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About Livestock Semitrailers

Livestock semitrailers come in fifth-wheel and gooseneck models. Also known as “cattle pots,” “stock trailers,” “swine trailers,” “cattle haulers,” “cattle trailers,” and other names, they’re designed to transport sheep, hogs, and cattle in multiple interior levels and compartments. Livestock trailers have slatted or punch sides and sometimes additional vents to give the animals sufficient ventilation.

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Wilson Silverstar Livestock Semitrailer

Construction

You’ll find new and used livestock trailers for sale made of aluminum, steel, or a combination of the two. Steel livestock trailers are generally less expensive, but aluminum trailers are lighter and more resistant to corrosion.

Livestock trailers generally have roll-up or barn doors in the back and often one or more escape doors or access doors on the sides. Most stock trailers are designed to back up to a chute to allow animals to enter and exit, but ground-load models have a low enough entrance for animals to step up into.

Load Balancing

Livestock semitrailers include configurable interior partitions to keep the animals from crowding each other and shifting the weight balance of the trailer. These are called “divider doors,” “crowd gates,” “calf gates,” and more.

Some gates convert to ramps to allow livestock to walk into an upper or lower deck. Some are counterbalanced to make them easy to raise or lower with one hand, which is helpful when the operator needs to close the gate to keep cattle from backing out.

Floating Decks & Doghouses

The upper level in the nose of the trailer, called the “cap deck,” may be adjustable for height to give mature cattle more back clearance. This floating deck may be a called a “crank-up” or “crank-down” deck if the operator uses a winch to raise or lower it. Some trailers can raise their floating decks using pneumatic air power.

The doghouse, jail, or calf deck is a compartment along one side of the upper deck. It is described based on its length inside the trailer. For example, a full doghouse extends from the rear of the trailer all the way to its nose decks, a three-quarter doghouse is about 75% as long, and so on.

Flooring

Livestock trailers generally have metal floors, but some are made of pressure-treated wood, polymer (such as PolyCleat), or recycled tire rubber (such as Rumber). Metal floors may be covered by mats or diamond-plated, cleated, or otherwise textured to help livestock keep their footing. Note that in areas with sandy soils, cattle hooves may track in enough grit to pose an abrasion risk to aluminum flooring. Metal and wood floors alike must be cleaned out and dried after use to prevent deterioration from urine and moisture.

Options

A popular option in colder climes is a winter kit, also called a “weather kit” or “weather boards.” These attach to the sides of the stock trailer to cover up some of the ventilation slats or vents to keep animals warm.

Some livestock trailers have optional translucent roof panels made of materials such as Kemlite to let in natural light.

Find The Right Livestock Semitrailer

Manufacturers of new and used livestock semitrailers available on TruckPaper.com include Barrett , Eby , Merritt , Neville , Wilson , and others. Elsewhere on the site you’ll find horse trailers as well as non-semi livestock trailers such as bumper-pull models.