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Peace of mind
when horse camping |

Complete
pickup truck leaf spring replacement with air bag
suspension. Self levels, improves ride, braking,
steering and handling.
AutoFlex Review |
GanderLock
for Goosenecks: Protect your trailer as well as
your expensive saddles, bridles, tools and flat
screen TV. Goosenecks
if you just lock the
coupler, the thief's loosen the set bolts, slide out
your adjustable coupler
Read the Review |
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 Safr
Aluminum Horse Trailers fill the void left by Brenderup for
fuel saving trailers:
Why not
build a trailer to be aerodynamic, lowering wind resistance
to improve fuel mileage and using the air to stabilize the
trailer. It should be a priority with trailer manufactures
now and if not now when,
when fuel is $10 a gallon?
It's about function not just beauty. It's time to change
the way horse trailers are designed. And handling should be
a design function. Safr Trailers tows similar to Brenderup's
design with no sway.
Read the MrTruck review... |
Cutting Edge Towing Truck,
Quadrasteer & Cutting
Edge Horse Trailer, Brenderup
Also Reviewing Trimax Trailer Locks for conventional
trailers, horse, RV, boat etc. |
With such a remarkable towing machine as the
Quadrasteer GMC Denali, I thought it only right to review a equally
controversial remarkable horse trailer, the Brenderup. Manufactured in
Denmark and assembled in Texas, Brenderup is a typical horse trailer in
Europe, where they don't have the large pickup trucks and SUV's like the US.
Which is one of the advantages of Brenderup, being able to use a smaller tow
vehicle. The typical tow vehicle for a Brenderup is a Volvo station wagon.
With the maximum tongue weight of the largest Brenderup (Baron) being only
250#'s, tow vehicle choices just doubled. The
heaviest Brenderup, the Baron, weighs 2150 pounds empty.
Usually when I tow any trailer with a
Quadrasteer, there is a dramatic improvement in trailer control. The
Brenderup is the exception, it towed great even with 4-wheel-steer option
shut off. I had an experienced horse trainer, Jim Rae, with the Colorado
Natural Horsemanship Center, load two of his
Quarter Horses in it, drive it and tell me his impression. He had never seen
a Brenderup, his horses never used a ramp trailer before. We were all surprised at
how well it did. We hauled two horses for a scenic ride south of Parker CO.
You should have seen the smile on the horses! They also knew I wasn't
driving. We didn't even use one of the features
of the Brenderup trailer line, the rear jacks that stabilize the trailer as
horses walk up the rubber padded did. We hauled two horses for a scenic ride south of Parker CO.
You should have seen the smile on the horses! They also knew I wasn't
driving. We didn't even use one of the features
of the Brenderup trailer line, the rear jacks that stabilize the trailer as
horses walk up the rubber padded cleated ramps. Jim told me the hollow
sound of a ramp can scare a horse. The rear jacks are a good idea for
teaching a horse to use ramps, limiting the movement of the trailer. |
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Jim Rae
on towing with the Quadrasteer Denali, "I have to turn wider threw that corner with an empty
truck than I did with the Quadrasteer pulling a horse trailer." and his
thoughts on the Brenderup trailer, " It tows better than any trailer
I've pulled." Jim has a few decades experience hauling horses.
Jim's quarter horses together weighed roughly a ton at 15.1 and 14.3
hands. Jim explained, "horses don't like dark caves." Brenderup is
about as light inside as a trailer gets. Lots of head room. This was
the first time these two horses loaded on ramps. Jim threw some
manure in the trailer to make it smell like home. I couldn't do it,
I was running the camera. |
On horse forums, in the past, I have heard
negative posts about Brenderup horse trailers, and seen the loyal users come
to their defense. So I investigated and learned about unique features of the
trailer, that would help other trailers. They do look different, tall,
aerodynamic and a spoiler on the rear of the roof. Brenderup comes in a
one or two horse configuration. Competition is the
mother of improvement. I wish trucks had over 100 manufactures as trailers
do, not 5.5 truck manufactures. My view is 20 years of Brenderup trailers sold in the US, if they were
dangerous, we would hear more than opinions based on looks. And they
assemble them in Texas and you don't mess with Texas! The #1 truck state. My
review trailer from Tom Svejcar a Brenderup dealer from Lyons
Colorado, was 3 years old. It showed little wear, mostly just a few
pealing decals. Brenderup's are bigger than you think looking at
pictures. The high roof works like the vaulted ceiling in my house,
making the room seem larger. |
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Brenderup's long V-tongue goes way under the
trailer almost to the first axle. You can see the rubber boot where the
coupler pushes back to active the trailer brakes with cables. Parking brake handle runs
the same cables. Bet you wish your trailer had a parking brake.
Like your tow vehicle, the Brenderup has toe
in on the axles to keep it towing straight. The axles are torsion with shock
absorbers. The unique looking roof with the upslope spoiler to the rear and inward sloping rear ramp gate, all have
purpose. You've all heard of drafting, like they use in stock car racing and
some folks do that behind semi-trucks, where you get close enough to get
pulled by the front vehicle. All the different air turbulence that swirls
behind vehicles, especially large square types, can create suction. It's
easy to feel when on a motorcycle and a large truck passes you. This happens
with horse and RV trailers, making some sway more from the suction than
others. With the Brenderup, the roof upslope controls the air current
going off the rear of the trailer and the inward slope of the rear
ramp-gate, breaks up the air roll that swirls behind trailers, making them
far less susceptible to the draft of a passing truck or even the canyon
winds we have in the Colorado Rockies. Add all this together, and you won't
find a easier towing trailer as is, without a weight distributing hitch or
anti-sway bar. The balance of the loaded trailer is level as it should be
with more of the trailer weight on the trailer and less on the trailer
tongue than conventional horse trailers. This weight balance and aerodynamic
shape allows smaller tow vehicles.
I
would like to see a horse that kicks, take on the Brenderup. I've taken a
hammer to it and couldn't hurt it. Solid phenolic resin walls on larger
models and laminate on the smaller ones, make for a solid wall ready for
abuse. They sent me samples of the solid phenolic resin that I beat with a
hammer. It's good stuff, I was tired and so was the hammer. One piece floor
laminate as well as the walls on the smaller models will resist corrosion
and are easy to clean.
There is also controversy with
emergency service personnel about the benefit of a trailer roof that
would allow the horse to escape after a roll over. The fiberglass
roof ads to the well lit interior as well as being cooler in the summer and
is becoming more popular in horse trailers. The ramp/tailgate has
hydraulic struts to make lifting easy, with it's adjustable top
door.
I towed the Baron Brenderup to Estes
Park with the Quadrasteer Denali. On those mountain curves, the
Brenderup cornered like is was on rails as a sports car would. The
Baron Brenderup is the easiest pulling trailer I've tried. No
fighting the steering wheel, no trailer whip, you forget the
trailer's back there. The trailer brakes engaged hard when I braked
hard. No brake controller needed as the Brenderup's brakes are self
activated. The trailer brakes work similar to surge brakes found on
boat trailers. But instead of the tow vehicles change in motion
pushing the trailer coupler into the hydraulic plunger to activate
hydraulic brakes, Brenderup's coupler pushes in to move 4 cables
which activate the trailer brakes. It's called "all
wheel Inertia®." |

From
underneath, trailer brakes and park brake have a rod
connecting to a cable from each wheel. The chassis and frame are hot dip
galvanized steel including the independent torsion axles with shocks. Brenderup's
have a low center of gravity with most of their weight at floor
level.
According to Brenderup, "Only
BRENDERUP REAL® TRAILERS employs INERTIA® 4-wheel brakes designed to operate
as the driver comes off the accelerator pedal and before getting to the
brake pedal. Under ALL circumstances whenever the trailer tries to push on
the tow vehicle the trailer brakes are being applied in direct proportion to
the weight of the trailer at the time and the rate of deceleration. The
INERTIA® brake system also has an independent parking brake, emergency
breakaway and antilock characteristics."
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For More on Brenderup Click
Trimax for Trailer Security |
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As the price (value) of trailers go
up each year, so does the risk of having yours stolen. I tried the
UMAX 100 coupler lock, model #T3 Receiver Lock and the T-Hex Super
Chain from Trimax. The UMAX 100 pictured above, fits all trailer
couplers and all their ball sizes. I used it on the Brenderup horse
trailer, a couple of boat trailers and travel trailers and yes it
fit them all. The U-shape 5/8" hardened steel shackle dual
ratcheting locking system, has a dual purpose. It of course locks
the trailer coupler to the lock housing, but you can also attach
chains and cables to it. I used the Trimax T-Hex Super Chain to lock
the trailer to the truck when it set over night. Or you could lock
spare tires, lawn chairs etc. to the trailer while you are on the
trail. Everyone should be using
a locking receiver hitch pin. Trimax is as good as it gets, I bought
their #T3 Receiver Lock, it's rated at 32,000 pounds. The water
tight lock works every time. I have several hitches, from adjustable
drawbars from B&W to an Equalizer weight distributing hitch and
don't want them to walk away while I'm at the movies. Trimax has a
lock for just about anything, from trailers to motorcycles.
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Trimax
T-Hex Super Chain padlocked trailer coupler to truck hitch. |
UMAX 100
coupler lock and T-Hex Super Chain, which comes in 4 sizes. |
#T3 Receiver
Lock |
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Travel Trailer |
Horse Trailer |
Boat Trailer |
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More
Pictures of the Brenderup Experience |
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The Brenderup
horse trailer & the Outfitter popup are great for off-road &
trail riding |
Tom
Svejcar and son show how easily the stalls adjust for a colt and momma |
Under
the ribbed rubber floor mats, is the laminated floor with drain holes. |
Tom says
Brenderup is the Mercedes of horse trailers. |
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Light, also tailgate door is adjustable when closed and can be left open
with just the ramp closed. |
Plenty
of light, windows and ventilation |
The dressing
room wall folds down to give the horse more head room & a
view of where they are going |
Dressing room
walls move back to use and then roll forward. A compact unit
that expands. |
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Yes it has a
tack room, it stays put but the dressing room expands. |
Ramp jacks are
great for teaching horses about ramps, making them solid.
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Ramp/tailgate
latches are spring loaded to stay locked |
The ramp top
gate can be up or down for more ventilation |
The Quadrasteer
GMC Denali with trailer did a circle in Jim's indoor area |
Shocks on the axles, like many
RV travel trailers. |
     
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New to Ramps, the Adventure. Jim Rae loads
two of his Quarter Horses in the Brenderup Baron. Jim's first experience
with a Brenderup and the horses first load on a ramp trailer.
|
 Safr
Aluminum Horse Trailers fill the void left by Brenderup for
fuel saving trailers:
Why not
build a trailer to be aerodynamic, lowering wind resistance
to improve fuel mileage and using the air to stabilize the
trailer. It should be a priority with trailer manufactures
now and if not now when,
when fuel is $10 a gallon?
It's about function not just beauty. It's time to change
the way horse trailers are designed. And handling should be
a design function. Safr Trailers tows similar to Brenderup's
design with no sway.
Read the MrTruck review... |
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