Merhow trailers?

[soloudinhere]

Brenderups are still made they’re just not sold in the US. I don’t think brenderup is as active in the horse space now but they still make trailers for lots of other applications. Parts are available there’s also tons of dealers in the UK that will ship as long as it’s not something huge like a floor. Brakes, struts, suspension parts, couplers, windows are all easy to get.

The Merhow is fine, though I wouldn’t want 7’2" but my horse can be a giraffe about the trailer and nailed his head on my 7’8" high Xtall trailer more than once. You probably aren’t going to want to tow two horses in it with an explorer. It’s not really the weight it’s just the geometry and towing feel of the whole deal.

I personally wouldn’t let the $3000 be the decider. Realistically, you will be looking to replace the Merhow with something newer/nicer at some point. Brenderup opens up future vehicle options for you and probably also puts less wear on your vehicle (even at 1800lbs, I would bet the merhow’s loaded tongue weight is 400+)

[Bogey2]

check the back doors…I had one as did my neighbor and both of us had a problem with the top doors flying open while hauling…they would shake loose I guess. We both had late 90’s models. Mine was oversized with a dressing room, hers was regular size no dressing room.

[Draftmare]

Because you want to tow with and SUV, your limited in trailer options (I know you know this). Have you looked at any of the used all aluminum 2 horse trailers out there to see whats available? If maintained, aluminum holds up great. Just be sure and check beneath the mats to see that they have been pulled and the floors have been acid washed periodically to circumvent corrosion.

I have been looking, but I haven’t been finding anything that fits within my budget AND fits within my weight capacity. There are several nice ones within my budget near me, but that are over 2500 pounds. That would put me really tight to my 5000 pound limit, and I want to stay as far away from that limit as I can.

[Draftmare]

check the back doors…I had one as did my neighbor and both of us had a problem with the top doors flying open while hauling…they would shake loose I guess. We both had late 90’s models. Mine was oversized with a dressing room, hers was regular size no dressing room.

I assume you are talking about Merhows?

[Bogey2]

yes the Merhows

[Draftmare]

Brenderups are still made they’re just not sold in the US. I don’t think brenderup is as active in the horse space now but they still make trailers for lots of other applications. Parts are available there’s also tons of dealers in the UK that will ship as long as it’s not something huge like a floor. Brakes, struts, suspension parts, couplers, windows are all easy to get.

The Merhow is fine, though I wouldn’t want 7’2" but my horse can be a giraffe about the trailer and nailed his head on my 7’8" high Xtall trailer more than once. You probably aren’t going to want to tow two horses in it with an explorer. It’s not really the weight it’s just the geometry and towing feel of the whole deal.

I personally wouldn’t let the $3000 be the decider. Realistically, you will be looking to replace the Merhow with something newer/nicer at some point. Brenderup opens up future vehicle options for you and probably also puts less wear on your vehicle (even at 1800lbs, I would bet the merhow’s loaded tongue weight is 400+)

Hm, I didn’t think about tongue weight either.

I only have one horse, and can only support one horse at a time (at least with Sydney being special needs). Even with my current trailer, in the 6 years that I have owned it only once did I ever have to haul more than just my own horse in it. Hauling my own horse gives me a white knuckle grip on the steering wheel, hauling somebody else’s horse makes me a basket case! :lol: Especially with my Explorer, I suppose having a one horse trailer would give me an excuse to say no if anybody ever needed a lift.

soloudinhere and you are probably right that the Brenderup will give me more years of use than the Merhow, and be easier on my car. The furthest I haul is an hour away, and I only go places twice a month, still picking a trailer that won’t seriously decrease the longevity of my car is also probably the best bet.

This is like Say Yes to the Dress, but Horse Trailer Edition! :lol:

[Draftmare]

Well, I think I just committed to the Brenderup as long as everything looks good when I go to see it on Sunday. I don’t know if I should feel excited or slightly scared!! :eek:

[soloudinhere]

[QUOTE=Draftmare;9042393]
Well, I think I just committed to the Brenderup as long as everything looks good when I go to see it on Sunday. I don’t know if I should feel excited or slightly scared!! :eek: :D[/QUOTE]

Good luck! I’m picking up my bockmann on saturday in Maryland.

[Draftmare]

I also sold my current trailer this evening, so it makes me feel a bit better about this big investment this weekend. Can’t believe how fast it sold, I had it listed on facebook for only a few hours!! Makes me wonder if I should have asked more… :eek:

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

No one has mentioned it and no one ever wants to think about it, but…
If I were to be in an accident with a trailer, I’d want a steel frame and aluminum skin rather than fiberglass reinforced plywood protecting my horses.

[Frostbitten]

Read this as “Meow” trailers. Mental picture of trying to herd cats onto feline trailer. Too early, no glasses. Going to make coffee.

[spuddy98]

I know this is an older post but just wanted to say My wife and I just bought a Merhow LQ trailer brand new at Congress. Its a very large 3 horse. We loved the extra length bathroom with a walkin closet for show clothes (or whatever). It was grossly expensive but at 20 years to pay we will do okay. I say we are just paying “rent” until we decide to sell it. The workmanship was really nice. We will see after a few years on the road. I wanted the 4 horse model which was exactly the same but had 3 axles and a hay rack on top. It was $7k more. Couldn’t justify it for a 4th horse we won’t always haul and the convenience of an extra axle to carry the weight and add braking power. This trailer pulled great on the way home with my “illegal” 2002 F350. I know my old truck is only rated at 12,000 lbs not the gross this trailer is rated for of 17,500lbs. I will maybe be looking for a used cheap Freightliner . We also were impressed with the SMC offered by Leonard trailers. I think it is a private label trailer sold through Leonard Built by Lakota but with premium Living Quarters. The Lakota were nice but seemed a bit cheap. We were paying for it for 20 years so an additional 3-4k was worth the better trailer Merhow appeared to build.

[gypsymare]

@soloudinhere

I bought a brand new Merhow alumastar in 2014. It’s a great trailer. I am actually trading it in this weekend - no fault of its own, I’m buying a bockmann instead of having to buy a new truck - so a very well cared for used one is about to hit the market.

How to you like your Bockmann? I’m in the market for a new tow vehicle and trailer and with the cost of new heavy duty trucks, a lightweight trailer is looking more attractive.

[soloudinhere]

@gypsymare

How to you like your Bockmann? I’m in the market for a new tow vehicle and trailer and with the cost of new heavy duty trucks, a lightweight trailer is looking more attractive.

Well, I just sold it.

no real fault of it’s own but I discovered its primary shortcoming - it was great when I was showing alone, but I took someone else with me to a show and she is one of those people who has to bring the whole farm with them. It’s too small in that situation. If you can pack light and be efficient it’s great. If you need to take hay, water, horse clothes, etc for two horses it got cramped fast.

I have a big truck so the lightweight-ness was not so interesting to me. I sold it and bought a used 2+1 and while I do miss being able to go anywhere with my tiny trailer, I am distinctly American in my desire to sprawl with my stuff.

that said it towed like a champ and horses loved it. If you want to buy, there’s a very low supply of remaining stock because the US importer didn’t bring any in this year due to tariffs and prices are way up. I sold my Portax K in a week for more than I paid, to someone in California (it was for sale in Virginia).

[Gardenhorse]

@gypsymare

How to you like your Bockmann? I’m in the market for a new tow vehicle and trailer and with the cost of new heavy duty trucks, a lightweight trailer is looking more attractive.

Not the OP, but I love my Bockmann. I tow it with a Toyota Tacoma. I agree that there is not a lot of storage, but the tack compartment is plenty large enough for one person, and I put water, etc. in the bed of the truck. When I have hauled a second horse, we did have to put some tack in the back seat. (We are eventers so each had two saddles, bridles, etc.) If you are primarily hauling one horse and/or doing mostly local trips where you don’t need to bring the whole farm, it is a great trailer.

[gypsymare]

I’m really on the fence. There are many small aluminum trailers available now, too. I haul tacked up 10 miles to the hunt meet and back, one horse 99% of the time. But I could get a new trailer and midsized suv for the cost of a truck or suburban to keep pulling my old rust bucket of a trailer. Is the Duo too small for a long backed 16.3 Thoroughbred? Short miles… More durable or on par with aluminum? Any of the larger ones I don’t think are worth the price premium for me when there are similar sized US models much cheaper.

[Sparrowette]

@Draftmare

This one is the Equilite. I have seen people put a bench with storage under it in the front of similar style trailers, I might look into that. Since I load by myself, I wouldn’t be doing a lot with the front area as far as needing the space to walk through, so that might be okay. I only have one horse, and will likely always only have one horse, so I could get creative with the unused side as well.

This the walk through style with the chest bar. My current trailer has mangers, and I haven’t had any issues in the 6 years I have had it. I have actually seen more horses get injured trying to go under or over the chest bar style than I have the manger style, but my neighbor refuses to have the manager style too after one of her horses put a hoof through one.

I recently bought an older Merhow Verylite, and so far am very happy with it. At the time, it was a deal, and I needed to jump right on the purchase. But I had some mechanical things going on with the truck. And then some other money issues (dd needed money for L’s to fight the ex and also swamped mechanics trading off on vacations), I couldn’t get the truck repaired in time to get the trailer home, so asked a friend to help.

The thing towed straight and steady behind his truck like it wasn’t even there. My seller had thrown in an equalizer hitch, but friend tried to buy it from me, because “That’s a good trailer! With that trailer, you won’t need it!”. But I kept it anyway.

But you will need to be cautious about the size of horse you put in. Part of the reason my trailer was “a deal” was that the center divider, a large wooden plank/sheet/metal thing, had cracked, due to her new very large WB leaning on it. For this new horse of theirs, they bought a good-sized goodneck. So me, and my one ASB will fit the little Verylite much better.

[soloudinhere]

@gypsymare

I’m really on the fence. There are many small aluminum trailers available now, too. I haul tacked up 10 miles to the hunt meet and back, one horse 99% of the time. But I could get a new trailer and midsized suv for the cost of a truck or suburban to keep pulling my old rust bucket of a trailer. Is the Duo too small for a long backed 16.3 Thoroughbred? Short miles… More durable or on par with aluminum? Any of the larger ones I don’t think are worth the price premium for me when there are similar sized US models much cheaper.

The difference is how it tows with a smaller vehicle.

I towed my portax a few times with my husband’s v6 Tacoma. My 2h Merhow would have eaten that truck for lunch, but the Bockmann towed like it wasn’t even there. It tracks perfectly even behind a truck that is too small to control it. I bought it because I had a 2002 GMC Yukon XL as a tow vehicle and it needed something lighter. That combination was a champ. I also towed it behind, among other things:

honda pilot
vw atlas
audi q5
2 different grand cherokees
dodge durango
nissan frontier
land rover discovery

and all were fine. Because you don’t need a controller it opens up a lot of vehicles that you can lease or buy cheaply used. A small aluminum trailer doesn’t do that.

As to the duo, I’ve been inside one and to me it felt small. My horses are smaller and had tons of room in the portax which was substantially larger. If you’re buying sight unseen I think you might be surprised by how generous their “up to 17h” assertion really is.

[demidq]

There is a dealer for Bockmanns here in Ontario- Maple Lane Trailers. I am pretty sure they export to the US. Used Bockmanns hardly ever come up for sale. I wouldn’t part with mine!

[TMares]

I have a 2012 verylite GN 3h Merhow, it’s a beast of a trailer. I’ll have it forever.