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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 387
 
| So I'm trailer shopping again, and I just don't know what I want.
I just sold my 4 horse with a weekender, and I lOVED it. regretted it right away!
I know what I want for the horse part, But I'm not sure what I want lol
I think I want another weekender because it was handy to haul to all the smaller jackpots, but when I was at the weekend deals I wanted more LQ, mostly a bathroom and a bigger couch or table for the rainy days
now I've never actually hauled a big guy on my truck so i don't know how much more fuel you use up. I have a one ton and a dually so that shouldn't matter too much,other than I'm cheap haha
I have one seasoned running horse now, and I'm not sure if ill sell him or keep him for a while. and I have a bunch of youngsters, so who knows how much actual hauling I'm going to do!
and my SO just bought a side by side, and my family like to camp and quad and he wants to go more than we do now!
I found an older sundowner with the full LQ, and a newer smaller featherlight with no bathroom.
So I just dont know which way to go. do the bigger trailers make a huge difference on your trucks?! and do you haul your big trailers to a week night jackpot?!
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 Don't Wanna Make This Awkward
Posts: 3106
 
Location: Texas | I personally would rather have a small LQ
Maybe you could make a list of your wants vs needs and the pros and cons. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| We use to have a 6 horse with a 10ft LQ. We pulled it with a dually, my husband could thread it tru a needle. I could haul it but was never comfortable but thought as we down sized horses I would get a 4 horse with a 12 or 14 ft lq. It would be about the same size as the 6 horse. Boy did I change my mind when I went to pick up my daughter's college trailer- a 3 horse with a 6ft LQ. I could not even feel it behind my truck and so easy in and out of anywhere. When we sold the 6 horse I settled on a 4 horse with a 10ft LQ- easy to pull anywhere. We had a trailer that had a/c bed but no bathroom, I did not mind it at all, there were bathrooms everywhere we went. I f I were you I would buy the best quality I could afford and have less LQ.
Edited by rodeomom3 2015-03-24 5:36 PM
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I don't haul my big trailer to little jackpots, I have a different trailer for that.
I would caution against both trailers, do your research.
I have heard both featherlight and sundowner are made by universal trailers.
I know people who had to replace their featherlight floor in 2 years, and spoke to a dealer/repair featherlight company say this is a big problem.
My cousin has a 2 yr old sundowner, her first month owning the trailer the back floor brace broke in half while she was hauling, and a year later the centre gate fell off, the hinges busted off of the wall. |
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 Coyote Country Queen
Posts: 5666
| Our trailer has an 11 foot short wall and we wish it was a 13. It's just fine for one of us to stay in, but is pretty cramped for our family of 4. Not sure what we're going to do when our boys get bigger! With that being said, I do wish we had something smaller for hauling to the little jackpots. We have our ranch trailer, but that is sometimes more of a hassle because there is nowhere to put tack and it's only a half top so using it is dependent on the weather.
I have seen some weekender packages with shower and toilet, so maybe you could still find something small that would fit your needs. |
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  Texas Lone Star
Posts: 5318
Location: where ever my L/Q trl is parked | Years ago, I had a Exiss with a 4h with 4'sw, with full bathroom- toilet on one side and shower on the other small linen closet, boot box to sit on and a 2'wide by 5' tall closet, queen bed, microwave and 3 cuft frig, sink and A/C, 4h with rear tack. It was perfect for weekends and at that time the only thing I could afford- it wasn't a bad trailer, pulled good, but had a cheap interior. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 964
Location: Alberta, Canada | We bought a logan with an 8' shortwall. It has a midtack as well which I absolutely could not live without. the 8' shortwall is fine for just me but if I have my husband along or a travel buddy it's cramped. We will be upgrading to a 10-12' with a slide in the next couple years. It's a perfect first lq tho. And we will be getting another logan for sure. Horse area is second to none. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 928
Location: Bigfoot Country | Since your husband wants to camp with the family, maybe you might consider a motor home with a bumper pull? I only have one horse, but that's what I want to do next year!
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 Veteran
Posts: 212
| I have a 4 hrs 15' shortwall that I pull with a 2010 dodge dually and get 8-10. I thought I would do better with a smaller trailer, but pulled a sundowner 3 hrs with a 6-8' and still only got 10 max, so I don't know how to decide how much it affects the truck. |
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | Going to put some pluses up on the board for going smaller.
how much time do you really spend in the trailer? When you go to a race, are you going to sit in your trailer on the couch and chit chat?
I've got a two horse BP bought it brand new so it's nice, but far less expensive than a new LQ. (I also don't haul as much as most or as far.) It fits my big boys and never have any issues with finding a parking spot. If I go to a race I want to be social, I don't want to go sit in the trailer or feel obligated to sit in the trailer. I also don't have a trailer payment so that money always goes into a hotel and a few more dinners out vs packing cold meat sandwiches for a weekend.
and yes if it came down to it and I wanted to buy a LQ trailer I would. But I can't mentally justify it with how little we haul and what we do when we are actually at a race. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1037
| Size isn't going to affect your fuel mileage drastically. I get about the same 9-11mpg pulling my 4horse with 17'SW as I did pulling the last one, 3horse with 12'SW.. I do have a small bumper pull that I take to local stuff now to avoid pulling the big trailer, but I loved loved my smaller LQ trailer and took it everywhere. If you go and stay alot, I would say go for the one with the bigger LQ.
As for the Sundowner and the featherlight, I wouldn't recommend either one. Both brands have a bad rep in my book for structural soundness. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 387
| Thank you everyone for all of your input!!
how much or little do you use your own bathrooms in your trailer?!
I feel like I could definatly do without one, but then again I think how shy I am and don't like using a public bathroom or shower.
I'm Thinking im going to lean towards a 3 horse with an 8 ft short wall. still small enough to haul to the little ones, but can still spend a weekend in it!
at most ill haul 2 horses, maybe 3 at the big ones. and no one really to travel with in my area anyhow! |
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7264
| I use my bathroom a LOT, (but I go about 125646514 times before I make a run - NERVES)! LOL
No, really, I LOVE having a "porta potty" everywhere I go. Even when I downsize, I will still have a bathroom. |
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 Maine-iac
Posts: 3334
Location: Got Lobsta? | same here MUST have my own porta potty! Sometimes at the end of the long weekend the public ones have been used A LOT! I have a shower but its in the stall - never used it. I'd rather use one on the grounds as I like LONG showers. I want to be comfortable on the road and not worrying I may take out guard rails or cars as I drive so not that super wide or long. I just love mine. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 396
Location: Iowa | zansbeunogal_2268 - 2015-03-27 9:10 AM Thank you everyone for all of your input!! how much or little do you use your own bathrooms in your trailer?! I feel like I could definatly do without one, but then again I think how shy I am and don't like using a public bathroom or shower. I'm Thinking im going to lean towards a 3 horse with an 8 ft short wall. still small enough to haul to the little ones, but can still spend a weekend in it! at most ill haul 2 horses, maybe 3 at the big ones. and no one really to travel with in my area anyhow!
I got a 3 horse with an 8 foot shortwall! Its small enough to haul to local jackpots but large enough for 3 full grown people to spend the weekend in! I use my totiet alot even at one day shows...my shower not so much. When I haul two horses, it is nice to have s stud wall then you can use that front stall as a midtack (so I would look for that)! |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 628
Location: Missouri | Exact issue I am facing. I have a 4 horse featherlite weekender I LOVE! I haul it everywhere and I am able to stay in it comfortable if I stay for a weekend. Unfortunetly, the bf does love coming with me but he doesn't fit in my trailer. We are currently shopping and he wants a 14' sw with pop outs and the whole shebang! The only thing we can agree on is a stock combo instead of a horse area. This way I can make 2 box stalls in my trailer if stalls get sold out at a race.
I am not so sure I want to go that BIG! But when we get to shopping and looking, everything we want and need won't fit in anything smaller. I have told him I want a little stock trailer to go to small jackpots and the vet but a 14' sw with pop outs seems so intimidating. |
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