Pequea Pleasure Cart

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Willow Flats

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Hey All,
Do any of you have a Pequea cart? I waited all that time and spent all that money for the Aerocrown and I can't say I am really happy with it. I could really use some advice. Being on the west coast there is no where to try out a cart. I did a test drive with a horse once at a show in their meadowbrook and it was super comfortable. I think the meadowbrook might be too heavy for Rocko but maybe the Pequea Pleasure cart which is 87 lbs. Any other carts I should be looking at? I have a Kingston for Annie and that is actually comfortable but has been out of stock. I think I may need to go back to pneumatic wheels because my back cannot handle the jarring of the hard wheel ride. Any carts I should be looking at? If you have a Pequea, do you like it? Feeling kind of discouraged. Send help!
 
Awe sorry to hear you dont like your new Aerocrown, what a bummer 😟

Is it just the wheels? Could you change the wheels out to the pneumatic wheels? Just a thought.
 
I was so excited for you to get your Aerocrown. I hate it's been a disappointment. How hard would it be to get pneumatic wheels? Or would it be just as easy to get the Pequea Pleasure cart? I do love those springs on the Pequeas, but I don't have one. I hope someone that has one will see this.
 
I was so excited for you to get your Aerocrown. I hate it's been a disappointment. How hard would it be to get pneumatic wheels? Or would it be just as easy to get the Pequea Pleasure cart? I do love those springs on the Pequeas, but I don't have one. I hope someone that has one will see this.
You mentioned the springs on the Pequea and I think that's also a contributing factor to my discomfort. Hard to explain, but the seat in the Aerocrown doesn't bounce exactly straight up and down but more of a forward and back motion. I have tried moving the seat all the way back to add more weight and it would not correct it. So I moved the axel back and the seat forward and that's better but then there is some bouncing in the shafts. Is this what people call floating shafts? They are not bouncing to the top of the tug and I don't think they are slaming down hard, but some bounce at the trot. Very stable and comfortable at the walk. The cart is really heavy which was made heavier by the larger wheels. They told me that the larger wheels make it easier for a mini to pull so that's why I made that decision.
When I first got the cart and called the company for advice he suggested rigging up and hanging some kind of weight under the seat. I don't want to make that cart any heavier. All this might not be an issue for a heavier person. IDK
I liked the looks of the springs on the Pequea. Seems like they would function more like the C springs on my Kingston which are way more comfortable of a ride. We thought of switching carts and see if we could get a better balance with Annie but it is a single seat and Annie is the horse we use to take passengers because she is so strong so her cart works really well for her.
 
To me, my interpretation of "floating shaft" shouldn't be bouncing, but there would be movement because the idea is that the shaft is not putting any upward pressure nor downward pressure on the saddle, just floating within the tug.
My Amish made cart has the C springs and it is a smoother ride than my Hyperbike. I was told the Hyperbike actually is more comfortable for heavier riders because the extra weight allows the tubing to flex more.
I wonder if you can get a bench seat for the Aerocrown? Or add something between the seat and mounts to dampen the movement? You probably couldn't add any kind of spring, but maybe a thick neoprene washer or something. Kinda like an engine mounting block.
 
Thanks! My husband was trying to explain to me how the springs on this cart don't go up and down but pivot forwards and backwards. We'll see what else we can try.
 
Mindy has a good blog post buried back a while with a video showing floating shafts. In short, the pony moves up and down, the shafts stay still. Bouncing shafts is, I think, indicative of a balance issue. Here is one where she explains in words, I haven't found the good video I am thinking of:

https://www.idriveponies.com/post/thinking-about-carts
I contacted Kingston a couple of weeks ago to ask about cart lead times and was told that they were running about 1-2 months to fill orders now (I asked about a cart with 53" shafts, motorcycle tires, and C springs, so it seems none of those components are currently unavailable). So it's not immediate by any means but isn't a very long delay. I was prepared to hear that they were running 6 months to a year like a lot of the other manufacturers so I wanted to know if I needed to order the cart I wanted for next summer, now!

After struggling a lot with the Hyperbike and ending up just feeling like neither he nor I was comfortable in it, but seeing all these other people just LOVING their Hyperbikes, made me realize something I probably should have realized before given that I spent years fitting saddles: not all carts will fit all the horses they are "supposed" to fit according to measurements and size. I think the Hyperbike didn't fit Rowan...and maybe the Aerocrown doesn't fit your Rocko. Have you tried it with Annie? I wonder if it would feel a lot different with a different horse.

ETA: Just read Dragon Hill's post in full and definitely, I can attest to the fact that the lighter you are, the less comfortable the Hyperbike is. I didn't start out very heavy but I lost about 15lbs over the time I owned the Hyperbike and it definitely did not improve the situation in any way. Pony too big, human too small. :)
 
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Thanks Abby P when we get a chance we might try it with Annie since she is a lot taller. I have seen Mindy's video which is really good and have had no problems at all balancing my two other carts using that method. I think you are right maybe this cart just isn't a match for Rocko. It would be fine if we were just going around at a walk, but that's not us. 😄
 
not all carts will fit all the horses they are "supposed" to fit according to measurements and size. I think the Hyperbike didn't fit Rowan...and maybe the Aerocrown doesn't fit your Rocko. Have you tried it with Annie? I wonder if it would feel a lot different with a different horse.

I agree! Never really thought about it until now, but I think you are absolutely right. I think the Aerocrown fit Shadow pretty good, but not Stormy. I feel like it is too big for him and way too heavy.…even though it is suppose to fit horses 32-35 inches. Maybe once he gains some weight it might fit him better, but IDK….I guess I’ll wait and see.
 
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After yesterday's drive I decided I am going to get a different cart for Rocko. I've narrowed it down to either a Pequea or a Kingston cart. Kingston carts are still out of stock, and the prices have been raised significantly. I can actually get an EE from Pequea shipped here to California for a lot less than the Kingston cart which is located 38 minutes away from me, now that they have moved their facility.

My dilemma now is that I know what the Kingston carts are like and I have never seen a Pequea in person. After doing some research, the only downside I could see was that some said there was not much leg room in the Pequea carts. I asked Pequea about my concerns because of my height and they said that you can have the seat raised up on a block. I also read in an online forum that someone switched their wooden floorboard slats and mounted them underneath the tubing instead of on top of the tubing to make more room. So do I gamble, or pay a couple of hundred dollars more for a sure thing? Would sure be nice to see a Pequea cart going down the road today so I could check it out! A girl can dream right?
 
After yesterday's drive I decided I am going to get a different cart for Rocko. I've narrowed it down to either a Pequea or a Kingston cart. Kingston carts are still out of stock, and the prices have been raised significantly. I can actually get an EE from Pequea shipped here to California for a lot less than the Kingston cart which is located 38 minutes away from me, now that they have moved their facility.

My dilemma now is that I know what the Kingston carts are like and I have never seen a Pequea in person. After doing some research, the only downside I could see was that some said there was not much leg room in the Pequea carts. I asked Pequea about my concerns because of my height and they said that you can have the seat raised up on a block. I also read in an online forum that someone switched their wooden floorboard slats and mounted them underneath the tubing instead of on top of the tubing to make more room. So do I gamble, or pay a couple of hundred dollars more for a sure thing? Would sure be nice to see a Pequea cart going down the road today so I could check it out! A girl can dream right?
I agree. It would be nice to see one in person. I sent a link about those to Munchkin's owner, who is cart shopping. Raising the seat up seems dangerous to me, as the center of gravity is changed.
When I started driving 20 years ago there were fewer carts available and fewer internet sites to view various carts. I got the Jerald runabout. I've been very pleased with it, but since then I've seen so many more stylish carts. I can't rationalize buying a new cart, but it's fun to look at them.
 
I agree. It would be nice to see one in person. I sent a link about those to Munchkin's owner, who is cart shopping. Raising the seat up seems dangerous to me, as the center of gravity is changed.
When I started driving 20 years ago there were fewer carts available and fewer internet sites to view various carts. I got the Jerald runabout. I've been very pleased with it, but since then I've seen so many more stylish carts. I can't rationalize buying a new cart, but it's fun to look at them.
This was the builder of the cart that said they could raise the seat so I would have to trust his knowledge there.
 

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