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Regular
Posts: 81
| hey what is everyone experiences with these trailers? Which one is better than the other quality and durability? which one do people prefer ? Any good or bad experiences with either ? thanks |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
 
| We have owned 3 Cimarrons over the years in different sizes, absolutely love them, lightweight, insulated roof makes a huge difference when hauling in the heat we have down here, great welds, stronger floors, windows etc. My current one is an 06, windows and doors all still work great, nothing gets out of whack and won’t close. |
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 Ima Non Controversial Girl
Posts: 4168
Location: where the wind blows | I have an 07 cimaron and love it. As said above the insulated roof is awesome. I'd definitely buy one again when the time comes. I have friends with elites and platinums and they love theirs. Not too familiar with 4-star. |
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| I think the exact way you wrote them is also the order they come in as far as quality. Price too, but all are good well-built trailers.
Edited by runs4fun 2018-04-15 12:27 PM
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| Correct me if I’m wrong but I think 4-Star came first and eventually the “4” split into 4-Star, Elite, Platinum, and C&C - which is no longer in business.
That’s why there’s a lot of similarities and quality across the first 3. I also know a few Cimarron’s and they are right up there.
My in laws haul a 3 horse Elite, 6.5’ wide with a 7’ short wall. That trailer is SOLID. It’s every bit as heavy as my 3H 9’ shortwall 8’ wide Lakota. It’s all his 3/4ton duramax wants when he’s got 3 horses on. That’s not a bad thing, it’s high quality for sure. I wouldn’t personally want to haul one of those with anything smaller than a tonner if it was a LQ of any decent size.
Down the road several years when we are in the market for a bigger “family” trailer that we’ll own for a long long time all the brands you mentioned are on the top of our list.
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Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| You can’t go wrong with any of the brands mentioned and we looked at all of these when first getting into horses. What sold my husband on the Cimarron is that floors are on 6” centers and all the others are 12”. 6” makes for an extremely strong floor. |
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Veteran
Posts: 276
| All great trailers! I would say that Platinum or Elite are going to hold their value the best, as well as older 4Stars (I'm not really sure about the newer ones) But I personally have a Cimarron, and we love it. Definitely love the insulated roof, as others have mentioned. I have stepped back there with the horses on a 100 degree day, and it is SO much cooler. Very well built trailers that won't cause you headaches every trip. |
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 BHW Resident Surgeon
Posts: 25351
Location: Bastrop, Texas | I think they are all top-tier trailers, except I don’t know much about Cimarrons. I’ve heard nothing but good things about them, however.
I think I’d add Hart and Bloomers to that list, except I’ve heard a few bad reviews of Harts over the years.
My personal preference has been Platinums, and for a very good reason. In ‘08 I was pulling a 4H Platinum with a LQ, and it was loaded with 4 horses. There were 5 people in the pickup. Just outside of Fargo-Moorhead, we hit a patch of black ice at 60 mph on the interstate. We started to go sideways and the rig hit the ditch, rolling over completely twice. Nobody inside the pickup was seriously injured, even though it was crushed like an aluminum can. I had to be extracted from the pickup by firemen and paramedics. I was sure the horses were all dead. The trailer itself barely even looked damaged, with the exception that a big window in the LQ was popped out and things like the A/C on top were broken off. As I was laying on the stretcher, I asked if someone could check on the horses. They said it was pretty quiet, and I feared the worst. Someone opened the door, and all 4 horses jumped out, covered in shavings, but unharmed. The skin in the roof had several hoof-shaped holes in it, so they were all tossed around. The trailer was ultimately totaled, because the frame had been twisted some. Nevertheless, to have a wreck like that, with no fatalities or deaths was nothing short of a miracle. The wreck was on the news, I was told, and the deputy sheriff commented that was the worst non-fatal wreck he’d ever seen in 30 years of law enforcement.
The following day I went to the salvage yard to look at the pickup and trailer. The pickup was unrecognizable. The trailer was completely intact.
That’s why my personal preference is Platinum. |
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Expert
Posts: 1694
Location: Willows, CA | In the early 2000's we had a 4Star dealership in California. We handled and serviced just about every brand that you can imagine. We did not see many Cimarron trailers out here, but they look good. At the time, 4Star was more innovative than the rest as to utilizing newer technology, and think that they still are. Platinum was a great quality trailer, but a generation back in skin bonding, quiet ride, and those kinds of things. I would put Elite a small step back from that. If I was to buy a new trailer today, it would likely be a Platinum for overall value. We did a lot of servicing and repair on Bloomer, and they were heavy. Heavy can be a good thing in aluminum to a point. It means that there is more structure. We did fix a lot more of little things (door latches, cabinet hinges and electrical) on them though. The Hart trailers that we had from time to time were very nice, with no significant issues. Though, we did not see a lot of Harts on the West Coast either. |
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | 4 Stars were started in 1984. Elite, Platinum and C&C were all copied from people that worked at 4-Star and left. Cimarrons are decent trailers but really not in the same class.
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| TwistedK - 2018-04-16 1:41 PM
4 Stars were started in 1984. Elite, Platinum and C&C were all copied from people that worked at 4-Star and left. Cimarrons are decent trailers but really not in the same class.
I was close! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 975
Location: The barn...where else? SW Missouri | I owned a 1998 Elite 3 horse with a 4 foot short wall for 19 years. Zero issues ever and I pulled it a bunch. I installed a small lq in it a few years ago and we just outgrew it. I recently traded for a 2003 CM norstar with an 8 foot finished lq. So far so good. I wanted another Elite or Platinum but my budget just wouldn't allow it. I do see quality differences in the 2, but nothing that really bothers me. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | My cimarron is a 2006, but you can't tell it. It's a great sturdy trailer and has held up very well, even on very crappy roads. I prefer the plank floor in Cimarron to the sheet floors like in Platinum, and the insulated roof is awesome for our climate. I've hauled with friends in Platinums, Elites, and Bloomers, and like my trailer every bit as much as any of those. The only real change I would make is the plastic latches. Nothing has broken, but it seems like metal would have been a better choice in the long run. |
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 Hummer's Hero
Posts: 3071
Location: Smack Dab in the Middle | I wouldn't own anything but an Elite or maybe a Platinum in a big trailer. My 06 Elite is in PERFECT condition. We got to visit the assembly plant and it was really cool the way they make them.
My cousin has a 12 or 13 Cimarron and it's a piece of poop to put it very mildly. She's gone through several axels and I lost count on tires a long time ago. She's tried everything up to 14 ply and mini semi tires with no luck. And Cimarron will not make it right. I pulled it with my pickup when it was almost new (before the axel issues) and it didn't pull nearly as nice as my Elite. I used to think I'd consider one if I needed a little bit cheaper trailer but no thank you. |
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boon
Posts: 1
| TwistedK - 2018-04-16 1:41 PM
4 Stars were started in 1984. Elite, Platinum and C&C were all copied from people that worked at 4-Star and left. Cimarrons are decent trailers but really not in the same class.
Actually, 4-Star being first is correct, Elite and C&C branched from 4-Star and Platinum was a former employee of Elite. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 629
Location: Roping pen | Have had or now have all that you mentioned.
STAY AWAY FROM CIMARRON built in '09. They had a new engineer redesign the nose bracing. Ours completely cracked out. Cimarron fixed it under warranty but we had a lot of other costs they would not do anything about. The new Cimarron's have been cheapened up a lot IMO.
I don't care for the Platinum due to the roof and the floor. The floor oil cans really bad. Just don't care for the thin skin on the roof. I don't care for the door latches either.
Currently have our first Elite and our 4th Hart. No issues with either. Elite does the same roof as the Platinum but they put more braces under the floor to prevent the oil can issue. If Hart would make a decent stock combo, we would of not bought the Elite.
Just a Hart fan due to seeing one hit from the back with a Peterbilt truck. Totaled the Ford F350 (that wasn't hit by the truck), but horses walked away fine. Harts are heavy. But you get what you pay for.
Good luck! |
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Boot Detective
Posts: 1898
| I would purchase a 4 Star over the Elite though they are very similar. My friend just sold a Platinum because she could feel the floor giving when she would walk in it loading horses. The floor must be awfully thin considering the precious heavy cargo we are hauling. |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | BarrelMonkey - 2018-05-09 4:04 PM
TwistedK - 2018-04-16 1:41 PM
4 Stars were started in 1984. Elite, Platinum and C&C were all copied from people that worked at 4-Star and left. Cimarrons are decent trailers but really not in the same class.
Actually, 4-Star being first is correct, Elite and C&C branched from 4-Star and Platinum was a former employee of Elite.
Yes, that is true. |
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