I'll do a little better review of my trailer in a week or so. But I've used it enough to have a few things to say about it.
1st - The fold down sides are working out very well. Nothing caught up in the gap. They are heavy, not anything that can't be lifted, but the first time I put them back up, I was surprised at the weight. I don't think this would put many folks off, but be sure you can handle the weight before you purchase.
2nd - I do have a few issues which I elaborate upon in a more thorough review. My first issue is with the barn door catching mechanism, to keep the doors from swinging closed during the dump. Load Trail's choice is crap... there is no better way to say it. It seems like it would work, but the execution and quality control was completely missed on this trailer. Basically, it is a small 'catch' right at the hinge, which is supposed to drop down over the open door hinge and prevent it from swinging forward. (I'll take a picture for my review.) However, the spring they put on this BRAND NEW TRAILER is rusted and weak as all get out, so it doesn't hook down with any pressure and simply rides up over the latch catch. And second, the Powder coating and weld is so thick and bulbous that rather than a crisp angle to catch over, it is more like a rounded ball. - The upshot is that my son, working alone, didn't recognize that the off hand door had swung down and he bent the door hinge within the first week of use. We remedied it with bungee cords for the moment, but I have to say, this one aspect would probably cause me to go with another manufacturer. It is such weak design and execution.
OK... now that that frustration is out of my blood...
Other than that, the trailer is working very well. The barn door gate bottom does sit just slightly high, leaving a 1/4" lip, over which things must slide. This catches things almost every time. Simple fix, but again, this is a lazy work, design, and QC issue that bothers me in an $8K brand new trailer. I did not know to look for it when I purchased. I will have to adjust the doors to fix the issue.
The lift is great. Nothing has given it problems. The height has not shown to be unstable in the least, and I've trailered it along side hills loaded, watching for any issue. I added a 2nd battery and solar charger/conditioner before I began using it, but have had no issues with dead battery. I use 'gravity down' each time, to save on the charge.
I'd rather it not be powder coated, but it what was available and I needed to get a trailer.
All in all, given what I know now, I would have looked more carefully at these things on all the trailers.
As I said, I will give a more thorough review in a week or two.
