zleinenbach Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Anyone got a favorite brand? Length? Options to die for? getting pulled by a 3:4 ton diesel pickup, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehammer Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Dad has an Eby. Length will depend on how many you are taking where. There are lots of good brands but I can say I like the Eby after pulling it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acem Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 They seem to have a short life in the south compared to steel. They don't hold their value here like a steel trailer. However since you live in the rust belt it may be different. Thx-Ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zleinenbach Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 20 minutes ago, acem said: They seem to have a short life in the south compared to steel. They don't hold their value here like a steel trailer. However since you live in the rust belt it may be different. Thx-Ace That’s interesting. Is that because of the sea salt ? I woulda thunk it’d been the opposite!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acem Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Down here our cars, trucks, trailer, etc don't rust out like y'alls do up north. So a steel trailer will last a long time. Stock trailers however get manure in them. They never seem to get washed out properly. On the steel trailer the bottom is replaced and your good to go for another 20 years. However aluminum trailers are bent, broken and unrepairable by then. It seems they cannot be welded after they are corroded. Please note I have never owned aa aluminum trailer so all my information is second had. I started to buy a used one and my friends talked me out of it. Thx-Ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjf711 Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 We had a couple second hand steel trailers, 16' goosenecks because we got the cheap, put a new floor in the last, painted on once, has to sit outside unfortunately paint faded again, pulled heavy even empty seemed like to me. 3 years i bought a wilson 20' ranchhand that was a guys small trailer that his wife mainly pulled to haul the show steers so it was almost like new, thought i was paying almost new price seemed like then, but it was right before pandemic and start of shortages on things. I cant tell you how good of an investment that aluminum trailer has been, pulls so easy, we put rubber mats in it so its quiet loading, wash it out every couple trips. I just love it and it really feels good inside to hook up to that nice shiny trailer and know that if i take care of it it will hold its value But im a small guy with 50 head of belted galloways, so, none of the serious cattle guys would take a trailer as small as mine. When i used to go to the sale barn i saw alot of EBY and Featherlite 34' seems like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bud guy Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 We have a Merritt 24ft about 4 years old. They claimed the use the same wall/floor thickness on their goosenecks as they do for the big livestock trailers. No complaints so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnightman Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Have worked on lots in the last 20 years. For a regular use trailer there is only 3 I would recommend. EBY, Merrit, or Wilson. The rest of them do not stand up for more than occasional use. They are fine if you want to trade them every 5 years before they start falling apart, but aluminum fatigue sets in and they become a constant problem. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thesd5488 Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Wilson I pull mine in and out of pastures where it gets hung up use a tractor on it when it’s muddy it’s been through it all. I’ll never own anything but 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbyfarm Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Eby is by far the favorite here. One pays dearly for an aluminum trailer anymore. The steel cornpro bumper pulls are over $10,000 now. We are definitely the opposite of the south. The aluminum ones are much more desirable then steel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitty Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 We have a used Eby here . Deep front so it needs a flatbed for pulling it although we use a '72 Mack single axle as all we do is move between the difference barns with it. Think it's a 26'er but maybe 28' . I've welded a few times on it. Steel one wouldn't last us a 1/4 as long as the aluminum. Ours is probably 25 years old by now as we got it around 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaredT Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 FIL had to order his back in 14 I think. He specified wide side running boards for moving cattle through the trailer and the center gate should have a slider in it, it would have been much easier to get the straggler into the front compartment than with the big swingging gate. Aluminum is all I see around here. His 2000 is still hauling cattle every couple weeks and hasn't had $1k worth of repairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmallFan Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 8 hours ago, hobbyfarm said: The steel cornpro bumper pulls are over $10,000 now. We are definitely the opposite of the south. The aluminum ones are much more desirable then steel. Dad bought his Corn Pro in 2004 and paid $4500. Crazy what prices have done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acem Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 My "new" gooseneck stock trailer is 30 years old and still has the original floor. My old gooseneck is 40 but the angle irons in the floor have been replaced. If you are a medium or small rancher a steel gooseneck trailer is a life-long investment here. A friend who runs a few thousand head of stocker cattle gets 5 to 10 years from his. Aluminum just won't hold up as long as steel here. Of course I pull it with a 30 year old truck too. We live in a different environment. Thx-Ace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zleinenbach Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 Thanks guys for all the advice on these! I’m too the point now where they are both expensive, I might as well make one purchase rather than a couple 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Doctor Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 The local aluminum welder, who works on the aluminum cattle pots and trailers said: "Aluminum is just as strong as steel. if it weighs the same." So if this is the case, you get no weight reduction but more corrosion resistance. Does this make sense? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 6061 aluminum is very strong and ductile if incorporated into the design correctly. Overall aluminum construction weight for the same capacity in semi trailers, (example) is about 5/8's compared to steel. This becomes very important when your freight is based upon weight rather than volume. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHF Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 mine was new in 1996 it is a sundowner 16 ft. i was doing a lot of hauling for the backyard farmers in the area and some you could not fit anything longer in their barn yards. people never consider the hauler when they set up their barnyards some are really hard to get in and and load. the trailer has held up well once we had some thing welded on tailgate and i replaced hinges on tailgate, that and several sets of tires is all we have done to it and we still use it to haul our own livestock. pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC5488 Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 I bought an Elite trailer from Oklahoma. Only thing I could find in 8ft wide during the pandemic. Trailer was half way down the assembly line when I found it. We use it for shows, fair events and helping out around the farm. Has a tac room in it as well, that's the extra door on the passenger side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmi Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 in the rust belt "good" aluminum is best 25y + on the eby horse van was mostly aluminum where allowed ,was too small for the 6 horses and gear/wagons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZG6E Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 I've got a Featherlite. Don't get one of those if you are going across the pasture or have rough gravel roads. I am constantly welding on mine near the rear door. Seems to me the one everyone likes here is a punch-side Wilson. I just can't justify it. I don't use the stock trailer much anymore since I got a nicer truck. I use it to haul the occasional critter to the sale and run around at branding time in the spring. Before the Featherlite I had a Travelong steel trailer. It had a billion miles on it dragging it through the pasture and down 2-tracks. I put a new floor in it at one point and I really loved that trailer. Aluminum is nice because it pulls easy but I wish I had a good clean steel trailer back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnightman Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 2 minutes ago, ZG6E said: I've got a Featherlite. Don't get one of those if you are going across the pasture or have rough gravel roads. I am constantly welding on mine near the rear door. Definitely a problem I’ve seen. Big difference on how much pasture hauling they do. Aluminum has a fatigue life for flexing. Once it passes that, even though it may look fine it will be continuous problems. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gearclash Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 1 hour ago, midnightman said: Aluminum has a fatigue life for flexing. Aluminum “work hardens” like crazy. Can only bend it so far then it hardens. Bend it farther and it snaps. Bend it to the hardening point, anneal it (returns it to O condition) and it can be bent more without breaking, repeat as needed until it is bent far enough. Aluminum age hardens too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbyfarm Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 12 hours ago, FarmallFan said: Dad bought his Corn Pro in 2004 and paid $4500. Crazy what prices have done. Crazy is an understatement. I looked earlier today. $12k for one with upgraded axles. In the fall we paid $4500 for a for a 2008 mortise with 6000lb axles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acem Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Is that steel or aluminum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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