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  Keeper of the King Snake
Posts: 7622
   
Location: Dubach, LA | Is there a point where it's unsafe? Welds? Axles? Hitch? |
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 Did I miss the party?
Posts: 3864
 
| There can be issues with all of those. But, if well taken care of, they can literally last a lifetime. Some of the 90's 4-Stars are still stronger than some new trailers. Have it inspected and go from there. |
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| I agree! If they are taken care of, the really older ones will last longer than the ones being produced now.
I just sold my 1993 4-Star 2 horse bumper pull for 1/2 what I paid for it new. It was solid aluminum & weighed 2100 lbs! Now in 24 years the only major maintaince I did was take back to 4 Star 6 years ago & had the axels upgraded, new wireing, re-stripped and they only
found 1 weld that needed touched up.
In the older top brands (4-Star, Elite, Platinum, Heart) Would be my only recommendation to look at.
What you need to look for mainly is the condition of the floor. Urine that has seeped down and set for long periods (years) may have started to disintegrate & weaken it. Also look for uneven wear of the tires which would possibly be a sign of bad axles, but could be replaced for around 600-800. Wireing also is the first to go & be replaced fairly cheep. All these things are good to use when negotiating the price.
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 I Don't Brag
Posts: 6960
| My 24 year old 4Star is really well made but the underside steel could not stand up to a lot of winter hauling up here in snow country where we use salt and brine (not as big an issue out West). I had to replace all of the floor joists because of corrosion where aluminum meets steel. Even though they told me it had been insulated against this. Two years ago I had replace the entire subframe and axles to the tune of 5K......but it was worth it to me. I bet it has close to a million miles on it ( a lot of them winter miles...no wonder my axles wore out!). STILL has the original floor!
Depending on the brand, I would not hesitate giving it consideration. As someone else mentioned, have someone take a really close inspection, especially underneath. Depending on care, environment history, it may be better made than a new trailer. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 234
Location: Oklahoma | I have a fetherlight that is 20 years old, thing no doubt in my mind has over a million miles on it. We have kept up with it did have 2 minor cracks that were fixed last year, I have replaced the floor in it as it was starting to wear thin but that comes with all the hauling its done in my mind. My interior horse lights quit working so I going to get those re-wired but otherwise I love that trailer. I plan on keeping it going as long as It will go as its just a handy 4 horse with a little weekend conversation in it. |
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | I have a 2001 Barrett 3 horse with Living Quarters and everything is still solid and I haven't had any repairs done on the structure. I had to put a new plug in. The floor, all of my doors and drop downs are still solid. I've had a few things repaired in the living quarters. |
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Aluminum trailer. How old is too old?