If you want the short version, buy a trailer from Charleston Trailer - you will NOT be disappointed! If you are like me and research everything to death, read on!
I was shopping for a new trailer for our boat before we went on a family vacation. I searched online and emailed several places with questions about their boat trailers. Rod, from Charleston Trailers, promptly emailed me back with answers to all of my questions. I emailed him again with even more questions. Again, he emailed me back with answers and suggested that I call him to discuss, which I did. Super nice guy and trailer sounded great, but I'm one of those people that has to go over everything with a fine tooth comb before I commit. Eventually, after a couple more conversations with Rod, I finally decided to purchase a trailer from Charleston Trailer. I am not local to them (about 3 hours away), had never dealt with them and the only things I knew of them were from online reviews and my conversations with Rod, so when I found out I had to pay for the trailer up front (entirely, not a deposit) to get a spot in the production schedule, I was a little nervous. Still, I decided to go ahead with the purchase and was given a date that the trailer would be ready. Again, this purchase was for an upcoming trip and the date was in time for our trip, but if the trailer was not ready when promised, we would not have been able to take our boat! How often have you been promised something by a certain date only to see that date come and go without what you were promised - ESPECIALLY when you've already paid? The more we thought about this, the more worried we became, so I emailed them back. Rod assured me that the trailer would be ready when he said, if not before. As promised, our trailer was ready - AHEAD of schedule! As it turned out, the day my trailer was finished, Rod had to make a trip that took him near my house, so he offered to deliver the trailer if I would meet him near the interstate. I met Rod on Friday evening and took delivery of the trailer only 6 miles from my house! In one of the fortyleven emails and/or phone calls I had asked about, and ultimately decided I wanted the optional spare hub/tire/wheel assembly. As Rod was going over the trailer with me, I noticed that the spare assembly wasn't there. The spare had been on the invoice, but had not made it onto the build sheet, so was not installed. No big deal, these things happen, right? Well it WAS a big deal to Rod. He felt HORRIBLE and couldn't apologize enough. I told him not to sweat it - that I could drive up to his shop and pick it up - after all, I had been planning on driving up there to pick up the trailer all along, which I no longer had to do - and that I could install myself. Eventually, I thought that we agreed that he would just ship it out UPS when he got back to the shop on Monday. NOPE - Rod personally brought the spare assembly TO MY HOUSE (remember I live about 3 hours from Charleston Trailer), installed it (took about 10 minutes) and drove back to his shop. He would not even accept gas money from me. Who, these days, does that? If everybody ran their businesses like this, the world would be a better place!
What about the trailer you ask? It's great! We just towed the boat over 1000 miles, and it performed flawlessly. In my search for a boat trailer, there were several companies offering a similar trailer. Prices and features varied (some places charged extra for things that were included as standard features at Charleston Trailer like the aluminum bunks), but in the end, I am convinced that you will NOT find a company that cares as much about you, the customer, as does Charleston Trailer. THAT is priceless! Knowing what I know now, I would not even consider another company! If you are "on the fence" about where to purchase a trailer or nervous (as I was) about making such a significant purchase from a company you found online, rest assured, Charleston Trailer is a legitimate company with an owner who cares about his customers. read more
