Trailers - WT-Metall vs. Jones trailers vs others? - Page 2

While the trailer is definitely attractive it was too expensive for me and so I rigged my dog crate in the back of my van with a 12 volt auto-battery powered set of car-radiator fans coupled with a set of copper pipes in the floor that circulate ice-water via a pond waterfall pump from a igloo reservoir. The whole system makes for one cool dog while the outside can be 95 degrees in the shade.

We went with a different idea. We bought a 5' wide by 10' cargo trailer that is 6' tall. Double doors in back, side door, side awning, top vent, windows on the sides. In our area an air conditioner would have been a nice idea but not used too much, with the windows, vent and doors open it should airy enough when parked. If need be we can run fans. We have the crates stacked and tied down with lots of floor space for us and hanging space for equipment. It's great to have a place to hang equipment and rain gear if needed. We can also use the trailer for other things, it's not tieing up a fairly substantial investment in a single purpose item.

I wonder if a used horse trailer could be refitted to serve the purpose? Kyle

In the past, we have used our fully enclosed horse trailer to transport our dogs to shows and trials... However, I now have a custom made, tandum axel trailer with steel framework and the rest is aluminum (both smooth and diamond plate). It is constructed with six oversized stalls (which could essentially fit 2 fully grown GSD's), a 2 large storage compartments, stainless steel piano hinges on all doors, and plenty of ventilation. It also contains a water source.. This trailer is light enough (1300 pounds) to pull, but, since it is not a feather weight and has double axels, it makes for a very stable and smooth ride. You can e-mail me for pictures... I do know that this trailer can be custom made to the taste of the owner...

I have a 4 hold WT Metall trailer I purchased from dealers in Oregon last summer. They are awesome to deal with, and I couldn't be happier with the trailer. http://www.wt-metallwest.com/ is their link. The insulation is impressive. Even in -20F degree weather, my dogs were warm and cozy this winter when we went to train. Last summer in 90 degree weather, not a one was panting. The boxes are roomy and in my opinion extremely well built and sturdy. It pulls very easily down the road and we can even tow it with our '67 and '05 Mustang Cars with no problems. It is a bit difficult to see behind our F150, but follows excellent. 80mph and no problems, it was built to go on the Autobahn. The short wheel base can make it a bit of a challenge to back up, but if you get stuck it is easy to just take off the hitch and hand push it (I am a girl and have had to do this once, lol).

How do you guys know that WT trailers are built for the autobahn. I have spent a lot of time in Germany and the trailers all have a speed limit of 100 Kilometers(62 mph) posted on the trailer. I never see anyone driving fast with their dog trailers. Maybe it is just a German law and then maybe anyone doing this should reconsider. Then again, maybe it is like the motorcycle helmet line....If you have a $20 dog ?????

Howdy, Rogers is right...... normally trailers are allowed 80 km/h. But if the trailer is suited for 100 km/h The towing vehicle has to have certain technical features. ( like ABS,hm, gues u would call it Anti Blocking System)What else is requiered i do not know exacktly. But to be on the safe side i would not exceed 60 - 65 mp/h. Have a safe trip !! Ulli

On Sunday, we recieved our custom built WT-Metall crates for the back end of our fifth wheel camper. In the US, this back end floor plan has been referred to as a "toy hauler" (i.e. for four wheelers, dirt bikes, etc.) or a "garage." We are very happy with the USA distributor we worked with, and also the custom crates. WT-Metall and the distributor sized them PERFECTLY. The design calls for two large dog crates along each side of the "garage" of the camper, with direct ventilation on each side. One of the large crates has an insert which can divide that particular crate into smaller areas for two smaller dogs (or pups) vs. one large dog. We ordered the custom crates last fall, with expected delivery around March of 2006. When the shipment arrived in the US, one of the two sides was damaged. Our USA distributor managed all that, and a replacement was shipped immediately - and we recieved both parts (two sides for the camper "garage") on Sunday. At our request, the distributor also made custom wood floor inserts. We thought the slats were too far apart, and the distributor has been very easy to work with in solving this problem. Rather than ship these inserts back and forth, we agreed to use the slats provided, move them closer together on each frame, and let him know how many additional slats will be needed to complete the project to our satisfaction. The distributor agreed to this with no problem. We are very pleased with the custom crates, and also the service we have recieved. If anyone would like more information about our experience, please e-mail me at beth@goDTW.com. If any interested parties are in the US Midwest, look for us at the Stateline show (show line conformation), the Great Lakes Regional Show (Franklin KY) the vom Haus Miller Show (in August, I think, in WI) or the WDA Sieger Show in St. Louis. We will be happy to show you what we ended up with. DTW

Quick update - our US distributor Roy Sorensen out of New Brunswick NJ sent us several slats in differing widths to work with us on the wood floor inserts. We were able to work with the various sizes to come up with a slat distance that we feel comfortable with, and that "fits" on the frame to meet the bottom sizes of the crates. This has been an awesome buying experience, and we can't wait for our first camping adventure with the dogs and crates going to a trial and show Memorial Day Weekend. beth@goDTW.com for more info on this distributor!!

Lonewolf I am assuming you have a separate deep cycle battery to run your apparatus? That kind of cycling will kill most car batteries in short order. Also, anyone who tries this has to be careful about charging secondary battery off of alternator as the load on the alternater can cause premature failure of that as well without the right set up. I know folks who have had both issues happen. I have a deep cycle AGM glass mat battery (no hydrogen gas and is MUCH safer than regular lead acid in an enclosed space) in the back of my SUV that I charge off of AC using standard 12V battery charger but can get about two days running my fans and still not drop below 12 volts. I have some AC 10 inch box fans that have a 12VDC transformer and go straight into them with DC so as not to suffer energy losses using an inverter - they move a lot of air with 5 blades and are cheaper than radiator fans - Got them from Walmart. "O2Cool" and am also looking at the pump/tubing option but looking at a 12VDC cheap pump. Is the pond pump bettery operated? What does it draw? When I can I may get radiator fans as they appear to be more durable - these little fans only draw 0.7 amps each though.