safr2

Kent

12 years ago

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The Safr trailer company is no longer in business.

MrTruck recommends Cimarron Logan Coach or Merhow Horse Trailer review

Safr Horse Trailers, Arriving Soon, Part 2

Read part 1

Click to s ee the RFD segment

Building Trailers now for select dealers, for release to the public September 2011

Which trailer stands out and which one can’t you take your eyes off?

And all aluminum, so the Safr trailer above should look the same in 30 years when your grandchildren borrow it. Yes it’s tall, 7’6″ inside, and it looks different in a good way. When I get fuel, it draws a crowd, folks are curious about it. And now that it’s hot, I can test other things. In the high eighties that we’ve had in Colorado this June, I can go inside the trailer and am surprised how nice it is (not hot.) Because it is tall, the air circulates better, plenty of windows, ceramic roof coating and white on the inside. The side sheets are module with corrugation for strength and the ability for optional sides like a stock trailer.

Safr’s roof tapers inward to let the wind flow from the sides and nose, then flows thru the rear wing to control the air current going off the rear of the trailer to break 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. Even the spare tire is inside the trailer above the tack locker so it doesn’t drag wind on the outside like most horse trailers are. 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. Side wind in mountains didn’t affect the handling.

A) The Safr trailer is based on an originally designed model that Johann Sigurdson developed in 1981. His Hi-Tech trailer, a light aluminum unibody was basic modular trailer design produced in Canada but sold around the world on a custom order basis only for over 30 years. Sigurdson’s background as a specialist in horse physiology and psychology , along with many years of work in the development of aluminum products provided the knowledge base. Sigurdson also worked with a team of professional engineers to perfect the product design and integrity of construction. Their focus has always been on the safety for horse transport and handler convenience in order to minimize stress for both. Product designs have been based on aerodynamic elements even before this was popular and necessary.

B) Herd corporation, manufactures Safr trailers in Canada which a whole lot closer than Denmark (Brenderup owners.) Herd makes quality aluminum components for semi-trucks. The trailer designs have been up-dated for serial production utilizing SolidWorks 3D modeling and CNC equipment which guarantees precision and quality. Horse trailers designed to rigid structural safety standards. Canadian roads are a good test for any trailer, most are gravel and are far more punishing than even our Interstates which I call “construction zones.” The aluminum used in Safr Trailers comes from Pennsylvania. Rock solid rugged trailer, continuous welds not the cheap way to make a trailer, but the trailer doesn’t flex, the suspension does.

Hot or Cold, Horses are Comfortable in a Safr

The first Safr trailer I reviewed was a proto type ramp style, the second is a double door pre-production model. They keep getting better using feedback from US horse owners to dial the trailer in for production this fall. The present version has lighter interior and tack locker color, spare is now on top of tack locker for more room for tack, horse ties have been lowered on the outside and are breakaways. Rear double doors have 2 inch rubber bumper. All aluminum frame is crush proof rated for roll over protection with 1/8 inch continuous welded aluminum skin all adding to the structural integrity. Soft tuned torsion Dexter EZ Lube axles with 4 wheel brakes improve the ride, braking ability and easy maintenance. Like the Brenderup trailer, an AL-KO torsion axle with shock absorbers and self contained mechanical surge brakes are an option. Safr 2 horse trailer only weighs 2200 lbs with a tongue weight similar to a Brenderup. The shape makes it tow better and easier for better fuel mileage. With less wind resistance and wider axle spread, the trailer is very stabile as reported in Part one of this review. Dexter axles are well known in America and easy to find parts for, one of the advantages of Safr compared to the European trailers is the North American production and parts availability.


Starting on I-beam rails to be level	Hitch beam is part of floor frame and has a truss underneath	Roll over protection in the wall and roof frame	All aluminum frame, looks like a Boeing factory

Aluminum floor covers the frame in a modular configuration	Miles of welds for the 1/8 inch aluminum skin	All the contour wind resistant pieces are welded into place, skin is pre- bent, pre-cut all pieces match, no holes	Wall posts welded to plate reinforcing

Picture left of different frame tubes on a Safr Trailer. Aircraft aluminum 6061 and 5052 marine aluminum alloy 1/4″ drawbar, 1/8″ roof, 3/16 floor skin .125 Thick aluminum skin doesn’t tear like thin aluminum or steel sheet metal in accident, if a trailer rolls, the horses can stand on inside roof. Think of aluminum boats, they are unibody construction with no suspension, the whole boat shares heat and cold and impact from the waves and they last and last.

Dually wheeled Fulton aluminum jack

ST tires not P rated like Brenderup

2200 lbs 9% tongue 6000 gvwr .

Bulldog coupler, axles, torsion rod only steel. sheets , wiring isolated from frame two wires in loom all go to junction box

, stainless steel cam rod and lockable slam latch

well padded inside, double walled

Doesn’t bounce when empty like the majority of trailers

5 year “Hitch to Bumper” and 10 year Structural warranty.

Acadia AWD SLT

two count them 2 moon roofs

Acadia handed well, I was trying to get the Safr to sway without horses and it rebounded in two swings.

65 mph, 3.6L V-6 wasn’t working hard rpm’s 2000 to 3500. In tow mode stayed closer to 3200 65 mph

Acadia normal mirrors worked well with the 6 ft. wide Safr

Handles curves well, Acadia AWD handled well also, good match. Accelerates well, quite.

Two sunroofs, tilt and telescope, traction control,

Acadia Tow mode 65 impressive SUV for midsize, lots of toys

3200 rpm, leveled out to 2200 rpm 3.6L V6 towed easy, good visibility, handled mountain curves well AWD two sun roofs, tilt and telescope, heated seats, nav, traction control

Light enough for a Class C motorhome with a special 5000 lb GVWR RV edition.

Generally aluminum trailer wheels will loosen up more than steel wheels and needs retightening every hundred miles when new. Don’t know yet, but the Safr trailer has 1500 miles on it and I can tighten them at all. They are on Dexter stud pilot drums, so it has to be the wheels.

Where the engineers are animal behaviorist, adjustable bars

6000 lb GVWR two 3000 lb axles

human pole guard side door

incandescent lights in tack room to test lights. All LED trailer lights on Eureopeon SUV’s like Mercedes, VW, BMW, Volvo and such can’t always read the low voltage from LED’s.

Brought too me with F150 which squats easy

The trailer makes you feel safe towing, you don’t sway, you don’t feel pushed, you don’t think about

Trailer doesn’t bounce when empty and I tried to get some potholes and RR tracks.

Tall trailer, taller than a Brenderup, will work for big horses.

Rounding nose, harder to make. that’s the theme, harder to make, continuous welds, rounding nose tapered roof, not about making a trailer easy to build but making a trailer that has purpose.

no rust no wood, stainless screws, hinges

side gusts eliminated by side roof slant, we get allot of side winds, sway control don’t need wdh

a trailer to cross Wyoming with.

rear wing stirs up vacuum

Stanley

New interior coolers are cooler and more inviting. Nice roomy horse place for the long hauls in the summer heat. The spare tire was moved from the floor of the tack locker to above it. This will keep the sun from rotting the spare tire and one more innovation for less wind resistance on this easy towing horse trailer. The head divider, stall and post lifts off. Then you can use the trailer for hauling just about anything from hay to Harley’s. And of course moving the kids or at least the neighbor kids some where far, far away.