Care & Feeding of Your New Trailer:

Your new EquiSpirit trailer was sold, built, and delivered with the greatest of care and professionalism... now it is up to you to maintain your trailer.  With just a little Tender Loving Care, elbow grease, and typical maintenance supplies - your trailer will stay looking and functioning like new for a very long time.

Here are some hints & tips for the routine care of your trailer. 

1. Wash the exterior every few months - weather permitting - with automotive or dish detergent. Just like a car, it will stay looking new a LOT longer if you keep the bugs, tree sap, road grime, and air pollution washed off the paint. Wash the roof at least once a year (the roof is strong enough to stand on... but be very careful... it is tall!)

2. Wax the exterior at least twice a year if stored outside... 3~4 times a year would be better.  Use any good automotive wax... the new liquids are easier to apply than the old paste wax formulas.

3. For tough stains - especially the dirty streaks caused by air pollution & rain (a.k.a. 'acid rain'), use a product called "Mean Green"®. It is sold nationwide in "Dollar" stores and also "Dollar General" chains. It may be sold elsewhere too, but for sure the Dollar chains carry it. This stuff works GREAT... but it will absolutely remove ANY wax wherever you use it. Be certain to rewax your trailer after using the Mean Green or the stains will come back and be harder to remove next time.

4. Wax the interior metal surfaces of the trailer - especially around the horse head area (head & body dividers, bulkhead wall, side walls, doors, etc.) when new and then every 12~18 months. This will greatly ease clean-up of horse spit & slobber.

5. Use a product like Armoral® on the interior padding covers at the same time you wax the interior. If you want, you can Armoral the side wall rubber mats too, but do not use it on the floor mats.

6. Sweep / mop the trailer floor (mats) as needed. If really messy - hose the trailer out and leave open to air dry. Mats seldom need to be removed (every ~2 years of regular use - just for inspection and thorough cleaning) unless a REALLY big wet mess was made in the trailer.

7. Use silicone spray (never WD40) on all hinges, pivot points (like in the pop-up roof vents), coupler, and hitch latch/lock lever at least every couple months (more if stored outside all the time). Spray inside the rear tail door "cam latches" a few times a year. Spray silicone on a rag and wipe all butt / breast bar pins a few times a year. You can spray silicone inside the door locks & key holes a couple times a year too.

8. The wood floor needs no regular treatment. Perhaps in 5 years, you might want to pull the mats and treat the floor with something like Thompson's® deck treatment. This is a thin liquid treatment for pressure treated lumber.

9. Check tire pressure monthly - no less than every other month. Tire pressure should be ~ 45 PSI and even in all tires. Don't forget to check the spare too! Check that the lug nuts on the wheels are tight after your trailer is delivered, and at least yearly thereafter.

10. Use a silicone based tire treatment such as "Tire Wet"® on the rubber tires (sidewalls) every time you wash the trailer. Trailer tires tend to dry-rot before they ever wear out. This will keep the rubber fresh and looking new.

11. Depending on use, have the axle wheel bearings repacked and brakes checked every 2~3 years of "average" use. I define average use as 4 round trips per month for 10 months of the year... approximately 40 round trips per year. Even with less use, grease can dry out - so don't go beyond 3~4 years without having the axles packed and brakes checked.

12. Have your emergency break-away 12-Volt battery charged every year. These batteries tend to only last (reliably) about 5~6 years. I would replace them after every 4 years, 5 at the most. If you have our optional Heavy Duty 12-Volt battery for powering your trailer's interior lights & accessories, charge this as needed, or once a year. Both batteries can be charged with a regular 12-Volt DC charger used for cars & boats. Most chargers have at least two settings, a HIGH and LOW current charge. Use the HIGH (8~10 Amps) when charging the optional HD 12-Volt trailer battery, and LOW (2~3 Amps) when charging the little break-away battery.

13. Shavings:  I do not recommend or endorse using shavings in our trailers at all... as they mostly defeat the effect of the rubber mats. The mats are designed (thickness and density) to allow the horse's hoof to compress and sink into the mat a small amount. This has the same effect as a tea cup in a saucer... it holds the hoof in place - even if the floor is wet. Shavings defeat this effect and actually make the trailer floor more slippery to the horse. Some customers want to use shavings around the horses' butt to help with clean up... but we recommend never using them under the legs.

Also - keeping shavings in your trailer will produced sticky brown condensation spots on the ceiling. Shavings always have sap and some (and attract more) moisture. Inside a closed trailer - this produces a green-house effect. In the heat of the day, the shavings release moisture and some sap... when the evening comes, this condenses on the ceiling and later drips back to the shavings... which holds the moisture until the next day. This cycle goes over and over... leaving dark brown spots on your ceiling

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