Well, it seems like things are moving in a positive direction with Bear Trailers
I spoke with a customer service guy this afternoon. He was quite sympathetic with my situation and admitted that the trailer should never have broken like that.
He
did bring up the fact that I live in an ocean area, so salt air "would cause rust" on the trailer, but he still said they would help me with this situation.
First, they are offering to help with the costs of repairing the trailer.
Second, although they most likely won't be willing to do a straight up replacement of the trailer, but they will more than likely be willing to work with me on an galvanized trailer upgrade at a reduced cost.
No specific numbers have been discussed yet, but just the fact that they're willing to discuss this with me is a big step in the right direction!
I told him I'd be back in touch on Monday to discuss things further, so we'll see where it goes from there.
More to come...