Wednesday, May 27, 2009

My new trailer


My mother and I bought this used Hawk trailer. Ky Eliza of "Much ADO About Art Dolls" was the first to guess correctly.

It is a 2-horse, bumper-pull with ramp load and dressing room. We purchased it from a neighbor of my instructor, so it could not have been more convenient. It is well maintained and only lightly used.



The dressing room has saddle racks, bridle hooks, "rumber" floor, and "Abilene" tack trunk. The previous owner kindly left handy things for us, like a rug, stepping stool, and water jug.









She also left us hay nets - with old hay! Well, I'm kidding. Actually we had come by to buy it before she had time to clean it out. Maybe I'll use the old hay to line some plant beds. I hate wasting things.


The padding on the walls and bars is in good shape.






Here are the back windows and ramp. The windows all around the trailer have screens. So we could open the glass to vent but still have screens up.

We had been contemplating driving all the way to Connecticut to look at Hawk trailers. So I'm very glad we had the chance to buy this local one first. It's surprising to me that, in my area, used trailers are still selling quickly. You'd think given the economy that they'd be flooding the market. I heard on the grapevine that an hour after we bought the trailer, someone else I know was on his way to buy it.

Sadly though, I admit I've been so busy I haven't had time to take it for a real test drive. After dumping it in my mother's lawn, it hasn't budged in a couple of weeks.

Any advice for us and our new trailer?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

That looks like a very nice trailer! You are indeed lucky to find one so close and in such good condition. The only advice I'd have is to have the tires (including spare) checked out for wear/cracks, etc. and proper inflation, and also have the trailer itself checked out (if you don't know its maintenance history) for anything structural/electrical/mechanical that might need tuning up. Also, my trailer needs its bearings repacked on a regular basis - don't know if your trailer needs this or not - it's an important safety issue if it does. Hope you get a lot of usage out of it!

Stephanie - Siouxzeegirl Designs said...

I LOVE!!! My Hawk trailer. I have a 3 horse slant bumper pull with the dressing room.

2 words of advice... over the winter my battery for the dressing room lights and the extra back light always goes dead because I forget to remove it.
The other thing... and this is my biggest... please put down sand paper strips or some other grippy stuff on the running board outside the tack room. I did not and that is how I ruptured all the ligaments in my ankle and now not riding for 4 - 6 months!! I slipped on it putting saddles away and down I went.

Other than that... You are going to LOVE it. It has been the best trailer I have owned. Very, low maintenance other than oiling doors and window latches, battery and checking the tires. The rumber floors are super.

Grey Horse Matters said...

Your new trailer looks fantastic! It's so clean and you will appreciate the dressing room more than you know. When we showed a lot I put a portable camping toilet in there so we wouldn't have to use those nasty ones at the shows. It worked out great. Congratulations and good luck with it.

Kritter Keeper at Farm Tails said...

good choice. i have a gooseneck hawk and had a bumper hawk prior to that. when the tractor trailer pushed us off the highway and into the median, i had the bumper pull hawk. thankfully the hitch popped off and the horses did not roll with us...all was well, no serious injuries for the horses and no injuries whatsoever for the two humans. God was with us that day!

Callie said...

Nice trailer! I miss mine, but don't use one often enough to justify another right now.

Unknown said...

It looks brand new! Congratulations. Now you can go everywhere in style and safety.

Your tack trunk installation has given me an idea for our dressing room, which we can't figure out how to organize. Everything ends up on the floor except the bridles and saddles.

You asked for suggestions, so here goes. I agree with Kate that you need to have a dealer go over the trailer to check the floors, etc. I'd go ahead and have it serviced. I do that every fall -- bearings repacked, stuff that needs greasing gets greased, etc. All the lights checked.

One thing I didn't know when we got our trailer was that trucks and SUVs with "hauling packages" do not include a device (don't know the name) that links and operates the trailer brakes. We got one installed and it saved me from rear-ending a schoolbus. But you probably knew about that little detail and probably already have one installed on your truck.

Again, it's beautiful. Happy trails to you!

Anne at www.smellshorsey.com

Paint Girl said...

Very nice trailer! Looks like it is in great condition. You'll love the dressing room. I love mine, and I love the bench I have too, great for storage underneath and for sitting down when you need to put boots on! :)
I agree with everyone else on having it serviced. Just to make sure everything is working great!

A Bay Horse said...

Thank you for all the great suggestions! Never would have thought of the sandpaper or camping toilet, although I'm not honestly sure if I am not too squeamish for the latter. :)

It's due for its inspection soon, so we will definitely take your advice on getting it serviced.