Trailer Tales

I've mentioned this a few times, but we finally bought a new trailer, and it finally came home today!

When we moved to PA at the end of 2010, we were able to pick up a trailer from a friend of Hubby's for a whopping $275. It's an old as hell Kingston, it's ugly, it's rusty, it doesn't have a divider, and there are about ten different locks on the back door because it didn't have any when we bought it, but structurally it's totally sound. 

there it is behind bobby in all it's ghetto glory

We've hauled one to two horses in it for the past four years, and it's never given us any problems--well, except for that time one of the tires blew on the world's shittiest road, and the spare mysteriously picked up a leak between then and when we checked it that morning. It was the easiest trailer in the world for me to learn to haul, and its squirrelly nature when asked to back up makes me feel like I can do a three point turn with a semi if called upon. 

But with the amount of shows I'm going to increasing, hauling out for trail rides, and me very slowly (very slowly) learning to love the nicer things in life, it was time for an upgrade. Last year we bought the truck, and this year our primary goals was to find the perfect trailer. 

I didn't think what I wanted was going to be all that hard to find. I wanted a two horse bumper pull with a dressing room. I didn't want full back doors because Bobby gets hot when it's fifty degrees out; he'd roast alive hauling in 80* weather with only sliding windows for ventilation. Those were literally my only must-haves.

Well apparently such magical trailers under $5,000 are in short supply around here.

I finally found one on craigslist in December, but we didn't have enough money for it then. I kept stalking the ad. It was re-posted in January...still didn't have the money. And then it disappeared. I was pretty bummed, but not surprised. Hubby finally gave me the green light at the end of February to find something with the intention of buying. 

I told him I'd already found what I wanted--it was just too bad they'd already sold it. But I opened up craigslist again, and what had just been re-posted that very day? My trailer! I immediately got in contact with the lady and set up a date to come see it. 

Of course, being in NE PA in the winter from hell, it snowed five inches the day we were supposed to go, and I had to wait even longer to touch it. 

Last week we were finally able to get up there. It's an extra tall '93 Trail-Et with a dressing room with approximately ten million bridle hooks and three saddle racks. The back is a ramp with no top doors. There are side windows and a top vent. The owners put an all new frame on it a couple of years ago, and were super meticulous in its upkeep.

And, talked down to only $3,000, it's ours! We've been fighting bad weather and work schedules to get the title signed over and the trailer picked up, but we finally made it happen today. I want to put my horse in it just because. 

As far as my old Kingston, I put it on craigslist, and two days later someone bought it for the full asking price. Easy peasy sale. It's been retired to local hauling, but mostly for training a horse that doesn't want to get on a trailer. 

Now I have to think up a new way to tell people how to find me at a show. "Look for the oldest, ugliest trailer being hauled by the green Dodge" isn't going to work anymore. Oh dang. :P