1) only 10 ply tires on ours, three blew up on a single trip, now I have 16 ply on all of them. 2) Sofa (leatherette or whatever you call the cheap material) - a year into it and it started to deteriorate 3) agree with the ramp holder, mine gets typically caught in the door and the door has bend 4) accessibility, i hate that I can not access anything, we had a water leak - try to get to the tank. 5) counter tops, I reinforced all of them as they were thin with trim making it look thick, one bump and it came loose, glued wood enforcement behind them 6) cook top, no electric ignition 7) shades, they dont fold up correctly anymore, we have to hand fold every single one when pushing up 8) radio - this one did not survive the first year, replaced with Pioneer 9) i had multiple shorts in the overhead lamps, I realized that cables were not a single run but were stitched together with wire nuts in the ceiling 10) did I mention the 10 ply tires....?
Wow crazy, that's a lot of issues! Whenever I have something go wrong I will reach out to Lakota and talk to them about it. They are actually really helpful and sometimes they will send me a replacement part.
BINGO!! I, too, have a lakota trailer and was always told how great they are. Unfortunately, I discovered how cheap they are built. Almost everything you discovered was spot on! The only things I didn't experience were options my trailer doesn't have but I have other complaints that you didn't mention. I am glad you brought it to light on youtube as I have only let Lakota know via telephone conversations.
Let's see...We've owned 2 Bighorn LQ's....Here are just some of the issues we endured over several years... 1) Leaking skylight in bathroom. "Fixed" 3 times by dealer, but finally had to replace it altogether. 2) Shower door shattered while we were going down the road. Not on a bumpy stretch of highway either. Strangest thing we'd ever seen, but it burst into smithereens we think due to issue #3 below. 3) Discovered that axles were slightly misaligned causing slight drag going down the road. Wore through tires like crazy, and likely "torqued" the entire trailer chassis causing stress and buckling. 4) Entire front bulkhead leading up to sleeping area shifted by 1" and actually moved the queen sized sleeper couch out of position. Had to be realigned and re-fastened in place. 5) Slide out got stuck in the out position. Had to manually crank it in with my drill. 6) Tons of breaker and fuse issues. Seemed like every trip we had something blow. 7) Windows suck (as you mention). Seals are cheap, and the crank opening mechanism broke and Lakota didn't stock parts any more. 8) Dual hydraulic jacks (Big Foot brand) constantly leaked hydraulic fluid. 9) Crappy batteries that wouldn't hold a charge and couldn't even retract the slideout when disconnected from shore power. Replaced. 10) Mattress: Threw away the stock one that came with the trailer. Piece of crap. Replaced with a better one to our liking. 11) Recessed ceiling in sleeping area. We thought that was a nice feature for a little extra headroom. Until we noticed exposed wiring and molding that didn't fit properly. It was a "warranty issue", but it took 2 months to get the right molding shipped from Lakota to our dealer. 12) Fridge didn't work on Day 1. Had it swapped out from another trailer on the dealer's lot. 13) Brake power applied at different levels to each wheel. Tried multiple after-market brake controllers, but same result. Severe difference in tread wear due to variable levels of power going to brakes from truck. 14) Horse area drop down window latches needed constant adjusting or the windows would just flop down going down the road. Thank goodness the jail bars remained in place. 15) Installed solar on roof as after-market addition. Looked slick but never augmented batter power at all. 16) Trailer never pulled "solid". Always felt some drift and rocking going down the road. Unstable pull even with 1-ton RAM dually, and Freightliner M2-106. After 2 Lakota Bighorns (double axle, then triple axle), we traded up and had a 5 horse triple axle Platinum custom built. It is quality in every aspect and we love it. Although it is far more expensive than a Lakota, the old adage remains true. "You get what you pay for!." We have zero aggravation and now enjoy going down the road to horse shows worry free! Thanks for the video, and thanks for letting me document our woes with Lakota. They are a cheap brand for people who don't know any better.
That's carzy that you got two lemons like that. I'd start worring about using that dealer and if they are selling junk. I'm glad we haven't had the same problems sorry you had to go through all of that and thanks for sharing your story!
Curious of the year your trailer was manufactured? Looking at a new Lakota Big Horn and curious how their quality compares to our current Elite w/Trail Boss Interior.
Don't go to trailer specialties in Lodi They did warranty work had trailer for a month and didn't even get half the stuff done instead it was ready to go
Elite, Bloomer, Cimarron, 4 Star, Platinum all have a much better built trailer. You will pay a lot more so depends on how you use the trailer to justify the quality you need.
Yes, our whole traveling lifestyle revolves around them. We hunt, train, and compete in field trails all over the country. I have a lot of videos about them on my channel if you are interested.
It really depends on your truck build but your numbers are high unless you have HEMI. I'd recomend looking up your tow ratings by your vin number. www.ram.com/ae/en/towing-guide.html
The problem isn’t pulling the weight the problem is stopping that much weight. But him with that long of trailer with 2 8,000 lb axles with that much weight is a lot of weight. We have a Lakota with 2 10,000 lbs axles with a 50ft trailer and oil bath seals and my husband checked the bearings and hubs less than a 1,000 miles ago and it blew a seal and got so hot it turned the axle up like a banana. We have been waiting in SD for an axle from Lakota and got it today. Been broke down since Friday August 9th, 2024. We have packed the other bearings with grease.
I worked at Fleetwood in Indiana. Rest assured, I would never buy any product that has a slide out! Customers were always having issues with slide outs. It’s best to never have one.
Next time you're better off having trailer custom built and having it built to your specs. That is what I'm doing with my next trailer. Unfortunately, Lakota's and a few other brands are spec made and done very cheaply.
Yes you are correct if you want your trailer to be about $200000 plus. I don't think lakota is cheaply made its more so you get what you pay for at a lower price range then lets say a 4 star.
Our Lakota horse shoulder bought brand new and we had great problems wood problems fading stickers falling off door doesn't say shut latch broke the piece of s***
We had one it was the worst. Would never recommend one of there trailer’s. Think about where it’s built R V capital of the world. Cheap Cheap It mite look nice at the dealership but if U go an use it Hang on ! My list would have been 10 fold. Best thing is to steer clear.
I have 3 things to say about Lakota horse trailersI have 3 things to say about Lakota horse trailers They cost too much they're built very cheap and they fall apart
Brutal honesty is what drives industry to do better. Thanks!
1) only 10 ply tires on ours, three blew up on a single trip, now I have 16 ply on all of them.
2) Sofa (leatherette or whatever you call the cheap material) - a year into it and it started to deteriorate
3) agree with the ramp holder, mine gets typically caught in the door and the door has bend
4) accessibility, i hate that I can not access anything, we had a water leak - try to get to the tank.
5) counter tops, I reinforced all of them as they were thin with trim making it look thick, one bump and it came loose, glued wood enforcement behind them
6) cook top, no electric ignition
7) shades, they dont fold up correctly anymore, we have to hand fold every single one when pushing up
8) radio - this one did not survive the first year, replaced with Pioneer
9) i had multiple shorts in the overhead lamps, I realized that cables were not a single run but were stitched together with wire nuts in the ceiling
10) did I mention the 10 ply tires....?
Wow crazy, that's a lot of issues! Whenever I have something go wrong I will reach out to Lakota and talk to them about it. They are actually really helpful and sometimes they will send me a replacement part.
We had one. Ours was a 3 horse 35 ft. The roof was scary. We had a note in ours that said don't walk on the roof or you'll fall through...
So does ours but I still have to get up there to do projects. I wish they would use a thicker sheet of metal on the roof.
BINGO!!
I, too, have a lakota trailer and was always told how great they are. Unfortunately, I discovered how cheap they are built. Almost everything you discovered was spot on! The only things I didn't experience were options my trailer doesn't have but I have other complaints that you didn't mention. I am glad you brought it to light on youtube as I have only let Lakota know via telephone conversations.
Let's see...We've owned 2 Bighorn LQ's....Here are just some of the issues we endured over several years...
1) Leaking skylight in bathroom. "Fixed" 3 times by dealer, but finally had to replace it altogether.
2) Shower door shattered while we were going down the road. Not on a bumpy stretch of highway either. Strangest thing we'd ever seen, but it burst into smithereens we think due to issue #3 below.
3) Discovered that axles were slightly misaligned causing slight drag going down the road. Wore through tires like crazy, and likely "torqued" the entire trailer chassis causing stress and buckling.
4) Entire front bulkhead leading up to sleeping area shifted by 1" and actually moved the queen sized sleeper couch out of position. Had to be realigned and re-fastened in place.
5) Slide out got stuck in the out position. Had to manually crank it in with my drill.
6) Tons of breaker and fuse issues. Seemed like every trip we had something blow.
7) Windows suck (as you mention). Seals are cheap, and the crank opening mechanism broke and Lakota didn't stock parts any more.
8) Dual hydraulic jacks (Big Foot brand) constantly leaked hydraulic fluid.
9) Crappy batteries that wouldn't hold a charge and couldn't even retract the slideout when disconnected from shore power. Replaced.
10) Mattress: Threw away the stock one that came with the trailer. Piece of crap. Replaced with a better one to our liking.
11) Recessed ceiling in sleeping area. We thought that was a nice feature for a little extra headroom. Until we noticed exposed wiring and molding that didn't fit properly. It was a "warranty issue", but it took 2 months to get the right molding shipped from Lakota to our dealer.
12) Fridge didn't work on Day 1. Had it swapped out from another trailer on the dealer's lot.
13) Brake power applied at different levels to each wheel. Tried multiple after-market brake controllers, but same result. Severe difference in tread wear due to variable levels of power going to brakes from truck.
14) Horse area drop down window latches needed constant adjusting or the windows would just flop down going down the road. Thank goodness the jail bars remained in place.
15) Installed solar on roof as after-market addition. Looked slick but never augmented batter power at all.
16) Trailer never pulled "solid". Always felt some drift and rocking going down the road. Unstable pull even with 1-ton RAM dually, and Freightliner M2-106.
After 2 Lakota Bighorns (double axle, then triple axle), we traded up and had a 5 horse triple axle Platinum custom built. It is quality in every aspect and we love it. Although it is far more expensive than a Lakota, the old adage remains true. "You get what you pay for!." We have zero aggravation and now enjoy going down the road to horse shows worry free!
Thanks for the video, and thanks for letting me document our woes with Lakota. They are a cheap brand for people who don't know any better.
That's carzy that you got two lemons like that. I'd start worring about using that dealer and if they are selling junk. I'm glad we haven't had the same problems sorry you had to go through all of that and thanks for sharing your story!
Curious of the year your trailer was manufactured? Looking at a new Lakota Big Horn and curious how their quality compares to our current Elite w/Trail Boss Interior.
2019
Elite is a better trailer
Elite is 10 x a better trailer also had one of those
Don't go to trailer specialties in Lodi They did warranty work had trailer for a month and didn't even get half the stuff done instead it was ready to go
Elite, Bloomer, Cimarron, 4 Star, Platinum all have a much better built trailer. You will pay a lot more so depends on how you use the trailer to justify the quality you need.
What type of places do find to camp? We’re looking at a camper built for traveling with dogs.
Fairgrounds, national parks, BLM land, RV parks, horse hotels, I would say most places unless they are not dog friendly.
What do you do with the dogs? Are they all pets?
Yes, our whole traveling lifestyle revolves around them. We hunt, train, and compete in field trails all over the country. I have a lot of videos about them on my channel if you are interested.
Not sure about any other vehicles our 2020 3500 has a payload of 7500 pounds, and designed to pull a 35,000 lb trailer.
It really depends on your truck build but your numbers are high unless you have HEMI. I'd recomend looking up your tow ratings by your vin number. www.ram.com/ae/en/towing-guide.html
The problem isn’t pulling the weight the problem is stopping that much weight. But him with that long of trailer with 2 8,000 lb axles with that much weight is a lot of weight. We have a Lakota with 2 10,000 lbs axles with a 50ft trailer and oil bath seals and my husband checked the bearings and hubs less than a 1,000 miles ago and it blew a seal and got so hot it turned the axle up like a banana. We have been waiting in SD for an axle from Lakota and got it today. Been broke down since Friday August 9th, 2024. We have packed the other bearings with grease.
@@bridleridgestablesandfarm8956 Its never fun dealing with those kind of issues.
Get a SMC or a DD. Much better built and you can get it the way you want things.
Lakota and SMC is pretty much similar and owned by the same parent company I believe.
Correct.
I worked at Fleetwood in Indiana. Rest assured, I would never buy any product that has a slide out! Customers were always having issues with slide outs. It’s best to never have one.
I totally agree if we didn't live fulltime in it. 😬
Cable slides are a wreck looking 👀 to happen, they are BAD ! Hydraulics is the only way to go
Got 1 48ft long.pull one 1st u want it harder get around. And 5500 Ram not good match
I'm not in the market right now but I really enjoy looking at photos.
Next time you're better off having trailer custom built and having it built to your specs. That is what I'm doing with my next trailer. Unfortunately, Lakota's and a few other brands are spec made and done very cheaply.
Yes you are correct if you want your trailer to be about $200000 plus. I don't think lakota is cheaply made its more so you get what you pay for at a lower price range then lets say a 4 star.
Our Lakota horse shoulder bought brand new and we had great problems wood problems fading stickers falling off door doesn't say shut latch broke the piece of s***
We had one it was the worst. Would never recommend one of there trailer’s. Think about where it’s built R V capital of the world. Cheap Cheap It mite look nice at the dealership but if U go an use it Hang on ! My list would have been 10 fold. Best thing is to steer clear.
I have 3 things to say about Lakota horse trailersI have 3 things to say about Lakota horse trailers They cost too much they're built very cheap and they fall apart
First thing is that it’s a Lakota!
Omg, these trailers aren’t made to live in full time!
Id never ever buy that brand, so you need to sell it buy another.
You get what you pay for