Hello all,
I came to this thread because I've had a problem with my Snowbear utility trailer and could not get a hold of them. Their website doesn't even acknowledge that they manufacture trailers, just snowplows... and the email I sent bounced right back.
It's nice to see that there are a lot of happy owners out there. Indeed, I was happy to get a decent-looking little trailer, used, for $485 in 2012. Now that I learned that Costco and Home Depot had them for maybe one or two hundred bucks more than that, new and probably with a warranty, well I guess I didn't get such a great deal after all. We upgraded it by adding two sheets of plywood that serve to double the height of the walls when in the standing position, and when folded down they serve to protect the original flooring.
We've used the trailer sporadically over the years and like that we have it and don't have to rent a U-Haul every time it comes in handy, but that said, the U-Haul rentals would have been cheaper for how often we have used it. But that's not why I'm writing.
What happened recently is that I used it to haul a big sectional sofa from San Jose to Carson City, NV, 225 miles over the mountains. Trip there went fine. But on the way back I had a serious issue. The only thing loaded on the trailer now was a furniture dolly. I thought to balance the weight, the best place for it would be at the back, so I attached it to the tailgate. Used a km of rope and made sure it was securely attached. On the freeway near Sacramento someone starts honking like crazy and I immediately suspect it's for me and pull off to the side. Low and behold, the tail gate had popped off and by miracle it was still attached to the trailer by just one string... much had been instantly broken, but that one string had held up while I pulled off to the side. Everything was scratched up but luckily my Costco furniture dolly wasn't ruined and the license plate was still there.
So here I am, a woman alone in the middle of the night, in the rain, with a heavy tailgate with a furniture dolly bound to it by dozens of ropes, and traffic whizzing by at 80 mph. I just wanted to get out of there fast. So I managed to haul the whole thing back onto the trailer and secure it to the front of the trailer with a nylon strap. I headed as slow/fast as I dared, to the nearest exit, then found a service station to get out of the rain. What a mess everything was! I had never had any problems securing the tailgate and to this day have no clue as to why it failed. I decided the dolly would do better at the front of the trailer (thank God), moved it, secured it, put the tailgate back on, and headed off. I'm pretty sure the first time I was not speeding, but what is the recommended limit anyways? 55 mph? Checked the manual now and there is no mention. Maybe I had gone 5 or 10 mph too fast before, but not now...
I resolved to stop every half hour to check the trailer. It must have been only 15 minutes when I looked in the rear view mirror, and thought that the tailgate was missing. Not too sure because of the dark. But decided to exit and check. Fate had it that I was in a long section where there are no exits after leaving Sac. I finally got off and sure enough the tailgate was GONE. It was past midnight at this point, and I was seriously exhausted. I was also concerned about what might have happened if that thing had slammed into a vehicle behind me. I called 911 but there had been no reports. Then I figured... I did not even know the name of the exit I had taken, I thought it was half an hour back; so a round-trip would add another hour to my trip, and I was already in bad shape. Plus I might not find it in the dark. And I am really aware of the risk one takes by stopping on a freeway at night. If someone doesn't see you and hits you at 70 mph... So I went home. Called Cal Trans and they were off for the four-day holiday weekend. Eventually did recuperate it, but it was probably run over by dozens of 16-wheelers - it's warped, metal sticking out, thoroughly scratched... idk if my son will be able to beat it back to a shape that will let it do its job again.
I searched the manual wondering if there is any chance I was at fault by perhaps not securing the security rings correctly. Not likely, as I had done it dozens of times before, why should I do something weird this time? And what could you possibly do wrong anyway? But at any rate, there is nothing in the manual showing how to close them.
I am concluding that the mechanism for securing the tail gate was poorly designed, as are other parts, detailed by the OP of this thread as well as others. It is great that many people have been happy with their purchases, but buyer beware! If Fate has it that you are not so lucky and your Snowbear trailer causes a fatal accident, or you get killed, Lord help you. I feel lucky I was smart enough not to go searching for the tailgate in the middle of the rainy night while sleep deprived.
So, moral of the story - do all the regular maintenance and keep in mind that perhaps with age the tailgate might decide to escape. Be forewarned. Be prepared.
And if anyone reading this has any idea how I can get a replacement tailgate, please let me know. I will call Snowbear tomorrow but given the previous posts it looks like they aren't making these babies anymore. Not surprised.
