HART. I’ve looked at every single brand mentioned and if you compare them all side by side you’ll find that Hart, Eby, and Cimmarron are a step above every other trailer mentioned. Pull up the mats, look at the welds, crawl under and look at the frame. The three aforementioned brands will make the quality on the others look subpar. They are worth the extra bucks. 4 Star is almost there, but they have some idiosyncrasies that are more than minor deterrents.
I love Hawk and Equispirit. We have two XL BP with Dressing room Equispirit trailers and they are great.
If money were no object, I’d buy the same thing I have now. A 2H BP XXL with dressing room Hawk.
A friend of mine nearly got a Double D trailer, which is made in NC, and it had an incredible array of options. They first saw them down in Scottsdale while spectating at an Arabian show. This friend was very impressed with the trailers, though I have never seen one in person.
Definitely check out Gore. www.goretrailers.com One of the best trailers made. They are regional, but is great for the OP’s location. The owner, Jackson Gore, is awesome to work with and can make the trailer custom to your needs.
I have have a custom 2 horse bumper pull with a manger on only one side. That way, I can store saddles under the manger from the inside of the dressing room without giving up space. My claustrophobic horse can ride on the side without the manger.
Basically, they can design the trailer to suit your needs. Best of luck!
If I were buying my dream 2 horse straight I would definitely spring for the side unload option. Of course it would be a gooseneck (which won’t work for you).
My friend, who could get whatever, had a 2 horse custom Hawk with the side unload and she just replaced it with the same trailer in a gooseneck. It survived partially flipping going into the ditch in snow storm and kept her horses safe. I’m not arguing which is the best trailer, I can only comment on the ones I’ve personally looked at.
I can’t wait to get rid of my trailer with mangers.
Interesting that so many people have great things to say about Hawk trailers. They are very reasonably priced.
I have a custom Hawk gooseneck with small L Q that Risa at Happy Trailers ordered for me. The trailer itself has been great. The LQ conversion has had some warranty issues to deal with, but that is the conversion, not the trailer.
I have a trail st love it, had a Kinston for 18 years loved that. If I would do it again either hawk or kingston
Oops trail-et
I have a 15 year old 2H GN Trail-et that I adore and that has held up very well and that horses seem to like. When it comes time to replace it, I’m going to get the same model in a Hawk but will likely spring for the rumber floors. The Equispirits seem extremely nice and I’ve always liked Kingstons.
But I think that you should go and look at any brand of trailer you are considering, and perhaps at the next show, look at ones in use to see how they hold up.
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That is a very nice looking trailer. I just assumed I wanted all aluminum, but after reading the info on their website I wonder if a steel/aluminum combo might not be better.[/QUOTE]
The absolute best thing about aluminum over steel is that you can still have a wood floor. Assuming you take care of your trailer, a good PT wood floor will last decades, and is easy to replace floorboards. But the nicest part about PT wood is it is much lighter than rumbar and has much less floor vibration than aluminum.
I loved my Trail Et. When I finally sold it when it was almost 20 years old, I sold it in about 24 hours for half of what I paid for it (and the title had been lost/screwed up by the bank, so sold fast w/o title says a lot about how much people like those trailers). When I buy another trailer, it will be a Hawk (same people as used to make trail ets). That said, I have a sundowner now, because it really was a good deal and I thought I would keep it for a year or two and then buy a GN (things changed). I’m not a huge fan of sundowner and the trailer has some really stupid design flaws (the handle that locks the tail gate is just a terrible idea), but I also have to say there are a lot of good things about it as well.
Another vote for Hawk. It’s a fabulous trailer for the money - mine is a 2 horse straight load gooseneck with a dressing/tack room. It has the rumber floor - my trailer is 10 years old and still looks new. I don’t have any rust. I hose the floor after about every two or three uses and in the fall it gets thoroughly scrubbed before winter - floor, walls, padding etc) so I’ve taken care of it. Hawk used to make Equispirit but I heard that when Equispirit wanted to economize in its manufacturing process, Ron Winter, who was at the time the head of Hawk, said “no” and Equispirit started having them made elsewhere.
Anyway, I don’t expect ever to need any other trailer but if I do, I’m getting another Hawk.
Thanks so much everybody for your help with choosing a new trailer. After all of the many recommendations for a Hawk, I contacted Risa at Happy Trails Trailers and she happened to have a trailer in stock that was exactly what I wanted. 2h BP, small dressing room, escape doors, ramp, no mangers, 7’6" tall. I took a little road trip yesterday and picked up my new trailer. I’m really excited about the trailer and can’t wait to take the boys somewhere in it. Risa was super helpful and a genuinely nice person as well. To top it off, the price of the trailer was very reasonable. So, you can definitely add me to the Risa fan club.
Trailers USA are lovely, and all aluminum. You can get what you are looking at for around 11k. I talked with True Love Traders and they ship all over the country. They were very helpful.