12ft Livestock trailer

Highland Mule

Member
Livestock Farmer
Lots of choices in livestock trailers and we have always had IWT. The big issue for us is loading our fairly docile cattle quickly and easily because:
1. The step up to the ramp seems to put them off
2. The ramp is made of metal and is noisy (even with straw) as the cattle feet go down on it.
Are any of the alternative trailers any better?

Is yours a simple tailgate or the kind with ramp built in? I’d suspect the simple one would be less stress for your cattle. If it is that type, make sure every joint is tight - re bush as necessary - so there’s nothing to move and make noise.
 

Jackov Altraids

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Devon
Tractor or truck doesn't really matter when the hitch is rated for 3500kg max regardless.

I'm not sure that the length of the trailer makes any difference......

A 12' plain trailer simply isn't capable of carrying enough sheep for most people therefore they need decks.
I bought a 14' with the idea that it should be big enough but the decks were available to take a few should I need the extra room. The full capacity would be about 60 lambs finished lambs which would put me well over weight.
I have since wondered whether it would have been cheaper and easier to have had a plain 16' or even 18' which would be easy to load without the weight or faffing of decks and would limit the load of sheep to something more legal and keep the centre of gravity much lower.
It would need extra gates to keep cattle restricted to over the axles if you wanted dual use.
 

Highland Mule

Member
Livestock Farmer
I'm not sure that the length of the trailer makes any difference......

A 12' plain trailer simply isn't capable of carrying enough sheep for most people therefore they need decks.
I bought a 14' with the idea that it should be big enough but the decks were available to take a few should I need the extra room. The full capacity would be about 60 lambs finished lambs which would put me well over weight.
I have since wondered whether it would have been cheaper and easier to have had a plain 16' or even 18' which would be easy to load without the weight or faffing of decks and would limit the load of sheep to something more legal and keep the centre of gravity much lower.
It would need extra gates to keep cattle restricted to over the axles if you wanted dual use.

It’s about 50kg a foot to have extra length, so your 18’ would hold 5-6 lambs fewer than my 12’, on a weight basis. Sure avoids the decking issue and you might recover a bit of weight by not having them, but I’m not convinced.

It would be less hassle though, for sure.
 

Agri Spec Solicitor

Member
Livestock Farmer
Keep the IWT and get a fabricator to make a galvanised pivot holder lower than the existing pivot point and a planked construction tailboard .

It will be heavier of course

I am going to have a look at trailer to see how this works but sounds like a good solution. My thinking was a clip on flap to create a slope from the ground to the end of the tailgate. As to sound suppression I was thinking about a soft rubbery product like that used on a horse trailer. But is that going to be slippery?
Our cattle can clear a gate if it suits them so what’s the problem jumping the height of a matchbox!
 

hally

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
cumbria
Rubber in the door would be worth a try certainly, we moved to a different cattle crush years ago with a rubber floor and the difference when handling cattle is unbelievable. Our limmy calves stand so calmly where previously they would never settle on aluminium tread plate, it was just too slippery.
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
I am going to have a look at trailer to see how this works but sounds like a good solution. My thinking was a clip on flap to create a slope from the ground to the end of the tailgate. As to sound suppression I was thinking about a soft rubbery product like that used on a horse trailer. But is that going to be slippery?
Our cattle can clear a gate if it suits them so what’s the problem jumping the height of a matchbox!
Get a cubicle mat or 2 and screw it onto the tailboard
 

Jackov Altraids

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Devon
It’s about 50kg a foot to have extra length, so your 18’ would hold 5-6 lambs fewer than my 12’, on a weight basis. Sure avoids the decking issue and you might recover a bit of weight by not having them, but I’m not convinced.

It would be less hassle though, for sure.

IW don't give weights for their decks but Nugent say 192kg for 10' and 202kg for 12'.
6 x 50 kg's = 300kg extra for 18' so 98kg's heavier, but that might not include the weight of the extra ramps so only a couple of lambs in it.

I'm only 'thinking aloud' but an 18' sheep trailer wouldn't be expensive, ride well and be easy to load. A few might be put off by the size while others would love knowing that when they park up at market, theirs will be sticking out further than everyone elses!! :D

But must of all, I'd love to wipe that smug grin off @neilo 's face and load up next to him and be off while he's still getting cramp in his finger, holding the button in for the hydraulic deck on his Gamic.....:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 

Highland Mule

Member
Livestock Farmer
IW don't give weights for their decks

It's on the spec sheet. 10' DP with decks is 120kg heavier than one without. 12' is 130kg and 14' is 140kg heavier. I would guess that the back door weight increases by 70kg and the deck is around 5kg/ft.

I can see the attraction of a single deck low height extra long trailer - right until a ewe decides she doesn't want to leave it. Maybe a stretched TA510 4' height, but with a second door half way along one side.
 

Wink

Member
Location
Hampshire
All trailers have the same ramp style until you get to a Houghton that has an ultra low approach angle , low pivot height and a planked tailgate like the wagons now have

But you always hear nobody wants to pay for it . If folks won’t even pay a tiny premium for a Nugent over a cost engineered IW, then I would say this is true
Don't suppose you know how much those houghton trailers are (single deck)? Look well smart but sound pricey.
 

onthehoof

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cambs
I have a 16ft Graham Edwards that we use behind our pickup, it tows fine but you need the partition in, we only use it from going from farm to field a couple of miles each way, only downside is its only 5'6 wide so big cattle struggle to turn around, so thinking of changing to 14'x 5'10
 

Farmer_Joe

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
The North
I am considering a change of livestock trailer, looking for a 12ft trailer double axel with decks and internal gates, pretty standard. Have always thought we'd go for another ifor Williams, but recently considered a nugent. What are peoples opinion on build quality and ease of use, as well as back up from manufacturer? All opinions appreciated.
Thanks

not sure if you swapped yet but my late father and i have had ifor for over 30yrs,

for us they have been brilliant and ive modified ours to take horse partitions too,

that got me looking at spares for ifor, ive taken spares listed for the cattle gates to make partitions, they are ridiculously cheap and you can get almost every conceivable spare for the trailer, you could probably build one almost from scratch !

our trailer centre has most stuff in stock you cant go wrong, i rate them highly and not sure what people do to them to think there so crap?

px prices are very strong and new prices are reasonable.
 

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