I am unfortunately in the market for a new or preferably new-to-me trailer. I’m specifically looking for a steel frame/aluminum skin 2+1 gooseneck trailer. I know that Hawk and EquiSpirit are both brands that make this style trailer. I was wondering if anyone knows of other brands I can look into as I start my search?
I had an Adam that was built this way and was terrific. I bought it used, took care of it, and sold it 10+ years later for almost as much as I had paid for it. Not a fancy trailer, but safe, clean, and towed well.
Gore. Made in NC. I am on my third one in 35 years, as my trailering needs have changed.
http://goretrailers.com/gooseneck11b.html
Trail-et is another. They aren’t in business any more, but there are likely some good used ones out there
1 Like
Balanced Ride and Equispirit are both made by Hawk. I’ve had my Hawk for 15 years now and it’s in excellent condition.
1 Like
Thank you everyone for the replies! I ended up looking into the brands everyone mentioned, except Adams, because they’re now unfortunately all aluminum. I’ve given up on the idea of new-to-me and ordered a new Hawk, since it was the most affordable between Hawk, Balanced Ride, Equispirit, and Gore. I’m looking forward to getting my dream trailer in a few months!!! A little nervous about towing a much bigger trailer than my little 2H bumper pull, but everyone I’ve talked to loves their 2+1 and I think I’m going to love the flexibility of the layout.
3 Likes
Do you plan to haul three horses? Or two, with the +1 space for other things. I ask because I spent some time gathering advice on 2+1’s and most folks with them told me they never used the +1 space other than for unloading the two horses. I am still shopping and considering, but taking my time.
What kind of riding and showing though? Eventers take a LOT of stuff for the 2-3 days, and having a space with full doors separate from the horse area that is not the dressing room (where you may be sleeping) is very attractive.
I made a mistake and got a “2 + 1/2” basically added space in front of a 2-horse straight load, but I did not get the side ramp. It was a pain – you don’t want anything loose in the horse area that could get thrown around in an accident, so it all had to be strapped securely to the front wall, and it turns out the horses can reach really far forward to mess with everything so… don’t do what I did. Get a proper 2+1 with full height gates, or accept that the space in front of the breast bar is only for the horses, not for storage space.
All true!
But once you accept that, if you are still worried about the length you can lose the dressing room. I have a 2+1 but BP, I skipped the DR because it’s got 9’ in front of the stud gates and that’s plenty of BP to haul down the road. That 9’ is so it can accommodate my presentation carriage, harnesses and all things combined driving, but it’s absolutely fantastic to stage out of for dressage shows. I have a chair, table, cooler and fan set up for me to relax, all my show clothes pretty much stay in the trailer all season (I put in a closet rod and I have those hotel style hangers that don’t fall off). There’s still plenty of room for tack and grooming supplies. It’s been a few years since I set up at the stall. These days I just take my pony to the trailer to get ready, which makes that whole unpacking/packing thing so much easier.
I guess I need to phrase my question differently. I was considering a 2+1 to haul three horses. There are other three horse trailer options, of course. I mentioned that the 2+1 owners I have met so far don’t seem to use their trailer cross space for hauling a third horse. I am wondering if any 2+1 owners who do haul three full size horses horses could share how the 2+1 trailer design works them.
I do not have one but take a look at the EquiSpirit floorplan… they put a slant-load stall in the front, so the horse does not have to be loose in the +1 space if you don’t want that.
Trailet had a couple of employees who had suggestions for making the trailer better - and they were
ignored - so they left and formed their own company which is Hawk.
Trailet is now out of business.
Hawk used to make Equispirit too, but Equispirit wanted to cut corners, Hawk said no, and they went elsewhere - I don’t know the end of that story . .
1 Like
Kingston made excellent, durable steel frame/aluminum skin trailers - they’ve switched to all aluminum now, but you can still find the steel/ALU ones used.
My personal experience was the +1 on the trailer I used to use was cramped for a big horse, but to be fair this was back in the age when trailers were more likely to be not nearly as wide as most modern trailers are so it’s probably not an issue anymore. But it was great to put moms in stalls and two babies in the box for inspections (it was set up to allow the top gates of the stud doors stay open). Most people I knew went for a 4h H2H if they needed 3 stalls because everyone was always really looking for more storage space or an extra slot “just in case”…
1 Like
I had an Adams three horse stock trailer that I adored. Step up, bright and airy- my horses loved it. It has plexiglass panels that you can slide out in warmer weather. Great dressing room, and nice to show out of.
I’m one of those people who intends to use my 2+1 primarily just for two horses. I added an extra foot to the tack room so it’ll be 5’ on the floor, but I was worried about losing the majority of my truck bed to a gooseneck. So when asked about my plans for the trailer, I’ve been calling the +1 area my future “sh** stall,” where I imagine I’ll put my trunk, hay, mucking equipment, shavings, dirt bike, fans, and lord knows what else. I event my two horses and there is SO much freaking stuff. I think the only people who can beat us when it comes to required stuff are the combined driving folks, and that’s only because they basically do what we do, but have carriages to contend with, too. In my current setup, the hay and my show trunk gets stacked in front of the horses under their heads. I set up an air mattress in the horse section and camp in my trailer, have the tack room STUFFED full of tack, blankets, etc, and then use the truck bed for shavings/buckets/fans/dirt bike/everything else, and the extended cab of the truck is usually chocked full of camping stuff, clothes, the doggos, and the husband. There’s a lot of shuffling and packing and repacking over the weekend at a horse trial, and it’s a total pain. I’m looking forward to keeping a mattress in the gooseneck of the tack room and having way more space for all the stuff that accompanies 2 horses, 2 people, and 2 dogs on a weekend camping at a horse show. I think I would’ve been able to work with the loss of truck bed space without the “sh** stall” if I weren’t planning on the permanent mattress in the gooseneck.
I also show out of my trailer a lot at local HTs, jumper shows, and dressage shows. I groomed for someone in the early 2010s who had her 2+1 set up as a 2 horse plus grooming stall. The box was a little tight to have a horse cross tied there, but it worked and was wonderful to work out of, especially on rainy show days. I specifically ordered a walk thru door to the tack room for this purpose and when we get to the floor plan approval stage of production, I’ll specify the box stall tie rings to be set up for cross ties.
I have a friend with a 2+1 and grilled her about her trailer before ordering this. She said her 8’ box (which is the same size mine will be) is a bit tight for a larger 17+ hand horse to haul in, but it’s doable and other than for the really big guys, it’s a very comfortable setup if I do feel compelled to haul a 3rd horse. A fellow boarder (who didn’t know the size of her box stall) also said the same thing, that my 17.1 hand guy might be a little squeezed but could fit, and the 16.1 hand one will happily and comfortably fit in the box.
1 Like
Sigh…I started eventing with one saddle and one bridle and two saddle pads out of a 2 horse BP with no tack room. How things have changed. Now among other things I understand there’s an added fee just to park your truck and trailer at a horse trial. Is that fee per horse or per rig?
I can’t imagine not at least having a tack room on my little 2H!
The parking fee totally depends on the venue and sometimes even the organizers. I show at lot at the KY Horse Park and we generally have to pay a haul-in fee per horse plus a parking fee per vehicle. The actual price of the haul-in fee at the KHP depends on the organizers, and for the first time an event I went to there charged the haul-in fee per day, per horse instead of just for the weekend. Or if you’re stabling, you pay your stall fee and then a parking fee per vehicle. I show there enough that it’s worth it for me to buy an annual parking tag for my truck, but they also sell daily and weekend parking. I show a fair bit in Area 8 and a little in Areas 2 and 3 and the KHP is the only place that stands out off the top of my head that charges for parking.
1 Like
Ahem… And the hats.
But sadly it really is more than the carriages. Most drivers are carrying gear for two or three people. That means extra helmets, vests, etc. And the harnesses tend to take up a lot of room, especially if you have two harnesses, usually three headstalls and potentially three sets of reins. And this is just for a single, god help you if it’s a pair or a team! And harness dollies take up an incredible amount of floor space a well.
1 Like
