Trailer Issue Snowball

 The downside to having a breeding stallion, lessons, shows and a full time job is the trailer is tough to schedule a checkup. We did not notice anything until the well into breeding season and the show season. So we did fixes and watched until we could get it in. Fast forward to the beginning of November. Mom and I were driving back to the barn after a saddle fitting. The roads are hilly, winding and a little narrow, but we have gone this way for four years with no issues. This time we felt a huge bump, or something that only affected the trailer. Immediately we thought it was a tire. A look around showed four tires on both the trailer and truck. Roscoe was good and we could not see anything. We moved on.

A week or so later we went to what turned out to be my final lesson with Karrigan. Along the way we found the trailer had no lights. I called our trailer place and told them the problem. Mom brought it in the next day and we hoped it was just a fuse. Which is partially was. The truck blew a fuse, but fixing that did not fix the trailer. So they told us they could not do any work on it until the first week in December. That was not good as I have a lesson scheduled for the first. But with no lights we could not go anywhere, so the trailer stayed in case they could get to it sooner.

Thankfully they got to it this week and fixed the lights. Now they needed the truck to adjust our balance system, which we said had not been acting right. When my parents dropped the truck off, they found out why our lights died.

 

It turns out after three hours of searching for the problem, the bracket to our balance system cut the wires for the lights and the brakes. We have noticed over this year that the brackets had been slipping and it was on the list to tell the trailer people when it went in. We just tightened the bolts. It seems that all the issues we have felt with the balance system probably stem from the wires it was gradually cutting. And the big bump we felt was when the brakes locked after the wires were cut completely. The trailer literally jumped.

 

This lovely trailer issue snowballed into a big bill. You can bet we will be bringing it back right away if we see any slippage of the brackets. They will added a strip of metal if needed to hold it in place. It figures that the wires are the least protected on the tongue. What are the chances? Virginia requires an annual inspection so our trailer goes in at least once a year, but this all happened after. Hopefully now our trailer issues will be limited to little things like interior lights and the dang moonroof.

Trailer Hunt Success

After all the insurance fun, we started looking at trailers. We definitely wanted a trailer with a steel frame, ramp, dressing room, windows in front and between the dressing room and horse area. I looked at Sundowners but they are all aluminum and they have a pole at the back of the divider. I was working myself towards accepting less than what we had or having to have another payment. I contacted Gore, but they had no used trailers. The best they could do was 15500 for a 2018.
I even debated buying a trailer sight unseen from Washington and having it shipped since the prices were so low.
Then I got lucky. I hit on a used Gore in Florida within my price range. I sent a request for information and mentioned that I was in VA.

The owner called me the next day. The trailer is a 2010 they purchased directly from the Gore factory. They used it for going to civil war reenactments. The tires were new a few years ago and it had little use since then. She was not very tech savvy so I could not get any pictures. Her son said it was on Facebook but I could not find it.
So we made plans to take the truck for our annual visit to my grandmother. When we arrived in Florida, I was actually able to see the pictures on Facebook. Overall the trailer was a bit beat up, but not too bad. On our way home we stopped at their house.

And it matches the truck, bonus

 The trailer definitely was hard used and the Florida weather rusted the jack and the metal parts on the doors. I can handle the cosmetic dents and dings. I did push for money off for the damaged part. It looks like they scraped against a tree. And the funny thing is that the VIN never got engraved on the trailer, nor the weight or tire info. I guess they forgot at the factory.

In the end I probably could have gotten the price even lower, but my dad was off chatting. Now the trailer needs to go in for inspection and to have the stablilizer system installed. I will probably have the trailer guys look at the damage to see if they can pretty it up. Fingers crossed! Then it will be legal and hopefully we can get back to lessons.
I will say, my old trailer was in EXCELLENT condition and hitch covers are totally worth it.

Know Your Trailer

Almost 11 years ago we went trailer shopping at one of the Horse Expos. We did it on purpose so we could get a demo trailer at a discounted price. Going in we really wanted a Hawk trailer. They unfortunately did not take us as serious buyers and did not put any effort into selling us a trailer. So we walked out and looked at other brands. When we came to the Gore trailers, they had want Mom wanted in features and the guy working totally sold the trailer to us. When it came to financing, I set what I could pay a month and they made it work. They even gave us the ball off their truck when we came to pick up the trailer and ours was too big.

That said, since this is the biggest purchase I have ever made, I know that trailer and it's features. When the insurance came back with the first offer, I was sorely disappointed. My brother happens to be an adjuster and he told me to request to see the comparable. When they sent the report, I was ticked.

Hmm, my trailer does not have mangers

Uh, yeah not swing and the tires are only 3yrs old

How do they miss some of these features?

No dressing room! What???

They did not even have the right features on my trailer and they left some off which significantly lowered the value. The insurance person told me to send a list of missing features and my own comparable. My brother helped with that part. They missed things like the roof vents, the dressing room and the spare tire. And they also said my trailer had swinging doors instead of a ramp. This was a definite learning experience.
I worried the longer I did not hear anything back from the insurance. I sent a couple emails and finally heard back a week after. I guess they had to go back and forth with the appraisal company. I held my breath as he started to tell me the new value. I let it out with relief when he said the new value was $9805, just over $1300 more than the first value. With tax added I got my $10k. I did not request a copy of the new report even though I was curious.
At that point I was just happy to be moving forward. My loan was accruing interest and the bank holding the lien was not giving me the right information about how to pay off the loan. My Dad gave me the money to do it, but it still took so long. I hope no one has to deal with First Federal. Now I am waiting for them to send the title, so I can send it to the insurance and then finally I can get the money. Which means I still cannot buy a trailer until then.
We have one more show and DaVinci still may need surgery.

Someone rubbed his eye :(

Anti- rub protection

I hate not having a trailer. I really wish I could afford another Gore, but sadly I am not in the position to have another 12yr loan. At least since I knew my trailer I got the money to get another decent trailer. Whatever we end up with, I will definitely keep a list of the features and when we get new tires. I just need to find a trailer to use in a couple weeks. Fingers crossed.

Updates

Thank you all for keeping DaVinci and us in your thoughts. We needed them. As we expected DaVinci did colic Thursday night, but since the vets took my mom seriously they were on top of it. Friday we waited anxiously to hear whether or not he would need surgery. His fracture was not repairable, so it would depend on the fragments and his eye.
Added to the wait we had the worry of having the ability to pick him up. Larry had a trip to TN scheduled, but their Acura ended up having a bad break. So Peggy said he needed the truck, which we need to pull the gooseneck. Well we ended up sending our truck with Larry but we had to clean it before because it somehow got moldy.
When we finally got the call to come get DaVinci, traffic was a mess. Dad and I were originally going to go to empty the trailer, but we could not make it. We went to the vets and found out the trailer was traveling like crap. Not great considering it was 1.5hrs away from the barn.
DaVinci was ready to leave and the vet was okay letting him go for his health. The walk from his stall to the trailer was reminiscent of his walk when he arrived to us 12yrs ago: I was the one being walked. Bless him, he walked right on.

hospital tag

Getting belly scratches

Peggy and I started bringing him home. It was hellish. The truck shook so bad. If anyone remembers the Indiana trip where we had a trailer tire blow, this was worse. We made it to within 10 miles of the barn before Peggy felt something give. We both jumped to look at the trailer and found nothing. We turned around and saw the truck tire was flat. We did not think that would be an issue since my Dad was following.

Nope our bad luck continued. It took over an hour to get the spare out of the under carriage. Then it was difficult to get the jack placed and up. Finally we could get the lugs off. And the tire decided it was not coming off. The trailer jack saved the day by lifting the tire enough to let it release. By this time the darkness was coming. I worried about DaVinci who was quiet on the trailer, but had not pooped. My farrier kept messaging me and asking if we were moving yet. He was all set to come and help if he could. Finally by 830 we were on our way.

We pulled up to the barn and was greeted by Comrade on the front lawn. Oh shit! I jumped out to see if his merry men were out too. Some good luck, they were still in the field. Comrade had pulled the eye screw out of the board and walked through the people gate. He knew he was wrong because he booked it back into the barn and to his gate. Peggy set to securing a new eye screw and I went to get DaVinci.

He trotted around the little turn out, taking small nibbles of hay. His face was a bit puffy and sore. That day and all weekend he wanted nothing to do with wet food. I think they tried to hide meds in it at the vets. We had to put him with Dottie because he would not settle alone. I was kinda freaked on Saturday because his swelling felt crinkly. He looked little a wrinkled old man. The vet said he has air under his skin due to the fracture involving the sinus.

We all have made it to his follow up today and he is looking better. Our vet was pleased with his progress. His face is looking more normal too. He has to finish the antibiotics and then we watch.

As for the trailer, it is totaled. I cried when I saw it. Now I am beginning the fight for its value.

The Crack Heard 'Round The Barn

Friday morning I did not want to wake up, so I glanced at Facebook to wipe away the sleep. My eyes bugged when a post from the base I work on showed Code Red, ie closed. I texted my boss and asked if it was real. It was due to high winds already causing issues. Paid day off, YAY!
Well I told mom to stay home since she is recovering from my sister flipping her Fit with both of them in it Monday. Mom is bruised and has a swollen hand. My sister came away with a knock on the head and a glass cut on her hand. Overall a super end to a wreck. With Mom at home, Peggy decided to help with the chores. She was out picking while I worked on water and hay. Then we heard the CRACK.
It sounded close and it sounded from the direction of the trailer and chicken coop. We both circled the house to see. Sadly I saw what I did not want to see.

My view

Peggy's view

The dang tree crunched my trailer!!!! I just about cried. Except for my education, my trailer is my biggest purchase. This hurts big time. We had the truck hitched since I had a lesson scheduled at Sprieser on Sunday. Canceled now :(

Stabilizer bars on the ground

 The tree drove my jack foot through the plastic rest and into the ground. The jack is tipped slightly back. The hitch and trailer tongue nearly touch the ground. We worry about the truck suspension. You can see where the hitch initially hit the ground and came up a little.

Approx 16 inch diameter tree

Crunched

The big ass tree landed across the roof right at the front most point. At the front the fiber glass is busted outside and inside the dressing room. The roof is pushed down. We won't know how bad everything is until the tree comes off. That will be Monday since the tree guy is backed up getting trees off houses.

Dressing Room

Broken branch

 And some shots from different angles. None make me feel any better, except that the truck did not get hit.

Very top hangs over Peggy's trailer

With all the wind and power outages I could not call home or Dad or anyone. Luckily I could use Peggy's land line to call my insurance and start that process. The adjuster will be out Monday too. I was a bit worried when he asked if it was a mobile home. Ugh, I hate claims and repairs. As a friend said "Your not fixing that with duct tape and baling twine."

Product Review: Dover Trailer Hitch Cover

Well I have just spent quality time trolling the Internet tack stores ordering supplements and a few extras. This takes me a ton of time since I go between multiple retailers checking prices and shipping rates. It is amazing how many times the product will be more expensive, but when shipping is added the total is cheaper than at another store where the price is lower.
Anyway one of my purchases was a replacement trailer hitch cover from Dover. I have had my trailer for eight years now and have used this hitch cover for at least six. Our first one was a Tent Sale find, but we were hooked. This cover is easy to use and fits great over the tongue of my trailer, protecting the hitch and electronics. Though I originally paid about $20 for the first and second, the current price is $29.99. Still not bad for about $10 bucks a year.

Dover's product page picture

The cover has a zipper for easy use and a strap to go under the tongue with a clip to secure it to the trailer. There are small vent holes by the hitch so it breathes. The nylon is durable and seems to last about three years. I love this cover and highly recommend it to any bumper pull trailer owners. Definitely a trailer must have!

And for those who like Riding Warehouse, I found that they have one similarly made for $25.95. I almost tried it, but decided to go with the one I knew worked for my trailer. So if anyone gets one let me know how you like it. The shape is slightly different and it does not have a zipper or vent holes (that I can see), but otherwise it looks like the same concept.

Start As You Mean To Go

That was the the thought Peggy and I came to as we drove home with Roscoe in the trailer yesterday. Of course the debate has been on going for the last month. How would Roscoe be when he came home? Would he still be okay with Comrade? How do we reintroduce him? Well we had two long drives to think about it.
The drive there included a passenger for the trailer. Regalia is a Half Welsh mare that is for sale to a special home.

I met her the morning we left because I had to head home before her arrival. An almost 4hr job interview had burned me out. She is a sweetheart and a bit aloof with strangers. I really liked how she is put together and she has a long forelock. Peggy and I hoped she would warm up to us as the drive went along. Turned out Regalia decided to worry us on the drive. She would not eat the wet hay cubes or drink any water. Peggy even went to the grocery store to buy dark syrup and sweet corn to try and tempt her. No such luck. Every stop we gave her the options, but she continued to refuse. The plus side was that she had a cool travel day and stayed dry. By the second stop I pinched her neck and it responded quickly, so I knew she was still hydrated.
Of course by the second stop the truck was making squealing noises. Seriously, we can't make this trip without technical difficulties. Turned out it was a leaky power steering issue. Between the truck and trying to tempt Regalia, we traveled for 13 hours. By that point, it was a matter of checking in with the foals while Lisa backed the trailer up to the barn to unload Regalia and load Roscoe's stuff. Roscoe was in a new turnout and was focused on the arrival of another mare. We left him to his strutting and went to the house.
It is amazing how time flies when you are talking horses. Peggy bugged out to go to bed since she was the driver. When Lisa asked it I wanted to help put the horses away, it was already 12am. Roscoe was acting the crazy stud due to Regalia and had to have his top door closed. Then we had to herd the mares and foals to the field he came out of. It was cool that the mares continue to remember me and let me play with their babies. They also remember the cookies I tend to keep in my pocket :)
These pictures were taken by Lisa back in June during our visit.

Back at the house we managed to talk another 2 hours, definitely a late night. I managed to get up on time and except for an unexpected distraction I had to text Lisa about, we left close to the planned time. We found a little auto shop to top off the power steering and picked up Peggy's coffee. Just having Roscoe on the trailer, we had a weight lift. He was back. Lisa took awesome care of him, but it just is so much better when he is where he is suppose to be.

The other thing that was a relief was that he ate and drank when we stopped. He also cleaned up the corn that Regalia left behind. Peggy gave him another one later on and he brought me the husk to hold while he plucked bits off of it. Yep our boy was back.

Yum, Corn

He was not 100% sure he was going home and decided to reserve  his judgement until he actually saw home. You know we could be bringing him somewhere else and dropping him again. So at the last stop we hashed out where he would go once we arrived. We decided to take advantage of his travel tiredness and start as we mean to go on and turn him out with Comrade. Larry, bless him, got all the horses shifted so that when we pulled up he could go right out.

Roscoe was so happy to be home. I could barely hold him as we approached the gate. Comrade waited and Roscoe went right at him. We all held our breathe as we waited to see the outcome. They squealed, but it was all normal. Roscoe did nothing out of the ordinary and Comrade was not worried. They trotted around, checking out the place. Rosemary was not happy because we separated the girls completely and she could not check in with him. That was for another day.
So turnout is back to normal, he even was by the girls today. Of course the hot wire had to be plugged in again. Now we will have to see how the riding goes. That was the only thing that did not work out while he was away. With the weather and life in general, Jen was not able to ride Roscoe at all. While he gained some butt muscles, he did lose some back muscle. Time to get him back in work.

Oh and the stabilizer system was totally awesome. The mountain turns were easier to navigate and the horses shifting was muted. The truck stopped and started so much smoother.

PE Blog Hop: Hauling

Pony Express's Blog Hop about what you have truck and trailer wise is great. I wish I could access my dad's pictures because I took comparison pictures between our old trailer and our new one.

So here is what we have.

Truck wise, A Dodge Ram 1500 short bed extended cab. Mom and I wish Dad had gone a step up to 2500 when he got a knew truck, but this one does a great job. It gets about 15-17mi a gallon and it really likes to haul. Mom says it always drives better after a haul. What I love about this truck is that it reverses in small increments which makes hooking up easier. This truck handled hauling over the hills in WV twice to bring Rosemary home.

Our Truck, pardon the cute baby

Trailer wise: I bought a Gore 2 horse straight load with ramp and dressing room at a Horse Expo 6 years ago. Great way to get discounts especially if you go the last day and get a demo. We had specific features we wanted when we looked at trailers.

Straight load (Sherman hated slant loads and when loose my horses prefer to travel straight)
Ramp (Barry slipped under a step up, made a lasting effect and it makes it usable for moving things)
Windows in the front and in the rain doors (air circulation)
No solid partition, must swing( leg room)
Tack room
Oversize and Tall (Sherman and later Dottie)
No Mangers
2 Escape doors

Our old trailer was a 1989 Cherokee, 2 hrs straight load with mangers, tack stored underneath and escape door in between, we got for $105 from the old Base Stables. That thing was a rust bucket and the ramp took at least two people to lift. When Sherman started bending the ramp we knew it was time. It sold at auction for $400. How's that for a profit?

We originally were looking at Hawk Trailers, but the representative would not give me the time of day when we went to their area. So we continued on and eventually found the Gore Trailers in another area. Let me tell you, those guys we proud of their product and they sold it. The trailer met all our requirements. When it came time for the financial part, I told them what I could pay a month and they came close enough it was a deal. I will say, I totally cried after signing the paperwork. At 14k with all fees, it was the most money I had ever spent.

Side view with another baby

Can see all the way to the front

Can work it so two horse tie on one side

 

Love this trailer. The divider can come out to make a big stall which was great for when Addie came from MA and Rosemary finished her journey. Having windows on both ends is great for air flow keeping the horses cool. They don't mind standing for long times on the trailer. Best part is that the ramp is so light :)

If I had something  negative to say it would be that the tongue with the jack is really low and we have hit it in dips or some bumps. Makes the ramp a nice grade though.
We always wipe down the inside of the trailer after hauling and we try to clean the outside at least once a year. It has a moon roof in the tack room that had to get replaced since it got dry and cracked. The company was great about helping me get the part and shipping quickly.

Now as to what I would want, I would love a head to head, but would make do with a stock trailer. Since we drive, stock trailers with ramps are great for getting the cart and horse to a location. Peggy's trailer has a front and back stall with a swinging divider which we use when we take more than two.