Trails west trailers are horse trailers used for the transportation of horses from one place to another in a safe manner. The interior is built according to the horses’ living conditions and provides a comfortable environment.
Common problems with Trails West Trailer include sharp rivets and edges on roofs or sidewalls, wood detachment, tires coming off, rusting of the frame, and small windows.
These trailers have minor issues, but you can select them for transportation because they cannot disturb the livestock’s living conditions and comfort zone.
Trails West Trailer Problems | Solutions |
Sharp rivets and edges on roofs and sidewalls | Use adhesive tape or a welding procedure |
Barn wood from the interior comes off | Reattach wood with nails |
Tire comes off | Check wheel bearings and balancing of tires |
Rusting of frame | Properly paint the rivet area and wash the floors |
Issue with heated floor | Clean the floor carefully |
Small windows | Keep windows and roof vents open |
Interior becomes hot | Add a lumbar or plastic sheet on the floor |
Difficult to reweld | Join the broken ends with screws |
Sharp rivets and edges on roofs and sidewalls
The rivets and screws are used to bind the side walls and roof in these horse trailers. These screws are not covered with any of the wooden and plastic trim.
These do not give a uniform and smooth texture to the sidewalls because of their sharp ends.
Moreover, the drilled holes for rivets installation also decrease the durability and strength of the steel frame.
The edges and corners of the sidewalls are not covered or painted with any material to give a uniform appearance.
The sharp edges and exposed ends of rivets can cause injury to livestock. Furthermore, the rivets can also come out when the horse hits them with their feet.
The rivets reinstallation is difficult because you cannot install the previous one again. However, you can fix it by covering the rivets and sharp ends using adhesive tape.
Adhesive tape is helpful to cover the exposed rivets and sharp edges to make them safe. Moreover, you can also weld the edges and sidewall joining points instead of rivets to give a smooth appearance.
Coat the welded ends with paint to give a uniform look to the interior and exterior of the frame.
Barn wood from the interior comes off
Barn wood is a high-quality wood and has a grained texture and an aged patina on its surface. These are either oak or maple but have textured surfaces and dark brown lines.
The interior of these trailers is made of barn wood, and it starts to come off. The manufacturing industry uses this wood because it is high quality and lasts longer.
The results are not satisfactory, and it starts to come off because of their exposure to moisture. In addition, the interior is closed, and these RVs also have evidence of water leakage that can damage the wood finish.
In addition, the dust and dirt are more prominent on their surface because of their specific appearance. The slight moisture allows the molds and mildew to grow on this wood and cause rotting.
These can also lose their adhesiveness when molds ruin their integrity and strength. You can resolve the problem in the Trails West Trailer by reattaching the wood with high-quality nails because of their heavier material.
Use the adhesive to bind them again with the wall and buff it with wax to maintain their original color.
Tire comes off
Many people complain that one of the tires of the trailers comes off during driving. The issue occurs because of their poor and improper installation and fixing.
The poor balancing also causes the wheels to come off during driving. The heavy weight of the trailers also affects the fixing of tires and makes them loose.
Failure of wheel bearings is the leading cause of tires coming off. This help bind the tires with axle joints and keep them in their place.
These can fail when you constantly drive on muddy and uneven roads. The poor service and routine maintenance cause malfunctioning of wheel bearings.
You can fix the issue by preventing damage to wheel bearings. Clean the mud and road salts from the bearing and grease the wheel.
Take your RV to the service centers if you feel unbalancing of tires during driving.
Rusting of frame
A rusted frame is the most reported problem in these trailers because of the presence of rivets and their aluminum frame.
Corrosion also makes holes in the exterior of the frame that can cause water entry into the interior side.
The frame of this material is made of steel but coated with an aluminum layer that can rust easily. You can see the dark brown cracked ad sharp ends with holes on the exterior side.
The corrosion on aluminum metal occurs when these are exposed to humidity due to changes in outside temperature.
These are non-galvanized sheets, and rivet holes can also increase the risk of corrosion. The holes for attachment of cylindrical rivets remove the paint from that area and cause an oxidation reaction.
These are horse trailers, and you can see corrosion on the floor due to exposure to alkaline present in urine. Deep clean or wash the trailers with water and soap to remove alkaline residues.
You can resolve this problem by preferring the welding technique instead of rivets attachment to seal the sidewalls.
Paint the rivet area unexposed the aluminum metal and prevent it from corrosion attack.
Issue with heated floor
These trailers contain a heated floor with heated pipes or wires attached to the lower side. These pipes generate heat and radiation transmitted to the interior side through small holes.
The accessories in the trailer interior absorb the heat radiated through the holes and keep the temperature warm.
Sometimes these floors fail to perform their function because of malfunctioning heated pipes and internal wirings.
Trapped air and damaged under floor wiring cause malfunctioning in the heated floors. You can fix it by checking the circuit breakers.
Avoid using cleaners that can seep into the heated system. Instead, use the mop carefully because it can block the small holes with dirt, and heat cannot radiate through them.
Small windows
Trails West horse trailers have smaller windows that can decrease air circulation. The smaller windows cause an issue in summer because of the excessive heat on the interior side.
These cannot allow the proper movement of outside fresh and cold air to cool the inner side. In addition, you cannot move the horse outside through small windows in emergencies.
You can maintain the temperature by opening all the windows in summer to maintain the internal temperature.
Turning on all the exhaust fans and roof vents is also better for better air crossing.
Interior becomes hot
These trailers are coated with aluminum material and are only beneficial for winter because aluminum is a good conductor of heat.
It can absorb heat and make the interior warm and cozy in winter. The interior is extremely warm in winter, making it uncomfortable for horses to stay there during transportation.
In addition, aluminum is a thin material that can transfer outside heat into the inside horse trailers, disturbing their living conditions.
You can fix this issue by adding lumbar and rubber sheets on the floor and the roof to absorb the heat from the aluminum material and maintain internal temperature.
Paint the roof with double coats of paint to make the interior slightly insulated so it cannot absorb the heat from the asphalt roads.
Difficult to repair
The Trails West Trailer can also break because of the heavier transportation of horses. In addition, aluminum material has less strength than steel which is more prone to breakage during loading and unloading.
These horse trailers have cracked gooseneck, which is hard to repair. In addition, the broken parts are challenging to repair because you cannot reweld the aluminum material.
Aluminum is soft and highly sensitive, so you cannot retreat them with heat. However, you can fix it by joining the broken parts with nails and screws.
The heat from the welding procedure causes distortion of the affected parts.
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