Trailer hunting: brands, floor plans, etc

[LadyB]

I absolutely love my 4 star 2h GN. Hauls well, the welding on it is exceptionally well done, and its a light airy, cool in the summer warm in the winter trailer. But you do pay a pretty penny for them.

I would avoid Sundowner, nothing but bad news there. Merhow’s have a good reputation.

I find Hawks trailers to be cheaply made IMO. My friend had one, and the slightest bump to it, it would dent or break.

Jamco, another well made trailer, hard to find any used. The ones that are hard to find used, I find are really good trailers. I did a trailer search for 2 years before I found mine, that I will never let go of lol. But the ones you see the most are brands I wouldn’t touch.

Happy trailer searching, When you find the one, you’ll know it!

[Cheltenham]

[QUOTE=LadyB;8904814]
I absolutely love my 4 star 2h GN. Hauls well, the welding on it is exceptionally well done, and its a light airy, cool in the summer warm in the winter trailer. But you do pay a pretty penny for them.

I would avoid Sundowner, nothing but bad news there. Merhow’s have a good reputation.

I find Hawks trailers to be cheaply made IMO. My friend had one, and the slightest bump to it, it would dent or break.

Jamco, another well made trailer, hard to find any used. The ones that are hard to find used, I find are really good trailers. I did a trailer search for 2 years before I found mine, that I will never let go of lol. But the ones you see the most are brands I wouldn’t touch.

Happy trailer searching, When you find the one, you’ll know it![/QUOTE]

I would agree with this. I’m not sure if OP said she’s shopping for BP or GN. I’d say, in a BP 2h that you skip around town with—not really packing full and going days ith— how heavy duty not quite the same requirements —especially balancing cost. No question, top end all alum will take so much abuse and still be worth at least half what you paid for it 15 years later.

There are trailers I’d endorse as a BP 2h that I wouldn’t consider if I was going long distances, heavily loaded, and/or horses that tend to put wear and tear on their rides, or in GN. In a GN—how the neck is attached/fabricated is a consideration.

In a BP—definitely look at the hitch they put on them—some are chincy as hell. I personally like the Bulldog BP coupler. You will not wear one out on not have it attached securely.

[cheerio280]

Just wanted to update for anyone who might be searching this thread in the future.

I got things narrowed down to two trailers- ironically, neither were on my original list, but the process of going through all of those brands was extremely useful in helping me decide which features I really wanted.

So the final two were Hawk and Kingston- both were at the upper end of my price range, but more affordable than I thought they would be. I ended up ordering a Hawk today- I really liked both and they both priced out about the same, so in the end it was more of a logistical decision, ie. distance to travel, which dealer was willing to do a trade-in vs having to consign it or try to sell it myself, etc. I was also lucky that the trailer shop was able to get my current rig repaired quickly so I have a way to get to my lessons and shows, so that took the pressure off of having to find something already in stock.

For anyone else considering these two brands, here’s a short summary of the differences (in models that priced within $100 of each other- although the Kingston was in stock and the Hawk I picked all of my options):

Kingston:
6’8" wide
4’6" dressing room, bridle hooks, 2 Saddle Pro racks, blanket bar
Slatted head divider
All aluminum, was going to be slightly lighter (I think around 3000 lbs)
10 yr structural warranty

Hawk:
6’ wide (could have ordered 6’8" WB model, but would have been more $$ & I didn’t need it)
5’ dressing room, bridle hooks, 3 metal saddle racks, blanket bar, built-in tack box
Solid head divider (there was a slatted option, but I usually remove them anyway)
Aluminum w/ steel frame, slightly heavier (something like 3200 or 3700 lbs)
Fiberglass roof
Drop down windows in escape doors
7 yr structural warranty

Both:
11’ horse area (Hawk is usually 10’, but we opted to add the extra foot in length)
Fully padded
Wood floors w/ mats (I had decided I really didn’t want to deal w/ aluminum)
Loading & porch lights
Bulkhead window
Windows in storm doors & escape doors
Roof vents
Bar/cam latches on storm doors (Hawks usually have radial latches, the cam latches were an extra option)
Gravel guard on nose
Running boards

Thanks again all for your help and suggestions! It was great to be able to meet with the dealer today and already have a very good idea of what I wanted.