Horse Trailer Repair Around Ocala

Horse trailer repair is everything between the hitch and the tail lights: floors, mats, ramp springs, dividers, latches, doors and corrosion, plus the bearings, brakes and wiring under it all. Most body repairs on a horse trailer run about $145 to $435; floors are priced by area, from about $9 to $13 per square foot for wood. We do the work at your barn whenever the job allows, and the quote says when it does not.

What we repair on horse trailers

Full ranges are on the pricing page.

Why horse trailers here need more than utility trailers

Marion County has 75,000 horses and ponies by a 2023 industry study, and the trailers that haul them carry a load that moves, kicks, paws and urinates. That puts three kinds of wear on a horse trailer that a utility trailer never sees:

• The floor takes urine. Every maker’s manual we checked tells owners to pull the mats and wash the floor on a schedule, from Sundowner’s every sixty days to 4-Star’s every six months. Under mats that stay down, urine eats wood and aluminum. See trailer floor replacement.
• The partitions take kicks. Divider latches, hinge welds and butt bars are where a nervous horse puts its weight. A cracked hinge weld is a welding job, usually done on site.
• The ramp gets used every load. Spring and cable counterbalances wear out. Featherlite’s manual warns that a spring and cable counterbalance can inflict serious injury if it breaks or is adjusted wrong, and Sundowner says ramp torsion springs are not user serviceable. See ramp too heavy to lift.

A pre-season horse trailer check

Before the winter circuit, this is what we go through:

1. Mats out, floor probed. Every board or plank, from above, then the crossmembers from below.
2. Every wheel spun. Roughness, play and heat point to a bearing service.
3. Brakes adjusted and tested against your controller.
4. Breakaway pin pulled. Florida requires breakaway brakes on trailers over 3,000 lb gross that stay applied at least 15 minutes (s. 316.261(4)).
5. Every light on the plug, including clearance and marker lamps.
6. Ramp and doors. Spring tension, cables, hinges, latches.
7. Partitions and tie rings. Latches, pins and welds.
8. Tires. Pressure, sidewalls and the four-digit date code. See tires and wheels.
9. Coupler and chains. Latch, wear and chain attachment.

Each finding is its own line on the quote. You can do the safety items now and the cosmetic ones after the season.

Steel and aluminum trailers

Aluminum horse trailers from makers like Featherlite, Sundowner, Exiss and 4-Star do not rust like steel, but aluminum corrodes, especially under wet mats, and shows it as white powder and pitting. Steel trailers rust at the floor edges, the crossmembers and the fender mounts. Both get the same inspection. See aluminum corrosion and white powder.

What we do not do

We do not work on the living-quarters side of a horse trailer: water, holding tanks, appliances, generators and RV electrical belong with an RV shop. We do the trailer: frame, floor, running gear, ramp, doors, partitions and the trailer’s own lights and brakes. We are not a dealer for any brand and do not handle warranty claims; if your trailer is new, call the dealer first.