Menu

Stay in Touch
Sign up for ENews
Subscribe Now

Unlimited access >

Menu

Brenderup Trailers

Off Course
#1

I’m sure there are a lot of old threads on this but I think I might have a different perspective I want to get opinions on.

I am finally in the position to get my own truck and trailer (yay!!). I took all the good advice and yesterday I completely blew my budget and bought a 3/4 ton truck (2008 Dodge Ram 2500). It’s gorgeous and I love it.

So it’s time to buy a trailer. I would like to seize this time before winter to get a deal on something someone doesn’t want to store.

I would much prefer a gooseneck but this truck doesn’t have a 5th wheel hitch and considering what I paid for it, I would prefer to not have one put in right now. I just need a 2 horse and this truck has tons of space and a bed cover so don’t need anything fancy. Also not planning on long trips, 3-4 hours max maybe once or twice a year

I saw a great deal on a beautifully kept Brenderup 2 horse. Funny because of course this truck can haul about 10 of them. The benefits I see is:

1 looks super functional for one person to handle loading and unloading alone
2 less worry about rust and corrosion
3 super friendly to my beautiful truck :smiley:

But really, in the position of not needing a lightweight trailer… Would you still get one? Major cons?

#2

Cons are a lot of brenderups have floor rot issues and those are difficult to fix since the one-piece floors are not imported anymore so any solution must be aftermarket/custom made.

other replacement parts also hard to source.

if I had a big enough truck, and a low budget, I would probably get a nice steel stock trailer. Brenderups are not spacious by design so if you don’t NEED the light weight, having more space for the horses isn’t a bad thing.

6 Likes
#3

Second the nice steel stock trailer.

​​​​​​Bumper pull should be just fine for two or three horses.

They run from super basic, to having a nice tack room and a divider door.

And horses tend to haul quite well in them.

1 Like
#4

The downside to a B’up is the higher cost and parts availability. Why buy aerospace if a bus will do. The cost to put a premium GN hitch into the truck is about $400. Other than a B+W hitch… less. Think about a GN a bit more. The extra cost of the B’up would cover the GN hitch & installation plus the GN difference over the BP.

The stable towing and space of a GN is worth a lot to me. Maybe to you too.

4 Likes
#5

Thank you all so much. A friend looked at it today and actually thought it might have had a 5th wheel at one time before they put in the bed liner so I’m going to take it up to the local trailer shop and have them take a look. Might make the whole process easier.

The info on the repairs on a Brenderup is exactly the kind of info I’m looking for.

#6

I had a Brenderup for 10 years and loved it. That said, I only hauled one horse, and learned to travel light. Used if for two pretty big horses over most of that time. Finally traded it in when new horse did a lot of scrambling. More traditional bumper pull, with slant load. Then the mare decided to spend the next few years being sick or lame - but she rode good in the trailer, lol.
Agree with others re the complexities of owning one now. I’d personally not buy another slant load, but other than that you have a zillion options, depending on what’s left in the budget. Think about how much storage you want, whether you want a ramp or step up, how big your horse (s) are, etc. The Brenderup had a divider that went pretty far down, thus preventing my mare from spreading her hind legs as much as she wanted. Think about things like that, too.

#7

I put a BW hitch in my truck and have never regretted it. It was used when I bought it and it had a 5th wheel hitch installed. It was a contraption not suited for the average gooseneck horse trailer. Goosenecks are so much more stable to pull than a BP, IMO. Also, as far as I know, 5th wheel hitches are something different from gooseneck hitches. A 5th wheel hitch is something you use for a 5th wheel RV. Am I right? Someone correct me if I’m wrong.

1 Like
#8

Hmm I might be using the terms interchangeablely and I shouldn’t be. Another good thing to put on my “things I need to find out” list.

I have extensive experience hauling but always with the equipment I was provided. This is fun and super overwhelming lol.

#9

I ordered my Brenderup Baron LSL new in 2010. I absolutely adore the trailer, and think it is tremendously easy for operate. That said, if I had more truck, I might go for something with more space. For a 4 day show, I really struggle to fit everything I need for 2 horses. With one horse, it’s perfect.

1 Like
#10

They are not the same. Gooseneck is a ball in the bed and the receiver is the coupler on the trailer. 5th wheel bolts to the frame rails above the bed and is the receiver end. If you had a 5th wheel, that mounts to four pucks on the bed and you may still need to drill out a gooseneck in the bed. That said it’s worth it.

My gooseneck from B+W was about $500, plus a weekend of swearing to wedge it into my truck bed.

I sold my Bockmann, which was a new trailer of similar style - great trailer, not enough space for 2 horses and 2 people at a horse show.

#11

Former Brenderup owner here :). I bought it because at the time it made a lot more sense for me to haul with a small SUV rather than buy a truck.

The Brenderup was a fabulous trailer, however I also would not suggest buying one with the truck you have.

They are are no longer sold in the US and getting parts is a major pain (my #1 reason for selling mine). Almost everything is either Brenderup specific or hard to find in the US.

I haul most weekends and went with a two horse gooseneck. I chose a gooseneck because I wanted the extra storage space, they haul more smoothly and have a better turning radius. The trade off is they are harder to hitch/unhitch and a bit more expensive.

Congrats on your new truck and have fun finding the right trailer for you!

#12

I currently have a Brenderup. I bought it knowing the floor was bad, and that a local trailer company specializes in replacing floors in these trailers. I did have the floor replaced, and the trailer serves me well - I haul one horse alone, and use it to pick up hay. It’s my first trailer and is a nice confidence booster in terms of driving, backing, etc. I tow with a Toyota Tundra.

That said, when I do upgrade the truck, I plan to also upgrade to a trailer with a bit more space (a dressing room would be wonderful). But for me, and my light towing needs, I’m quite pleased with it. (I did find an excellent deal on a well-maintained 2006 model that is in great condition, minus the floor issue.)

1 Like
#13

Not for the OP… but for anyone thinking about DIY installation of a B+W hitch… The hardest part was cutting a honk’n huge 4 inch hole in a pristine new truck bed. My tip… use a hole saw and measure three times with different tape measures.

The second hardest part was lifting the hitch body to the frame. It’s heavy and close fitting… Loosen the bed bolts for a little extra space inserting the cross members. And use a rope through the hole to lift the hitch body into place. A 10 foot 2x4 across the bed rails makes a dandy lever to lift the body up and hold it for installation.

Last, drill the holes in the bed for the safety chain loops by using the hitch body to locate the holes. Simply drill up through the body into the bed.

The first time was about four hours. I could do it again in 2 hours.

1 Like
#14

Two large horses (one was mine) were travelling in one of these when it started to fishtail badly. Most scarey ride of my life. Too light for that amount of weight on our roads, though in Europe that type of trailer is the most common after lorries. Seems the issues are either black or white for most people.

I’d go for aluminum on steel if possible.

#15

I invite you to find a 2018 Ford to do this and claim you can do it in 2 hours. It took 4 hours just to torque the bolts due to the positioning on the frame and relative positions of things like fuel pumps and leaf spring blocks. It got done, but I would say it took at least 14 hours.

#16

Gee whiz! Just have the B&W installed professionally!

8 Likes
#17

When I lived in Europe Brenderup trailers were fantastic. Smaller vehicles could tow them, they were easy to handle on the road and affordable. Here I find the road conditions will make it a Brenderup trailer a lot more difficult to handle because it’s so lightweight and the price here for one is unreal. In Europe they were affordable, here it’s a luxury.

You have a good sized truck, I would look into a used 2-3 horse trailer/or stock trailer with a tack room. When you’re shopping just make sure you check the trailer dimensions so it works with the types of horses you are more likely to haul.

1 Like
#18

I have a B-up Baron that I bought new in '99. LOVE IT. It’s plenty roomy, and moreso since I have only one horse so I removed the divider and have a single long butt bar (my mare went from Coach to First Class). I gather from Conn. Trailers, where I just had my trailer for maintenance, that they’re still in high demand (the guy there thought I could still get $5000 for my almost 20 year old trailer!). I did have the floor replaced, by Conn. Trailers, and my trailer is good to go for another 20 years ( :wink: )

1 Like
#19

I love my Brenderup, and depending on the model year, the one you have in mind may have the newer floor that doesn’t rust/rot. I have towed mine with the family minivan and now with a Dodge Durango. Never a single problem with towing, stopping, turning, etc, whether driving 5 mph across a field or 70 mph on the highway, and both horses have always been happy as clams to load up. I confess that I’m ignorant of most vehicle physics things, but New England road conditions never affected the B’up’s handling. Rain, hot roads, cold roads, snowy/icy parking lots (though I don’t tow if it’s actively snowing), wind, traffic, no traffic, curvy roads, straight roads, the B-up just hums cheerfully along tucked in behind my tow vehicle. And yes, very easy and quick to hitch up and go.

Still, though, if your truck can pull and stop something heavier, I agree that Brenderup parts can be hard to find, and with no sales offices here anymore, you don’t always have someone who is familiar with them to do stuff like annual maintenance (though they’re low-maintenance in general). They are expensive; they make sense economically if buying a Brenderup means you can tow your horse with your existing vehicle, but since you have already gone out and bought a powerful towing vehicle, you can spend less on the trailer (you either spend it on the tow vehicle or on the trailer, or both if you have truly been drinking the Kool-Aid). Good luck and enjoy having a trailer; it makes a lot of things so much easier.

#20

My first trailer was a Brenderup that I pulled with a large SUV. I sold it when I got a truck and was able to purchase a nice used steel two horse trailer that could be safely pulled by my truck. The Brenderup was great for short trips around town, but I definitely appreciate the roomier trailer for longer trips. The difficulty of finding replacement parts is no joke - we had to have several parts fabricated because my Brenderup was an older one and needed quite a few things fixed when I purchased it.

I think since you have the vehicle that can pull a more standard trailer you will get WAY more bang for your buck on a non-Brenderup purchase. For me the selling point was that I could pull it with the vehicle I already had as at that point in time purchasing a truck wasn’t a reasonable option for me.

2 Likes

Get your Digital Subscription here - only $21.95 / year

Subscribe here
See gift options

Sign up to our monthly newsletter!

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.

Copyright © 2023 The Chronicle of the Horse