Gatormade trailers still gets C grade

[Builder]

Not saying this is true, but what if the OP is exaggerating the truth and ruining a company name for something that really isn't an issue?

That is why you read all recommendations & stories here on this website with a grain of salt.

As far as the trailer manufacturer goes, I did not name them in my posts as making defective trailers. I said "IF they use sctoch locks" or IF they don't paint the undersides of their trailers, they should not be recommended".

I'm pretty sure once the owner finds out what happened, our OP will be given satisfaction.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

I never said they were the best, I said they were a good trailer and a lot of bang for the buck. I still think they are one of the best trailers on the market.
Chris

If "Gatormade" is one of the best trailers on the market...They wouldn't have done a sorry job like this

If they plan to be one of the best trailers on the market,.. then they better get their act together when building them.....OR they will be one of the worse trailers on the market.

But what I've seen in the type of wiring, paint and other things... I already believe their the worse trailers.

I know a couple people that bought those small single axle trailers from Lowe's to just use around the farm, and they have paint underneath and the cost of the trailer was cheap.

There is NO EXCUSE for this type of work from what is suppose to be one of the best trailers on the market

 

[Baucom]

When I was shopping for trailers, I looked at Gatormade, among others, and the ones I looked at appeared were nice and offered excellent "bang for the buck" considering the prices they were asking for them. With that out of the way, I tend to lump Gatormade into the middle rung of new trailers. Lower rung new trailers tend not to be painted underneath and come with used tires. At the middle level, trailers are a lot like budget level trailers, but with new tires and maybe some paint underneath. At the top end, trailers are built heavier, nicely painted top and bottom, come with new (and often better quality) tires, and a price roughly 50% more than mid-range trailers. The key to being satisfied with the deal is going into it knowing what to expect and knowing what you're getting for your dollars.

My personal trailer is a Hurst--I'd put it about on par with a Gatormade, maybe not quite up to the ones I looked at. It's painted top and bottom and came with new tires. It's great at the price I paid, but hardly the best. I'm not disappointed because I knew what I was getting--it wasn't a $3500 trailer, but it didn't cost that much either. I consider Hudson Bros. trailers to be top tier (maybe not as pretty as some, but all I've been around have been really well built), and that's what I would've bought if I'd been buying for business or if money weren't a motivating factor.

All of this is to say, if you have a defective trailer, you shouldn't have to accept it, but if there's a problem you can easily correct yourself, you'll probably be money and frustration ahead to do it and chalk it up to experience. Good luck and I hope you get an outcome you can live with.

 

[Builder]

When I was shopping for trailers, I looked at Gatormade, among others, and the ones I looked at appeared were nice and offered excellent "bang for the buck" considering the prices they were asking for them. With that out of the way, I tend to lump Gatormade into the middle rung of new trailers. Lower rung new trailers tend not to be painted underneath and come with used tires. At the middle level, trailers are a lot like budget level trailers, but with new tires and maybe some paint underneath. At the top end, trailers are built heavier, nicely painted top and bottom, come with new (and often better quality) tires, and a price roughly 50% more than mid-range trailers. The key to being satisfied with the deal is going into it knowing what to expect and knowing what you're getting for your dollars.

My personal trailer is a Hurst--I'd put it about on par with a Gatormade, maybe not quite up to the ones I looked at. It's painted top and bottom and came with new tires. It's great at the price I paid, but hardly the best. I'm not disappointed because I knew what I was getting--it wasn't a $3500 trailer, but it didn't cost that much either. I consider Hudson Bros. trailers to be top tier (maybe not as pretty as some, but all I've been around have been really well built), and that's what I would've bought if I'd been buying for business or if money weren't a motivating factor.

All of this is to say, if you have a defective trailer, you shouldn't have to accept it, but if there's a problem you can easily correct yourself, you'll probably be money and frustration ahead to do it and chalk it up to experience. Good luck and I hope you get an outcome you can live with.

That's a new one on me. Never seen a new "budget" trailer with used tires and no paint underneath.

What's this world coming to? Who would buy a new trailer that didn't come with new tires and paint on the bottom for crying out loud.

 

[Baucom]

Builder--you're using your equipment to make money, so you're not looking specifically to save a buck on your equipment. You're looking for equipment that won't cost you 1000's due to downtime, hence you may have missed the low end trailers on the market.

There are a lot of low end trailer manufacturers that build a trailer, squirt the easily visible outside surfaces with paint and slap a set of used car/truck tires on it and then sell them at pretty low prices. Folks that just want a trailer at a low price buy them and are willing to overlook their shortcomings due to the price (and hopefully the purchaser's intention of limited use).

I'm not saying it is or isn't a smart thing to buy 1 of these--just saying they're out there. Mostly smaller "manufacturers."

 

[buckle97]

That's a new one on me. Never seen a new "budget" trailer with used tires and no paint underneath.

What's this world coming to? Who would buy a new trailer that didn't come with new tires and paint on the bottom for crying out loud.

75% of the trailer stores around me sell brand new trailers with used tires, non-treated decks, no paint underneath, no brakes, etc. Just in the past year I have noticed they are not using used truck wheels but instead using the new white spoke wheels. These 6.5 x 16 trailers were selling for $650 five years ago and are about $950 today.

 

[jwstewar]

I see these trailers all of the time. Usually old steel car wheels - usually 14" with old pretty worn car tires. If you were lucky they painted the steel on the trailer - on the top side. Maybe or maybe not painted it before the wood was in place. Most likely then didn't cover the wood to prevent over spray - but don't completely paint the wood either. Usually a real thin safety chain - yes one that is maybe run through a loop on the tongue of the trailer so that if one link breaks you have nothing. Chances are it isn't treated wood either. Yep, I passed on these trailers and went with my Gatormade. It isn't even close to the same league as these "low end" trailers.

Not saying there isn't a market for these trailers, because for the number of them out there, somebody is buying them.

 

[Diamondpilot]

75% of the trailer stores around me sell brand new trailers with used tires, non-treated decks, no paint underneath, no brakes, etc. Just in the past year I have noticed they are not using used truck wheels but instead using the new white spoke wheels. These 6.5 x 16 trailers were selling for $650 five years ago and are about $950 today.

Same thing here. Of course you can get new tire upgrade but for most the tires will dry rot off in 4-5 years, way before they wear them out. Figure the average guy only drive with his trailer 500 miles a year or so.

I bought mine new in 2004, a 18' x 82" wide, utility trailer with a used 15" 205-75-15 wheels and tires, a spare, and 5' long ramps for $860 out the door and some of that was a delivery fee to get it closer to my house. I think it was $820 without the delivery. It has 2 welded on safety chains that are properly sized and a 8K coupler. Its painted entirely, including the wood deck. I just had to replace the tires last year due to dry rot. Never had a flat except for a nail I picked up at a lumber yard. It hauled many cars and SUV's with those tires making 3 trips to Chicago, 1 to Detroit, and multiple back and forth to the lake and my dads house about 150 miles round trip.

Chris

 

[coobie]

When I was shopping for trailers, I looked at Gatormade, among others, and the ones I looked at appeared were nice and offered excellent "bang for the buck" considering the prices they were asking for them. With that out of the way, I tend to lump Gatormade into the middle rung of new trailers. Lower rung new trailers tend not to be painted underneath and come with used tires. At the middle level, trailers are a lot like budget level trailers, but with new tires and maybe some paint underneath. At the top end, trailers are built heavier, nicely painted top and bottom, come with new (and often better quality) tires, and a price roughly 50% more than mid-range trailers. The key to being satisfied with the deal is going into it knowing what to expect and knowing what you're getting for your dollars.

My personal trailer is a Hurst--I'd put it about on par with a Gatormade, maybe not quite up to the ones I looked at. It's painted top and bottom and came with new tires. It's great at the price I paid, but hardly the best. I'm not disappointed because I knew what I was getting--it wasn't a $3500 trailer, but it didn't cost that much either. I consider Hudson Bros. trailers to be top tier (maybe not as pretty as some, but all I've been around have been really well built), and that's what I would've bought if I'd been buying for business or if money weren't a motivating factor.

All of this is to say, if you have a defective trailer, you shouldn't have to accept it, but if there's a problem you can easily correct yourself, you'll probably be money and frustration ahead to do it and chalk it up to experience. Good luck and I hope you get an outcome you can live with.

Go figure,my new 16 ft Hurst trailer I bought back in 2002 was JUNK,scotch locks,bad welds and so on,my fault for not being more observant when I purchased it,maybe it was made on a monday or friday.I sold it and bought a 20ft.PJ trailer and have been more than happy with there quality.coobie

 

[JohnDeere4300]

Go figure,my new 16 ft Hurst trailer I bought back in 2002 was JUNK,scotch locks,bad welds and so on,my fault for not being more observant when I purchased it,maybe it was made on a monday or friday.I sold it and bought a 20ft.PJ trailer and have been more than happy with there quality.coobie

I don't think they make a better trailer than P&J.....I've been real happy with mine also.

 

[Builder]

Go figure,my new 16 ft Hurst trailer I bought back in 2002 was JUNK,scotch locks,bad welds and so on,my fault for not being more observant when I purchased it,maybe it was made on a monday or friday.I sold it and bought a 20ft.PJ trailer and have been more than happy with there quality.coobie

I was a Br-Mar owner and thought it was average quality. I moved up to a Cam Superline and thought it was a big step up. It not only had paint on the bottom, but it was thick paint. It even had non-chinese tires, Dexter axles & wheels and a jack & spare tire mounted correctly.

Now I'm looking at PJ and I think their dump trailers are nice. Yes, they had paint on the bottom.

 

[wkpoor]

Little known brand of BetterBuilt is top quality IMO. Welds all look nice, paint is very good everywhere,rub rail is thicker than normal steel, self cleaning dove has angles close together,"D" rings all over the place, 10" "I" beam frame, massive double stacked 10" C channel acrosss the front bulkhead ,cast auto engage coupler, LED lights and on and on and on. Highly recommend. My 14K looks better built than most 20K's I see out there.

 

[miller2485]

I live in Kentucky and was planning on buying a Gatormade trailer. They just lost a sale to me.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I live in Kentucky and was planning on buying a Gatormade trailer. They just lost a sale to me.

I would not give up on them yet. Just make sure you do not accept anything but perfect. I still would buy one. Sounds like they just lost sight of quality control.

Chris

 

[Newblue]

The trailers are a solid design and have nice welds but watch the little things and paint. I have been in contact back and forth with the BBB of Somerset and they said Gatormade thought that everything was done. I did receive the parts to repair the jack and a replacement LED light that was out from Gatormade. I told the BBB that I am fixing the trailer myself but would like to get a call from the owner of Gatormade. We'll see what comes about. The trailer all loaded up heading to the sand dunes in Michigan:

 

[dodge man]

Nice looking rig, very nice. We rented a Jeep in the Michagan dunes 3 or 4 years ago, that was a blast. Have fun.

 

[FrogLick]

I bought a Gatormade trailer several years ago after looking at different brands; I did drive to their mfgr. facility to make my selection out of available stock and drove it home. I found their offerings to be the best value (i.e., build quality/price equation) for my particular needs. I've had no problem, it is holding up well and I would certainly consider them again for future purchases. The only customer service problem I had was obtaining the Certificate of Origin paperwork that the salesman said would be mailed to me. It had not been received after several months; I think it was just something that fell through the cracks in the office due to my saleman leaving the company shortly after my purchase. I'm patient and made several email and phone attempts over a year's time to obtain the Certificate, providing the purchase date and invoice # on each contact which was easily looked up in their computer system. I was always assured that the matter would be investigated and a Certificate sent to me but it never happened. I finally decided that I needed to contact the owner of the company - it did take some research to determine that info. I wrote a respectful letter describing the problem, my unsuccessful attempts to resolve it, and asking him to help resolve the issue. I received a call within days from a representative appologizing for the problem & my frustration and received the paperwork in the mail a couple of days later. The owners of a company obviously have more interest in maintaining company reputation than those just drawing a paycheck. Here's who I contacted:

Mr. B. J. Brown, Jr., President
Gatormade Trailers, Inc.
2400 N. Hwy 27
Somerset, KY 42503

 

[Builder]

The trailers are a solid design and have nice welds but watch the little things and paint. I have been in contact back and forth with the BBB of Somerset and they said Gatormade thought that everything was done. I did receive the parts to repair the jack and a replacement LED light that was out from Gatormade. I told the BBB that I am fixing the trailer myself but would like to get a call from the owner of Gatormade. We'll see what comes about. The trailer all loaded up heading to the sand dunes in Michigan:

Great looking Dodge truck. As for the trailer, by the size of the Gator "decal" (looks more like the size of a banner), you'd think they would have built the best or only trailer in the world.
I'd scrape that thing off the day I got it home. Looks tacky, IMO.

 

[Newblue]

I don't think I want to take the large decals off - who knows what the paint looks like underneath them! It's funny you mention the large decals, on the back of the neck there is a large one that has "GATor" trailers that looks very close to the CAT symbol. That one is coming off and being replaced with a Cummins decal.

 

[jcmseven]

Mike,

I have owned two Gator Made trailers and was one of the posters in the past who has recommended them. They have historically made a solid trailer with features I wanted for a reasonable price. I have felt they offered a really nice trailer. I sold my last Gator Made trailer about two years ago (maybe a little less) and have noticed my local dealer for trailers no longer stocks them. I now own a Copper River 20' hitch pull, which I really like. I asked my local trailer dealer about why he no longer stocks the Gator Made's and he said there were some "business practices" he did not like and that he no longer wants to stock them. I believe he was one of their biggest dealers, so something most have gone sour. I am saddened to hear your plight and moreover how it was handled. I hope you get resolution to your issue and it seems GM may have taken a business course to save some manufacturing $$$ which might not be so good. I feel bad now for being one of the ones who recommended them on this forum, but at the time they made some really nice trailers.

John M