Kaufman vs Gatormade

[chubby]

Going to purchase 22' to 24' tilt bed trailer. Freight is 300 vs 900 but there are also 1600 price difference. I like both, don't want to money to be the deciding issue. Any experience with either trailer that anyone can share without bashing? Want the most bang for the buck!

 

[PapaPerk]

Going to purchase 22' to 24' tilt bed trailer. Freight is 300 vs 900 but there are also 1600 price difference. I like both, don't want to money to be the deciding issue. Any experience with either trailer that anyone can share without bashing? Want the most bang for the buck!

Can u post a pic of the Kaufman?

I do not care for Gatormade. I like CornPro and Moritz. Both well made trailers with good quality components .

 

[gumshu]

Going to purchase 22' to 24' tilt bed trailer. Freight is 300 vs 900 but there are also 1600 price difference. I like both, don't want to money to be the deciding issue. Any experience with either trailer that anyone can share without bashing? Want the most bang for the buck!

I"ve read some disappointing reviews online about people dissatisfied with Kaufman. I'd check for Kaufman reviews online... leak problems, tire problems, bad customer service, etc. I thought about Kaufman before reading about some of the issues. They do look nice, though.

 

[flyingcow]

Never seen a Gatormade. If you're going to max out the weight ratings of trailer, you might have some stress related problems with the kaufman. Especially if it's going to be a heavily used trailer. BUT, I am only basing this on reviews thru the internet. With that said, I bought a Lucknow snowblower, was told they are a POS thru the online reviews. My blower is a rugged unit, etc. I am pleased.

 

[kneedeep]

I was considering a Kaufman equipment trailer before buying a Betterbuilt that is built in double Springs, AL.
The bad reviews seem to be associated with big car haulers that had a off brand axle that caused failures in tires and bearings quickly Kaufman did not want to discuss the issues or how the warranty would be honored other than you bring it to us and we fix it. What if you are broke down on side of the road 3 or 4 states from North Carolina, answer was get it to us and we fix it!!

I bought the Betterbuilt- more features and less $$

 

[Quickster2]

I looked at Gatormade for several months before deciding on a Sure Trac 25' Gooseneck. Never could settle with the Gatormade folks on options and layout. Shur Trac was great to deal with. Pay attention to tires. The SureTrac came with Mission tires (no longer made) which caused me problems within 5 years.

 

[jwstewar]

I've had my Gatormade trailer almost 4 years. It is a 16' + 2' dovetail with 3500 lb axles. The paint has gotten a bit chipped and scratched from stuff flying up and hitting it and chains being thrown around and such. Structurally it has been great. Had my first problems with the wiring last week. Something flipped up and cut the power wire going to the LF wheel. Nice clean cut, all the connections were still good and tight. Also had one of the rear marker lights to lose ground. This was on the tri light on the rear that Gatormade installed. The other 2 lights on the bar worked fine. So 2 wiring problems, but neither one a Gatormade issue. I've hauled cars, trucks, sand, gravel and a little bit of everything on it.

 

[Blackhammer]

Pay attention to tires. The SureTrac came with Mission tires (no longer made) which caused me problems within 5 years.

5 years is a good life for a set of trailer tires. Trailer tires see a ton of abuse, and no maintenance. If you do some reading on trailer tires you will see That 5 years is a great life for trailer tires, tread wear has nothing to do with their life span.

 

[Diamondpilot]

5 years is a good life for a set of trailer tires. Trailer tires see a ton of abuse, and no maintenance. If you do some reading on trailer tires you will see That 5 years is a great life for trailer tires, tread wear has nothing to do with their life span.

So true. I maintain about 75 pieces of equipment. About 2/3rds of them are boats so they have trailers. I have gotten to the point that I will not hitch up anything with bias tires or any tires older then 6 years old, period.

Chris

 

[wny770]

So true. I maintain about 75 pieces of equipment. About 2/3rds of them are boats so they have trailers. I have gotten to the point that I will not hitch up anything with bias tires or any tires older then 6 years old, period.

Chris

So true indeed. I work for a very large transportation company. Any tire on any piece of road equipment can not be over ..... it's either 8 or 10 years. This goes for cars, trucks, trailers, Cranes, dumps... etc....

 

[STOWANDGO]

I have owned several trailers over the past few years. Gator made trailers are top quality. especially the gooseneck and equipment trailers. i think they produced a lower quality trailer a few years ago. however, i really like the fact that they powder coat all trailers now. the powder coat ensures the trailer will look good now, and a long time in the future. i think kaufman is basically just a low priced trailer with low quality. you get what you pay for. i think it is worth the extra expense to have a quality made equipment trailer. if i were just carrying a lawnmower etc, i might consider cheap trailers. however, an equipment trailer needs to be well made, and look good into the future! i would highly recommend my gatormade gooseneck trailer!

 

[hodge]

I've got a 20+4' Kauffman, and it has been great. I've hauled my Kubota (B7100 and tiller, no stress on it), my skid steer, and many loads of hay, 200+ bales. I have no complaints, and the comparable Gatormade was a good bit more expensive. I realize that it may be worth the extra, but not for my application- the Kauffman is more than fitting the bill, and Kauffman was great to do business with.
I live in Va, and it was real reasonable for Kauffman to bring the trailer up. The local Gatormade dealer didn't have what I was looking for in stock, and couldn't get it- I would have to have purchased from the manufacturer in Texas, and paid an arm and a leg to get it here. In the long run, it was a couple thousand different, all told.

 

[gumshu]

I considered a Kaufman, but read some bad reviews online. You may want to Google Kaufman complaints. I don't have any personal experience with them. Good luck.

 

[gtrippleb]

I had a Kaufman 30ft gooseneck that I put around 15k on in 4 months hauling less than loads. I never had any problems with it. I don't live to far from the factory so it was nice to go down there and pick out the trailer and haul it home. I had to order it as they didn't already have a 30ft on the lot.



I'm thinking about getting one of their tilt bed trailers for my next trailer.

 

[sawtooth]

I had a Kaufman 30ft gooseneck that I put around 15k on in 4 months hauling less than loads. I never had any problems with it. I don't live to far from the factory so it was nice to go down there and pick out the trailer and haul it home. I had to order it as they didn't already have a 30ft on the lot.

View attachment 290910

I'm thinking about getting one of their tilt bed trailers for my next trailer.

The company and trailers are crap. I live about 20 minutes from the factory here in Lexington NC. Many locals wont buy them jus due to reputation alone. I bought one in 2010 and had several issues with it including a severe vibration. Trailer was only 30-40 days old and they would not work on it under warranty. They sent me to a shop next door acting like they would repaired under warranty but then I got handed a $200 charge for welding up the adjustable hitch as he said the design was bad. Im sorry but what? I refused to pay but now had a adjustable 2 5/16 coupler that had been permanently welded to position and a trailer that still had severe vibration. Without a doubt the worst purchase experiences of my life. Do your homework and look up Kaufman complaints. You will be shocked.

 

[fried1765]

The company and trailers are crap. I live about 20 minutes from the factory here in Lexington NC. Many locals wont buy them jus due to reputation alone. I bought one in 2010 and had several issues with it including a severe vibration. Trailer was only 30-40 days old and they would not work on it under warranty. They sent me to a shop next door acting like they would repaired under warranty but then I got handed a $200 charge for welding up the adjustable hitch as he said the design was bad. Im sorry but what? I refused to pay but now had a adjustable 2 5/16 coupler that had been permanently welded to position and a trailer that still had severe vibration. Without a doubt the worst purchase experiences of my life. Do your homework and look up Kaufman complaints. You will be shocked.

You responded to a 7 year old post about Kaufman.
Yours is the only complaint in 7 years.
Has Kaufman just recently become bad?

 

[Shaneard]

Has Kaufman just recently become bad?

I custom ordered a 24' gooseneck from them 3 years ago. Went there and picked it up, have had ZERO issues with it or the people there.

 

[sawtooth]

You responded to a 7 year old post about Kaufman.
Yours is the only complaint in 7 years.
Has Kaufman just recently become bad?

No sir they have always made a questionable product. The problem is they buy the cheapest components when they can and build them as fast as possible. I live close to the manufacturing site in Lexington and have a friend that worked there for just over 4 years. He left in 2017 for more money working at a local injection molding company. He said they use good big ticket items like Dexter axles but skimp on smaller items like cheapest tires, lights, wiring harnesses, and many metal components. On the quality side they are rushed through production with limited inspection in trying to meet high productivity goals. Yes, it’s possible to get good one that works as it should but as we all know there’s always a reason why something is substantially cheaper than other mainstream competitors. They don’t have super secret manufacturing methods or get super special pricing from their suppliers. They just remove cost by using cheaper components and produce more at a faster rate by spending less time on each unit. Spending less time is great as long as your not cutting corners or skipping certain quality and inspection steps. Yes they can be $1000-2000 cheaper per trailer but as always you get what pay for. There are several good “consistent” quality trailer manufactures but Kaufman is not one of them. See attached link for additional info. Also they carried a F+ rating with BBB for years and years and only recently have gotten to a A rating like other trailer suppliers. This rating is based on consumer complaints and overall consumer relations with Kaufman and has nothing to do with the actual quality of the trailers. Hopefully they are trying to make permanent changes but time will tell.

Attention Required! | Cloudflare

 

[Btown]

Of the car haulers I see driving around up here in New England. I am talking about 1 ton dually pickup with a 3-4 car trailer. I have to say over 60% of them are Kaufman trailers. I haven’t seen them broken down so they can’t be that bad.

 

[Shaneard]

Gave the Kaufman a workout today. Had 275 gallons of water on the front corner to go spray the farm with remedy ultra. Had 100 gallons in the tank on the back. Rear tires are loaded on the tractor with 2 sets of rear wheel weights on each side.