They look interesting. Seeing what your experiences are.
I donāt have experience pulling them myself, however, my
horse has trailered in one. Although it was 7ā6 in height it just seemed small. My tb will walk himself into my ānormalā trailer but baulked going into that thing. Additionally, the trailers escape door also felt small. And there was only one on the trailer, but that may be different from trailer type to trailer type.
I also get a really uneasy feeling seeing them pulled by SUVs and jeeps. Their breaking system is different too - not the typical electrical breaks that a normal truck and trailer have.
I donāt think theyāre much cheaper than other trailers. They arenāt for me personally.
I bought 2016 Champion R in March and I adore it. I tow with an SUV (Hyundai Santa Fe). I only ever haul one horse. I donāt feel comfortable with the weight of a second with the SUV (though itās about stress on the engine/transmission, the braking is phenomenal). Theyāre designed differently than North American trailers, lower tongue weight, different balance, etc, and are often hauled by sedans in Europe.
If I hauled 2 horses regularly, I might find it a bit small. I only have one horse, so itās met my needs perfectly. Iām starting to event, and my two sets if tack (dressage and CC) fit nicely in the cabinet.
My mare happily self-loads and hauls well, but sheās always been a good loader and traveler.
Happy to answer any specific questions.
I bought a Big Master a few years ago. It tows beautifully. My horse was not a good loader before I got this trailer - by the third trip in it she turned into a self-loader, which I attribute to the WCF shocks. I have medium-sized horses, so I canāt say anything about the height, but unless you have a 17hh+ horse I canāt see it being a problem.
I like the safety features (able to release the butt bar or chest bar from outside the trailer should a horse get trapped), I like that itās bright inside, the ramp goes up and down easily and isnāt slippery, the trailer seems to ventilate well - horse steps off dry after an hour in 85 degree weather.
I only haul locally, so I donāt miss the lack of a dressing room, though I can fit a lot of stuff in the storage area. Probably the only thing that I donāt like is the roll-down flap over the ramp, though I can deal with it.
The fact that my horse, who previously was not the best traveller, reliably loads herself and stands quietly on it, says a lot about how it rides.
I am glad to hear it rides well, I find my mare dislikes the ride of straight load bumper trailers which makes things a bit limiting if you want to buy a trailer in the future for just one horse.
I have a comfort (I think itās only available in the EU). My horse loves it, our pony loves it and I love it. Itās great to tow, I pull two horses with a smaller SUV the breaks are integrated into the trailer (as is usual in the EU) and they work well. The ramp is super safe and the tack locker on it actually fits tack for two horses ðŸĖÅ
I have a portax LK. Itās a phenomenal trailer, I honestly canāt say enough good things about it. My horse is probably 17.3h and we pull it with a Range Rover sport. If I can i can ever get another horse to pass the vet, i will haul two of them no problem.
My horse is a nervous guy, but he walks off the trailer cool as a cucumber even though Iām not an experienced trailer driver. I watch him on an iball camera i put in using some magnets and he looks relaxed. I have the navy bow top and I really hesitated bc I live in southern California and assumed it would be too hot. It really does stay cool. The tack locker can get warm but the double aluminum walls seem to keep the trailer itself cool. I hauled him last week in 95 degree heat and he only had a tiny bit of sweat at his halter and none on his body. And I had to take a canyon road to avoid traffic, so I was certainly sweating!!!
Itās super easy to clean, and Iāve gotten pretty good at backing it up my steep driveway to park it.
The breaks are unreal, they work so well. One of the first days I was practicing driving without a horse, someone cut me right off and I had to break hard and there was no pushing at all against the car, it just stopped straight and easy. Kind of amazing.
While it wasnāt cheap, we didnāt have to get another car to pull it with. we honestly donāt have room for another car in our driveway. And itās a lot cheaper and more practical than a horsebox. And my horse is so much more relaxed traveling in the boeckmann than the horse box. I did a test run and he was plastered against the side wall for balance.
Love mine as well. Have towed my giants with no issue ⦠when I say giants one is 17.2 and 1650 lbs weighed at the vet clinic. Brilliants, thoughtfully designed trailer. Highly highly recommend.
Iāve had my Big Champion for a little over a year and really like it. It tows great (I tow with a Toyota Tacoma). The butt bars and ramp are easy to put up. Itās easy to hitch up. Itās light and airy and easy to clean. It has good safety features. Mine was similar in price to other high end new trailers (like Hawk). They seem to retain their value well and used ones get snapped up pretty quickly. Iāve towed several friendsā horses and theyāve all stepped on without any hesitation. My mare has some loading issues, but is not any worse loading on my Bockmann than on my trainerās 2H. The tack compartment has plenty of room if Iām just taking my horse, but if Iām taking a friendās we usually have to put stuff in the truck (this is primarily because we event - no way 4 saddles are going to fit in there. For other disciplines, I think there would be room for tack for 2 horses). My only complaint is that i donāt really like where the rings for haynets are in the trailer and Iām not brave enough to drill holes in my brand new trailer to add more hooks yet. Maybe in a few years.
Hoping some of you may still respond to this thread!
I am new to trailer owning and about to purchase a Bockmann, but as I am in California, I cannot see any in person. I event with my 16.3 TB, but will likely mostly only haul one horse to horse trials. However, I do want to be able to take a couple bales of hay and such in the trailer --I drive mid-sized BMW X5 (which can pull 6K), not a truck.
I have come down to either Big Master or Big Master L, as Iām in a hot climate and I want the biggest tack space I can manage. Anyone have bad things to say about the Master series? Do those in the know think I need the Long? It also has a higher payload of 3390 lbs over the regular Big Master 3071lbs. Or will a Big Master give me enough foward room and payload?
And hereās the fun question: buy a ready to go dark grey on light grey for immediate use, last yearās price, and less attention from law enforcement if I inch over 55mph (lol) OR get the slightly more costly, fun retro colors I love, more visible to other drivers for safety but also potentially unwanted attention.
Thanks in Advance!!
personally I would get the long, you can never have too much tack space in my opinion. We tor color, if you can afford it I would get what you love! Just stick to 55, lol
I wish I had found this thread earlier! I just bought a 2015 Big Master and will be driving it for the first time to a lesson tomorrow.
I will say⦠itās a fine looking trailer. I pull it with a VW Atlas and they look sharp together. Iāve scoured it to find all the bells and whistles and theyāve thought of everything, right down to moulded storage for the feed buckets. Horse seems to like it so far, tomorrow will tell the full tale.
I got so lucky, it was on a dealer lot only 30 minutes away.
Pehsness, are you in Canada? Is your big master burgundy? If so, I almost bought that one! Hope it serves you well!
Not exactly the same but I had a Brenderup for 8 years. Hauled a 17 hand trakehner mare in it. And a 16ā3 hand TB. (not at same time) They both were very happy to climb in and ride quietly and back out. Then I got a slightly smaller WB mare who was not comfortable in it - scrambled around enough to be worrisome. She was happier in slant load and may have done ok in a different design front load.
Iām a ālocalā hauler only and LOVED LOVED my little trailer. Now have a traditional BP and its fine, but I still miss the other one.
@2tempe, which Brup did you have? I have a Solo, and my 15.3H mare liked it. I just got a larger horse, 16.2H, and not sure how well that one will fit.