# Opinions on and experience with Brenderup?



## Mercat

Hi, all. New here. We're considering buying a used Brenderup 2H trailer (1998, Prestige model). No experience with Brenderup - just know that they were the choice for lightweight trailers. We have a 15.2h QH who's good with trailers. Any advice on Brenderups? I'm concerned mostly with repair and replacement parts, now that they're no longer made. Also, I've read a few things online about handling issues due to weight (swaying, fish-tailing). Any truth to that? We'd be pulling with an F-250, so no issue with tow vehicle capability. Also wondering if anyone has experience with this specific model (Prestige) and whether it's suitable for a 15.2h horse. I think I've read it's OK up to 16h, but not sure if that's accurate. Thanks!


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## Speed Racer

They're no longer being manufactured in the US but they're still being made overseas, so parts are still available.

The only thing I know about Brenderups is that an acquaintance owns one and loves it. You don't need a large vehicle to pull it, as it's extremely lightweight. In fact, an F250 may be overkill with a Brenderup.


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## Mercat

Speed Racer said:


> You don't need a large vehicle to pull it, as it's extremely lightweight. In fact, an F250 may be overkill with a Brenderup.


Thanks. Yeah, we weren't specifically looking for a lightweight, given that we already have the F-250. But this came up locally at a good price and I am attracted to the fiberglass/aluminum construction, purely from a maintenance standpoint.


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## Corporal

I have never heard of a BRAND of trailer that fishtails. DH and I have owned/pulled 2 trailers, one bumper hitch and one gooseneck, and several smaller, non-horse trailers. 
Small trailers for towing articles like a riding mower will sometimes fishtail if not level.
Our bumper hitch trailer never fishtailed but we have an adjustable hitch with swaybars.
You need to drive your trailer level and use swaybars if it's a bumper hitch and you won't have this problem. You also need air brakes that have a manual in the cab.
BTW, DH and I learned ALL of our trailer knowledge the hard way, including being stranded twice with truck and with trailer problems, and driving home, in the dark, in a midnight blue trailer sans lights.


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## Mercat

Corporal said:


> I have never heard of a BRAND of trailer that fishtails.


That's what I get for scanning the Internet 



Corporal said:


> DH and I have owned/pulled 2 trailers, one bumper hitch and one gooseneck, and several smaller, non-horse trailers.
> Small trailers for towing articles like a riding mower will sometimes fishtail if not level.
> Our bumper hitch trailer never fishtailed but we have an adjustable hitch with swaybars.
> You need to drive your trailer level and use swaybars if it's a bumper hitch and you won't have this problem. You also need air brakes that have a manual in the cab.
> BTW, DH and I learned ALL of our trailer knowledge the hard way, including being stranded twice with truck and with trailer problems, and driving home, in the dark, in a midnight blue trailer sans lights.


All good advice - thanks!


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## ~*~anebel~*~

Personally, I would not purchase a Benderup. I was looking for a trailer and was considering a Benderup, I had a mechanic friend look under the Benderup and he did not like the look of all the welds and everything under the trailer - thought it looked weak. He said he would not trailer long distances, hills or highways in that trailer.
As well if something happens, it's going to be easy for a leg to go through the side of the trailer...

I would hold out for a sturdier trailer, personally.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Mercat

Thanks. Will keep that in mind.


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## QOS

I own a 2009 Brenderup Royal TC. Brenderup's are the freaking bomb. There is no trailer that is 100% forever but I can say that this trailer has been wonderful to own and tow. 

I tow it with a 2007 RAV4 Limited with a towing package, V6 269 hp engine. My horse that I bought the trailer for was a 15.3 HH Quarter Horse. I now have a 15 hh and a 15.1 hh Quarter Horse and they have tons of room in the trailer. It hauls like a dream whether I am hauling with the Rav4 or my hubby is hauling with his 2007 Tundra. 

I recently had an issue with the ramp. It has a bad spot in it that is being repaired. I am not happy about it but any trailer is going to eventually need maintenance no matter who made it. As far as the floor - it is rock solid. All of the welds are good. It has been left outside as I do not have a cover for it. It is hauled almost on a weekly basis so it hasn't just sat in my yard. I also camp in it!! 

If it is in good shape - snap it up. My Brenderup has made a believer out of people who thought they were "flimsy". One of my buddies was a lady from Germany. She had a Brenderup before moving to the States. That is pretty much what everyone in Europe hauls huge Warmbloods with - and hauls with little SUV's. 

If you go on my blog you will find a ton of pictures of my little Brenderup being hauled all over the place.


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## Mercat

Thank you. Guess that's my main concern - what trade-off is there, if any, in sturdiness to get the weight down? As with most things like this, opinions both ways. Looking for a preponderance of evidence, I guess!


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## danny67

Personally, not the trailer for me. I like a little more room. Your F-250 is able to pull much bigger better nicer (cheaper $$) USA built trailers .

However the B-ups have super brand loyalty by their owners and they infrequently come up for second had sale. They also seem to be way better than average at holding value.

Hope you got it. If you don't like it, you can resell easy peasy and won't lose any money. If I wasn't into pickups, I'd be having a look at those German made Boeckmann trailers. Very similar to B-up.


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## FGRanch

We looked under one and wouldn't consider it, the support beams were very light and too far spaced out for our liking and the welds were weak.


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## verona1016

Unless I specifically needed a very lightweight trailer (because I didn't have a full size truck, for example) I wouldn't consider Brenderups. Quality aside (which I have no first hand experience with), the prices I saw for Brenderups when I was trailer shopping meant that buying an older, but still serviceable full size truck and a steel trailer was the same or less $$$. I also prefer slant load and a tack room I can change in.


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## Mingiz

Personally I wouldn't purchase a Brenderup. I would go for a all aluminum if weight is an issue and with a F250 it shouldn't be. I'd rather have a more stable trailer. They are made of what looks like a fiberglass type material. Small cross members and weak welds.. not good... Some people love them.


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## 2muchcoffeeman

danny67 said:


> Personally, not the trailer for me. I like a little more room. Your F-250 is able to pull much bigger better nicer (cheaper $$) USA built trailers .
> 
> However the B-ups have super brand loyalty by their owners and they infrequently come up for second had sale. They also seem to be way better than average at holding value.
> 
> Hope you got it. If you don't like it, you can resell easy peasy and won't lose any money. If I wasn't into pickups, I'd be having a look at those German made Boeckmann trailers. Very similar to B-up.


The Böckmann trailers are nice — I really like the Portax with the front ramp, and it's available in the company's Western line with a properly sized tack compartment.

I know somebody who tows her Böckmann with an F-150, so maybe you can still be into pickups and also tow a light trailer. :lol:


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## 2muchcoffeeman

Speed Racer said:


> They're no longer being manufactured in the US but they're still being made overseas, so parts are still available.


Strictly speaking, they were never manufactured from scratch in the United States. Brenderup is a division of Thule (of Sweden), which makes car-top carriers and so on; a company in Midland, Texas, imported the trailers essentially as kits and assembled them there for American distribution. At some point, this relationship became unsatisfactory to Thule (apparently that one little distributor wasn't selling enough {figure 400 a year or so, in a market where over 1,000 a year is pretty good} so it moved into a bigger facility in summer 2008 to assemble and sell more trailers, and then fall 2008 happened :-| ), so no more Brenderups for us.

(Also, while Thule makes nice stuff, I'm told Thule management ain't nice people. So there's that.)

There's an outfit in New Hampshire that has the parts distribution for the USA and they have a couple of used trailers in inventory, as well. I wonder if Thule offered those folks the same "We'll send you parts and you assemble them into trailers for us" deal that Real Trailers had.


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## its lbs not miles

Mercat said:


> , I've read a few things online about handling issues due to weight (swaying, fish-tailing). Any truth to that? We'd be pulling with an F-250, so no issue with tow vehicle capability.


Having no experience or knowledge (first or second hand) on the brand of trailer I'll have not comment on it.

fish-tailing though is something any rear hitch trailer can do. There is no such thing as a rear hitch trailer that won't fish-tail. I've heard it blamed on weight (both ways...too light....too heavy), but from my experiences it's not the trailer (or the weight from what I've seen). Barring a specific problem with a specific trailer (not a brand or type) it tends to be the driver who has the fish-tailing problem.


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## ~*~anebel~*~

My rig doesn't fish tail. More often on ice or snow, the trailer keeps me straight!

It's all about wheel base - this is why it's not recommended to haul horses with most SUVs. The wheel base is too short which allows the trailer to fish tail. As well I have sway bars, adjusted tightly, and they also help to keep the trailer behind the truck.

A good rig will not fish tail.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## its lbs not miles

~*~anebel~*~ said:


> My rig doesn't fish tail. More often on ice or snow, the trailer keeps me straight!
> 
> It's all about wheel base - this is why it's not recommended to haul horses with most SUVs. The wheel base is too short which allows the trailer to fish tail. As well I have sway bars, adjusted tightly, and they also help to keep the trailer behind the truck.
> 
> A good rig will not fish tail.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


:lol: If it's rear hitch I'll bet you I can get it to fish tail :lol:

There's nothing that will insure a rear hitch rig will not fish tail except the driver (it's load in some case, but we're talking about horses here). If there was you'd never see one fish tail, because every trailer/trailer hitch/hauling package would come with what was required to insure no fish tailing. You can only reduce the likelihood. A poor hauling driver (or a good one who wants to) can cause (or make) a rear hitch fish tail and it's really not that difficult to do if you pull them using unsafe hauling practices (or know how). It's tougher with a goose neck (but I didn't say impossible :lol. Can do more damage to the truck if it does.


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## Saddlebag

When considering any trailer, hop in and take a ride in it. Some are incredibly noisy. My tank of a stock trailer was until I put a piece of rubber where it closes, pushed it in with a screwdriver which got rid of the rattle.


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## Birdwalkfarm

*Experience with Brenderup*

My personal opinion is, if I could only afford one trailer I would not buy one. If I had money to burn, I wouldn't mind having one for short trips.

I have a friend who has one and have trailered with her many times. It is like hauling your horse in a potta potty my horse is calm and hops right in, but if one had a difficult horse not a good idea. My Brenderup owning friend hauled another friends horse and the horse acted up, not hysterically mind you but enough to knock the trailer out of whack to make it hard to shut the door.

Very cramped horse space and it makes me nervous....Glad my horse is good with it.if I were a horse I would be claustrophobic about being in it. My friend has had to have work done on the trailer and it is a pain to get service and parts.
Pam


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