Eby vs. elite

I'm considering trading in my 2011 eby maverick that is 20 x 7 on a 2004 elite that is a 24 x 8. Wanting to get some opinions if this would be a good decision or if it would be better just to stick with my eby

If it were me I'd keep your trailer. I love the ebys, your getting some extra room and maybe some look but ebys are real durable and good trailers

I am presently waiting on a new Eby trailer to arrive( 7X 28). I looked at many different makes, including the Elite trailer, and my decision came down to either an Eby or Wilson. The Elite was slightly lower priced but IMO, it was also not made quite as good either, IMO. I was also able to get a few options on the Eby that were not available on most other trailers. Both the Eby and Wilson had waiting lists of several months, so they must be selling lots of them. Most of the other trailers I considered could make a trailer to my specs within a few weeks. Eby had the longest wait of 5 months but I lucked out and was able to get a spot several weeks earlier when someone cancelled and my salesman called in a favor with the company.

All in all there are lots of good trailers on the market and what you get depends on how much you use it and what you use it for. I also have a 7X 20 aluminum Featherlite which is OK but I have already had some welds break on it with only limited use ( mostly my wife's horses). I am going to sell my 7X 24 steel Southland trailer that has been an excellent trailer with absolutely no problems in 10 years and thousands of miles. It is just starting to rust in a few places, like most steel trailers eventually do.

justintime said:

I am presently waiting on a new Eby trailer to arrive( 7X 28). I looked at many different makes, including the Elite trailer, and my decision came down to either an Eby or Wilson. The Elite was slightly lower priced but IMO, it was also not made quite as good either, IMO. I was also able to get a few options on the Eby that were not available on most other trailers. Both the Eby and Wilson had waiting lists of several months, so they must be selling lots of them. Most of the other trailers I considered could make a trailer to my specs within a few weeks. Eby had the longest wait of 5 months but I lucked out and was able to get a spot several weeks earlier when someone cancelled and my salesman called in a favor with the company.

All in all there are lots of good trailers on the market and what you get depends on how much you use it and what you use it for. I also have a 7X 20 aluminum Featherlite which is OK but I have already had some welds break on it with only limited use ( mostly my wife's horses).

Click to expand...

What made the decision for you between Wilson and Eby.  I'm getting ready to order, and it's down to these choices as well.  Can't decide for sure what I want to do.

BlkAngus said:

justintime said:

I am presently waiting on a new Eby trailer to arrive( 7X 28). I looked at many different makes, including the Elite trailer, and my decision came down to either an Eby or Wilson. The Elite was slightly lower priced but IMO, it was also not made quite as good either, IMO. I was also able to get a few options on the Eby that were not available on most other trailers. Both the Eby and Wilson had waiting lists of several months, so they must be selling lots of them. Most of the other trailers I considered could make a trailer to my specs within a few weeks. Eby had the longest wait of 5 months but I lucked out and was able to get a spot several weeks earlier when someone cancelled and my salesman called in a favor with the company.

All in all there are lots of good trailers on the market and what you get depends on how much you use it and what you use it for. I also have a 7X 20 aluminum Featherlite which is OK but I have already had some welds break on it with only limited use ( mostly my wife's horses).

Click to expand...

What made the decision for you between Wilson and Eby.  I'm getting ready to order, and it's down to these choices as well.  Can't decide for sure what I want to do.

Click to expand...

I really liked the Wilson as well. In my case, one of the main reasons for my decision was I liked the rolling gate option you can get in the Eby. I also liked how strong the Eby top and bottom corners were built. This is going to sound a bit strange, but I wavered for quite awhile on which trailer I would get, and it came down to me liking the Eby saleman more and his willingness to try to make the sale and make me comfortable. He knew that he was going to lose me as a potential customer if I had to wait 5 months for a trailer to be built. He moved a bunch of mountains to get the trailer built in September rather than November. The Wilson saleman emailed me a price for a trailer and I never heard from him again. I finally phoned his cell and left a message to call me back and he never did, so I just decided that I would give my business to someone who actually seemed to want it. Quite frankly, if the Wilson saleman had been half decent at his job, he may have been able to convince me to buy his trailer. Two months have passed since I left a message for him to call me, and I haven't heard from him. IMO, both are excellent trailers.

I was back and forth between a Merritt and a Wilson.  Both have the punch sides and are constructed fairly similar.  Big difference was Wilson had a 4-month wait when I was looking at it back in December 2012 and I had to go pick it up at the factory. The Merritt was on the lot ready to go and the dealer gave me a decent deal on my old steel trailer.  Both  Merritt and Wilson are riveted with very few welds to break on the structural parts.  Both companies build semi trailers, as does Eby, and all three have been in business for quite a while so would figure their products will all stand some abuse.

We have been looking to get rid of our Keifer for awhile and I think we are going to get a Wilson. My husband has pulled Wilson trailers for work they hold up. Personally I wouldn't trade down in years. Unless trying to cheapen things up for yourself. If you need something bigger I would find something closer in age to the one you have. I'm sure just like a bull rack the flooring start wearing with use.

I've had my Eby for 13 months now and really like it. Mine is a 7 x 24. Like JIT, the rolling cut gate is a MAJOR plus. I wouldn't have one without it. A small thing to some, but one I really like is the tailgate handle on the neck gate.
I'm with you JIT, if you can't get service from someone when you are trying to give them your money , what's it going to be like when you have a warranty problem and trying to get their help?

Doc said:

I've had my Eby for 13 months now and really like it. Mine is a 7 x 24. Like JIT, the rolling cut gate is a MAJOR plus. I wouldn't have one without it. A small thing to some, but one I really like is the tailgate handle on the neck gate.
I'm with you JIT, if you can't get service from someone when you are trying to give them your money , what's it going to be like when you have a warranty problem and trying to get their help?

Click to expand...

I have been thinking about how much better the rolling gate ever since I made a long trip to the US a couple years ago with 1 open heifer and 7 good sized bulls( 5 yearlings, a two year old and a mature bull). I had to put the heifer by herself in one compartment and she had far too much room. The 7 bulls were packed into the rest of the trailer and they were packed far too tight. If I could have moved the gate ahead where the heifer was, everything on the load would have been much happier... and I would have been as well. I don't know why other trailer manufacturers don't offer the rolling gate as it is such a simple concept.

I will tell you up front that I am biased cause I love my Elite. Have over 50,000 miles on a just over 2 year old 7.5' x 28' Elite. I have not had a single problem.

Not to say the other trailers mentioned aren't good trailers, just sticking up for the elite.

SD
<alien>