The Ironhorse Trailer Story

Ironhorse Trailers, Inc. manufactures the Eagle Sport Carrier™, an enclosed fiberglass trailer used primarily to transport motorcycles, and distributes it through a dealer network. See www.ironhorsetrailers.com for more details. Ironhorse is located in LaVergne, Tennessee, near Nashville, and was founded in 2002 by Ed & Julie Heard, also owners for the last twenty years of Ed Heard & Associates, Inc., a management consultancy specializing in helping manufacturing companies make products better, quicker, and more economically.

After developing an interest in and buying a couple of motorcycles in the nineties, Ed & Julie, like so many others, bought a 6 X 10 box-type trailer to haul their bikes, only to find that towing it was not a pleasant experience. Thinking that more oomph was the answer, they added two progressively more powerful vehicles to their fleet before finally concluding, in early 2002, that trying to pull a large square cornered box at interstate speeds doesn't make a lot of sense.

After a few hours on the internet, Ed & Julie discovered what appeared to be a good alternative, the Excalibur Sport Carrier™. But after a few more hours on the internet and the telephone, their initial elation turned to dismay. Not only was the Excalibur no longer in production, many of its owners complained about its distressing tendency to leak, the flimsiness of its side walls and the poor quality of its overall fit and finish. But all was not lost.

During their internet search, Ed & Julie also discovered a similar looking trailer called the Eagle being manufactured in Arkansas by Jerry and Kathy Smith. A closer look showed that with its 20 inches greater internal width, it could haul two dressers, and with its fixed, rather than hinged top, there were no leakage problems. After pulling one of the Eagles a few hundred miles behind a Ford Explorer, it was clear that it really did tow like a dream, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Shortly thereafter Ed & Julie bought the exclusive rights to the Eagle design, the Eagle brand, the Eagle product line, a rudimentary Eagle dealer network, and the physical molds used to produce body parts, and founded Ironhorse Trailers. After setting up a plant near Nashville and hiring a work force, Ironhorse moved assembly and finishing to the new plant and contracted with ACT, the Smiths’ company, to continue to supply fiberglass body parts. After six months or so, Ed & Julie also moved fiberglass body parts production to middle Tennessee.

In early 2003, Ironhorse applied for trademark registration for Eagle Sport Carrier and started debugging and failsafing its assembly and finishing processes. This E-Bay store is an attempt to make Eagle Sport Carrier trailers more accessible to prospective buyers across the U.S. while Irhonhorse continues to expand its dealer network.

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