If you ask a New England horse person to name a good locally manufactured horse trailer, odds are the name will invariably be Kingston. Kingston Trailer has a wide spread reputation for manufacturing a top of the line quality vehicle. The company is located in Kingston, Massachusetts , a small town just south of Boston, and is owned by its founder, Joseph Lanoue.
A former employee of General Dynamics, Joseph Lanoue got into the business of making horse trailers almost by accident. Over fifty-five years ago, he set out to build his first trailer, which he constructed entirely out of wood. He sold the trailer for the grand sum of fifty dollars, and immediately started work on a second trailer. Local demand for reliable horse trailers was great and it was not long before the Kingston Trailer Company was born.
Today, Kingston Trailers supports many local employees and supplies trailers to numerous dealerships. Although Kingston Trailer's market is primarily in the Northeast; demand for “Kingstons” has spread as far south as Florida and as far west as Chicago. Each year, the company manufactures and sells their elite, well sought after trailers which are available in several different models.
Over the last four decades, Kingston engineers have constantly updated and improved the trailers. The biggest change that Kingston has made is switching from an all steel trailer to a steel frame trailer with an aluminum skin. The primary advantage that aluminum has over steel is resistance to rust and corrosion. While one would expect to have to repaint and refurbish a steel trailer after as little as five years; aluminum trailers are, at least basically maintenance free. Kingston added aluminum skin trailers to its line in 1988 and stopped making steel trailers altogether two years later.
“After four years of using aluminum, we decided that this was the way to go”, explained Ed Smith, Kingston's General Manager. The changeover to aluminum trailers was partially spurred by difficulties in the steel industry. During the early eighties, steel regulations and import restrictions were relaxed, and it became increasingly difficult to obtain durable, corrosion resistant steel. As a result, steel trailers were almost as expensive to manufacture as aluminum trailers. “We looked at the cost, we looked at the customer satisfaction, and ultimately we decided that the customer would be better served with aluminum”, said Smith.
The aluminum comes to Kingston in large, flat sheets, which are available in two baked enamel factory finishes, the first white, and the second silver. The aluminum which Kingston uses is very similar to that used in the construction of truck bodies, and is the thickest in the horse trailer industry. Thicker, stiffer aluminum is more suited to horse trailers than the so called “aircraft aluminum” that many trailer companies advertise; because “aircraft aluminum” is made to bend and flex in the wind. A horse trailer with sides that bend is not going to ride as quietly as a trailer with stiffer walls, especially if those flexible walls are attached to a relatively inflexible steel frame.
Construction begins with the frame which is the “heart” of the trailer. The chassis is reinforced with heavy cross-bars every 30 inches to minimize strain on floor boards. The steel skeleton of the body is welded together and attached to the chassis. After the base frame is assembled and welded together, all of the steel is sanded and every weld is wire-brushed and inspected. The frame is then acid washed and chemically etched prior to painting. All of the extra attention guarantees not only that the trailer will have no unexpected sharp edges, but also ensures the best possible adhesion of the paint to the steel. After several coats of epoxy primer, the frame receives three to five coats of paint, after which it can be prepared for “skinning”.
Before the application of the aluminum “skin”, all of the steel surfaces which will come into contact with aluminum are covered with a high density foam tape. The application of this tape is necessary because when two dissimilar metals, such as steel and aluminum, come into contact with one another, an electrical reaction known as”electrolysis” can take place. Electrolysis is basically the same thing as rusting. It requires the presence of water and oxygen, and the contact (either direct or through a conductive medium) of two different metals. During electrolysis, electrons from one metal are discharged into the other. The metal which receives the electrons is call the cathode and is basically unaffected by the reaction. The metal which discharges the electrons is called the anode. A metal which acts as an anode slowly loses its structural integrity and begins to corrode or rust. In the case of aluminum and steel, aluminum acts as the anode while the steel would act as the cathode. If left in direct contact with steel, aluminum would begin to disintegrate. The severity and speed of an electrolytic reaction depends on how dissimilar the two metals are. If you have ever mixed silver and stainless steel utensils in the dishwasher, you may have noticed that the stainless steel emerges from the experience slightly duller and worse for the wear. This is because silver is somewhat “cathodic” to stainless steel.
The tape which the Kingston technicians apply to the trailer frame completely insulates the aluminum from the steel, eliminating any possibility of electrolysis. The tape, which is adhesive on both sides, has an added benefit which Smith says was originally unforeseen by the Kingston designers. It is so sticky it bonds the aluminum to the frame by itself, even on the curved parts of the trailer. The skin is further attached to the frame with rivets, and the result is a quiet, quality ride.
To further understand Kingston Trailers strong commitment to quality it is important to note that the strong, durable, anti-corrosive steel frame, manufactured to withstand the roughest road conditions, features drip holes in all strategic places to allow any water to run out of the steel tubing and help prevent rusting. A 2” x 2” heavy wall of tubing runs horizontally in the stall area four feet from the floor to help withstand a side impact accident or rollover and helps keep the horse safely in its stall.
Over the past three decades, Kingston Trailers, takes pride in the reputation it has developed for building one of the best trailers on the market today. They are well known for the quality and attention to detail that goes into each of their trailers. As we move into 2012 and beyond, Kingston will continue to update its line of trailers, and the company looks forward to continued expansion.
High Quality, Great Features...
Every Step of the way, a Kingston!
182 Wapping Road, Kingston, MA 02364
1-800-504-3088 781-585-4337 Fax: 781-585-7135
info@kingstontrailers.com