Per DH - If these are your towing specs on your Highlander, you will probably need to look for an aluminum trailer since steel may be too heavy. (Or only take Hubby's vehicle when going to shows.) Is your car set up for trailer brakes? Have it checked since you can have a receiver for a small trailer without needing trailer brakes. With a larger heavier trailer you will need trailer brakes. DH also says that if you are driving in ice and snow and need chains on the car you will also need chains on the trailer. According to DH, overloading your car engine towing can burn up your transmission. You should look into a transmission cooler for the car for towing. (BIL did that when towing his new boat.) DH also says that the age of the tires is more important than the amount of tread.
DH suggests getting a lightweight open utility trailer and building a box on it for the sheep when going to shows to save weight for your vehcle.
Towing
Maximum Towing Capacity (pounds)
5000
Maximum Trailer Weight, dead weight hitch (pounds)
5000
Maximum Tongue Weight, dead weight hitch (pounds)
500
Maximum Trailer Weight, weight distributing hitch (pounds)
5000
Maximum Tongue Weight, weight distributing hitch (pounds)
500
The difference in "saleability" down the road needs to be considered also... very few people, unless they have just sheep/goats... want a trailer that is less than 6'6" inside... you want a trailer that will be multi functional...
Absolutely what Jan said! A shorter height trailer will not hold its value since you will be limited to shorter stock - no horses or cows. Most people want to be able to use it for everything for convenience. Some horses (cattle?) won't load in a shorter height trailer. Always think about resale since trailers hold their value forever when taken care of. Since you are getting a smaller trailer due to your current tow vehicle weight restrictions, you will eventually want to resell and buy a larger trailer down the road when you get your truck.
A cut gate is good... for 16 ft it is overkill to have 2 inside cut gates, for cattle... but for small animals it would be helpful. We do not have slide doors in our cut gates, again, for small livestock it would be helpful.
We custom ordered 2 interior gates instead of the standard single gate.
We also ordered all gates with the slide gates because we bought our trailer to travel to dairy goat shows. We looked for a used trailer but at the time sellers wanted more than we paid new for our WW 16' stock. I have hauled the front compartment full of hay, feed, tack, and the rear compartment with 2 horses to go horse camping with my ETI club. When evacuating from the Creek fire, DS3 loaded all 3 horses 16.2 hh in with plenty of room.
The stock trailer also had to be able to transport our horses, heifers, and other Fair auction livestock. When using it for horses and heifers the full gate swings open. I liked the slide gates because even loaded you can go through from the front to the back to feed animals while traveling. That was important to us because sometimes we had to load up to leave the fairgrounds around midnight, then would feed in the trailer, sleep in the camper, then pulling out at dawn for a 6 to 7 hour trip home. I was pulling the trailer with the boys ages 10 & 12 - DH was working - and I don't like driving all night.
I would not bother with a 12' stock trailer. IMO they are too short. DH says that the short yoke of the hitch will make that trailer very hard to back up. Also, because of the short turn ratio it will be easy to kink and damage it with your rear bumper. (Ask me how I know! LOL) If you are going that small, you might be able to get a cheaper horse trailer which would have a tack compartment .
We have used our trailer for 23 years for hauling all sorts of livestock, picking up fencing and equipment, moving furniture, etc. We have certainly gotten our money's worth out of it and it is still going strong. Whatever trailer you get, look for good condition and you will be happy.
