Collision vs.Construction
Do you have any idea how your horses might fare in a trailer accident? Live animals that weigh anywhere
from nine hundred to 1,900 pounds need a “box” that will house them safely out on the road. The right trailer
construction will make a difference as to how well your horses will survive a hit in the rear, the side, or if
it flips over.
You don’t need to know how all the “nuts and bolts” come together in
the building of your trailer, but it is wise to know the basic construction
to determine the degree of protection it will give your horses against
impact. The following information should help you to understand the different
strengths and aspects of the materials most used in the construction
of horse trailers.
Horse trailers typically fall into two basic construction types, aluminum
and steel, but the industry labels them into four categories: Aluminum,
steel, hybrid, and composite built.
Aluminum Horse Trailers commonly refer to aluminum trailer brands
or models that are mostly all aluminum in construction, meaning they
have an aluminum floor, aluminum frame and structure, and an aluminum
roof. The axles and couplers are always steel as they are on all
trailers. Some exceptions do exist where aluminum-constructed trailers
may have a different material on the roof and a wood or composite floor.
Steel Horse Trailers generally refer to trailers that are mostly all steel
– steel frame, steel sidewalls, steel roofs, and wood or composite floors.
Hybrid Trailers refer to trailers using both aluminum and steel in their
construction, such as having steel frames with aluminum structures,
sidewalls, and roofs.
Composite-Built: are trailers built using steel, aluminum, and a
variety of materials where they are best suited to obtain optimum use of
their inherent qualities.
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
ALUMINUM. Pound for pound, aluminum is 1/3rd the strength of steel.
For example, an aluminum center divider of the same shape, size, and
thickness of a steel divider is about 1/3rd the strength and about half
the weight. In some applications, lighter weight aluminum can be an
advantage over steel, but not often in the construction of horse trailers.
Horse trailer dividers, center posts, butt & breast bars have to withstand
impact such as a horse being thrown against them from a sudden stop
or swerve. The reason many manufacturers use aluminum dividers and
posts is because of their lighter weight, but the sacrifice is strength.
When aluminum is impacted beyond its strength capacity, its nature
is to rip and sheer, creating sharp edges and tears that could result
in severe lacerations. To gain the strength of steel, the higher quality
aluminum trailer manufacturers increase the density, which increases the
weight, nullifying the idea that all trailers constructed with aluminum are
lighter in weight. Consequently, the higher quality, heavier constructed
aluminum trailers are tougher, and therefore safer than those skimping
on aluminum to reduce the cost. Price can be an accurate indicator in
deciding the strength and quality of a particular brand of aluminum trailer
over another.
Terms to know about aluminum:
CORROSION: What rust does to steel, corrosion does to aluminum.
Corrosion is most likely to show up on an aluminum floor and on the
lower sidewalls of a trailer caused by the alkaline in urine and manure.
Regular washing reduces the chance of corrosion.
GALVANIC CORROSION: corrosion damage induced when two dissimilar
materials are coupled in a corrosive electrolyte. In the horse industry, the
term is often wrongly used by dealers as a deterrent for purchasing a trailer
constructed of both aluminum and steel, incorrectly suggesting that the
mixture of both materials will cause deterioration.
SHEER: When aluminum is impacted beyond its capacity, the metal will
sheer, meaning it will tear, or rip, leaving sharp broken edges
STEEL Whereas aluminum is a rigid material, steel has great formability,
meaning it can be more readily shaped and bent when used in manufacturing
and will have greater “give” over aluminum when struck beyond its stress
point. Simply put, whereas steel may bend, aluminum will tear. The additional
properties of steel are durability, toughness, and weldability, which makes
steel easier to repair. A steel weld can be made as strong as the parent
material, whereas a weld in an aluminum alloy is weaker than the alloy being
welded. The unwarranted negatives about steel that still exists among many
horseowners are the fear of rust and the concern about weight. Since steel
has always been and still is the preferred choice of the automotive industry,
today’s technology has all but eliminated rust through the use of galvanized,
galvaneal, stainless, and powder coated steel. And the use of steel along
with a variety of today’s advanced materials where they are best suited puts
a composite-built trailer at about the same weight as an aluminum trailer of
comparable strength. An example of a composite-built trailer would be one
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