Hey all,
I’m looking into upgrading my trailer. Have loved my Merhow for the last 17 years, have put over 100,000 miles on it but the company has changed hands a couple of times and I just don’t like the current designs.
So. I’ve been looking at used trailers online and when I went to check out one I found it was at a Shadow dealership. I was impressed with what I saw for the prices so I just wanted to hear people’s experiences.
P.S. I do know that there is an older thread. I have read through it I just want updated experiences
The Featherlight dealership where I bought FL almost 20 years ago became a Shadow dealership a couple of years back. I’ve looked at them on the lot and they appear to be a solid, middle-class trailer. I’ve crawled around underneath them (just being nosy ;)) and there’s nothing really to dislike. Never pulled one or stayed in one so I don’t know how they really are. But they are worth looking at. 
G.
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Bought one a year ago and love it so far! It’s my first trailer and I got a great deal on one from a Shadow dealership in Ohio. It has held up well and is easy to work with. My horse loads like a dream in it (although he hadn’t had issues in the past). It’s a 2H pro series bumper pull straight load with a tack room and ramp. I like the vents in the ceiling for added airflow (can be directed two ways) and the tack room is great for me.
I will say that I wasn’t super impressed with their lower-tier models though. I think those slants with the stock sides feel
cramped and sort of tin can-esque. Plus I don’t think my horse (fairly good-sized TB) would fit well in them—now if you had smaller, stocker breeds you would probably be ok. It’s all about your individual needs! I’d advise looking at them—the worst that happens is you decide they’re not for you and keep looking.
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I had a Shadow 2h gooseneck that I was very happy with. I bought it in 2008 for a good price (the dealer sold it to me as a used trailer because they had taken it to a couple shows as a demo, but it had never had a horse in it) and I sold it in 2017 for just a bit less than I originally paid. I did take excellent care of it, but I was still somewhat surprised at how well it held its value.
The only thing I didn’t like was the way the chest and butt bars connected to the wall. I don’t know if they’re still using the same system, but mine was like a giant bolt with the screw part of the bolt screwed into the chest/butt bar and the head of the bolt slotted into a bracket on the wall. One of my horses sat on the butt bar and pulled the bolt out of the bar. I tried to have it welded but the welder couldn’t get it to hold. I ended up using JB Weld and that worked. I also switched the butt and chest bar so that the bar I fixed was up front where it was not as likely to have a lot of weight on it.
I do a lot of hauling so I upgraded to an Adam 2+1, but I thought the Shadow was quite nice for the price I paid.
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The LQ’s get A LOT of bad reviews on the truck and trailer and horse camping pages on FB.
I was at an event the other weekend and I swear 3/4 of the trailers in the parking lot were Shadows! That doesn’t really tell you anything except that a) they are becoming popular and b) there is a dealer around these parts.
We looked at some at Congress last year and my husbands first thoughts were “very home made cheap looking trailer”. Sorry to say this, but once he pointed it out to me, it did look cheap and quite home made.
There are a lot of nicer brands out there for sure. Shadow would be one of the last we would have ever looked at.
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