Level Trailer?

Hey all. My mom and I just got our first ever horse trailer and believe me, we're super excited! It's a 2 horse bumper pull, and being novices ourselves I was hoping for some advice on a question that I had.

Currently, when the trailer is hitched to our truck (and empty, no horses), it does not appear entirely level. The back of the trailer is a smidge lower than the front. The difference is ever so slight, but it's noticeable if you're looking at it. I feel like I've read somewhere that it's important to have the trailer be entirely level (so that if you were to put a level on the wheel fender it would be perfectly flat). However, when I expressed this concern to our barn owner, she didn't seem to think it was a problem and told us that it would probably look different with the horses in the trailer anyway.

So, which is it? Do I go out and get one of those hitches that is a bit lower so that the trailer is completely level? Or do I just leave it alone?

Thanks!

Put a couple horses, or whatever your normal load is. Then level it using dropped or raised hitches.

Yup, put your full load in and then see if it's level.

The other thing I will suggest is getting a sway bar hitch and set up on your trailer. I haul with an oversized 2 horse angle haul and notice a huge difference with the sway bars. I haul in any weather from blizzards to very strong winds, on highways and have a way easier time with the sway bars.

Good luck!

What type hitch are you using?

On my draw tite I can change to a hitch with a different drop.

It's unlikely you'll get it perfectly level.

You probably wont get it level but shoot for as close to as possible when loaded. IMO it's better to be slightly high then low due to how it pushes your tow rig around.

Thanks for the input everyone, it's great to have somewhere to come where there's several people who have more experience in this particular area of horses. ;D I know there's no such thing as perfection, but I will try to have it be reasonably close when loaded. Who knows, once the horses are in there, it might shift things enough that it's just fine. Otherwise, I'll look into a dropped hitch.

Is it a single axle or a double? If its a double you may need air or to check the axle... If it's single then you should be okay when horses are in it

I've never seen a single axle (horse) trailer and after having a recent blowout on our tandem, I hope to never see one! With the second axle, there was essentially no effect on our rig and we changed the tire with the horse loaded. I'd hate to yank a horse on a busy interstate hwy in the dark of night!

Turns out our issue was that the tires were bias-ply, industry standard when it comes to trailers. They simply don't hold up to hauling in the heat for any length of time (our trip was 12 hours, one way). We've since replaced all but the spare with radials.

I totally agree about having two axles but, that doesn't mean they didn't make singles and that they aren't in use today... Its really a bd design yet they continue to make them ...

Seen plenty of older ones, didn't realize someone was still making new single axle trailers.