I am thinking about getting a new (or used) trailer and have found that I like the Exiss. They are all aluminum and I have heard such mixed things about them. I thought maybe I would try some input from people who own them instead of dealers who want me to buy thier trailers. Any comments, good or bad? This is a big investment and I want to make the right choice. Thanks, look forward to hearing from you. Greyarab
I would not get all aluminum. Nobody is ever going to convince me they are as safe as either steel or a hybrid.
All aluminum prejudice aside, I particularly don’t like Exiss. I had the opportunity to observe one up close and personal for 5 weeks while I fed my freeloaders - er, non-paying guest horses - out of their owners’ trailer. I frankly found nothing about this trailer that I liked. I have done a lot of research on this topic and have finally pretty much decided on Trail-et. Trot on over to Horse Care and see the discussion JB, DMK and I had on Trail-ets.
It’s a 2h BP. It hauls well but there are minor things I don’t like - the mats are a little slippery for unshod horses, and yesterday the lights and brakes stopped working (we tested the truck - it’s the trailer). Also the weatherstripping came off one of the doors recently but it went back on pretty easily.
And I absolutley love it to death! I’ve had it for a year and there has been no damage, especially rust to it anywhere on the body. I have a two horse slant load with a tack room in the front and back, which absolutley fits my needs. I really prefered Exiss to Featherlite’s because the Exiss people are so nice and so easy to deal with.
A lot of people in my area own Exiss trailers, and I have never heard a single bad thing about them. If you need anymore specific info about them, lemme know or send me an e-mail!
~Insanity is repeating the same behavior over and over and expecting different results~
Don’t buy a horse trailer until you’ve read the book The Complete Guide to Buying, Maintaining, and Servicing your Horse Trailer by Neva Kittrell Scheve!
If your are purchasing a two horse trailer there is little to no advantage to aluminum as far a weight because they use twice to three times as much aluminum to get the same stregth as steel. The lighter weight doesn’t become advantage until the trailers get bigger.
I personnaly won’t own a trailer with an aluminum frame. In the case of a simple fender bender you will total and aluminum framed trailer but just put an ugly dent in a steel framed.
Also unlike steel trailers, manufactures have to use an aluminum alloy (aluminum combined with another metal to give it stregth.) Different alloys are of different qualities so the quality becomes dependant according to what the manufacture chooses to use. You won’t ever really know the quality of your aluminum frame. Aluminum also requires more skill and technical knowledge to construct a durable trailer.
If you are buying an all aluminum trailer used, I would definately have it looked over by the original manufacture or other quailfied individual for hairline cracks and other signs of stress. Since aluminum is brittle, once it has any kind of stress or structural damage it rarely can be repaired to its previous structural integrity. sbk
All aluminum trailers = a HUGE no no! If you were to get in an accident with one they would crunch up like a soda can! 
They may be light, but I don’t think it’s worth the risk. Your better off going with an alluminum trailer that has a steel base. 
~Steph
…but the trouble with never is, never, never works…~Tim McGraw
You can have steel and not have rust. Sterling makes a stainless steel trailer (stainless steel like Revere Pots & Pans).
I have a steel trailer & I have been glad I had steel a couple times. One was when a tree fell on my trailer during a bad storm–I came home from work & could just see a little part peeking from under the tree. I thought my trailer was destroyed, but it was fine, with just a couple small dents in the roof.
Another time I was trailering a horse that was unfamiliar to me & he decided to sit down & tap on the inside of my roof with his front hooves. I didn’t think a horse could do this, but he did. Again, minimal damage. (There is a fiction writer–forget her name–who says people get huffy & horses get hoofy.)
My trainer in CT has an alumu lite…don’t know the real name but it has red little horses all around the top…She loves it!!!
Barb
on a pickup from Arizona. The aluminum frame holding the thing together crystallized and the whole back end fell off. Nobody here could repair it because welding aluminum requires a special heliarc weld. I’m not saying that the quality of aluminum in a horse trailer isn’t much better, but
if it were I, I’d go for steel frame and aluminum skin.
Yes, they are light. No, they don’t rust.
Having said that, they are light - which makes them very prone to being unstable and very, very destructable. I would hate to see an accident with one.
Second - Aluminum does not “rust”, per se, but it corrodes. It’s that white, powdery stuff that flakes off. Not as unsightly but definately makes the metal lose integrity - and it’s already soft simply because it’s a giant pop can. Aluminum is particulary vulnerable to salt corrosion - so in my climate would be bad.
My Father In Law is in the auto body business and he hates 'em.
I have been doing extensive research on trailers as I am about to make the plunge and buy one.
All the research I’ve done suggests that aluminum over steel is far safer than aluminum alone.
I’ve spoken to Exiss owners and have gotten mixed comments. One girl loved hers but admitted she bought on price - Exiss trailers are less expensive than say, Featherlites for a reason (they use a thinner gauge aluminum) and were just not as well built as others I looked at. The two “thumbs down” comments I got were from people whose trailers had been damaged - one in what should have been a relatively minor fender bender, the other which was severely damaged when a tree fell on it. Comment: “If a horse had been in there, he would have died.”
Something to think about. With all the trailer financing that is available (I was amazed to find out how long you can finance a trailer for - it’s not like a car, that’s for sure!) the difference in payments is minimal.
Personally, I’m leaning toward a Sundowner.
To appreciate heaven well
'Tis good for a man to have some fifteen minutes of hell.
Will Carleton (1845-1912)
My farrier was in an accident with a steel trailer, and they could not get the horses out because of the material it was made of- steel.
I would still vote for aluminum, steel rusts, and in 10 years will have lost much of it’s value, compared to an aluminum, which only looses 5% of it’s value a year.
I would also go for a step-up. Ramps way to much.
~Insanity is repeating the same behavior over and over and expecting different results~
I bought a new Bee (steel) trailer last fall and am STILL in love with it! I agree with whomever said for every pro there is a con on both sides of this argument.
However, I will disagree with the person who said they would do a step up before a ramp. New ramps are spring loaded so you aren’t killing yourself getting them up. Also, a vet friend of mine said it’s MUCH easier to get a hurt horse into a ramp load than a step up. Thus, I got a ramp. 
Good Luck!
If Dressage is a Symphony… Eventing is Rock & Roll!
I am thinking about getting a new (or used) trailer and have found that I like the Exiss. They are all aluminum and I have heard such mixed things about them. I thought maybe I would try some input from people who own them instead of dealers who want me to buy thier trailers. Any comments, good or bad? This is a big investment and I want to make the right choice. Thanks, look forward to hearing from you. Greyarab
2H SL GN and LOVE it!
It’s a matter of preference. There’s a pro for every con and vice versa in the steel v. aluminum argument.
I do think aluminum trailers tend to be hotter inside. If you live in a hot area, do consider getting drop down windows (with screens) on both head and butt sides. Or, even though I don’t have this, I’d have loved to have the stock slats on the butt side for more ventilation.
Robby
Trailer shopping. May I recommend this website as a great source of info on alot of makes and models. Plus they asked me to kick off their trailer forum, anyone else care to chime in?
Polo Center Trailer Information
I like the hybrid, steel/aluminum. And would urge you to give serious consideration to the Trailet.
I am going to order my new Trailet Westwind Classic tomorrow during my trip to California. May see you all in divorce court…but hey it’s only money, honey! 
“The older I get, the better I used to be, but who the heck cares!”
[This message was edited by Cactuskate on Oct. 05, 2001 at 05:47 PM.]
Don’t own one but our next trailer will be aluminum. We have a steel right now and it’s heavy, rusts (especially in our climate) and is just a bugger in maitenants.
If there were any aluminums for sale in this area when we were looking, we would have gotten one of them instead. Around here though it’s almost impossible to find a used aluminum.
I have a 10-year-old aluminum Kingston, and love it. People still ask us if it is a new trailer! Anyhow, I love the condition it has stayed in, and highly recommend aluminum. Good luck on your trailer search!
~ Laura ~
Thank you all for your input, I have an idea where I am going, now to just find the money (lol). It is amazing all the diffrent likes and dislikes out there, but that is why we have so many trailer manufacturers I guess. Thank you again, greyarab 
My feathlite is aluminum and we just love it to death! With our new truck you can hardly tell your pulling the dag thing. If you saw my mare you would understand She’s 1300lbs and not a danty girl. Anyway when I have my tb on it then it’s even more lighter. Go with aluminum it last longer and easier to pull too!!!
