Help an American Shop for European Trailers

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isr

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I am looking to upgrade my 99' Brenderup Royal and am looking at a few European models. Since so few Americans are familiar with the brands, i'm hoping to get more insight abroad from people who may have had the experience of comparing the makes/models i'm trying to import.

Brenderup no longer imports to the US, which is too bad, as they were popular and their new models look lovely! So, I have 3 options:

Bockmann
Ifor Williams
Equi-Trek

I was able to visit the dealer of Bockmann trailers in the US, they are incredibly well constructed, far superior to the Brenderup model I have. They are also incredibly expensive (the most expensive on the list). The other downside is that they do not have a dressing room/tack room, only a tack cubby. They have a very sleek design, very flashy.

The Ifor Williams I have no real connection with, and the only dealer in the US is 1200 miles away, so I cannot physically touch and test tow the trailer. I know they are very popular in the UK. They are budget friendly, but again only have the tack cubby (as far as I can tell).

The Equi Treks are over 2000 miles away on the other side of the US, so again cannot physically touch. I was impressed with the amount of "human" space you get with the show trek models (small living quarters). However, after requesting up close pictures from the dealer, it would seem that the construction is inferior to the Bockmann. Also, since they are built for right hand drive vehicles, I would always have to open the divider to tow my horse on the driver side since I normally only tow the one horse. Not the end of the world, but a bit awkward.

Does anyone have any insight on these trailers? I'm hoping to find someone who has experience with more than one who can compare the construction.
 
I've never heard of the bockmann so can't comment on them. I have had the IW and the ET trailers although it was a space treka I had which is just the tack and storage in the front but plenty big enough to get changed in.
We always loved the IW trailers, well made, easy to tow, reliable trailers. We changed to an ET as my new horse travelled better facing backwards and I wanted the extra storage space. We loved it to begin with but after a while we began to realise how cheaply/shoddy build it was. I know a few people who are quite happy with theirs but we were not. After a few years things were breaking/falling off, the whole front/changing area would bounce as we were travelling, which would make everything fall to the floor which wasn't good for my saddles, my mare pulled the bars off the windows the 2nd time she ever travelled in it, the roof got cracks in it and bits starting to fall off, I could go on and on!
I have heard that IW do a new trailer which has a bit of living in the front (can't remember what they were called) but also that they aren't as well built as the previous ones, but never seen them so can't comment on that :)
I'm sure you'll get people loving their ET and I've heard they are better built now but after my experience I wouldn't touch them again!
 
Out of the three brands, I would go for Bockmann every time! They are well built, give superior ride, look great and hold their value extremely well. If the budget is a bit of an issue, can you get Westfalia trailers over there?
 
I avoided the Equitrek as the new ones I saw at my then local dealer were badly made. The Ifor Williams one with the living I think is called the Eventa? Don't know about Bockmans but they do look nice. Do you have to go through a dealer for importation or can you do it yourself?
 
CIJ said:
I've never heard of the bockmann so can't comment on them. I have had the IW and the ET trailers although it was a space treka I had which is just the tack and storage in the front but plenty big enough to get changed in.
We always loved the IW trailers, well made, easy to tow, reliable trailers. We changed to an ET as my new horse travelled better facing backwards and I wanted the extra storage space. We loved it to begin with but after a while we began to realise how cheaply/shoddy build it was. I know a few people who are quite happy with theirs but we were not. After a few years things were breaking/falling off, the whole front/changing area would bounce as we were travelling, which would make everything fall to the floor which wasn't good for my saddles, my mare pulled the bars off the windows the 2nd time she ever travelled in it, the roof got cracks in it and bits starting to fall off, I could go on and on!
I have heard that IW do a new trailer which has a bit of living in the front (can't remember what they were called) but also that they aren't as well built as the previous ones, but never seen them so can't comment on that :)
I'm sure you'll get people loving their ET and I've heard they are better built now but after my experience I wouldn't touch them again!
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I was a little surprised that the pictures the Equi-Trek dealer sent me when I asked for closeups of hardware/hitch etc already looked like it was breaking! They are also a fiberglass construction, and if they are anything like my Brenderup, things are just a bit flimsy. So while I really would love the changing room, I don't want to sacrifice quality/.safety to get it.

The new Ifor Williams is the Eventa, looks quite cool, but if you've heard bad things i may stay away...

Thanks for your insight!
 
martlin said:
Out of the three brands, I would go for Bockmann every time! They are well built, give superior ride, look great and hold their value extremely well. If the budget is a bit of an issue, can you get Westfalia trailers over there?
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My husband LOVED the Bockmann, and there are so many enhancements and clever designs, no pop rivets, etc, just a really well made trailer without a lot of things that look like it could break.

I have not heard of the Westfalias, but a quick google search shows they are quite similar to the Bockmann! There is no US distributor, but I have sent them an email to inquire if they would work with me.
 
Bobbly said:
I avoided the Equitrek as the new ones I saw at my then local dealer were badly made. The Ifor Williams one with the living I think is called the Eventa? Don't know about Bockmans but they do look nice. Do you have to go through a dealer for importation or can you do it yourself?
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I have to go through a dealer for any of the aforementioned trailers. None of the companies would work with me directly. The EquiTrek dealer did say they could arrange pickup at one of the east coast ports (New York or Baltimore), which makes sense since they arrive there from the UK first before being shipped to the west coast of the US.
 
So the Westfalias appear to be the same price roughly as the Bockmanns, and that's excluding shipping. Aprox. 13,000 euros
 
Why not stay with a local made trailer? You will know its reputation and be handy for spare parts if necessary including spare tyres. And it will be made for USA conditions. Is there a speed limit for trailers in the USA? Would a Europen trailer be built for American usage.

Ifor Williams are very popular in the UK, one of the reasons being that they are probably the cheapest to buy, but they get modified and improved. Mostly used for day only trips, we don't normally have to go for hundreds of miles to get to competitions, altough some people do of course.

Equitrek had build quality problems to start with, but they seem to be getting better as well. Most people I know who have them like them as they are good to tow and they are usually bought by people to want to stay overnight at a show.
 
I've towed with Ifor Williams and an Equitrek and both have pros and cons. The IW is pretty basic - unless you go for the Eventa but chatting to an Equitrek dealer at a show - not trying to sell me anything as she wasn't working and I'm definitely not buying at the moment, we just got chatting whilst watching the show jumping - she told me about the faults of the IW like naked gas lines in the storage area that would be easy to catch and dislodge accidentally. Then when I next went to a bigger show I had a good look and she was right. They tow well and are easy to manoeuvre and (here at least) parts are readily available and garages know how to service them etc. Some people say the suspension isn't great and theydon't give a good ride but my horses - one of whom is a bit sensitive - load and travel ok in mine, although one has to go on the left or he finds it hard to balance.

The benefit of the Equitreks is that the horses travel backwards - my two travel so much better in it. You don't hear a peep out of them. I assume you're buying new? The Show Trekas went through a phase of having problems with collapsing axles but that's been sorted now. The biggest problem with ETs is the poor customer service - e.g. with the axle issue, refusing to recognise there was a problem and blaming the owners for problems. It seems to be a bit better now from what I've read. I've not had a problem with things bouncing in the front, but my friend's trailer has a tack locker at the back so most of it goes in there. Watch out for hidden charges for extras when buying new. Very little comes as standard on them.

I'm saving up to trade my IW in for a Space Trekka - purely because of the rear facing travel being better for my boys - but have had IWs (I'm on my 3rd - 1st one was a 505 but wooden so traded it in for newer 505 then bought a horse who was too big for it so had to get a 510) for 15 years and have been very happy with them.
 
martlin said:
How about Vans Fautras?
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While there is a distributor in the US, they did not sell at the dealership in Maryland when shown next to the Bockmanns.

From the dealer:
Regarding Fautras and Böckmann, we took on both brands when Brenderup Real Trailers closed. We liked the clever features of some of the Fautras trailers (including the front-controlled butt bars of their Provan straight load model), but we felt that Böckmann would be our main replacement for Brenderup, since it has more models that somewhat correspond to the Brenderup models that folks would be familiar with here in the States. Also, the Böckmanns have been imported for about 20 years (and continuously for about 10 years by the current importer), so there’s a well established support infrastructure. Unlike the Brenderups, the Böckmanns are assembled in Germany, so they don’t rely on a North American assembly facility.

Fautras offers some cleverly designed slant loads, but for feature and price, we felt that their Provan straight load might be of most interest in the States. We stocked a couple of them. What we found was that folks liked the Fautrases, but they really liked the Böckmanns and bought them. We ended up selling our two Fautrases to another dealer (something we had never done with other brands) and are now concentrating on the Böckmanns as our European offering. The Fautras Provan has a polyethylene floor panel, which has a lifetime warranty in their trailer. That’s a very nice feature. However, the body of the Provan is only about 10 feet long with about 40 inches forward of the chest bars. It has tall groom doors, which folks really liked, but our customers just felt that the trailer was too small. I think if we were selling only the Fautras, customers would have bought them. We found that customers by far preferred the greater room of the Böckmanns. Also, the groom doors on the Fautras are fiberglass, which is fine, but when you open them, they shake a bit. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I think folks interpreted that as flimsy. The Böckmann doors and latches have a solid feel to them. As I mentioned, we like Brenderups very much, but even when we sold them, we heard that Böckmann was considered Europe’s premier brand. At our dealership, when comparing the size and feel of the trailers (Fautras vs. Böckmann), customers responded much more favorably toward the Böckmanns. (We tried to give both brands a fair showing, but we also needed to observe reactions to determine whether we were going to continue selling one or both brands. When showing either brand, we would observe a person’s initial reaction to a trailer before explaining the features of that model. We found that those who came to look at Fautras also wanted to look at Böckmann and vice versa while they were here. All of that to say, folks pretty much talked themselves into the Böckmanns without any urging from our staff.)
 
Orangehorse said:
Why not stay with a local made trailer? You will know its reputation and be handy for spare parts if necessary including spare tyres. And it will be made for USA conditions. Is there a speed limit for trailers in the USA? Would a Europen trailer be built for American usage.

Ifor Williams are very popular in the UK, one of the reasons being that they are probably the cheapest to buy, but they get modified and improved. Mostly used for day only trips, we don't normally have to go for hundreds of miles to get to competitions, altough some people do of course.

Equitrek had build quality problems to start with, but they seem to be getting better as well. Most people I know who have them like them as they are good to tow and they are usually bought by people to want to stay overnight at a show.
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I have a Nissan Frontier with a V6 engine, it's rated to tow approximately 6200lbs. Trailers in the US do not have the inertial breaking system that many trailers in Europe have. Presently there is no manufacturer of US trailers in the US making lightweight trailers with the inertial breaking system. Most US trailers are made of steel, the overall weight and tongue weight make it difficult for me to tow with my size vehicle (and unreliable for breaking!). There are a few options for lightweight aluminum trailers, but I would need to have a break box installed in my truck to be able to safely haul. It is one option, but I would prefer to stick with the engineering of a trailer similar to my existing Brenderup.

The tyres (yankee: tire) haven't been an issue for the Brenderup, and I imagine wouldn't be for the other trailers. Some of the electrical pins may be different, but my husband is an electrician by trade so could re-wire, or I could get an adapter.
 
So ultimately I think I am trying to decide between the Westfalia XL (anyone know what the price is for the XXL?) and the Bockmann Big Master.

I believe they are about the same price. I like the front window and back closure on the Westfalia (Bockmann only has a screen that attaches to the ramp). Can anyone give me some insight on the differences of the two trailers? They both seem to have superior hardware (unlike the EquiTrek) and construction.

Thanks again
 
Also--the Bockmann Big Master is for 2 horses up to 18HH, anyone know what the Jupiter XL holds? It is tall, just not sure how much room forward the chest bars it will hold.
 
No breaking system! Weird. I can remember having a surreal conversation with my sister (who lives in the USA) as she was asking me about buying a vehicle and trailer and I couldn't understand why she had been told that she needed a massive truck to pull a couple of ponies. Makes sense now.

There are hardly any German makes in the UK as they are so expensive compared to UK built ones. I looked at the Fautras and liked them and have seen them whizzing up and down the roads in France, but again they are a lot more money that the bog standard Ivor Williams, Bateson, Wessex.
 
The worst is that almost every American is convinced that the European trailers are unsafe/dangerous because of the fiberglass construction. Because almost all our trailers are built of steel or aluminium, they are programmed to think they are somehow more safe. However, I have seen a horse put a foot through a steel trailer, if they are going to do something stupid, they can and will.

I realize our petrol is cheaper, but those giant pickups get about 10-15mpg (and far less when towing!).

The feedback on the Fautras was that they were a bit tight for room (especially the slant loads).
 
I have worked with a bad loader on a Fautras, and the problem as soon revealed to be that the horse was expected to walk on then turn around to travel on the rear slant. Well, the horse took a 6'9 rug, and the trailer was only 6'6" wide.

We did the math, the poor horse was worried about being caught fast in the box.

I trained the horse to enter, tie the wrong way facing on a forward slant, then exit backwards, but due to the way the partitions were hinged this was not a good permanent solution for weight distribution and safety of closing and re-opening the partition. We looked at hinging the partitions differently, but with the tack cubby, and the front door it was just not practical.

I also looked at an Equitrec, and I was disappoonted with the build quality. The roof was not lined, and would have got very hot on a summer day. The finish was messy, and when I sked what could be done to upgrade one for my horse (I would have been prepared to pay more) the factory rep was rather dismissive as it was "only a horse trailer".

I do not think they realise they are dealing in dreams, not "just horse trailers"!!

I had a look at the new Ifor Eventa, and it seemed OK for a small horse, but rather snug for a large one, I believe it was also 6'6" wide, and the horse was expected to turn around to offload.

The standard Ifor seems very popular, but when I have borrowed one it did not inspire me with confidence with the booming noise.

The Bockmann looks absolutely FAB in the photos, but I have never seen one in real life.

Having looked at my options I have gone for a 3.5 tonne small box.
 
The Bockmann and the Westfalia seem very similar and really well engineered. I wish the EquiTrek has better materials and workmanship, as they are about 5,000 USD less. But at this point i think I must resign myself into buying an expensive trailer, or else sell my truck and buy a whole new rig to tow a traditional "American" trailer.

Brand new American trailers (a typical 2 horse straight load with dressing room) is $10,000. The Bockmann and Westfalia's in their large horse range will run me nearly $20,000 USD (The ETs and IW are around $15000 USD).

The suspension on the German make trailers seems very good as well, which will make for a smooth ride for the horses. I figured they would be popular in the UK as well, but I guess the price point is not as attractive as the British made trailers.

Of note, the cost of the "Joker" Westfalia is nearly 60,000 USD--I thought this was a typo. Apparently they are custom made per order.
 
Marydoll said:
Ive got the big space treka and have had it for years, never had any problems with it and it feels very good and steady to tow
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Honestly, I loved the space you get with the EquiTrek, but when the US dealer sent pictures to me close up of the hardware it was really disappointing. They look very cheaply made. Things had already started breaking, pop rivets rusted, broken clips, and junky looking hardware.
 
Not sure how to post pictures to this thread, but I can send the close ups the dealer sent to show the poor quality and construction. Don't think I would want to put my horse in one.
 
Just an update that I decided to go with the "Big" Champion R from Bockmann. The EquiTrek's just seemed poorly constructed, and I didn't have a chance to see the Ifor Williams in person. I appreciate the aluminum construction of the Champion models as opposed to the Fiberglass. My brenderup is starting to show it's age, and the fiberglass construction and wood just has quite a bit of rot. The anodized aluminum should be a more sturdy material.

Will look like this:
http://www.traveledlanetrailers.com/bockmann/images/Champ R CS P9140065.JPG
 
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