I’m looking for a new (ish) trailer. A nice roomy 2 horse with a dressing room is the idea, but occasionally I could haul 3 if I had the room. I’m not a fan of slants due to the constrictive nature, but IF the planets aligned and there was a 3H slant type that could convert to a less restrictive space for fewer horses (with safer human egress) , I’d love to know if it exists. The horses are large… 16.1-16’3 and one is built like a (sexy) mack truck. I would love to hear what you’ve bought, from whom…what you liked and didn’t. Any dealer specific negatives should be PM’d please just to be fair . I would need to finance. Thanks for sharing.
Where in New England are we talking? In Maine, there’s Will’s Trailers. I forget where it is in ME, but it looks to be a rather huge operation. In CT, you can sometimes get a good deal at Trailer Depot in Northford, but they sell mostly Featherlites which is not everyone’s speed. I would not buy from the Hawk dealer in Danbury. That’s all I have to say about that.
I think private sale is the better way to go. You eliminate the cost of the middle man that way. I’d look into some FB forums for the various states and look at equinesite.com
I had a very good buying experience at Will’s, after getting completely ripped off on a used trailer from a low-end dealer in the Seacoast area of New Hampshire. At Will’s, I bought a new 2-horse, bumper pull Hawk for about $500 under list price because of a cosmetic flaw. I financed about half the purchase price, because my bank balance was short by that much, and paid it off two months later. Hawk trailers are very popular in New England, but Wills sells some other brands, too… They are huge!
That said – it is like any time you buy a new vehicle; there will be sales tactics, and the only way to get a “great” deal is to bargain hard, which I didn’t and don’t. BUT I was very satisified with their staff and service.
Sorry I don’t remember the used trailer dealer’s name; this was years ago. Her place was along one of the numbered roads leading into Essex, NH. The trailer I bought from her had something very wrong in the electrical system and it took blowing two alternators on our truck before we figured it out. The incident that left my horse, a formerly willing self-loader, reluctant to get near any trailer at all happened in that trailer. To be fair – there were warning signs but I was incredibly naive about trailers, and my DH’s trailer experiences had all been with reputable dealers of open car trailers.
My BO bought her trailer from Yered in Medfield and had a good experience with that. They have serviced my trailer and were expensive, but very thorough. (And, um, interestingly, the stickers for Will’s on my trailer all got covered up with reflective safety tape, so I’d assume some sort of feud there… :rolleyes::rolleyes:)
We bought a new Kingston Brunswick from Orchard Trailers in Agawam, MA. It’s a very well made trailer and service was good.
Go to equine affaire in November , every possible trailer/dealership will be there. In VT, exit 3 on I-89 there is lucky’s. When my trailer needed service I couldn’t get at the RV place I went to Orchard, right off I-91 near the Yankee candle plant. (Agawam! Yes, an actual town name would be helpful.)
As for brands, Kingston is top tier, Jamco is fabulous, and I have friends who really like their Hawks and 4-stars. Exiss are popular here as well.
Thanks everyone for your replies… I’m in MA, but NE is so small…you can travel to any of the states easily, so I don’t need to limit myself to a state.
I know that EA has tons of drool worthy trailers, not sure if any of them will be bargains. I don’t know if I want to wait that long…lots of time for fall trail riding field trips between now and then. I have a trailer, but it’s old and tired.
Kingstons are great, I love the old Featherlites, though I’ve heard that there was a manufacturing change and “they ain’t what they used to be”. MY BO had an Exxis, nice trailer…but had some little things go wrong with it that really should not have happened with a new trailer.
[QUOTE=quietann;8807777]
Sorry I don’t remember the used trailer dealer’s name; this was years ago. Her place was along one of the numbered roads leading into Essex, NH. The trailer I bought from her had something very wrong in the electrical system and it took blowing two alternators on our truck before we figured it out. The incident that left my horse, a formerly willing self-loader, reluctant to get near any trailer at all happened in that trailer. To be fair – there were warning signs but I was incredibly naive about trailers, and my DH’s trailer experiences had all been with reputable dealers of open car trailers.
./QUOTE]
I remember this person, went to look at an used trailer there many moons ago… I left without buying because I didn’t feel the trailer was as represented. Good choice apparently.
I remember this person, went to look at an used trailer there many moons ago… I left without buying because I didn’t feel the trailer was as represented. Good choice apparently.
Except that it’s Whately, MA. Agawam is quite a bit south.
I actually haven’t gotten particularly good feelings ever from Orchard, and I’m talking a 20 year period.
I have had pleasant experiences with the Cheshire Horse (yes, the tack store, who deal Featherlite and Frontier) and with Will’s. There is also Scott’s Recreation, who does the Frontier trailers as well.
As sickening as it is, Equine Affaire actually isn’t THAT far off, and there actually are some good deals to be had there. However, you would likely want to secure the financing from your bank, vs the trailer dealer, so that you can just show up with “cash” and be able to barter that way.
ugh, EA “not that far away”? blah, feel like a teen again I don’t want summer to end!
but it does mean rides on the beach… and fall hunter paces… I never paid attention to the trailers at EA, who is there? Orchard, Sundowner, Exiss? Any Hawk dealers? Kiefer?
[QUOTE=beowulf;8809680]
ugh, EA “not that far away”? blah, feel like a teen again I don’t want summer to end!
but it does mean rides on the beach… and fall hunter paces… I never paid attention to the trailers at EA, who is there? Orchard, Sundowner, Exiss? Any Hawk dealers? Kiefer?[/QUOTE]
Most of those should be there. I wouldn’t necessarily go to buy a trailer there, but it’s a good place to see what is available “up close and personal” and get a sense of which dealers might work for you.
I use Connecticut Trailer in Bolton CT for all of my service and I like them a lot. They don’t sell a lot of trailers though, I think their web site only shows 4 right now. I bought mine as a private purchase but use CT trailers for inspections and repairs. I was able to use a personal loan from my bank for financing, so that may be worth looking into if you’re not paying cash.
[QUOTE=chism;8807529]
I’m looking for a new (ish) trailer. A nice roomy 2 horse with a dressing room is the idea, but occasionally I could haul 3 if I had the room. I’m not a fan of slants due to the constrictive nature, but IF the planets aligned and there was a 3H slant type that could convert to a less restrictive space for fewer horses (with safer human egress) , I’d love to know if it exists. The horses are large… 16.1-16’3 and one is built like a (sexy) mack truck. I would love to hear what you’ve bought, from whom…what you liked and didn’t. Any dealer specific negatives should be PM’d please just to be fair . I would need to finance. Thanks for sharing.[/QUOTE]
are you selling your Bockmann?
I am in MA, but I bought my custom Merhow out of state.
I would not buy a trailer from Orchard. Basically any dealer will ship a trailer and you may be able to get a better deal from a higher-volume seller.
I ended up driving down to Traveled Lane in Maryland because I couldn’t find what I wanted any closer. They were fantastic to deal with.
[QUOTE=chism;8807529]
I’m looking for a new (ish) trailer. A nice roomy 2 horse with a dressing room is the idea, but occasionally I could haul 3 if I had the room. I’m not a fan of slants due to the constrictive nature, but IF the planets aligned and there was a 3H slant type that could convert to a less restrictive space for fewer horses (with safer human egress) , I’d love to know if it exists.[/QUOTE]
I spent a day working out of an Adam 2+1 a while back, and really liked the reconfigurability and the generally roomy and airy feeling, and the “+1” part could totally double as a dressing/living area. Build quality seemed good too. (I did not, however, have anything at all do do with paying for it! Based on how nice it seemed I bet it wasn’t cheap.)
It was years ago, but I bought my trailer (2 horse w/ DR BP Trail-et) from Riverview in Merrimac, MA. Very pleased with the experience, they came in under list price for some options without my even trying to bargain.
You might want to try Townsend’s Trailer Sales in Pembroke, NH. I got my trailer there and they were very nice to deal with.
The woman in NH quietanne refers to is a good one to stay away from.
[QUOTE=soloudinhere;8809911]
are you selling your Bockmann?
I am in MA, but I bought my custom Merhow out of state.
I would not buy a trailer from Orchard. Basically any dealer will ship a trailer and you may be able to get a better deal from a higher-volume seller.[/QUOTE]
Hmmm… I’m most likely not who you think I am. 
I have an older Kieffer.
[QUOTE=amb;8810369]
I spent a day working out of an Adam 2+1 a while back, and really liked the reconfigurability and the generally roomy and airy feeling, and the “+1” part could totally double as a dressing/living area. Build quality seemed good too. (I did not, however, have anything at all do do with paying for it! Based on how nice it seemed I bet it wasn’t cheap.)[/QUOTE]
I actually have been looking at these… but I WILL be the one paying for it and it might be out of my range. My mama always told me I had “Champagne taste on a beer budget”. 
Willowdale Trailers is at the Essex County Coop in Topsfield – they sell Featherlite and Shadows, used to sell Valley. I haven’t bought from them, just ogled & chatted, and they’re always helpful. Now to just find that extra 10k . . .
