Circle J Trailers History
On a cold November day in 1958, Julius Cobb and his son, Vern, sipped coffee in a roadside cafe in Burns, Oregon. Outside, their "55" Pontiac was hooked up to a brand new horse trailer. They had moved back to Salem, Oregon that summer after spending a year with relatives in Duncan, Oklahoma, where Julius and his brother, Francis, had started a trailer manufacturing company and Vern had been their first employee. They called it "Sooner Trailer Company". About the same time, their cousin, Billy, started "Shelby Trailers".
Since brothers often make better relatives than business partners, Julius decided to sell out to Francis and to move back to Salem. He and Vern built a new model of horse trailer there and had spent the last month driving that same Pontiac up and down the west coast, dragging that same trailer that was still hitched up in the parking lot. Trouble was, they were in a part of the country where used horse trailers were hauled up from California and sold for peanuts. Nobody would even look inside this brand new trailer with the asking price of $549.00.
They figured maybe they could sell it farther inland so they set out for Ontario, which is as far east as you can go and still be in Oregon. But when they got to this halfway point called Burns and discovered they only had $20.00 between them, they began to have second thoughts. So after their fourth cup, they decided to flip a coin. They got back in that Pontiac and kept going east. They pulled into Ontario too late that night to do much scouting around, but the next day someone suggested they go talk to the owner of the Cadillac dealership. He bought their trailer right then and there and was the first of many successful Circle J Dealers throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The trip back to Salem was a whole lot faster because that trailer was gone and because those boys were eager to build another one. Soon they were building more trailers than they ever imagined and they picked the brand name "Circle J" for Julius. In 1960 they ran out of room in their place in Salem and decided to move to a more centralized location for selling throughout the West. Since Ontario had been good to them in the beginning they packed up and headed back there. No good space was available in Ontario so they went another 40 miles and rented a place in Caldwell, Idaho.
About ten years later, Julius decided to retire and Vern bought him out. The company grew rapidly and eventually was incorporated. The formal name of the company is Western World, Inc., but we still call ourselves "Circle J". In 1976, Bob Bushnell, Sr., and family bought the company from Vern and his partner, Cal Burns.
Western World, Inc., now manufactures Cirle J, Bronco and Apache horse and stock trailers and a line of steel cargo trailers called Cargo Plus. Circle J owners can be found all over the United States and Canada and there is a wide network of professional Circle J dealerships for sales and service. The motivated employees at Circle J are dedicated to innovation, quality, and modernization in the horse, stock and cargo trailer industry and, most of all, to building the best horse, stock or cargo trailer for you.
A coin flip and a lot of hard work set the course of the company. With costant attention to people, products and quality, Circle J enjoys the experience of 45 years of building trailers and looks forward to a bright future.
Bob Bushnell, Jr., President
Circle J Today
Since 1958, Circle J trailers have been built for people who want a tough and dependable horse trailer that pulls great. Today, Circle J trailers are built (along with Apache horse & stock trailers and Cargo Plus cargo trailers) by Western World, Inc., in Caldwell, Idaho. Since we have been around for more than 45 years, Circle J has learned a lot about what you want and expect from a horse trailer. We listen to you and to our dealers and make constant improvements to Circle J products. We use premium automotive paints and primers to coat our all-steel Riata, Bronco, and Straight Load trailers and the steel frames of our Mirage models with aluminum exteriors. Circle J Aluminum trailers carry the same reputation for toughness and depenability, designed and built for the West.
Circle J features one-piece composite roofs that give you corrosion-free structural reinforcement and leak resistance. The Circle J roof gives your horses a cooler ride in the summer with less heat transfer and condensation than metal roofs. (Try the touch test) The one-piece tops are coated with a hard "Gel Coat" and do not have to be caulked and painted like metal tops. And if your horse rears, modern composites "give" a lot more than metal.
We have a lot of useful features and options, including a built-in water tank, steel and composite mangers, storage areas, fold-up rear tacks, and many others. You can pretty well design your own trailer, and you can save money by ordering our special Options Packages. We offer many "Interiors", including full Living Quarters, Overnight Packages, and various choices of linings and conveniences.
Please let us know what you want from us and we will do the best to satisfy your needs. Contact us and we will refer you to the Circle J dealer nearest to you and will send whatever additional information you may require.
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