Working Ranch Magazine January/February 2025

ranch wheels BY JAMES BECKHAM Trailer Take Home Steel and Aluminum trailers worth their weight.

any of us grew up hearing these “facts” about trailers: Steel stock trailers are heavier than aluminum trailers. Steel trail ers rust while aluminum trailers do not rust. If those “facts” are true, which trailer construction should you buy?

He responded that steel needs regular checks for rust spots and requires paint touch-ups so spots do not become “cancerous.” On the other hand, alu minum trailers should be acid-washed once a year to remove oxidation. “As far as trouble goes,” Mark said, “it’s all about the user. We have many trailers on the road today that are over 40 years old.” So, from a company that builds steel and aluminum trailers, no red flags about one type of trailer over the other. With that good news, let’s look at the latest crop of aluminum and steel stock trailers for 2025 from Big Bend, Wilson, Gooseneck, and Swift Built. Wilson Trailer Manufacturing has been building trailers since 1890 and has five modern plants in South Dakota and Missouri. Wilson offers a wide range of trailers with options for stock transport, rodeoing and show horse transport, The Wilson “Foreman” and “Ranch Hand” series WILSON TRAILER MANUFACTURING

Wilson

steel trailer 24’ x 6’8” with a canvas top and rubber floor weighs 6,500 pounds. The same trailer in alumi num with comparable specs weighs 4,300 pounds. I asked Mark about his experience maintaining steel vs aluminum trail ers. Does one type of trailer require more maintenance than the other?

To get an honest comparison, I went to Gooseneck Trailer Manufacturing, a company that builds both alumi num and steel stock trailers. Mark Humprey, the sales manager of Gooseneck Manufacturing, agreed to give me data on their comparably equipped steel and aluminum trailers. Mark told me that a Gooseneck brand

Gooseneck

50 I JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2025 WORKING RANCH audited readers run 21 million head of beef cattle.