it’s tall, open, bright. it’s partially made of fiberglass so it is light. if i were in a market for a horse trailer, i’d go with a Gore again for sure.

[Roxyllsk]

I have a 2 horse straight load Cotner Ultra. I got it in 2000 and I still love it. I have had no problems with it and I haul quite a bit.

The really cool thing is that this trailer has extra head room so you can put saddle racks and a tack trunk in the front of the trailer. So this was a great option for someone like me with a truck that isn’t big enough to pull a trailer with a dressing/tack room on it.

http://www.cotnertrailers.com/royal_ultra.htm

[purplnurpl]

I like trailers to be heavy.
I think 2 horse trailers can be too light.

I pulled a 2 horse aluminum (steel frame) and a 2 horse steel trailer.

I will always stand by my opinion that when pulling a trailer that is small–it should be steel to give it more weight.

Around 3K lbs is nice.

I found that lighter trailers bounced all around a little too much.

I traded my Circle C 2 horse bumper pull trailer in for a 4H gooseneck but I give the trailer GREAT reviews.

Our small trailer now is a WW stock trailer. It’s steel–but it is too light. It bounces around with the curvature of the roads even when loaded. The Circle C weighted much more.

If I were to find a heavier aluminum trailer I would be cool with that–but as a whole, they are made to be very light. I’m not a fan.

Just something to think about.

[Graymaresrule]

The horse trailer I posted on the first page weigh 3480 lbs. Here is a picture of the side ramp
http://www.eclipsealuminumtrailers.com/straight-loads/st-sr

[Lady_Eboshi]

[QUOTE=carolprudm;6845158]
The horse trailer I posted on the first page weigh 3480 lbs. Here is a picture of the side ramp
http://www.eclipsealuminumtrailers.com/straight-loads/st-sr[/QUOTE]

Mmmm . . . nice! I’ve got the little 10’ straight-load model and for zipping from the farm to the trail head behind my Dakota it’s perfect! The stalls in it by measurement are actually larger than the ones in the lumbering Kingston. I’ve hauled tall WB’s in it with no issues at all.

[Graymaresrule]

[QUOTE=Lady Eboshi;6845254]
Mmmm . . . nice! I’ve got the little 10’ straight-load model and for zipping from the farm to the trail head behind my Dakota it’s perfect! The stalls in it by measurement are actually larger than the ones in the lumbering Kingston. I’ve hauled tall WB’s in it with no issues at all.[/QUOTE]
Sophie doesn’t do little

[RubyTuesday]

Well, I had an older 2H BP Bonanza and HATED it. Bearings would not hold grease very long for some reason, lost two tires and one whole housing while on the road. I now have a 3H BP 4Star, a 1991 oldy but a goody. Am getting a newer trailer but not selling the older one. I’d recommend a 4Star over anything else. Have had Featherlite, Bison, McQuerry Pony Express over the years, but the 4Star beats them all. Just had the bearings checked after three years…not the recommended interval…and they said the grease and seals were like new so they weren’t replacing them, which is what another shop told me in 2009 when I had it done then (although I insisted they do it that time). If you can afford one, I am betting a 4Star will be the last trailer you buy unless your needs change. Me, I’m keeping my BP but adding a LQ to my operation here. Only reason this LQ won’t be a 4Star is because I can’t find one used with the exact configuration I want after shopping for quite awhile, so going back with a Featherlite I used to own and already know well.

One rule of thumb is to see who is still making the brand you are looking at and how long they have been doing so…they don’t stay in business long by building junk. I have also looked at a Merhow which comes highly recommended.

[RubyTuesday]

[QUOTE=horsepoor;6843605]
I have a Trail-Et New Yorker two horse bumper pull. Great trailer and I’m really happy with it, plus I got a steal of a deal on it, hardly used for a great price (it is a 2005). I wanted a straight load, with plenty of room for larger horses, and this fit the bill. Trail-Et has gone out of business, but Hawk is very similar. I would go Hawk in a minute - they are also very nice trailers.

I looked at Sundowner and decided the aluminum floor with all the care issues was not for me. Plus they’ve had their own share of problems and I couldn’t keep straight which years were good vs. bad, etc.

Previously drove a Logan extra tall, extra wide two horse that was, in its time, a great trailer. All steel so heavy, but I think that saved my horse as she and I were hit by a crazy woman hydroplaning (because she was in way too much of a hurry entering the freeway on a super rainy day). Ripped one wheel off and took out the back corner. Still don’t know how the trailer didn’t flip - it rocked and rolled so much it twisted the tongue but stayed hooked up and upright. Trailer was totaled, horse ok – if I didn’t mind the weight, I’d go Logan again. But I believe they went out of business, didn’t they? There were a bunch that went under when the economy tanked.

Also have been in a couple of the Exiss (sp?) trailers and wasn’t that impressed. They shake and rattle when you do anything, opening them up, loading, etc. – it just didn’t sound as solid as my Trail-Et. Horses load well on mine and get all freaked when asked to get on the Exiss as it just seems like everything is rattling and banging the moment they step up.[/QUOTE]

I’ve never seen or been around a Sundowner of any configuration or stripe that I was a fan of. I know I few people who have them, but only because they came by them cheaply. Know one trainer who had major issues with his.

[easystride]

What about a Merhow? They have been in business for 50 years and provide an 8 year warranty. That is incredible. Most (at least that I have seen) only do 3 or 5 year warranty’s.

[reay6790]

We have a Merhow that is sitting at my barn right now. Seems to be a very nice trailer.

I have a 2012 Hawk (2H BP XL) and love it my boys seem to love it as well.

[easystride]

Thank you so much everyone. Here is a very comprehensive review of the Merhow trailer. They article says they do a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty, but they now do an eight year bumper to bumper minus the tires. I am not sure when the article was written.

[mvp]

1999 C&C 2H straight-load with DR BP.

Two thumbs up. It’s very well-made from beautiful welds and great wiring all the way up to redundant features for taking out all the posts and hardware inside should you crash. Two ways to lock doors as well so that people can’t break in and horses can’t break out. ETA: It is heavy with a dry weight of #3,500.

C&C died in the recession of 2008 but was formed by a group of engineers who left 4Star. They are similar trailers in quality and design.

OP, know that horse trailers are relatively simple machines so “What you see is what you get” applies well. You probably can think of ways that a particular design would help you or hurt you (or a horse) if things went south.

The only non-intuitive thing you might do when checking out a trailer is jumping up and down in it, listening. If it rattles when you do that, it will rattle all the way down the road for your horses.

Perhaps other features are more obvious: How many openings for ventilation, how light the trailer is inside and whether or not you can safely open doors to give the horse a line of sight to the outside world when you ask him to walk into a rather coffin-like box.

[katarine]

I posted above about my new Merhow Verylite. It was an upgrade, a significant one, from the 04 Exiss Sport that I had. While I didn’t find the Exiss rattled and shook as described above, it’s a mid-level trailer at best. The same is true of Kiefer, Bison, and a few others. Lots, really.

The Merhow is taut, quiet, roomy, incredibly well appointed with lights and latches in the horse areas (anywhere you think it’d be nice to have a light, there it is). Mine is a 3H GN with 10’ LQ so it is NOT what you are looking for- but their Verylite line (their best line) is exceptionally smart in design.

[RLastInstallment]

I have a 2009 Kiefer Built. Hate it, hate it, hate it.

It rides horribly and my horses hate it, too. But, I can’t afford a change right now. It’s a slant, but I doubt there’d be any difference if it was a straight load. I feel like if I got into an accident the darn thing would tip straight over. It can take a banging. But it makes me uncomfortable to drive it, period.

There are some features I like, but as soon as I can wash my hands of it, I will. Won’t buy another one like it.

[easystride]

Kiefer Built was bought out and is now just called Kiefer. Not sure how they are now under new ownership.

[oldernewbie]

I have a 1997 Trail-et New Yorker SST. I bought it in 2010 - it had been garaged and was in absolutely pristine condition. Hauls great, only problem has been the clipp-y rings you put on the ramp and doors to hold them closed had to be replaced.

My sister has a 1988 Trail Et that is in super condition as well.

If you can find a good used one, snap it up!

[rocky213]

I just bought a 2013 Merhow Verylite 2H GN Slant. This is my 2nd Merhow. The old Merhow I sold was almost 20 years old and looked fantastic. I only sold it because I wanted a GN.

I agree with whomever said it was very thoughtfully set up. Mine was very customized with extra length and width in the horse area (mine is a slant so every inch counts). I had tons of extras added and Merhow did alot of them with no cost or very reasonable cost. Little extras like covers over the loading ramp springs, curved dividers, slam latches, well placed loading lights with rear switches, camper steps designed for long term use, carpeted bridle hooks. Those little things add up to a well thought out trailer.

I am very happy with it and I am sure it will last more than 25 years !!

Here is a link to an feature horsetrailerworld did on merhow. To be fair, they have articles on other manufactures too (featherlite, sundowner, etc). But this shows the detail put into a Merhow.
http://www.horsetrailerworld.com/forum/thread-view.asp?threadid=14947&posts=1