We are shopping for a new LQ trailer. We are looking at several different brands and noticed that some have aluminum skin on an aluminum frame, and others have aluminum skin on a steel frame. Other than the obvious differences in weight and cost, what are other benefits/disadvantages of each? Thanks
I swear by an all aluminum trailer! Aluminum over steel next, and I hope I never own another steel trailer! I have had trailers for, lets see, 40 years now, and just bought my first aluminum one about 6 years ago. It is 14 years old and except for a few bumps that WE put in it (the same amount of bump would have dented a steel trailer too) it is in GREAT shape. A 10+ year old steel trailer shows a LOT of wear, and has to be sanded and painted often.
Well, you already know the differences in weight and cost, so I won't address those. Advantages to an aluminum frame are that it will not rust although it may corrode. However, most steel frames now are coated to protect them from the elements and prevent rusting. Or, the steel can be galvanized. So, if you get a steel frame, check for this. Aluminum is a more brittle metal than steel, so some people think that is does not perform as well in a crash. However, there are no horse trailer crash statistics published to prove or disprove this. The flip side is that a steel frame can have hidden rust weakening it and making it perform poorly in a crash. Should something happen to your frame, steel is often reparable, while aluminum sometimes is not and the trailer is totaled. Aluminum is more difficult to weld than steel.
Steel is heavier, which makes the frame sturdier, but having gone from a 1973 Shoop two horse steel bumper pull to a 2008 Wrangler Aspen aluminum three horse slant w/ tack room, the new trailer, at 16', is so much lighter than the old, even with three horses in it. There is a definite savings in gasoline! Our truck never changed. We are still pulling with our 1999 Dodge Ram Lariat 1500 4x4. But we did have a brake box installed in truck! The trailer was manufactured with a brake/fuse box electric brakes.
