It looks real.  A combination of unfortunate events.

The horse rears, his head hits at the edge of the vent opening.  Like a chip bag with a nick, the aluminum tears at the vent. 

I wouldn't blame the trailer.  Aluminum is light, but its tensile strength is less than steel's.  The broom handle comment is uncalled for.

I agree that we're only getting one side of the story.

I'm a cynic too. I just bought a 06 Event model 3 horse slant with living quarters. I had a roof issue and had been up WALKING around on it. From edges to the center looking for a leak. Although now that it's fixed i have no reason to go up there (thank you so much 'the trailer mart' in Bakersfield, I'll be a customer for life!) I felt comfortable and never felt as i would fall through.

I think this is just a unfortunate event. Plus, as someone mentioned the vents are in the middle, when the front of my horse's head which is in the front pops his head up... His head remains on the front of his body and on the side of my trailer where I tied him.

If he hops/jumps/rears/ throws a fit without being tied (which would be MY fault for not tying him) I could see a very big fit doing that jumping up numerous times. I mean, something's gotta give.

I realize I sound somewhat heartless so to the person that actually had the misfortune of this happening to I'm sorry it did. that had be a scarey circumstance that I would wish on noone. I'm glad that your horse came out of it alright.

And me being on the top of my trailer - I'm 300 Lbs. So I tested it

Since I'm the one who started all this, I'll play devil's advocate as it is pretty apparent that there are folks who think this horse must have really blown up.  If you know me and know the horse, or you were the person I was talking to when this incident happened, you know every word of this story is true.  I'm not suing Exiss - my horse ended up with a minute scrape out of this.  But, I will make absolutely sure that I tell everyone who may ever haul in one of these to check it over top to bottom.

But, for argument's sake, lets just say your horse does pitch a holy fit and hits the roof - do you think that should immediately create a skylight???  I've hauled hundreds of horses over thousands of miles over the years in a variety of horse trailers.  Some of those horses certainly behaved badly.  Never had one put a hole in a trailer before!  How would this trailer hold up in an accident?  If you haul horses, do you consider the roof to be a stress point?  (FYI Exiss does not - feel free to call their warranty department and ask.  Then ask if any damage done by a horse would be covered....the answer is no)

1. I think he hit it right where he needed to to do the damage that he did, see above about the potato chip bag with a nick in it.

2. I have seen a few trailers that have been in accidents, none of them fared very well.

Bridget: Welcome to the forum ... 

A  point of discussion: Would you feel the same if your horse had kicked the sides or doors of the trailer?  Is the stall of poor quality if the horse chews the boards like a beaver?  Is the fence poor quality if the horse is chased through it by the other horses?

In twenty years of horses, I've learned that horses can do amazing things to hurt themselves.   No one can or wants to build anything, much less purchase... trailer, barn or pasture, resistant ... No ... horse "Proof" to the destructive capabilities of every horse. 

It is unfortunate your trailer is damaged.  Be glad your horse was unhurt.  It could have been much worse.  I've had to extricate a dead horse from a trailer.  I don't believe Exiss is responsible for repair of your trailer any more than the rope maker is responsible for the busted halters I own.  The horse acted in an unusual manner.  If your horse is a rearing fool, it is your responsibility to respond to him with training, head bumper, reinforced roof, etc.   Not everybody wants an armored trailer roof.

Your postings "Going Public" is an act of extortion toward Exiss in my opinion.

(disclaimer:  I have no connection to Exiss.  I do have another brand trailer with a similar bare aluminum roof)

Well with all due respect; we went from him peeking his head over the divider to see what's going on to how a horse is built when they are rearing. I was under the impression the horse was as stated peeking his head over the divider. Now that I see he went up; obviously the placement would be right where he hit.

Maybe i just tie my horse too tight but, I don't think the top of my horse's head could even hit the trailer roof the way he is tied. Please someone w/ experience if i am doing it wrong to let me know.

That all depends on the model. Most trailers have a standard uninsulated roof... and a lot of them seem to have a model/option of an insulated roof. There are far more trailers that are uninsulated out there.

Bridget: Welcome to the forum ... 

A  point of discussion: Would you feel the same if your horse had kicked the sides or doors of the trailer?  Is the stall of poor quality if the horse chews the boards like a beaver?  Is the fence poor quality if the horse is chased through it by the other horses?

In twenty years of horses, I've learned that horses can do amazing things to hurt themselves.   No one can or wants to build anything, much less purchase... trailer, barn or pasture, resistant ... No ... horse "Proof" to the destructive capabilities of every horse. 

It is unfortunate your trailer is damaged.  Be glad your horse was unhurt.  It could have been much worse.  I've had to extricate a dead horse from a trailer.  I don't believe Exiss is responsible for repair of your trailer any more than the rope maker is responsible for the busted halters I own.  The horse acted in an unusual manner.  If your horse is a rearing fool, it is your responsibility to respond to him with training, head bumper, reinforced roof, etc.   Not everybody wants an armored trailer roof.

Your postings "Going Public" is an act of extortion toward Exiss in my opinion.

(disclaimer:  I have no connection to Exiss.  I do have another brand trailer with a similar bare aluminum roof)

(I'm new on this forum so if I didn't do the quote thing right, I apologize!)  First, thank you for the welcome (sorry, I don't know your name!)

Those are fair questions.  I would be mortified if my horse was able to kick clear through a wall or door of the trailer.  Having said that, the force at the end of a kick is quite substantial and I don't believe would be nearly as shocking to me as the ability of a horse to put his poll through the roof, while tied (quick release knot), in a slant load with mere inches for wiggle room on either side.  Horses can inflict some incredible damage.  I own a breeding farm and average 20-30 head so I am well aware of what they can do.  If he was loose, raising h%ll and had some serious momentum going, well yes, I would expect him to do some damage.   While you don't know me, or my horse, rest assured he is not a "rearing fool"  That would require far more effort than he is willing to exert on any given day.  He has hauled countless times without incident and my horses have manners.  I would not count a horse popping up in a horse trailer as acting in an "unusual manner" - it is quite common. 

I stand to gain nothing from Exiss so extortion it is not.  The facts are the trailer is an Exiss Sport, there is a hole in the roof put there by a horse's head, and Exiss will not warranty it.  I have put the facts out there and folks can interpret as they wish.

This is the part you are not getting, where the horse made contact with the roof is exactly the point. Had the horse made contact in a part of the roof that was just smooth, all you would have had is a dent. The horses head made contact with either the vent, or it looks like right beside the vent. The roof already has a hole there, is was cut in it to put the vent in. It was already comprimised, that's why it ripped. JEEEZ!!!

Horsey1

I would like to correct you. Most of the trailer manufacturers do use .040 material in their roof's. However, Exiss and now Sooner use a slightly thinner .032 in their roof's and they have since the Event model debuted in 2000. And not to take a side, there have really never been any issues arise from this until now.

I sure would be scared to walk on that roof, though.

Well then that was my play on words; sorry about that! I know what you mean as 'wide' and 'halter' bred horse; the horse I just bought's dad is that quarter horse  'Smooth Town'. Wanna talk about a stall hog... LOL

I'm affraid of heights so I did tread lightly; that and weighing 300 lbs I was wondering if I was going to the hospital over a 'movie stunt' like performance of falling through... LOL Although I have to say; it did hold me, I could tell when i walked between the metal joists but, at least in my trailer's instance there was no fatigue.

Oh it is a learning experience, I really was shocked! I'm thinking of going and getting some metal sheets, cutting the about 1'x1' and cutting holes in the middle then riveting them to the top side of the trailer to reinforce the vent areas.

I must apologize to you; I was incorrect on something. I said that being properly tied the horse wouldn't be able to hit the ceiling in my trailer.
I was wrong. After thinking back I'm 6'4 and tying them i have to stretch to reach the tie. It's pretty far up there. If they had 1' of lead and were properly tied they could in fact hit the ceiling.

There's someone on this forum named Mr.Truck and as a last resort maybe you could PM him or he could even chime in on this post. I beleive that he is part of Universal Trailer and has helped some others out on here.

Bridget:  If you click on the quote button you'll get a message box.  If you type your message after the last bracketed quote it'll show up like this.

When you wrote that... It sounded like you've asked Exiss to repair the damage.  Exiss refused saying it was "horse abuse"  lol ... and now you're "Going Public"

  That sounded very much like what other people have tried to use this forum for.  To publicly bash a trailer builder into submission.  I call that extortion.  If I mis- read your post, I apologize.

HWbar's posting on the vent reinforces my opinion on the proximate cause of the severe roof damage.

Stephen,  "the hosspuller for the camping trips"

Hi Stephen

Ok - I'll have to get the hang of this quote thing (I fear you may have bitten off more than you can chew trying to explain it to me - I am computer illiterate!)  lol

Anyway, I do understand what you are saying and how this appears to you.  I did want Exiss to fix it, that is correct.  The repairs are covered under trailer insurance so I have that avenue and that's what we're doing.  But, I still firmly believe that the trailer is flawed and the problem was Exiss' to fix.  Such a thing should not happen.  Please remember, I did not post it to this forum - I stumbled on this forum today by  accident looking for trailer reviews.  I saw that the story had made its way here and responded.  I do not believe that a horse should be able to do this in any trailer, vent or no vent.  I don't think expecting a company to back a product and calling them on it publicly when they refuse is extortion.

Horses,  they are the biggest walking goofballs around. Looks to me like it's just part of having horses.  If you get in an accident with a trailer and it lands on the roof it's not going to hold up anyway.  How is the trailer manufacturer going to make a trailer horsey proof? No way to be done in my book. There would still be one horse that would manage a way to do something. No matter what brand trailer you have. Good thing your horse wasn't hurt.

I wouldn't expect Exiss to pay for my repair if my horse acted like a goofball and put it's head through the roof. The calmest horse in the world will sometimes act stupid.  That's just their nature. Posting it all over the internet I wouldn't do. I wouldn't want everyone to know my idiot horse reared in the trailer and put it's head through the roof.

Bridget .. We'll just agree to disagree on Exiss' responsibility.  I'm glad you have insurance on your trailer.  I don't have any on my trailer so I am reluctant to haul horses other than mine for this very reason. 

On a related topic... I would ask that you keep us informed on how the roof is repaired.  I'd like to know what are the methods used.  A whole new roof or patch. If a patch, maybe some pics and a description of the repair.  Someone,  sometime is going to have a hole in their roof that needs a repair.  That would add greatly to this site's wealth of information and utility.  (and satisfy my curiosity)

Warranties come in two varieties... the kind where they spell out everything that is covered and they won't cover anything else or they will leave everything out and just say "its covered" (the "common sense " approach).

I was wondering when somebody was going to mention that.  You get what you pay for. 

 ... I just looked at your pictures again.  Every place where the roof sheet is torn, starts at a rivet in the flange of the vent.  That would suggest, the weakness is the vent location.  Without the vent, I believe you would merely have a dented roof.  Like I said before: a series of unfortunate events.

I said that 5 hours ago.

You are correct in your statement..not all manufacturers use the same thickness aluminum in their roofs.  Maybe we, as horse owners, can't expect these guys to build armored tanks out there for our horses, but I tell you what, I sure do pay alot more attention to construction than ever before.

I met someone at a horse expo last weekend who told me that her horse kicked a whole in her tire and blew it out.....and guess what, it was from the inside of her trailer. Went right through the wheel well. Geesh. Horses kick. Manuf's know this and some of them build reinforcements right into their trailers.

Another gentlemen was telling us about his horse getting nervous backing out of his trailer and got his head all cut up in the roof vent. These are pretty "common" behaviors in horses...why shouldn't we expect manufacturers to "plan" for this?? I'm willing to pay a little more for it...as safety is my absolute 1st priority.

The Sport trailer by Exiss was put out in the market to provide a lower cost alternative to horse owners. I guess sometimes we get what we pay for?

Sara

I agree.  The company and/or the dealership which sold you the 2006 trailer could have made the repair and kept you as a happy customer.  Instead, we are looking at photos of a less than a year old product with a defect or weakness and striking that product off our shopping list. 

Good luck with the repair or selling the trailer, though I'd do the latter. 

Its also unfortunate that warranty coverage will be the first thing to make or break your long term opinion of a trailer.

This is why I keep a binder of every major trailer manufacturer's warranty terms. You would not believe how poorly most trailers are covered. Sure, a company might have a 2/6 warranty but it doesn't mean squat if there is a lot of fine print. Take a look sometime... I've seen everything from having to take the trailer back to the manufacturer, to voided warranties if you pull it with anything bigger than a one ton, to hitch to bumper warranties that don't cover anything important... and much more.

If this thread does nothing else, I bet more people will look at the warranty terms when they go to buy a trailer now.

Edited by Covert Cowboy 2007-03-31 9:01 AM

From the research I have done on trailers resently, when your lucky enough to find a very educated dealer most trailers in the industry use an aluminum skin on their roof that is between .032 and .040.  I tend to agree with hosspuller in that this form of "dealer bashing" sounds like extorsion.  With that being said, I was driving to get breakfast this morning and a bug hit the windsheild of the truck and the windsheild cracked so I am going to see if Ford will warranty it. 

Ma'am do you own the trailer?  When you spoke to Exiss, I hope you didn't start off with the bashing and threats.  Cause that could be one reason your having difficulty, most people or companies do not like being thrown in a corner.

Just my 2 cents worth.  Hope all ends well for you.

How many people do you know who know trailer specs and  understand them? I freely admit to being anal about horse trailers, crawl under them with a measuring tape etc but I am in the minority. Most people "Trust" the salesperson at the dealership help them purchase the best trailer for their needs. How many of those salepeople know the specs for the various trailers they sell?  At the QH Congress several years ago where there are literally hundreds if not thousands of trailers for sale, I talked to very few salesperson who knew their product well. Customer Service is fast becoming passe in our world and the customer suffers and not just buying horse trailers.

A customer purchases a product in good faith, based on their needs, based on what the salesperson tells them about the product. So if the product is made poorly - that is not the customer's fault, nor the salesperson - it is the mfg. JMHO

Thibodeaux

If you are responding to my post - no I don't own the Exiss - wouldn't have one if they gave it to me and that was before I heard about this mess. I borrowed a friends one weekend and was horrified at how badly it pulled loaded and empty. It had a tin can feel to it.  And I agree with you, finding an educated trailer dealer is a rare find. Most I've talked to interestingly enough have been women.

I'm sorry but anyone who thinks that being told by a dealer that using your Exiss trailer to haul a horse is misuse and thinks that is fine ---- well, that is just beyond my understanding. I don't care if the horse reared up violently or as she said " put his head over the divider" -- that should not happen. A huge dent - yes - but a jagged hole - NO!!

We have a 2002 Duramax that is just not a good truck - short version. GM has refused from the get go to admit there was a problem, yet a year later extended the warranty on the injectors, improved the filter. So we painted LEMON OF THE YEAR on the truck in bright yellow. It has been seen coast to coast across North America and we have probably cost GM more than if they had simply fixed the truck.  So I am in full agreement with this lady, if Exiss refuses to honor their warranty - tell two friends who hopefully will tell two friends and the bonus is hopefully some one else's horse will not put it's head thru an Exiss trailer roof.

Liz

Just like to say that I haven't seen an aluminum roof that I'd feel comfortable walking on and I'm just shy of 200#'s. Jasondt2001,I would love to have a roof made like your's,thats for sure!
Maybe one of the honeycomb style fiberglass roofs or one of the MUCH OLDER steel roofs from years gone by but not ANY of the present day aluminum skinned roofs that I'm familiar with. In my opinion they are not designed as such to handle heavy loads on top nor extreme pressures from below.Certainly not with roof supports spaced @ 2+ feet apart and skin thicknesses of .032 to  .040. Our horses have on a few occasions raised there heads abrubtly while in the trailer and luckily the only damage done was a few small dimple's in the skin. I have to agree that it appears as though that the horse hit one of the weakest points in this roof . It really shouldn't come as to much of a surprise as to the outcome considering where the horses head impacted the roof adjacent to the roof vent.Glad that he's ok knowing that it wouldn't have taken much more for the outcome to have been consideribly different.jmho,   Ardly

Edited

I have been selling Exiss trailers now for about 5 years. We have a huge service dept that works on all trailers and I have not seen this in all the years I have worked here or been involved in trailers. It IS NOT A PROBLEM with Exiss or ANYBODY ELSE!! It was a freak accident and if Exiss gives in to you to be nice and fix something that IS NOT under warranty than I would imagine other people would get wind of this and wonder why Exiss did not fix there non-warrantied problems! I would imagine there could be law suits that would follow!!!

I too had something hit my windshield last week and it did crack so I will be seeing Ford this week also to see if they will warranty it!

Also, if I saw a truck with a LEMON LAW sign on it for advertising it would not stop me at all at buying that manufacturer. I make my own decisions (good or bad).

Mark M in sunny California

Thibodeaux ... The trailer owner posts on the first page of this thread.  Her screen name is HDCAPPS.

This tells a little about you, most people I see that have done something this extreme I don't give any thought to at all. I doubt you have even cost GM 1 new truck with your antics.

No problem, I've been wearing my purple hat for years and could care less what any one thinks of my actions. My truck,my money and I do know of 3 people who decided not to buy a Duramax after talking to my husband.When people wait in parking lots for you to come out so they can talk to you, they too must have problems with GM.

I am a strong believer in customer service - GM is not - so this is my way of expressing my thoughts - I  have never said you or anyone else had to either like it or agree with it.

Have a nice day!

Very well said Covert Cowboy.

Mark M

Tx Vaquero

Sherlock Holmes are you now???  SCAM???  Yes, you've got me dead to rights - after watching the Pepsi can thin roof split and peel with the force of my horse's head, I climbed right up on that ever so sturdy trailer roof and peeled back the sharp aluminum edges with my hands to make it look so much better.  Give me a break!  What is your position with Exiss?????

Horse tied from tie ring (which is high in this trailer - where roof meets ceiling) Tie did not break (plenty of play in the rope when going up since the ring is high) Horse didn't "fight" anything or he would have been cut nose to ears (see photos)  I can't imagine what he would have looked like at the end of this if he had been pitching a holy fit.  Horse is wide, 15.3 and has not a heck of a lot of wiggle room in a slant load trailer so not a chance to gain any kind of momentum.  Bottom line.....trailer is flimsy and ill equipped to haul ANY horse in.  And I did not buy this trailer - I just happened to be the lucky one to be hauling with it and expose its lousy construction. 

Incidentally, this is but one of a gazillion forums this incident is on - this is the ONLY one where folks think its perfectly fine for a trailer to be so flimsy that a horse can put a body part THROUGH an outside wall/roof etc.  Coincidence or a forum full of folks who make their living selling trailers???   The HUNDREDS of letters in my Inbox from people with similar horror stories about Exiss support the latter.  On this forum I have been accused of being an extortionist, a liar, an owner of an idiot horse, and a person out to make a name from this.  The repairs are paid for courtesy of comprehensive insurance and I'm not suing Exiss so there goes the extortion theory.  I don't lie but if you don't know me, you have no reason to believe that.  My horse did not pitch a fit and that is a fact as I was standing right there - the small scrape he came out of this with supports this fact.  A horse pitching a holy fit resulting in that kind of damage would have required a multitude of sutures at best.  As for making a name, well I've got a good one already and that comes from hard work, good horses and dealing with my customers fairly so they come back.  I would much rather have photos of my 2007 World Show contenders on my homepage but I believe the safety of every horse that may have the misfortune of being hauled in one of these tin cans is a bit more important.  This happened weeks ago - I tried dealing with Exiss directly (and no, I didn't call and threaten/scream/bash)  I deal with people every day and am well aware that customers who behave badly don't get far.  Nothing else has worked and so I turn to this.  If the Exiss Sport is made cheaply to be more affordable, perhaps it needs to be discontinued.  The bottom line is that any trailer made to haul a horse should be designed to withstand common equine behaviors.  If they can't hold up, they have no business being sold.  And I am quite certain that a few thousand more folks now have a heightened awareness of trailer construction which I don't think should be considered a bad thing.

I am sorry that your trailer got damaged but your story just does not add up. 

hdcapps:   I'd like to address some of your points of your last posting.  Plainly, you seem to have your feathers a bit ruffled. 

This forum is unique as it's directed toward the horse trailer and its user.  Most of the other forums are directed toward the horse and its rider.  I am primarily a gearhead,  one that rides and likes horses.  My vocation (nothing with horse trailers) and avocation is machinery, metal working, equipment, etc.  I am not alone in this area.  There are many posters with like interests.  On the field of horse trailer construction and use, this forum is far and away the most knowledgeable I've found.  Any comment in this field will be subjected to very critical examination.  Of the "Gazillion" other forums that accept your story uncritically, like Global Warming, a consensus of the Gazillion does not make fact.  The best reception you'll get here is to counter critical questions with fact and photos.  Not respond with innuendo.

The horse trailer industry posters on this forum are a uniquely powerful resource for information and coincidently for getting help from the industry.  It also has made this site a target for extortionists that want something from the trailer builders. 

You say "Nothing else has worked and so I turn to this"...   Your trailer is covered by insurance and is being repaired.  So, what is it you want? 

Do you want Exiss to stop building Sport models?   I would say that is not for you to decide.  Although by your postings that's is what you're trying to do.  You've put your judgement that it's constructed "Lousy", "flimsy" and "should be discontinued"  I submit that a higher road would be to inform the horse trailer community of your experience.  Although it won't help you, perhaps your experience will prompt some design change in the Exiss trailers.  I think that would be better than an indiscriminate bashing.

IMO when you buy anything, a house, a car, a pair of shoes, do your research, don't depend on anyone but yourself.  Take the responsibility to know your product. All the salesman cares about is making the sale. Remember the old adage "Buyer Beware"? As in the case of a horse trailer, where a living animal is being transported, the price of the trailer is your least expensive worry. As so many have said, "you only get what your pay for". Exiss Sport is a very cheaply made trailer, surely there were other makes & models where this Sport was purchased & one look at the quality & workmanship (or lack of) is readily apparent, especially standing side by side with the Exiss Event or Sooner or any other trailer on the market.  Yes hind sight is 20/20, but if someone only has X amount of $$ to spend, buy a good used trailer that was made to last, not a newer flimsy model just because it was new. Quality is the first choice in any purchase, or should be.

Howdy! Ya All

Okay enough enough read, I have something to say. I have seen 4 Star, Sundowner, Sooner, Featherlite, Kiefer Built and Lakota, all with dents or holes in thier roofs from the same kind of thing. I have not seen  anyone else ever put up such a fuss about it. Most folks folks would say damn horse have it fixed and move on. We should not be here perhaps knocking one bad trailer in the thousands that universal has built.

This is my 2 cents for all its worth. If this was a place that employed a member of your family, would you have started this post?

Happy Trails

P.S

I am not a trailer dealer

After reading back over this post this morning a few things have really stood out.

1. This person absolutely does not understand that the roof is for keeping out water, not horses.

2. I have been to Quarter Horse Congress, World Show, NFR, NRHA Futurities. I can't remember seeing a Sport Model at any of the above.

3. I have never seen a commercial horse hauler using a Hawk trailer, much less one with "50 years" Experience.

4 Half may have had to much to drink last night

Hafl-... After looking at the pics posted, I believe the event happened as related.  As long as WE keep the discussion respectful and adding value, the thread lives... ( I hope... its been interesting to me)

I tend to agree with the owner here. A horses head can do a lot of damage with very little force. Exiss built the trailer to haul HORSES. Any owner would reasonably expect the trailer not to have catastrophic damage from typical horse behaviors. To me, it looks like a bad vent placement + poor reinforcement equalled a hole in the roof. Perhaps Exiss put the vent in the wrong place, or a bad batch of materials. Who knows. As for HWBar, do you know every commercial hauler in the country? Or, are you berating people for their choices in equipment like you did with people who own Ford 6.0 diesels. By the way, my 6.0 hauling a Hawk commercially has performed flawlessly.

I don't recall berating anyone over a 6.0, I may have pointed out to someone that they had a ton of Warranty issues. I do have a couple of friends that have them and have had problems with them, My Dad(70) has one and has had no problems.

I guess I stand corrected that Hawks are widely used in commercial horse hauling.  The folks around here(Horse Capitol of the World) are using 4 Stars and Turnbows? Sallee and Brook Ledge both have custom trailers made by a company in Winchester, Morton and Davis.

Hosspuller, thanks for your last post.  I do think we can keep this discussion adult and civil and respectfully disagreeing is ok.  I wish more felt as you do.  Perhaps this thread will start to head in a different direction.  Maybe not just about this particular trailer - perhaps, since "you get what you pay for" has been referenced more than once, it begs the question, is it ok to make a less than adequate trailer and sell it for a lower price?  Is that a wise business practice?  By providing a cheaper alternative that tends to attract folks who are new to the horse hauling world, are the manufacturers taking advantage of the folks who don't know better?  In my mind, it is not ok to use cheap materials and cut corners (such as not reinforcing a vent) for the sake of selling a new trailer at a bargain price.  As I have said previously, I did not buy this trailer, I'm just the one who was hauling with it (a very short local 15 minute haul)  The folks who bought it are new to horses and trusted their salesman - they thought they had found a trailer made by a reputable company that was safe to haul a horse in.  That is not the case. They are angry and they should be.  In hindsight, they would have done better to spend the same amount of money on a used, higher end trailer, but hindsight tends to be 20/20. 

I ask the following question in the hopes that someone on here has the answer.  Do horse trailers have to withstand any kind of testing/safety rating before they are marketed?  If not, should they?  Regardless of what some folks think my motives are, this really is about the safety of our horses....all horses.  Not just my own fancy show horses - people hauling their beloved backyard kids horse deserve to have their horses in a safe trailer too!

OK ..Bearing in mind that this board is sponsored by Exiss it is goin got be hard to find someone to sympathize with the original poster BUT I do!

So roofs keep water out???NOT IN MY EXISS...mine ruined thousands of dollars worth of balnkets and brushes and show curtains when the roof leaked to the point of filling THREE brush boxes FULL of water !! THe whole mass was frozen to the carpet in the peak!! (OOPS factory "forgot" to seal the roof) It smelled like a dank cellar! Parked the thing after the end of hunt seaseon and when I went to pack for FLorida...woohoo...everything was ruined! THis was on my FIRST Exiss before they replaced it with another one because the doors wouldnt shut and the windows would not open when I put four horses on my six horse trailer. Oh I have been here before and was shut down as a "troll" Yeah I get troll like when I am paying forty sonething THOUSAND dollars for a trailer that does nothing but cost me money every time I hook it up! Latest is the TWO blow outs I had (cheap light duty tires made in CHINA) in the way to and from Florida..I was told I need "heavy duty special order tires" (YA THINK??? on a SIX horse???) The last blow out took out the brakes (not encased in ANYTHING just bungeed to the axel)not to mention the body damage..Luckily no horses were hurt in the frey.  Oh I could go on and on about MY Exiss nightmare but since I was bannished from here the last time I posted about my personal Exiss tragedy I will spare you the trouble of banishing me and just dissappear again since I spend most of my time talking on the phone to Universal trailers trying to fix the latest thing that has broken/fallen off/failed on my trailer. I dread going on the road with the thing! I bought it so I wouldnt have to worry about being on the road with horses.  So go on with the slicing and dicing of this dissatisfied customer but there are PLENTY of us and just banning us will NOT make the problem go away. Try hiring engineers and HORSEMEN to design and build the product. Now that is a novel concept. And NO I havent had too much to drink, clearly I havent had enough kool aid to buy the hand holding koombayah singing Exiss love fest presented by some here!

Since you decided to quote me, I'll return the favor. I do not own an Exiss trailer, I don't even own a trailer built by Universal. I own a 4 Star. I owned Kiefer Builts before that and Ponderosa's before that. Do you see a progression in the quality of trailers that I have owned. When I only had the cash to buy a Ponderosa, I understood what I had behind me. I believe if you have a legitimate warranty issue that there are lots of dealers lurking around this site that will speak up and address the issue you have. They have done it many, many times before. If you have a different agenda when you get on here they will shut you or the thread down, they have done it to me, when I have said things that in hindsight were not real smart. The roof of any trailer IS NOT a stress point. It is to keep water out, if yours leaks, I say you have a valid complaint. If a horse rears up and hits it with his head, that's your fault, I, nor do you, want to pay what it would cost to put 1/4 aluminum on the roof of a trailer. You also say the brakes are bungeed on, this is just an OVER THE TOP LIE. Say they didn't use the right hardware whatever you want, but a ridiculus statement like that just will not fly. Also in order for any trailer manufacturer to get the proper weight rating for the trailer the tires have to match the weight rating, what was the weight rating of the "cheap light duty tires made in china", that tells us nothing and you will be called out for it.

Deleted as not worthy of the forum... 

Tx. Vaquero ...

I believe her.  It looks like a horse bumped the area of the vent.  The vent then pulled clear of the roof skin, ripping it.  My objection is her attempt to blame the trailer for not being horse or bullet proof.  There is NO way a trailer can be completely horse proof.  No one could afford it if Exiss tried to build it anyway. Nor want to pull such heavy padded trailer.

I'm trying to help people realize horse manure happens.  Then deal with it without hysteria and innuendo.  It is part and parcel of the Horse.  There are many folks that have higher sensibilities than horse professionals like you.  I don't mind folks buying "Gourmet Organic Cookies" as horse treats.  It's their money to spend. (I buy cheap bulk carrots for our meals and give the big woody ones to the horses.  They seem to enjoy them) The problem is when they project their emotional response onto the rest of us.   Like the horse slaughter issue, or the method of euthanasia, or any number of issues that they can afford to get into… Or "Discontinuing" the Exiss “Sport” line of trailers.  Thereby, taking away a choice of trailer to all of us.

Bridget ... In an earlier post, I asked "What is it you want from Exiss?"  Your trailer is being repaired by insurance.

I await your response ...

1. You are the one that needs to be acoountable. It was your horse.

2.The trailer gave way because a 1000lb. horse hit a piece of aluminum that is just about as thick as a piece of cardboard.

What gives you the notion that this is being dealt with with hysteria and innuendo? So far the lady posting this information has been much more in control and proper than some of those answering. I really appreciate hearing reports of this sort before shopping for such an expensive piece of equipment and knowing where to look for weak points. In fifty plus years of being a multiple horsetrailer owner and hauling horses I have never had more than a small dent result from a horse banging their head in a horsetrailer, even when they pitched a fit, as does not sound like the case here. Horsetrailers are made to contain and haul horses in and would expect them to hold up under much more "abuse" than reported here. As a consumer this is not a brand of trailer I would consider and there are lots of other better made choices available.

If a horse was able to do this with his head, what would happen in an accident.  I am getting ready to buy a new trailer, and have never had an aluninum trailer, and thought I wanted one, now I'm wondering if I should stick to steel.  My steel trailer has hauled some pretty rank horses in it and never was damaged like that. And I know the roof of it got hit pretty hard a couple of times.  I guess my question is - is aluninum or steel suppose to be the stronger?

Bridget... As for accountability, I predict you're gonna be sorely disappointed with Exiss.  Even more than you are now.  I doubt that Exiss is able to add any more than what has already been posted as to the cause of the ripped roof skin.  The “Sport” line is definitely a lower quality line of trailer than their “Event”.  I just looked at my Sundowner Valuelight.  A steel frame, aluminum skinned trailer.  After some consideration, I’m more sympathetic toward your view.   I noticed two differences.  (I’ll try to attach a photo) 

1) The vent is framed, spanning the entire width between roof bows. 

2) The location of the vent is offset from center. 

I believe Exiss has the vents centered.  A horse would have to throw his head and body vertically to impact the offset vent.  In a rear, the horse is sitting back so I think the head is moving up and back toward the center.

In summary; “You get what you pay for”    Perhaps the dealer and the Exiss rep could have handled your calls with more finesse and tact.  Let’s agree it wasn’t their finest Customer Service effort. (You’re PO’ed)  I think your site would serve the public better if you emphasized this is a “Sport” model.  Are the “Event” trailer vents different?   Using a broad tar brush on Exiss is a disservice to the other trailers that have served people well.  Then let the market decide if the “Sport” models should be made.  I don’t believe you or anyone else should take that choice away from folks.  Only Exiss and the market should make that decision.

This is an example of Hysteria...  Throwing a whole brand of trailers to the trash heap because a low end model trailer had an unlucky horse bump his head in an unlucky spot.

Thanks for making my point...

Answer: Steel naturally.  It's harder, stronger in tension or compression.  But have you ever seen a RR locomotive fly a thousand feet off the ground?  A Boeing 747 weighs more (max take off weight 910,000 pounds) yet flies because it's made of aluminum (+ other stuff).  Made of Steel, the 747 might carry a couple of happy meals instead of the hundreds of passengers (568) an aluminum 747 does.

Good points, hosspuller.  I will amend my site and limit it to the Sport as I truly do believe that this is where the problem lies - with the Sport model.  I have friends with Exiss Events who are pleased with them.  The differences you made note of are important and what I noticed in both the Event and in the Sundowners is as you have listed with the placement, framing and reinforcement around the vents.  As for customer service, yes you are correct, not a shining moment and I sincerely hope that Exiss does take note of that as I know I am not alone in finding their customer service lacking. 

Will this Thread ever end?????

Besides that alot of good info was brought up due to it creating other threads.

Enough said....

Vaquero,man,you know better than  to open up that can of worms,don't you?

I've seen horses of ALL breeds blow up.You are enough of a horseman to know that it's not in the breed,necessarily.There are goofy quarter horses,just as there are goofy foxtrotters,Aps,Arabians,whatever.

And,I'm not saying her horse was goofy,either.I've seen the most dead broke horse ever go ballistic over something,who knows what? No one but that horse.

Hey,they're just animals!

This will probably get a whole "nother" big hullabaloo going,so,"I'm out of here."

Thank you for letting everyone now that this was not a rank horse or a novice handler.  The trailer that is going to litigation is a Event model so don't give them any more credit then the sport model.  Wake up and smell the lawsuits Exiss..I don't know about other people on this site but $18,00 is nothing to sneeze at but the trailer I'm talking about went for $40+ grand so more money does not necessarily make it a better built trailer.

Sorry...

It's not just the Sport model having problems..it's any trailer made by Universal...the dealer I just bought my Trailet from stopped selling them due to very high customer dissatisfaction..the plain and simple truth is the trailers SUCK..I have a friend who is meeting with a lawyer next week because of all the problems with her Exiss...wants her money back and rightfully so.

Who is the dealer you bought your Trailet from?

Coast to Coast

I wonder why most of the Exiss bashers are new posters?

I don't have a dog in this fight, I've never had/seen an Exiss.  I have a old Featherlite and before that an OOOOLD WW.

Yah, I wondered that too.  I also find it interesting that in this, and other posts, when the Exiss bashing starts, a great many of the Exiss bashers have never even owned an Exiss.

I'm confused.

The horses head did the first bashing.

Then the trailer owners wanted to bash something.

Then the lady from NY said wait, I'll bash Exiss

Then a bunch of folks started bashing the lady from NY.

Then a bunch of new folks joined the forum, started bashing Exiss.

Reg comes in late, may get bashed himself.

I think I'll have another margarita.

PLEEEAASE Stop posting on this thread, make it stop!!!!!!!!!! I will need something much stronger than a margarita if it continues!!!!!

MarkM