Nothing slippery where a horse walks

Do you use anything that could harm a horse?

No. Nothing slippery goes anywhere a horse walks — no silicone dressings on the ramp, the floor or the step-up — and the stall area is finished so it is clean and odour-free rather than perfumed.

This is the thing that separates someone who has detailed trailers from someone who has detailed cars. A tire-shine product on a loading ramp turns it into a slide, and a horse that loses its footing loading is a serious problem for both of you.

Horses are also far more sensitive to chemical smell than people are. A stall that reeks of solvent or heavy fragrance will make a horse baulk at loading, so the stall area gets cleaned and neutralised rather than scented.

Why is my aluminum trailer going dull and chalky?

Bare aluminum oxidises on contact with air, forming a chalky white-grey layer on the surface — there is no clear coat over trailer skin, so nothing stands between the metal and the sun and salt air.

The metal underneath is fine. There is simply a layer of oxide on top of it, and multi-stage polishing cuts it off and brings the mirror back.

The catch is that bare polished aluminum starts oxidising again immediately. Polishing without sealing means doing it again next season, which is why most owners who have polished a trailer once end up coating it the second time.

Why is my aluminum trailer rusting?

Aluminum does not rust — what you are seeing is the steel in the trailer corroding, and it is accelerated because aluminum and steel in contact with moisture corrode each other. Frames, fasteners, hinges and latches are where it shows.

Nearly every "all-aluminum" trailer has steel in it somewhere: frame members, the gooseneck coupler, door hinges, latch hardware, axle components and the fasteners holding the skin on. Every one of those points is a dissimilar-metal junction.

The result is that a trailer with a spotless skin can be quietly rusting at every bolt. We clean up surface corrosion at those points and protect them; anything that has pitted deeply or gone through is a welder’s job and we will say so.

What do you do to the inside of the stall area?

The stall area is stripped out, washed down, disinfected and dried — mats lifted, dividers, kick walls, mangers, chest bars and butt bars all cleaned, and the floor underneath inspected while it is exposed.

Lifting the mats is the part most people skip and the part that matters. Urine and wash water get under rubber matting and sit there, and on a wood floor that is exactly how rot starts — out of sight, under a mat, on the one component that is holding your horse up.

We are not floor inspectors and we do not certify anything. But the mats are up and the floor is dry and visible, so if we see soft boards, heavy corrosion on an aluminum floor or anything that looks wrong, you get photographs and a straight conversation. What you do with that is between you and your trailer shop.

Can you detail the living quarters as well?

Yes. The living quarters are detailed as an RV interior rather than as part of the trailer — upholstery, cabinetry, countertops, appliances, the wet bath and the flooring — and it is quoted separately from the horse end.

They are genuinely two different jobs sharing a chassis. The stall area needs disinfecting and odour removal; the LQ needs the same care as the inside of a motorhome, including leather or vinyl dinette upholstery and a shower that has probably seen hard water.

Most owners book both together, because having the living quarters done while the trailer is already open and apart saves a second appointment.

How much does horse trailer detailing cost in San Diego?

Exterior work is priced per linear foot at one rate regardless of height — $20.70 per foot for a wash, $25.90 per foot with wax added, and $103.50 per foot for permanent Stealth Diamond Borograph ceramic. Stall and living quarters interiors are quoted separately.

So a 24 ft three-horse gooseneck starts around $622 for a full exterior detail and around $2,484 coated. A 34 ft gooseneck with living quarters starts around $881 and $3,519.

Aluminum polishing and rust work move the number, and they are the two things we cannot price from a photo of the whole trailer. Send close-ups of the worst panel and of the gooseneck coupler and hinges, and we will quote it properly.

We work around your hauling season. Most owners book between shows or at the end of the season, and we will schedule to fit that rather than the other way round.