Let me guess, you don't own one, do you.   It's not unbalanced at all and actually quite a nice feature. The brakes only come in when activiated, so it's certainly not dragging the tow vehicle...

Ya know, I wonder why everyone always complains about being pushed by regular trailers, if their brakes are so great. I've always wondered. Got to have that giant truck, or you'll go right through an intersection. Got to have a giant truck to control that sway!  Got to have a giant truck or you'll never get the thing stopped.  It sounds like an ordeal.  Love that about the controller having to be set up right, or baring any malfunction.  From what I understand, the things which can go wrong with electric brakes are quite numerous!  La dee daaa!  You can have it.  I love my Brenderup!  Hop in and go. They have thought of everything. 

Lily

Lily,

Here are a couple of things you said in your first post:

 "It feels like a parachute back there."

"In fact there are hills around town that if I coast down them with the trailer loaded, I will be going slower at the bottom of the hill.  Without ever hitting the brake!"

Based on what you said there, to me this also sounded like you were saying the trailer brakes put some "drag" on the car.

You then later said "The brakes only come in when activiated, so it's certainly not dragging the tow vehicle... "

I think I, and maybe Reg, didn't quite understand what you were trying to say the first time around.

Bottom line is that it appears you are happy with the the way the trailer pulls and that you are safe.

I have experience with surge-brakes (which Brenderups are a form of) on trailers and they work fine when adjusted properly, but like anything else they can get out of adustment. No brake system is perfect and things can fail, including Brenderups brakes. That is why I have a problem with Brenderup advising people to tow WAY beyond their vehicles tow ratings. Other than that, I am completely on board with Brenderups concept. 

 -Flush

Hi, let me clairify.

 ( I love the smilies!)

The parachute thing was when I had to stomp on the brakes at 55 to keep from slamming into that deer.  The trailer stopped me, absolutely.  I would have hit that deer without that trailer.  That's what it felt like, a parachute.  I don't feel like that just braking normally. But if you do have to hit the brake hard, the trailer has your back.  And that trailer stopped sqaure behind me too, with the deer thing.

But in normal use, there's no drag on the car.   How do I put this...  The trailer braking is relative to the car slowing. In most cases, you don't feel anything. There! Now I shall celebrate with a pepsi!  ( I prefer Coke! But I"ll take what I can get!)

As far as I know, there's nothing to adjust on the Brenderup brakes. No hydrolics anyway, just cables.  Which is good!  I am not mechanically inclined!

Hope this helps!

Lily

Yes, for that much horse trailer, that one needs a big rig!   I had to either buy a brenderup, or buy a whole new big truck and trailer. I dno't really need a truck.  so I chose the brenderup.  I like it! I only have a couple horses though, so...

Lily

Noooooo!  There's a coupler thing on the front of the trailer.  If the trailer ever starts to go faster than the car, the coupler goes in, that activates the trailer brakes. No push on the car!     Nevah evah any push on the car! Push on the coupler, YES!  Push on car, NO!

And may I add... also no worry about faulty wires, dead batteries, busted fuses, bad connections, brake controller adjustments...  etcetra, etcetra! That set up sounds rather frightening.  But it must work, a lot of people use it. 

Lily

My mom says never argue with a fencepost.  But, if the Brenderup brake setup was so fantastic, then every trailer would work that way.  I'm pushing the limits of my tow vehicle, and I'll gladly worry over batteries, fuses, wires, and controllers anyday to make sure that my trailer stops itself.

Reg is a well-respected person on this board - I wouldn't take his comments lightly.  He only posts about what is safe and legal. 

I'd love to know what region of the country you are in, as I'd like to stay far, far away from you flying downhill towing two horses with a minivan or whatever your pulling your Brenderup with.  Because one day your brake system might fail and your vehicle will not be able to come close to safely stopping all that weight.  That is frightening.

diesel vs gas

bumper pull vs goose neck

steel vs aluminum

fiberglass roof vs aluminum/steel roof

straight load vs slant load

mats vs sprayed in floor covering

ramp vs no ramp

brenderup vs whatever

Choices are wonderful things . . .

How do horse trailers stir such PASSION????

I absolutely LOVED  my Brenderup and wish that I had not sold it (for what I paid for it years earlier) when I bought the gooseneck (which I also love)  a couple of years ago.

Roll on!

PS - I did adjust the brake pads and maintain the bearings every year on the Brenderup . . .  just like the manual said and like the good folks in Midland advise. I also do that on the "conventional"  gooseneck that I bought. Brenderup makes an excellent trailer and  they are a pleasure to deal with. But then how do they all compare to a  Blue Moon ?

In Europe, they DO.  As far as I know, only America and Canada they use the electric brake system on trailers.  I do know in Europe, brake boxes are ILLEGAL. How about that! How do you suppose they stop all those trailers! They don't tow with Ford 350s, they tow with cars.  Like me!  Beep beep! Why don't they make more horse trailers with this system?  I don't know.  I wonder why everything gets blamed on the tow vehicle, like, stopping the trailer, trailer swaying, every answer to a trailer problem is: you need a bigger truck.  Sounds like you need a better trailer, 'cause mine doesn't do that and I don't tow with a big truck.  How can that be? 

Lily

NOOOOOO!!  The coupler thing is on the trailer.  Right behind the hitch. Well, attached to the hitch. Well, right between the hitch and the trailer!  If the trailer is going faster than the car, it pushes the coupler, which activates the trailer brakes. The pushing is never transfered to the car.  Never evah evah!  You would know that if you had Brenderup!

I said I had better braking power when I slammed the brakes on at 55, trying to avoid hitting a deer! A situation in which it certainly is better to have extra braking power, don't you agree?  It's not like I'm going around town with my trailer dragging on my car or something!  

I love these threads where people that have never owned/driven/researched these trailers bash on them.   I think it's the funniest thing in town!  I have no idea how a regular trailer works, but I'd never go to a thread about them and start saying stuff like I do. (Like: Hey, you can't tow a trailer without intertia brakes, are you CRAZY!) But it's perfectly okay to say stuff about Brenderups, with no knowledge of how they work!  HAHA!  Oh, they're dreadfully unsafe! In a rollover, what would happen!  Hey, guess what! Brenderup already thought of that.   And the brakes, the brakes!  How will it ever stop!  hahaha!  Thought of that too, but who cares, it looks unsafe anyway! Towing with a CAR?  Insane!  hahaha!! YOU MUST HAVE BIG TRUCK TO PULL TRAILER!  OOOGA OOGA! Keep going, I love it!  The earth is ROUND now guys, ROUND!  A difficult concept, I know.  

And how interesting that now other companies are starting to use fiberglass roofs.  (Rooves??)  I mean, I remember ages ago, when everyone would say, oh that roof is so dangerous.  And now look, now more trailers are using them.  Roll bars in the top? Wow, brilliant, what a concept!  Like creating the wheel! Bravo, trailer company!   BTW, how are you going to get your horse out with roll bars on top of the trailer?  Hmmm.... well... I know how I will get mine out!  But... mine is actually designed NOT TO ROLL IN THE FIRST PLACE, so there ya go. It's a stupid concept, I agree.  Much better to let the darn thing do cartwheels and put some roll bars in the top!

Happy towing!

Lily

Just remember the tongue weight.  Brenderup has 3% tongue weight, American trailers are 12%.  That's why it's easier for a car to tow a Brenderup, and you can tow more with your car. American cars and trucks are rated for American trailers, which makes sense. Brenderup can explain it better than me, you should call them. They're very nice.

Lily

Majoras,

     I hope you got what you came for. If you do go with a B-up, please post back here and let us know your experience. I think my "owner=thumbs up" "non-owner = thumps down" prediction was true again

TwoAppys,

    As far as people talking about things they know little about, you may want to take your own advice when it comes to trailer brakes. Just so you know, I am a mechanical engineer and have spent quite a bit of time getting this stuff pounded in my brain. The only time your Brenderup trailer brakes work is when the trailer is applying a force against your car (pushing). They simply will not work any other way. Now if it is a good brake system that is adjusted properly, the amount of force that it pushes with will be quite small. You probably don't feel the pushing because it is so small, but to say the trailer pushes zero on the car is just dead wrong, no matter how many smilies you use

Once the the brakes of the trailer are applied and the trailer slows to a speed just slightly less than the car, It indeed does stop pushing on the car. If the car continues to slow, the process will repeat. Brenderup did not invent this concept. They do it in a unique way, but the principal is the same.

If you just said the pushing on the car is so small it is not noticable, I would have left it alone, but when you said "No push on the car!     Nevah evah any push on the car!" It was clear you don't undestand how your brakes actually work!

Also, comparing this trailer to a bitless bridle is apples to oranges.  While a bitless bridle does not allow correct contact from a Dressage perspective, it does no actual harm to the horse (well no more than does a bit in the wrong hands).

A Benderup could cost your horse much greater injury than a trailer built w/horse safety #1 in mind.

Now, for those who think I'm just slamming Benderups, I have to say that MANY other trailers on the market are, IMO, created more for human convenience than for equine safety.

Also, I realize that there really is no such thing as a "safe" horse trailer.  I just believe in doing the best we can for our horses and "convenience" trailers of any sort just aren't it.

I agree Horse safety should be paramount. The problem I have is that I am not convinced the Brenderups are any less safe than most american trailers.

I know many think "O come on, its obvious the american trailers are SO much stronger" but that still doesn't prove to me they are safer. Until they start doing crash testing, you don't know anything for sure.

Its the same as cars. Old timers swear the big old american cars are the safest thing out there, but it has been proven over and over than modern cars that are designed to absorb impact (and don't have features to impale yourself on) are safer for the occupants. 

Unless you have data to prove it, you will never convince me one trailer is safer than another by appearance.

 -Flush