Stock trailers

[Double R Ranch]

Looking to upgrade our stock trailer. Have been looking for quite some time for a used trailer but people don't seem to get rid of them. Plus the used prices I'm seeing in other states are almost what I could buy a new one for. Looking at a Wilson 22ft Ranch hand.
Debating the double aluminum slat style vs the punch style.
They offer a flat floor or a ribbed floor. Thinking the ribbed floor for more traction. Will be hauling horses in it sometimes as well so that needs to be taken into consideration.
Anything you have on your trailers that would be worth while to have added on? Loading lights maybe?
If I order one now it won't be delivered until May to our local dealer. Thinking about calling the dealer close to the manufacturer and seeing if there's a significant price difference out of our state. I may be taking a trip that way sooner than later and could bring it back with me.
Any advice for a first time new trailer buyer would be appreciated. Have had the same smaller trailer for many years and it needs to be replaced.
Thanks in advance!

 

[SmokinM]

Wilson is top of the line no doubt about that. As far as the options you mention i dont see a huge difference as long as the punched openings dont go all the way down the wall where a horse could get a foot hung. It doesnt look like they do. If it gets cold the advantage of a slat trailer is it is easy to put lexan in the slots to close it up some. I prefer a floor with some traction made in it as mats are a pain and will contribute to corrosion.

Must have options for me is a slide swing cut gate. I use this a ton to be able to sort on the trailer and load in small groups when working alone. I will never own a trailer that doesn't have it.

Interior lights are nice and loading lights are nice for backing up in the dark but I find they can mess with horses and cattle trying to load with shadows and blindness. The animals work better in the dark or with just the interior light on rather than a set that shines back at them IMO.

Always call around and price them. I have found with trailers particularly that dealer prices even in a relatively small area can vary greatly and freight is a pretty good expense as they are delivered 1 or 2 at a time mostly. If you are headed that way anyway may very well be worth buying one closer to the factory.

Enjoy your new trailer sounds like you are buying a nice one!

 

[Double R Ranch]

Extremely helpful @SmokinM!
I did choose the gate your describing on the quote we got. Glad I did! I wasn't sure it was worth while but it wasn't a huge addition cost wise so now I know it's worth it.
I asked the dealer about the rear light and he claimed it wouldn't mess with the livestock but I wasn't so sure. This is a concern. We do a lot of loading at night with no other lights. Will have to think on that and what you said.
$1,600 freight on the estimate for the 20 foot but we've decided we'd better go a little bigger since it's the last trailer we hope to buy. At least for a very long time. So could cost more. Not sure how they price the freight. Will be calling a few more places tomorrow from your response. Thank you very much for taking the time and offering advice.

 

[kenny thomas]

I have a 2002 Wilson and have never regretted it. I like the punch sides.
That being said I deliver new aluminum horse and stock trailers for Kiefer now and like many things on their trailers. Check out their rubber floors. Wilson might offer those now also.
I don't know how they price the delivery but I just dropped one 2 days ago in Wisconsin and seen the delivery charge. I normally don't look. $1150 for 664 miles so 1.73 a mile on this one.
If you can order now and get it in May that's great. Kiefer is over a year behind.

 

[Double R Ranch]

Will look into them but a year out is way to far out for us. Thanks for the info!

 

[SBMF 2015]

Looking to upgrade our stock trailer. Have been looking for quite some time for a used trailer but people don't seem to get rid of them. Plus the used prices I'm seeing in other states are almost what I could buy a new one for. Looking at a Wilson 22ft Ranch hand.
Debating the double aluminum slat style vs the punch style.
They offer a flat floor or a ribbed floor. Thinking the ribbed floor for more traction. Will be hauling horses in it sometimes as well so that needs to be taken into consideration.
Anything you have on your trailers that would be worth while to have added on? Loading lights maybe?
If I order one now it won't be delivered until May to our local dealer. Thinking about calling the dealer close to the manufacturer and seeing if there's a significant price difference out of our state. I may be taking a trip that way sooner than later and could bring it back with me.
Any advice for a first time new trailer buyer would be appreciated. Have had the same smaller trailer for many years and it needs to be replaced.
Thanks in advance!

We started pulling Wilson ranch hand and foreman trailers about ten years ago and never want to go back to anything else. I didn't realise they make a 22'. Ours are both 24' with two cut gates. The foreman has an adjustable front cut gate. Either way if you haul pairs it's a must.
The slam latch has saved me more than once.
Wilson axles sit in a 4x6 box. Standard from the factory is set so that box is 4" high. You can special order it to be turned to be 6" high so you get more ground clearance. If I had one complaint it would be the lack of ground clearance when loading in some of our pastures.

 

[Double R Ranch]

We started pulling Wilson ranch hand and foreman trailers about ten years ago and never want to go back to anything else. I didn't realise they make a 22'. Ours are both 24' with two cut gates. The foreman has an adjustable front cut gate. Either way if you haul pairs it's a must.
The slam latch has saved me more than once.
Wilson axles sit in a 4x6 box. Standard from the factory is set so that box is 4" high. You can special order it to be turned to be 6" high so you get more ground clearance. If I had one complaint it would be the lack of ground clearance when loading in some of our pastures.

Awesome! Thanks so much for the info!

 

[TexasRancher]

...on what you said...for the high used prices on equipment I can buy new. I see that too for tractors and implements....I don't know who is buying those expensive used 1980 to 2018 tractors repainted with high hours. If you're going to spend 15k to 25k for used piece of unknown equipment with immediate full-service costs and your labor-time and then having to resolve those hidden issues...it's best if you just chip in 3k to 8k more and buy something new ready for you to control and monitor the break-in activity. People ARE crazy over their used equipment thinking it's worth is worth close to new. I guess someone's buying it...not me.

 

[cfpinz]

I always wanted a punch side trailer until we had to drag some critters on the trailer with a rope through the side, now I wouldn't dream of owning a punch side. We have an Eby now with two slats up top and one at the bottom, works well with a rope.

Being in California, I can't imagine you get very cold temps - but I've never been there so I might be 100% wrong. If doing it over again, I'd seriously consider a pipe side trailer for more than a few reasons. It only gets cold enough to justify the enclosed type trailers here for 2 or 3 months in my opinion, otherwise a pipe would be fine. An aluminum Gooseneck brand pipe style would be at the top of my list, especially in your situation.

Interior lights are wonderful for many reasons, but having loading lights in the face of a cow/horse is an accident waiting to happen. Have someone shine a light in your face while you're walking up the steps sometime.

Everyone's situation is different, and I'm not a fan of sliders in cut gates. They take up volume, and make a lot of noise. In fact, I welded them shut on the cuts on my current Eby. I could see an adjustable front gate being very useful, but every one I've been around was noisy as all get-out.

 

[bird dog]

Definitely get interior lights if you load at night. Cows or calves will easily load into a lighted trailer. The lights that shine backwards so you can see when backing up are fine but they need to be on a separate switch to turn off when loading. If you want steel, consider a Big Bend with a rumbler floor. Most everything you want are stock items.

 

[SmokinM]

I always wanted a punch side trailer until we had to drag some critters on the trailer with a rope through the side, now I wouldn't dream of owning a punch side.

Everyone's situation is different, and I'm not a fan of sliders in cut gates. They take up volume, and make a lot of noise. In fact, I welded them shut on the cuts on my current Eby. I could see an adjustable front gate being very useful, but every one I've been around was noisy as all get-out.

Yes that is a disadvantage of a punch side that I forgot to mention.

Featherlite sliders don't work very easy but they are quiet.

 

[littletom]

Have a 24 pipe trailer had a 20 before. So don't have anything to say about your particular model. But 2 cut gates are so nice. It just give you more options. We have cows at several locations. In may when we turn out bulls. Its nice to load several once. Go to different farms drop off 1 or 2 here and there. Or when putting out heifers here and there. Lots of ways that extra cut is really nice.

 

[Double R Ranch]

Thank you all for the posts! We officially have a trailer on order.

 

[Warren Allison]

never seen a trailer that had loading lights that didn't have a light switch on the back of the trailer. So, if you thought a horse or cow was getting scared of the light when loading, just cut it off.

 

[Nesikep]

we bought a 1990 Wilson 20 ft ranch hand trailer in Belle Fourche, South Dakota (Carl's trailer sales, find them online) few years ago for under $8K.. Really like how they're built, the wiring has never needed to be touched.. just has some mild dimples on the roof from some hail damage but that's nothing. I like them to ride as low as possible for easy loading, but then again mine's a 20ft so it's a little easier in rough terrain than a 24 ft, mine has a side door and one center divider with small gate in it as well

Took some elbow grease to get 30 years of grime off it, but looks alright



We looked at a newer featherlite, hadn't seen much use, was twice the money and it was falling apart at all the seams..
Hotshot and many other brands seem to be light duty like the featherlites

Charmack was another trailer brand we looked at that seemed really well built

 

[Nesikep]

Oh, forgot to mention, look for a riveted trailer!.. there's a good reason aircraft are all riveted!

 

[Double R Ranch]

we bought a 1990 Wilson 20 ft ranch hand trailer in Belle Fourche, South Dakota (Carl's trailer sales, find them online) few years ago for under $8K.. Really like how they're built, the wiring has never needed to be touched.. just has some mild dimples on the roof from some hail damage but that's nothing. I like them to ride as low as possible for easy loading, but then again mine's a 20ft so it's a little easier in rough terrain than a 24 ft, mine has a side door and one center divider with small gate in it as well

Took some elbow grease to get 30 years of grime off it, but looks alright
View attachment 12523


We looked at a newer featherlite, hadn't seen much use, was twice the money and it was falling apart at all the seams..
Hotshot and many other brands seem to be light duty like the featherlites

Charmack was another trailer brand we looked at that seemed really well built

Can't believe that trailers that old! That's fantastic! Thank you for the pic too. Thank you for the information.
Charmack is very common around here for horse trailers but I hardly ever see stock trailers running down the road. Most all seem to be Wilson now that I'm paying more attention to brand. There's some steel trailers around but most seem to be Wilson aluminum punch sides.

 

[Double R Ranch]

Oh, forgot to mention, look for a riveted trailer!.. there's a good reason aircraft are all riveted!

That is EXACTLY what the sales rep said Makes sense

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

If you don't mind me asking what spec trailer did you buy and what was the rough price? (can PM me if you'd rather, or not say at all). I've been looking for a used EBY or Wilson but what little used inventory is out there is priced high for the condition. And I'm finding new prices are all over the board dealer to dealer.

 

[kenny thomas]

we bought a 1990 Wilson 20 ft ranch hand trailer in Belle Fourche, South Dakota (Carl's trailer sales, find them online) few years ago for under $8K.. Really like how they're built, the wiring has never needed to be touched.. just has some mild dimples on the roof from some hail damage but that's nothing. I like them to ride as low as possible for easy loading, but then again mine's a 20ft so it's a little easier in rough terrain than a 24 ft, mine has a side door and one center divider with small gate in it as well

Took some elbow grease to get 30 years of grime off it, but looks alright
View attachment 12523


We looked at a newer featherlite, hadn't seen much use, was twice the money and it was falling apart at all the seams..
Hotshot and many other brands seem to be light duty like the featherlites

Charmack was another trailer brand we looked at that seemed really well built

How much profit would you take now? It's worth much more than that now.