I'm in the market to buy a horse trailer. I'm looking for a 3-horse bumper-pull w/ drop windows and tack room. Budget is $10k, but I'd like to keep it around 7 or 8k. I guess what I'm wondering is which companies should I consider that are good quality yet inexpensive. What I'm considering right now is a Thuro-Bilt Shilo EX. Seems to have lots of the nice accessories while being relatively inexpensive.

 

Hands down is one of the nicest trailers ever owned or towed smooth ride and really well built.

http://www.trailswesttrailers.com/main/home.html

 

You did not specify steel or aluminum.
If considering steel, Trails West is good as stated. Also consider S&H and Titan brands. These are good for not rusting.
Stay away from WW, Wrangler, Ponderosa, and Chapparal unless you like rust. CM is not bad but will eventually rust, it is more of a mid-range quality. It might do good if you seal all the joints with silicone.
I am sure there are others.

 

Material doesn't really matter to me. I'm just looking for a good-quality trailer with some nice features.

From the local dealerships I have the option of Trailswest, Logan Coach, Circle J, Thuro-bilt and Morgan Built. Trailswest would probably be the best pick of these?

 

I had a Logan before I bought my Featherlite....was a dam* good trailer! I wish I still had it.

 

I've had the chance to tow many different brands of trailers, my favorites are:
4-star, Bloomer, Elite, Hart, Exiss, Dream coach, few more brands... I deffinately recommend aluminum trailers for obvious reasons. You will not like this but i also recommend anything above a 2-horse to be a gooseneck... or at least use a distribution hitch and sway bar just MHO

 

I'd prefer a gooseneck as well, but I need the bed for carrying cargo at this point.

 

completely understandable. usually my tack room, hay rack, rear tack etc is completely full of anything and everything, oh and the left over space in the bed (once again why i personally only buy long beds )

 

Another question: I've been comparing 3-horse to 4-horse trailers. Most 3-horse trailers are about 18' and 4k lbs, and the 4-horse trailers are about 22' long and 4500lbs. Right now we only have 2 horses, but I figure that I could always use the extra room for something, and if we decided to expand our herd, there'd be room. Would the extra few feet and 500 lbs make much a difference in towing?

 

I have had WW's, an Exiss by Genisis, and now have a WW 4 horse aluminum...
The Exiss with the 'white skin" turned grey real quick from teh deisel exhaust and was a PITA to clean, never could get it all off...
The WW metal 2 horses rusted quickly, but they were well built otherwise.
The current WW aluminum is great....
One warning about teh light wieght aluminum trailers, the tie rings on them arent worth a squat... seen several torn off, or the trailer damaged by horses setting back on them...if you go aluminum, get teh HEAVY grade aluminum....

I also agree that anything over a two horse NEEDS to be a gooseneck or 5th wheel... bumper pulls just cant maintain a balance or any real control when they get too long or heavy.... you arent hauling a car, but living beings that need to keep thier balance inside there....you can put your extra gear in the tack room or up in the goose neck area if you need to.
You probably wont notice much diff between the 3 and 4 horse trailers untill you fully load it, and even then it shouldnt be that much if the trailer is well made and balanced on the vehicle/axles...
balanced may not be the best word for what I am trying to say.... maybe Hauler can help out with that...

 

i personally can't tell much difference between having 2, 3 or 4 horses in any of my trailers. the only difference i could tell was when i turned my 16.3 andalusian stallion loose in the trailer (riding by himself) and had all 3 stalls as a big box stall, i could tell when he moved around or was standing along the butt side wall. i was pulling with a dually on that trip too. i firmly believe the quality of the trailer makes a big difference. i like the 4-star i pull 20x better than the sooner. i think it is a lot more stable and just travels down the road a lot better. Im not saying its the best out there i just like this brand a lot. right now i am in the hunt for a 5 or 6 horse slant or head to head trailer. interesting to see how they will pull compared to the 3 and 4

 

try this guy...he is reasonable on his prices, and has even "loaned out" new trailers for people to try out before they purchase....
http://rbarb.com/

 

you know whats sick is i have a 1977 logan 18ft stock trailer that i hav had 6 horses in and that trailer besides its looks multi colored primer and so forth come on its for the cows it aint gotta be pretty any who that trailer pulls down the road so smooth and harldy know its there besides it being a little heavy but its a good riding traler i think its do to it being not wider than the pickup

 

You will not find a new 3 horse BP slant load with change room in the $8-$10,000 range,certainly not in Aluminum.You will be hard pressed to find a real good used one. I have been pulling horse and stock trailers for 40 years both steel and aluminum,I prefer steel for cattle,aluminum has a hard time standing up to 3000# bulls and 1700# cows,I prefer aluminum for our show horses (cuttin horses),I'm presently pulling a 6 horse Featherlite GN,I buy and sell trailers including LQ trailers.I try to avoid BP trailers and would only consider BP for a small utility application or behind a Motorhome.It's too easy to get into trouble with BP especially when they are heavy,the equailzer hitch systems do make the BP much more stable,safer and easier to pull.

 

If you do go with aluminum,I would recomend looking into Platinum trailers.They are the best alum. trailer made in my opinion.But as stated above 4 star and bloomer are also very good trailers.As for BP vs. gooseneck,I would personally go with a goosneck,even on a 2 horse.I think it is easier to pull a 30 foot GN than a 16 ft. bumper pull.Although Platinum does make some very nice slant load bumper pulls.