Trailers that have an aluminum chassis with aluminum skin can present a number of dangerous problems.
There are several problems with aluminum trailers today:
aluminum horse trailer* Aluminum is a great conductor of heat so it transfers heat up from the road and down from the sun to create a very hot trailer interior. We tested one aluminum trailer and found the interior ceiling to be around 130 degrees. That's hot enough to cook an egg! On the same day we tested a Double D Trailer and found a significantly lower heat. Check out this video to see the whole test. (Photo Right: A mill finish aluminum room like this one can get very hot in the summer time.)
* Dividers made from aluminum twist and tear when under stress from a panicked horse.
* Horses can rear through an aluminum roof.
* Because aluminum is brittle, it is more likely to break, tear, rip or splinter in a high stress environment. This could be a problem if your horse spooks or you are in a rear end collision.
* Floors made from aluminum can corrode from horse urine and allow the horse to fall through.
Many people think that a huge advantage to aluminum trailers comes from its lightweight design. Brad explained, Weight really isn’t a large factor and it’s more of a misconception than anything else.