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I thought that the members on here would like to see my 4.5 year old Brenderup trailer, just in case you are thinking of buying one, you may like to think of mine.

I purchased this from a very reputable retailer, Trident Trailers who have several outlets in Kent, their service is second to none and I will say that they have tried very hard to enable satisfactory repair or replacement of some what rusty unit, but the manufacturers think it is ok to supply the parts (as a gesture of good will!!) and leave me with a £250 labour and parts bill, I paid some £1200 for this trailer and have only used it for four camping trips, a couple of trips to the rubbish tip and to help move some scout tents for my local unit.

It has been stored in my garden since day one, never full of water, or any kind of rubbish, I have only ever lent it to someone once and that was the day before these pictures were taken, so not his fault.

Brenderup have said the rust must have been caused by contamination of either WATER or CHEMICALS, I told them that I do not have any chemicals as I am a domestic user, and as far as water contamination, do they mean that you cannot get a galvanised trailer wet, I did not get an answer to this question. Their UK sales director is most insistant that it is chemical contamination, their UK sales manager said "IN MY OPINION THAT TRAILER NEEDS TO BE SCRAPPED OR REBUILT", that makes me feel really great, I thought that I was buying a trailer that would last me for years and not something that I now know was a short term investment. As far as Trident Trailers are concerned, following a detailed inspection, their local manager said " this should never have happened, this is made from galvanized sheet steel, even to a trailer of this age".

To prove a point, I even offer to let Brenderup carry out any forensic testing they wanted (at their expense) to prove that it is not chemical contamination, they failed to respond to my offer!!

I wonder what state this trailer would be in if it had been exposed to salt water!!, which it has not at any point.

Even though there is clearly a quality issue, Brenderup choose to hide behind assumption rather than fact, if they are so sure that the rust is due to chemical contamination why don’t they carry out tests, and they will then know the truth, or are they frightened of the truth, I don't know the answer, but I will keep everyone posted on any progress as it may help you to decide if this make of trailer is worth the money.


The rust seen in some of these pictures is so bad it is flaking.

Obviously, it will not be long before I need another trailer, I know what make I will not be buying.

That is shocking - keep  us posted - we have had a Franc since 04 - excellent  - no rust got high sides and roof lid.

PS - Maybe UKCAMPSITE COULD HELP YOU - surely some muscle power would work?

You would like to think that any company would be concerned that they may have a problem with the quality of the odd product, but not Brenderup, their UK sales manager said in an email:

"Whether the trailer has been contaminated by any chemical by you or a third party or has been in a similar enviroment unintensionaly while being in your possession we do not know, but we have never in the past on record had a similar rust situation on any trailer, and we have sold more than 700000 trailers over the years.

Brenderup must be the perfect company that have never had a problem, but they have now and are failing to accept it

Do you have legal expenses cover on your home insurance or motor policy?  If so, ring the helpline and chat to a solicitor about where you stand.  I think you have rights for 6 years after purchase.

Ali

Quote: Originally posted by snowy747 on 14/7/2006

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Do you have legal expenses cover on your home insurance or motor policy?  If so, ring the helpline and chat to a solicitor about where you stand.  I think you have rights for 6 years after purchase.

Ali

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Good idea, brenderup's UK export manager has said that they may sue me if I published this, I did reply that there is no law in the UK to prevent one telling the truth, he did not answer that.

Trident Trailers cannot believe it that they have adopted this attitude towards such a serious problem, that would be very cheap for them to remedy.

I think that they are so conceited, they think that they can do what they want and the customer can go and rot, and it does'nt matter.

Well, as the saying goes, "Bad news travells the world twice, before good news has got its boots on".

Go for it Steve, you have nothing to lose.  Brenderup are exceedingly arrogant and no, I don't think they can sue you for this article as you are just highlighting a problem you have with a trailer backed up by visual evidence.

Come on Brenderup, if you want people to continue to buy your goods sort this guy's trailer out!  If you have had so many manufactured perfectly then the cost of replacing one is peanuts to you!

Ali

Oh Steve, good website is Trading standards.gov.uk where you can find out your rights under sales of goods act etc etc.  I am familiar with all this because we have a problem with some plumbing work done recently causing a leak and I have had to discuss it with our legal helpline and do my homework on it all.

Ali

Thank you for this Steve. Sorry to hear about you experience. I have trailer I bought on ebay which must be 20 years old and lives outside permanently with garden rubbish in it, and it has no significant rust.

i was thinking about replacing it with a Brenderup for next year but now I won't.

Tim

Prior to this trailer I had a Saris for nine years, which i bought second hand so god knows how old it was, it used was kept in the same way as my Brenderup and to the day it was stolen it showed no signs of rust in any place.

Kieran mentioned some useful thingsin his post, I must say that when I bought it all I was told to do was to take it back to Trident Trailers when it had done about 500 miles to have the brakes adjusted, this trailer has not done that many miles as yet, and by the looks of it it wont get that far.

Kieran, I last used the trailer August last year and did not see any rust, I walk past this twice a day, every day, and did not notice any rust until my brother-in-law  borrowed it the day before I took the pictures you have seen above, that was the first I knew of it, I only checked it because one of the tie down hooks came off, when i looked underneath to see how it should have attached, I nearly collapsed when I saw the rot that had set in.

I was really shocked to read this, since we have a Brenderup trailer and purchased because we expect it to last a very long time (hence the investment of a not inconsiderable sum!).

What is not so shocking is Brenderup's stance since, in our own recent dealings with tent manufacturers and retailers, it seems if there is a way to wriggle out of responsibility then most will. It is about time they wised up and realised that good customer service will repay them in additional sales, whilst poor response will ultimately tarnish their reputation.

Quote: Originally posted by tim s on 15/7/2006

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Thank you for this Steve. Sorry to hear about you experience. I have trailer I bought on ebay which must be 20 years old and lives outside permanently with garden rubbish in it, and it has no significant rust.

i was thinking about replacing it with a Brenderup for next year but now I won't.

Tim

 

I dont blame you for steering away from Brenderup, I thought it was a very robust trailer when I bought it, and look at it now.

I can accept that any manufacturer can have a duff product now and again, but the standard of the company and its management is clearly displayed in my situation, their aftersales service is the worst that I have ever come across.

I hope that this thread will get people to think very carefully before they buy!!

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Quote: Originally posted by Liddenham on 16/7/2006

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I was really shocked to read this, since we have a Brenderup trailer and purchased because we expect it to last a very long time (hence the investment of a not inconsiderable sum!).

What is not so shocking is Brenderup's stance since, in our own recent dealings with tent manufacturers and retailers, it seems if there is a way to wriggle out of responsibility then most will. It is about time they wised up and realised that good customer service will repay them in additional sales, whilst poor response will ultimately tarnish their reputation.

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       I must admit I do get the feeling that Brenderup might think that they are so big that they get away with ignoring customers with genuine and honest problems with their products, I think that your quote that I have highlighted in red is absolutly bang on.

Just a quick update.

Still no news from Brenderup, they are ignoring me!!.

Why does that not suprise me