Posted 2015-05-16 10:53 AM (#163430) Subject: Used Warmblood/Draft Trailers
Member
Posts: 7
Location: Port Perry, Ontario
Hello all I am going to open a big can of worms? But I am looking to buy my first Gooseneck trailer and I have been looking all over North America for a used 7.5 high and 7.5 wide that has large stalls 44"+. I have had a very difficult time finding used trailers that are worth much and ones that I would trust my horses in. Most of them the floors of the bigger ones that I have seen are bowed in between the floor joists (4-star) being the worse that I have seen and a lot of corrosion from the urine. I am not prejudice about any brands and I know about metals as I was a metal fabricator that built tow truck bodies and put them on Semi trucks. I have found a 2011 Sundowner Sportman that is 27' long on the floor with 50" stalls and was wondering how the newer Sundowners are. And remember ya'll I do know about the older Sundowners just as I remember about the older Chevy trucks etc everybody can improve and learn from their mistakes if the choose. I am asking how are the Sportmans holding up? I have it narrowed down to 4 used ones all having something I like Sundowner, Featherlite, Merhow and Lakota. Any feedback on the newer Sundowner would be great. The reason I am saking is because three of them have 42-44" stalls and the Sundowner has the 50" as well as the bigger DR, Hyd jack, Battery System, fans and the owner will put the tires of my choice on it. The other ones are nice especially the Merhow but 36" DR and only 12K axles and it is 6k empty. Lakota has a nice layout but the interior on this one is not as nice as the other three, but it is fully insulated front to back. The 2010 8549 Featherlite is nice and it will do the job but horses have done a number kicking the walls. LOL Well I will stop rambling that is what I am up against and a little info to see what my choices are. Cheers.
Posted 2015-05-17 3:13 AM (#163441 - in reply to #163438) Subject: RE: Used Warmblood/Draft Trailers
Member
Posts: 7
Location: Port Perry, Ontario
Thanks for the advise but I did research this forum a lot and many others by typing in Sundowner Sportman reviews but the results are 0. No one has said anything about a 2009 and newer everything else is about 727, sunlite etc. Which this is not it is all Alum Sportman. So my assumption is becoming since no one is complaining about this model number it must be better then the older ones. Maybe I missed a link or thread about the Sportman model if I did someone could post the link to it?
Posted 2015-05-17 9:29 AM (#163444 - in reply to #163430) Subject: RE: Used Warmblood/Draft Trailers
Expert
Posts: 1989 Location: South Central OK
Just a few threads down you'll find a post titled W i d e r slant loads. In several of these reply posts you'll find options to cure the problem. Personally, I would pass on the Sportman. These are the value line of Sundowners and you get what you pay for, along with having to deal with Sundowner if you ever need warranty work. Rumor has it, this company ignored the problems with the Valuelite trailers for years (search posts here) possibly to the detriment of the brand name. Any quality brand should be able to handle your larger horses. Never had anyone mention the bowing of the 4-Star floors, were these in the Runabout or Deluxe models? The last combined driving event I was an obstacle judge for had many Friesians hauled in both 4-Star, Elite and Featherlite trailers.
Posted 2015-05-17 11:30 AM (#163445 - in reply to #163430) Subject: RE: Used Warmblood/Draft Trailers
Veteran
Posts: 134
I totally get what they are talking about. I also have large horses and trying to find a USED large horse trailer is a challenge. Sure you can order whatever you want if you buy new but trying to find used is a whole different story. I would prefer something 8'x7'6" tall without a LQ. Most trailers that size have a LQ in them. I would like a 4 horse but am seriously thinking about going with a 2+1 if I can't find what I want. I have owned both a Sundowner and a Featherlight and had no issues with either. They both held up great.
Posted 2015-05-22 10:18 PM (#163524 - in reply to #163430) Subject: RE: Used Warmblood/Draft Trailers
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
After pricing new trailers, we decided to look for a used one that met our specific needs. Used warm blood trailers are few and not as common as stock examples. It took almost two years of searching, but we found one that matched almost every one of our bucket list requirements, and it cost less than half of the many new trailer prices. If you're willing to spend some effort searching the want adds, and aren't being pushed into a quick purchase, you can probably find your desired trailer. The time of the year, the trailer's condition, and its physical layout, can all determine if it's apropos for your purchase. Don't give up looking, the internet is a wealth of information.
Posted 2015-05-30 11:04 AM (#163595 - in reply to #163430) Subject: RE: Used Warmblood/Draft Trailers
Member
Posts: 7
Location: Port Perry, Ontario
Thank you for all those that responded. We decided to go with the 2012 Sundowner Sportman. M.H.Eby in PA had it for sale from a trade from GA, it was special order for a person in Eventing. I compared it with other trailers on the lot and around other dealerships and I found it to be well made. The Featherlite i looked at had sharp points on the welds and the walls on the trailer where coming undone, the windows didn't latch very well. So we drove to PA and Thursday night we bought it from EBY. I must say EBY treated me great as if this was a EBY trailer and beyond what they had too. They also did not trash talk their competition, actually pointed out the good features of this Sundowner trailers build and said they now make a good trailer and have learned from their past. Now that being said this is not the build quality of EBY but the rep told me that their trailers are very heavy and the same size trailer would be pushing 8k empty where this one is 6100k and 14000 gvw. Here is the options that where on this trailer and all the extras added by EBY once again thanks to Jon Parmer and Dan in the shop for all the extra touches they did. 2012 Sundowner Sportman34.1 long 26.1 Floor with 2x4 I-beams 10" on center, extruded locking floor system and inside was sprayed with a 2.5" rubberized coating very, very nice touch. 50" Stalls, 53" back tack, 62" short wall dressing room with battery system and camper vents.Each stall has vents, fans and light.Electric Jack.Butt side had 63" drop down Windows and back doors have sliding windows.The staff at Eby put a complete set of brand new Alum Rims with Saliun 637 14 ply tiresPut brand new locks in each window and all doors as former owner did not give keys.They also added 2 more lights in dressing room. And detailed it to where it looked brand new.On the way back home which is a 9 hr drive I pulled the trailer with my 2008 F250 Crew (5.4L 3v tuned by Five Star in SC). We went through central PA/NY through the Allegheny Mt region and my average speed was 68-70mph in cruise and hand figured gas mileage for the area was 9.4mpg pulling 6100 plus my truck with five people in it. Total trip coming back my best was 10.7mpg. And it pulled like a dream so I am looking forward to carrying my Friesians around in this trailer for years to come and as the years go on I will let people know the good and bad if there is some that arises. So all in all I am very satisfied in paying $18,900 for a trailer set up like this especially a 2012.
Used Warmblood/Draft Trailers
Very nice and congratulations on your new trailer! I love my Sundowner, on my second one!