Posted 2008-10-28 2:25 PM (#93806 - in reply to #93671) Subject: RE: MN Subdowner?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 714 Location: Minnesota
ICEPONY- Arena Trailer Sales are not in Randolph, but just north of Cannon Falls. Only about 20 miles from Northfield where sundowner is now. Arena Trailer Sales has an excellent sales and service dept. They are dealers for Hawk, 4-Star and Cimarron Trailers. The owner is Jim Simon who also owns Twin City Horse Sales right next door. I am in no way employed by them but have bought a trailer from them and also bought and sold horses at their QH sales for years.
Posted 2008-10-28 6:43 PM (#93828 - in reply to #93806) Subject: RE: MN Subdowner?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 792 Location: East Tennessee, USA, Planet Earth
Originally written by genebob on 2008-10-28 2:25 PM
ICEPONY- Arena Trailer Sales are not in Randolph, but just north of Cannon Falls
Just north of Cannon Falls is Randolph, MN. The trailer sales lot is located at 28195 Harry Ave Randolph, MN. The PO Box is located in Cannon Falls, MN.
HA!
owner is Jim Simon who also owns Twin City Horse Sales right next door
Posted 2008-10-28 11:12 PM (#93844 - in reply to #93671) Subject: RE: MN Subdowner?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 714 Location: Minnesota
Actually Randolph is west and just slightly north of Cannon Falls and all the advertising is "Hwy. 52 N & 280th St., Cannon Falls, MN. Taken directly from the centerfold ad of this last weekends horse sale catalog. But not to argue, you are correct that the 911 address is Randolph.
Posted 2008-10-29 11:52 AM (#93876 - in reply to #93865) Subject: RE: MN Subdowner?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 792 Location: East Tennessee, USA, Planet Earth
Originally written by genebob on 2008-10-29 10:28 AM
IcePony- Do you ever get to Forestville here in MN? Do you know if there are any good campgrounds/trails around River Falls, WI?
Hello !
I get down to Forestville State Park about 4-5 times per year. LOVE IT!
There is a nice little horse campground and about 8 miles of trails at Eau Galle. My saddle club, Willow River Rivers (I'm the VP) sponsers this trail system, we raised funds/built the campground.
There are private traiils in the Ellsworth, WI area.
Posted 2008-10-29 3:31 PM (#93889 - in reply to #93671) Subject: RE: MN Subdowner?
New User
Posts: 2
Location: Minnesota
Rumors are vicious Raven, you should know that. You may have gotten better information talking to the owners of Sundowner of MN.
There are a few facts. This dealership has specialized in quality trailers and service for 14 years. At that time there were no dealers providing quality service to their customers.
Sundowner of MN will not be in their present location after January. The lease costs have gotten outrageous. Insurance costs after a severe hail loss a couple years ago are even worse. That combined with a tough economic year for any company requires tough decisions to be made.
The possibilities are many, but include selling, combining, or building new facilities to expand the business.
At present, there is a strong desire to reduce inventory of trailers and accessories to make options more beneficial to whatever end outcome.
A "call to the dealership" did not give you any facts. Even if an employee said something to feed your quest for rumor spreading, they did not have the facts either.
How do I know? I own the dealership and am the one with a couple million dollars invested to consider. Since even I do not know which outcome will make the most economic sense, any rumor spreading is just plain libelous.
Posted 2008-10-29 4:59 PM (#93892 - in reply to #93889) Subject: RE: MN Subdowner?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 792 Location: East Tennessee, USA, Planet Earth
Originally written by mnmule on 2008-10-29 3:31 PM You may have gotten better information talking to the owners of Sundowner of MN
Hi Rhonda,
That is why I called the dealership to find out if what I heard at Hay Creek was true. The discussion(s) at Hay Creek were that Sundowner of MN was closing it's doors at the end of October. And that owners were retiring to MO.
This dealership has specialized in quality trailers and service for 14 years. At that time there were no dealers providing quality service to their customers
This was never questioned in this thread.
Sundowner of MN will not be in their present location after
January
I'm sorry to see this happen. I have enjoyed working with you guys in the past.
A "call to the dealership" did not give you any facts. Even if an employee said something to feed your quest for rumor spreading, they did not have the facts either
I was not trying to spread the rumor. As a Sundowner owner, I wanted to know if what I had heard was true and where I would need to go for warranty work. That is why I did call the dealership and was informed by your staff that inventory will be sent to Arena, and that warranty service will also be provided by them. You may want to inform your staff to forward all calls to yourself. As I said...as a trailer owner, I was trying to find out who would be doing the warranty service work. That is a valid concern and I am sure that you would agree.
Posted 2008-10-29 6:18 PM (#93895 - in reply to #93671) Subject: RE: MN Subdowner?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 714 Location: Minnesota
IPG- We are always looking for new places to go ride, camp and meet new people. Our problem is that many times we cannot leave until Saturday morning or maybe even noon. It is our understanding that both Hay Creek and Zumbro Bottoms fill up fast. We have a son in college @ UWRF and could always use that as an excuse to visit him in the spring or fall. Thanks!
Posted 2008-10-29 7:34 PM (#93903 - in reply to #93895) Subject: RE: MN Subdowner?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 792 Location: East Tennessee, USA, Planet Earth
Originally written by genebob on 2008-10-29 6:18 PM
many times we cannot leave until Saturday morning or maybe even noon. It is our understanding that both Hay Creek and Zumbro Bottoms fill up fast. We have a son in college @ UWRF and could always use that as an excuse to visit him in the spring or fall. Thanks!
Do you have a long drive to this area? You can make reservations at Hay Creek, but not ZB. ZB is a pretty big area, there are three campgrounds. I'm 10 miles from the campus. The trails at Eau Galle are very nice...not much in miles, but it's a nice place to ride. The campground has a porta potty, water and tie lines. Most of the sites are not level, so...bring leveling blocks. Tends to be buggy at times, so keep that in mind. If you come down this way...give me a holler, I'll join you for a ride.
Posted 2008-10-29 10:03 PM (#93918 - in reply to #93671) Subject: RE: MN Subdowner?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 714 Location: Minnesota
It's about two hours to River Falls. We go right by Hay Creek on the way. We have some friends that own a campground near Decorah, IA (about 70 minutes). All private trails through the bluffs. Beautiful riding and you can challenge yourself and your horse at your discression. Canoeing and kayaking on the river right there too. Check out their web site. www.hutchinsonfamilyfarmscampground.com
Posted 2008-10-29 11:42 PM (#93924 - in reply to #93918) Subject: RE: MN Subdowner?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 720 Location: Never miss a good chance to shut up.
Dear IcePony,
We appreciate your concern about getting your Sundowner serviced in the future, but your bulletin board announcement was unclear and . . . said two things.
First: "I just called Sundowner of MN, the rumor that they are going out of business is TRUE. They are closing the doors next week."
Then later you said: "That is why I did call the dealership and was informed by your staff that inventory will be sent to Arena, and that warranty service will also be provided by them."
"Sending inventory" (not all) and "closing the doors next week" are two different statements. Let's all of us be more careful about our sources and resist the temptation to be the first on the street with breaking news - before we can ask the people who actually make the decisions. Many owners of dealers and manufacturers alike read this forum daily and they have often told me they are happy to jump in and answer questions . . if given the opportunity.
Thanks again for everyone's posts and concerns for information sharing, not rumors, in the future.
(By the way, it's very normal for business owners not to share their future business plans and details with all of their employees) Let's not hurt the industry that serves our needs for horse transportation. The entire industry is feeling the effects of a tightening economy. In my opinion, the future will belong to many of those that make adjustments and simply survive the rough waters we're experiencing.
MN Subdowner?
