Livestock Trailers For Sale in New Zealand

About Livestock Semi-Trailers

In Semi-Trailers category on MarketBook.co.nz, livestock trailers come in fifth-wheel and gooseneck models. Also known as “stock crates,” “cattle crates,” “stock trailers,” “stock decks,” “cattle pots,” “swine trailers,” “cattle haulers,” “cattle trailers,” and other names, they’re designed to transport sheep, hogs, and cattle in multiple interior compartments.

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Wilson Silverstar Livestock Semi-Trailer

Construction

Livestock trailers have slatted sides and sometimes additional vents to give the animals sufficient ventilation during transport. Among the available configurations are multi-combination road trains and truck-and-dog arrangements with a trailer pulled behind a cattle truck.

You’ll find new and used livestock trailers for sale made of aluminium, steel, or a combination of the two. Steel livestock trailers are generally less expensive and more heavy-duty, but aluminium and alloy trailers have lower tare weights and are more resistant to corrosion.

Loading & Balancing

Livestock semi-trailers typically have single or double decks. Some offer ramps to allow livestock to walk into an upper or lower deck; these are often powered by a hydraulic lifting mechanism.

Trailer doors or loading gates are located in the back and/or the side. Road trains and some truck-and-dog configurations may have folding chutes between their components to allow through-loading of cattle into all crates from the rearmost trailer.

Stock crates include configurable interior partitions to keep the animals from crowding each other and shifting the weight balance of the trailer. These are called division pens, divider doors, crowd gates, calf gates, and more.

Flooring & Waste Management

Livestock trailers generally have a floor of metal, although some are made of pressure-treated wood or synthetic materials. Metal floors may be covered by mats or chequer-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 aluminium flooring. Metal and wood floors alike must be cleaned out and dried after use to prevent deterioration from urine and moisture.

Floor sumps keep the flooring of a stock crate from collecting or leaking liquid waste. The pumps move the waste to effluent tanks for proper disposal.

Options

A popular option in colder months 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 Semi-Trailer

Manufacturers of new and used livestock semi-trailers available on MarketBook.co.nz include Barrett, Eby, Merritt, Neville, Wilson, and others.

Elsewhere on the site you’ll find horse trailers, as well as bumper-pull and gooseneck non-semi livestock trailers.