What is the best and lightest bumperpull trailer on the market (2 or three horse) with or without a dressing room? I’ve heard that the european trailers (brenderup, boeckman, fautras, etc.) are some of the lightest. I’m very interested to hear what you have to say!
Thank you:)
“Best” can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. 
What are YOUR main “must have” features and what kind of vehicle will you be towing with? How many horses normally? Short or long trips? Lots of gear or no? Big horses or small? Lots of mountains? Will you drive much in the winter?
To me, those two parameters are mutually exclusive. One of my big priorities is safety in structural strength and integrity should the trailer get hit. When I see “lightweight,” I see thin materials and crunchability.
As DW said, “best” has varying definitions. Perhaps your question should be, what trailer would be best suited to my needs.
Best: The one I paid cash for. 2 horse steel trailer with no tack room, I can pull with my already-owned Expedition.
Seriously though, what size horse(s)? What are you hauling to (camping, shows, etc.)?
The best for me would be a wide, 13’ long, extra tall stock trailer with a swinging tack room door and a ramp. Would be right around 3,000 lbs likely. Works for horses, mare and foal, and hauling equipment/4 wheelers, etc., loads to the dump, and smaller livestock. That may not be the case for you.
I was going to get a Fautras to replace my Brenderup. Brenderup had the ABSOLUTE best customer service ever- quick phone calls back, etc. I am not feeling that same sort of commitment from Frautras. That makes me very sad. My Brup has been terrific- the floor issue being it’s only (serious) shortcoming.
Okay, can any european trailer lovers clarify this point for me?
A lot of very knowledgeable horsemen I know will not touch a brenderup with a 10 mile pole. Every one of them claims to have personally seen a horse kick through the fiberglass and deglove their leg.
Does that actually happen? Should I be mortally terrified?
I was seriously thinking about replacing my (all-aluminum) trailer with one of the Bockmann aluminum skin models. My only option for a tow vehicle right now for a number of reasons is a 5.7L Jeep Grand Cherokee (2007, with the tow package, 7400lb rating). It should be able to pull a Bockmann or similar easily, but now I’m hearing I am about to cause my horse’s imminent demise.
The farthest ride this trailer will take is probably ~150 miles up into vermont to GMHA, or a few hundred highway miles to get to Pennsylvania.
Truth?
[QUOTE=soloudinhere;6938791]
Okay, can any european trailer lovers clarify this point for me?
A lot of very knowledgeable horsemen I know will not touch a brenderup with a 10 mile pole. Every one of them claims to have personally seen a horse kick through the fiberglass and deglove their leg.
Does that actually happen? Should I be mortally terrified?
I was seriously thinking about replacing my (all-aluminum) trailer with one of the Bockmann aluminum skin models. My only option for a tow vehicle right now for a number of reasons is a 5.7L Jeep Grand Cherokee (2007, with the tow package, 7400lb rating). It should be able to pull a Bockmann or similar easily, but now I’m hearing I am about to cause my horse’s imminent demise.
The farthest ride this trailer will take is probably ~150 miles up into vermont to GMHA, or a few hundred highway miles to get to Pennsylvania.
Truth?[/QUOTE]
I personally know of a horse who kicked the front access door open on his owner’s Brenderup and basically destroyed his leg, BUT I have no way of knowing if that door was securely latched (could have been, I doubt anyone knows) or what the other facts are. I haven’t (personally) heard of one actually kicking through the wall…
Your tow rating strikes me as really high for an SUV. That’s nice! In that case I think your bigger issue is probably the wheelbase on that vehicle.
[QUOTE=soloudinhere;6938791]
Every one of them claims to have personally seen a horse kick through the fiberglass and deglove their leg.[/QUOTE]
If they’d seen one kicked through, they’d know it’s not fiberglass. That’s your first clue.
Ask actual Brenderup owners what they think of the trailers. Not those who circulate the same second-, third-, and fourth-hand stories.
I had one for almost 10 years and LOVED it. If I needed a small/lightweight one and if they were still available I’d buy another without hesitation, assuming I didn’t like another type better. I am not into blind brand loyalty OR into blind brand bashing, but I’ve owned one so I feel qualified at least to have a “non blind” opinion. 
In e uk we use ifor Williams.
The is a good brand in the uk that are light and good quality. Ifor Williams is the name of them. We have been using them for years. They are the main brand over here.
Hope this helps.
Have had a Brenderup for many years. No issues. Big horses. Love It.
Also have a four horse 4 Star and I love it too. It is really nice not to drive the one ton truck just to take one horse to the vet or to a show.
[QUOTE=soloudinhere;6938791]
Okay, can any european trailer lovers clarify this point for me?
A lot of very knowledgeable horsemen I know will not touch a brenderup with a 10 mile pole. Every one of them claims to have personally seen a horse kick through the fiberglass and deglove their leg.
Does that actually happen? Should I be mortally terrified?
I was seriously thinking about replacing my (all-aluminum) trailer with one of the Bockmann aluminum skin models. My only option for a tow vehicle right now for a number of reasons is a 5.7L Jeep Grand Cherokee (2007, with the tow package, 7400lb rating). It should be able to pull a Bockmann or similar easily, but now I’m hearing I am about to cause my horse’s imminent demise.
The farthest ride this trailer will take is probably ~150 miles up into vermont to GMHA, or a few hundred highway miles to get to Pennsylvania.
Truth?[/QUOTE]
The Böckmann is a really, really nice product and very well made. I really had my heart set on a Portax AK, but got lucky and scored something local that meets my needs for a fraction of the cost. And no issue with your two vehicle…mine is similar, but a 2012 model. I agree with deltawave…get input from actual Euro-trailer owners because there is very much a bias at play in North America. For where you are, Maple Lane in Ontario may be your best bet for Böckmann or Traveled Lane in MD if you want to head in the other direction.
I had a brenderup for about 8 years. LOVED it. Used for two different horses, 16/3-17 hands, no problem. I never actually hauled two horses in it, however. Either just one horse or one horse and hay bales/shavings on the other side. Pulled w/ a Tahoe. Minimal maintenance problems. If my current mare hadn’t insisted on riding sideways, I’d still have it… not familiar with the other Euro brands that are coming around.
I’m mostly a local hauler- ie less than 3 hours
Twilite horse trailers
Twilite horse trailers are light. I contacted them about pulling with a Tacoma. The Duchess w/out tack room can be pulled by small SUV or truck and it looks inviting for the horse not like those European trailers that looks like traps.
EDIT: As usual; no good deed goes unpunished here on COTH. :rolleyes: Fixed the misquote.
To the OP: I see you’re fairly new to the forums. Try searching for “Brenderup.” This topic comes up several times a year, so you’ll find lots of testimonials, links to online reviews that will explain how these trailers work, etc. You’ll also find some good threads comparing Bockmann, Brenderup, Fautras, St. Georges, etc.
jn4jenny, did you quote the right post?
[QUOTE=olim2005;7550441]
Twilite horse trailers are light. I contacted them about pulling with a Tacoma. The Duchess w/out tack room can be pulled by small SUV or truck and it looks inviting for the horse not like those European trailers that looks like traps.[/QUOTE]My first thought was UGH! what an ugly trailer. I’ll take my Brenderup Royal, thanks! The front end of the Twilite trailers doesn’t look like a horse trailer at all to me. Can anyone tell me what the point is to having a window from the horse area into the tack room when the tack room has no windows to the outside? I was looking at trailers last weekend wondering about this, now the Twilite site shows tit too.
[QUOTE=jn4jenny;7550481]
I see you’re fairly new to the forums. Try searching for “Brenderup.” This topic comes up several times a year, so you’ll find lots of testimonials, links to online reviews that will explain how these trailers work, etc. You’ll also find some good threads comparing Bockmann, Brenderup, Fautras, St. Georges, etc.[/QUOTE]
This.
The European trailers are made for smaller cars and narrower roads. A very few do exist to be wider than two horse but they are hard to find.
And they are designed to have breaks that do not rely on break boxes. Again, designed to be pulled with smaller vehicles, no 5 ton truck to road block the trailer.
Poop always happens around horses, of course they will find a way to mutilate themselves in a nice shiny European trailer, same as in a padded US one…
I, too, have been thinking about getting a Brenderup for some time… but the haters are making me hesitant! I’ve seen sooo many people raving about how much they love their Brenderups, but the fact that so many people think they’re unsafe and will judge me for being a bad horse owner makes me nervous.
Maybe I care too much what other people think, but I’ve never owned a trailer myself and don’t know a lot about it to be honest. So I’ve been on the fence about it.
[QUOTE=OTTBs;7551875]
jn4jenny, did you quote the right post?[/QUOTE]
Yup. As someone who’s hung out on the Brenderup threads for years, that’s pretty much the same way every Brenderup thread starts.
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