Repair trailer or buy new? WWYD

[beowulf]

Man, if you two can find me a brand new two horse bumper pull for $5k, I’ll send you home made cookies for the rest of my life.

My update isn’t very positive. I went to EA early in the AM to look at trailers with Orchard Trailers. The prices were competitive. I really liked the Kingston Newport. They had a “show sale” where prices were about ~$10k off. I was early and already a handful had sold for 15k or less.

I ended up walking out without buying anything. I had my 1.5 y/o niece with me, she was being a little fussy but not loud or disruptive. I tried to talk to a few different salesmen and they were not interested in talking to me. I don’t know if it was having a fussy kid, or what, but I had never been so summarily dismissed. I was waiting for one rep to be done talking to this older lady and when I tried to flag him down, he walked right past me to talk to someone who had just walked into the pavilion. Maybe next time I need to dress like a rich lady. It was disappointing, because I brought a hitch and was ready to leave with a trailer.

I did double check with a couple of different vendors. My Kingston, brand new, would be $34,950. I’m not sure if I want to go the Kingston route again given what happened, but I did really love that trailer. If I’m going to spend that kind of money, I kind of want some alterations. I’d love a rear facing trailer and a trailer with a side ramp. A 2+1 would be nice, there have been a few times I’ve wished I had that extra space… And a dressing room is an absolute must. Anyone have any favorite trailers?

[CanteringCarrot]

Hawk. Hands down.

[theresak]

Hawk, Equispirit, and Balanced Ride are all made at the same facility in my state. I like Hawk but think the Equispirit and Balanced Ride have a few more features and slightly better hardware on things like doors and ramps.

They are all about the same price and I was about 2 weeks away from ordering a custom 2H GN balanced ride for about $35k. But I found a great deal on a barely used 2018 2H BP Hawk that was just enough trailer to work for me for a while.

[CanteringCarrot]

Ooh yeah, I did mean to include Equispirit and Balanced Ride in there. I’ve had an Equispirit before too.

I feel like 4-Star isn’t as good as it once was, otherwise I might’ve throw their name in the hat. If I were buying new or used, I’d be looking for a Hawk, ES, or BR though. Lots to like about them.

[Greys]

Balanced Ride and Hawk (as mentioned above, manufactured in the same facility). The Balanced Ride is rear-facing, and is very thoughtfully and completely equipped as specified. Also very easy to customize.

Risa at Happy Trails Trailers is excellent to work with, and she sells Hawk as well as Balanced Ride.

I have a 2+1 Balanced Ride on order that will have the rolling divider in the straight stalls to quickly convert to two boxes. Looking forward to it arriving!

greys

[SonnysMom]

I love my 2+1 with DR Equispirit. I like the Hawks. I had an old Trail-et 2 horse with DR I sold to buy the Equispirt 2+1.
I know too many people that have 4Star that the trailer leaks in the DR and the horse compartment.

[UKYeventer]

My husband specializes in this sort of trailer repair. He sees a significant amount of kingstons and sundowners. For a bumper pull it can be anywhere from 6k-9k depending on how far forward and how high up (on the kingstons) the damage extends. I’m sure there are people out there who will do the repairs for cheaper, but when it comes to the integrity of my trailer I want to make sure the work is done by someone who understands the engineering of it. My husband has his PE and PHD and stays booked 6-8 weeks out, so I guess a lot of other people feel the same way.

There are lots of great used brands out there, you just have to be constantly on the lookout or have a dealer searching for you and be ready to buy immediately.

[HiJumpGrrl]

Another vote for Balanced Ride. Mine is now 3 years old, looks brand new. Best equestrian purchase (other than my horses) of my life. I think they cost about 2x what I paid for mine in 2020, but that seems to be the going rate these days. Hawk-built trailers seem to last forever, the design is perfect, lots of ability to customize to your needs/desires.