Can a Horse Trailer Back Door be Left Open or Will it Damage the Hinges

Updated 01/13/2015 | Published 01/12/2015

Question:

After my husband finishes unloading the horses from his 3 horse gooseneck horse trailer, he leaves the back loading door open. I feel this will eventually harm the hinges and cause the doors to sag or not close. He tells me I am being my usual persnickety self. I just want to avoid a repair bill later. The wind sometimes blows the door back and forth. What do u think?

asked by: Ava

Expert Reply:

It really depends on how heavy the door is, how far it sticks out from the hinges, and how big the hinges are. You could technically say the same thing about any door that mounts on hinges. So the doors in your house you would not necessarily be closed all the time.

But at the same time the distance between the ground and the bottom of the trailer door is greater than that on a door in your house. In other words, a sagging door in a house would only go so far before being held up by the floor meaning there would be less to fix.

I do not think it is going to be a problem unless extra downward force is routinely applied to the door. So you wouldn't want to pull down on the door when it is open or hang things from it. Other than that it should be fine but it also wouldn't hurt anything to close the door.

Also, make sure the hinges are lubricated with grease to repel moisture and keep metal from grinding on metal.

expert reply by: Michael H