This lightly used 2022 Böckmann Champion Esprit just came in for us to show as a private sale. It's estimated to have traveled only 250 miles. Here's your chance to save thousands over a new Champion on a trailer that shows nearly as new.
The Champion Esprit features the things you expect in a Böckmann Champion, such as the anodized aluminum interlocking-panel walls, corrosion-protected galvanized steel chassis, smooth-riding torsion axles (with shock absorbers!), quick & easy butt and chest bars, easy-lift ramp and much more, but the Esprit was offered with a limited range of options to increase production efficiency and keep it more affordable. This one is equipped with the optional tack compartment. Our photographer had an incident that's put his picture-taking on hold for a while, so until we can take some pictures, the first 3 pictures are owner-provided pictures of the subject trailer. The rest are detail photos of Esprits we've had in stock. (The subject trailer has a Silver Metallic roof. Since we're using detail photos from our inventory, you may note a black roof in some pictures, but the details on the sample Esprits are accurate for the subject trailer.)
The Esprit is sized for horses to 17 hands. Body length is over 10 feet and body height is a bit over 7'6". The Esprit's chest bars offer two height adjustments and the butt bars offer 3 stall length adjustments. Chest and butt bars are quick & easy to use, yet fit snugly so your horses can enjoy a quiet ride. To help in emergency situations, there's an external release for the chest bars. The stall divider may be moved aside for loading and it's easily removable. If your horse tends to enter a trailer head down, he or she will be able to see the full width of the trailer through the clear divider. Getting back to the butt bars for a second, the other Böckmann models have angled butt bar mounts so that as you move the bar forward to shorten the stall, it also lowers the bar for the smaller horse. The Esprit's 3 butt bar positions are at one height. They're a bit higher than ideal for the owner's horse, so he's considering a Böckmann with adjustable-height butt bars.
The Esprit has a floor of reinforced aluminum planks, oriented transversely. The rubber mat is bonded to the floor and the edges are sealed so animal wastes don't reach the floor surface. It makes for a long-lasting floor and clean-up is a snap. Just sweep or rinse it out. No need to lift mats! As standard equipment, there are kick panels for the added comfort and safety of your horses.
The Esprit has a groom door on the curb side and there's a nice-sized window near each horse's head. Each window opens 5 ways - flip it out at the back, front, top, bottom or around all 4 sides. The 5' tall ramp (compare to 4' on many trailers) offers a gentle incline for loading and unloading and lift assist is provided by a pair of gas springs. Unlike the torsion springs common on many trailers, which provide less assist as the ramp goes up, a gas spring provides effective assist throughout its travel. For added light and ventilation, there's a heavy duty self-furling curtain above the ramp. You can run with the curtain closed, but most folks run with it open. And please note, we said that curtain is self-furling - just undo the straps and it rolls itself up. (In fact, the curtain is so raring to go that we suggest holding the curtain's center strap so it doesn't go up too fast!) Another thoughtful feature the Esprit shares with the more expensive models is the 2-color interior light. Flip the switch one way for white light when you need to do a task. Flip it the other way for calming blue light for your horses.
This Esprit was ordered with the optional tack compartment, which is accessed through a door on the road side of the nose. The tack compartment comes with two telescoping saddle racks (for English), bridle hooks, whip holders, telescoping shovel & broom, mirror and storage net. It also comes with a pair of wheel chocks, a lug wrench, a hitch ball cover and an anti-theft lock integrated into the coupler.
As mentioned earlier, the Champion Esprit features anodized aluminum interlocking-panel walls. That's a mouthful, but the wall construction is noteworthy. The panels are stacked like the logs in a log house and have interior reinforcing webs. Those panels are double-walled for a quieter and more comfortable interior. We can't finish this paragraph without a few words about that term "anodized aluminum." Anodizing is common in the boating industry because of its ability to hold up in the harsh marine environment. Anodizing is not common in the trailer industry because most manufacturers don't want to spend the money, but Böckmann goes the extra mile in the quest for durability and long-lasting good looks. The roof is of durable fiberglass, Silver Metallic in color on this one.
Böckmann trailers feature unitized construction, where walls, roof, floor and chassis reinforce each other to create a strong but light 3-dimensional structure. Unitized construction has been used in the construction of most automobiles for 30 years or more, so it's a well-proven design approach. While it's easy to just use less or thinner materials to achieve lighter weight, we highlight Böckmann's unitized construction to show that they take an intelligent approach to reducing weight while maintaining excellent strength.
The Esprit rides on torsion axles (with shock absorbers) and radial tires. Another feature on the Esprit that's common on European trailers and much appreciated by owners is inertia-actuated mechanical brakes. With the inertia-actuated brakes, you don't need a brake controller in the tow vehicle. And the brakes apply braking force automatically in proportion to the load in the trailer. There's no need to fool with a power setting on a brake controller, because, with the inertia-actuated brakes, you don't need a brake controller! Inertia-actuated trailer brakes have been in use worldwide for decades, likely on millions of trailers by now. The technology is simple, safe and well proven. No electronics to fail, no brake fluid to maintain and no brake lines to rust out.
Ease of towing is one of the things that initially draws customers to Böckmann trailers. The Champion Esprit, as with other Böckmann models, is designed to be towed safely by many of today's smaller and more fuel-efficient SUVs, crossovers and trucks. In Europe, a fair number of owners pull their Böckmanns with cars!
Here are Böckmann's easy-to-meet vehicle requirements:
1. Must have at least 125 horsepower. To put this in perspective, this level of power is achieved even by many of today's small 4-cylinder engines (although most Böckmann owners pull with 6 cylinder vehicles or the turbocharged fours that have become so popular).
2. If SUV or truck, must have a wheelbase of at least 100 inches. (We're not recommending that you pull with a subcompact sedan, but for illustration purposes, many subcompacts have a wheelbase of 100", plus or minus an inch. The vehicle doesn't have to be huge to tow a Böckmann!)
3. Must be able to accommodate the trailer's maximum loaded tongue weight. For the Champion Esprit, even loaded to the maximum, the tongue weight is about 165 lbs. (For comparison, most domestic horse trailers have loaded tongue weights in the 600 to 800 lb. range. On many vehicles, that heavy tongue weight makes itself felt in an up and down oscillation over undulating road surfaces. Thanks to a Böckmann's light tongue weight, many owners report that there's little sensation of a trailer behind them.
In the view of many, Böckmann is Europe's premier horse trailer brand, with a long-standing reputation for high quality, high feature content, robust construction and ease of towing. The company was started by the Böckmann family in 1956. They've been producing premium quality horse trailers for over 60 years and the trailers are sold in over 30 countries. The trailers have been imported to North America for many years, so there's a well-established support infrastructure. Traveled Lane Trailers has been selling Böckmann since 2011. We sold another European brand for about 15 years before that, so we're probably North America's most experienced dealer when it comes to European trailers.
For those of you who prefer your information in summary form, here are some key Champion Esprit features:
* Well-proven, balanced, aerodynamic design
* Light tongue weight & low drag for safe towing, even by smaller vehicles
* Bright, inviting, well-ventilated interior
* 2-Position adjustable-height chest bars with external emergency release
* 3-Position butt bars, easily adjustable for 3 stall lengths
* Butt bars and chest bars are easy to use and fit snugly - quick & quiet!
* Window near each horse's head opens 5 ways for ventilation and natural light
*2-Color interior lights - Flip switch one way for white light for humans; flip the other way for calming blue light for the horses
* Extra tall (5 feet) anodized aluminum rear ramp with dual assist struts - very easy to lift
* Ramp mat ribbed & contoured for traction
* Self-furling curtain above ramp - Run with it open for great natural light & ventilation
* Step on rear ramp to aid curtain access
* Kick panels on lower walls
* Easy-to-clean floor - Rubber mat is bonded to the floor and edges are sealed - No need to lift a mat to clean and a great design for long floor life!
* Subject trailer equipped with tack compartment with telescoping saddle racks for English, bridle hooks, storage net, mirror, broom/scraper and shovel
* Standard tie loops inside & out
* Smooth-riding torsion axles with shock absorbers
* Smooth-stopping 4-wheel inertia-actuated mechanical brakes - you don't need a brake controller in the tow vehicle!
* Sealed wheel bearings - simplified maintenance - no yearly packing of bearings!
* Radial tires, including spare
* Bright, reliable LED marker lights
* Subject trailer has standard Silver-Gray anodized aluminum walls and fiberglass roof that is Silver Metallic in color.
* And how about these thoughtful touches? A parking brake and a coupler with integrated lock. (Parking brake for short-term use only. Otherwise, use the standard-equipment wheel chocks.)
We invite you to stop by and check out this very nice 2022 Böckmann Champion Esprit! Private Sale on display at Traveled Lane.
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