going to look at a used horse trailer...

[novachick]

I'm hoping someone on here can give me some hints.

There is an auction going on down the street from my house and they are auctioning off a horse trailer. It's listed as "2 Horse, tandem axle trailer, steel, fair cond" no year is posted but based on the 1 picture they have, I would say it's probably late 70's to early 80's. It doesn't look horrible in the picture, but it defnitely needs some tires and cosmetic touch-ups. I'm going to look at it this afternoon to see what else it would need...what should I look for, especially for safety? I don't mind a project, but I don't want to end up dumping a ton of money into it either.

We just basically need a trailer to haul to the vet in an emergency and may be the local fun show about 20min away.

Also, what do you think would be the maximum to pay for it if say it only needs tires, cosmetic work, and new brakes? Any ideas would be great. Thanks!

Jen

 

[Miniv]

Be sure to check the floor boards......and for rust around the base of it. It would be nice if the tires were decent too.

 

[~Stacie~]

Long list of things to check for but here are a few that would be a deal breaker for me if they weren’t met.

1. Good floor, if it has mats lift them up and look at the floor and feel for any soft spots in the wood. If it won’t support your weight without giving then I wouldn’t put a horse in it. Look underneath for how many cross supports it has to support your horse, the more the better.

2. Breaks, make sure that it has electric breaks. I have seen way to many accidents where trailers were overturned because they couldn’t stop fast enough when they had to for an emergency due to no trailer breaks.

3. Axle, you can look at the wear pattern on the tires and see if they are checked to give you an indication if the axle may be bent. Even the slightest bend on the axle will prematurely wear tires and could cause a blow out or even a tire coming off when you need it most (an emergency)

4. General construction, rust spots, good welds, all electrical working ect.

How heavy is the trailer? Can your vehicle handle it? Not only pulling but more importantly stopping.

Tires are a wear item be replaced if needed

There are just a few of the basic things to consider and just my opinion. I am very picky what I will put my horses in because like I said, I’ve seen way to many accidents involving horse trailers that had horses in them. Good luck on your searching

 

[Margo_C-T]

Good tips so far; I might add:

Check underneath to see whether the frame is still sound, not rusted out or about to.

Pull any mats completely out to check the floor. You can check for dry rot by sticking the point of a pocket knife blade into the wood; if there is dry rot, it will penetrate into the wood; if not, it won't go far in.

Check the hitch; is it secure, is it 'worn' unduely(where it fits over the trailer ball, or where it 'locks' to close. If so, a new assembly would likely need to be welded on, a major undertaking.

Check for whether there is a lot of rust along the edges where the sides and bottom join, and all other 'corners/junctions'...Superficial is one thing, but deep and penetrating rust means parts that should be replaced, as they could fail and break.

Check to see if all doors-rear doors, saddle compartment, feed doors, vents in roof and/or feed doors--fit well, open and close properly.

Just a few more things that occur to me!

Don't worry too much about the 'cosmetics'; it is the STRUCTURAL integrity that counts!

Best of luck in finding something you can use safely and affordably!!

Margo

 

[Carolyn R]

Hi Jen. Just to give you an idea, the trailer I had sold this spring was a 2000 cm circut champ, fully enclosed. I bought it for $2500 two years ago, which I thought was a great deal. However, the mats that were on the walls hid the fact that it wasn't water tight, no biggie if I would have known, I would have kept it under cover. I didn't know, so the wood on the walls became a sponge and made the problen worse. The doors had two mats opver them, I was told the horse liked to kick, After I had the trailer, I took the mats off, it looked like clydesdales kicked the door the dent was that big.The tires weren't great. the electrical had a few issues like a short chord and some shorts, the floor was great and so were the mats. You know the story about my "trailer issues", but before I sold my trailer and got a mini size one, I stripped out the wood, sanded the interior metal wall, rolled truck bed liner on it, replaced the plywood, painted the plywood, sanded the doors and filled them and painted them,got new tires and rims (trailer grade, not passenger car grade, which by the way, I can point you to someone within an hour of here, it's the best price you'll find) and touched up some dings, as well as made sure all the electrical was good, and it came with a new inspection. I sold it for about $3000, I guess I should have made it a little more, it sold in less than 24 hours, but I only charged for the supplies to fix it, not my time.

Basically, don't get caught up in the "I need this trailer" scenario and pay way too much for way too little, I am always here on the other side of the mountain if it's an emergency, and trust me, I know that horses don't know that they aren't suppose to get sick on holidays or at 2 am, it's okay. The best time to get the best price on a trailer is over the winter. The new mini stock trailer I got was $3250 plus PA taxes, and it came with a spare.

Carolyn

 

[Katiean]

I paid $50 to have my trailer delivered. Besides that it was free. It is a '87 Campbell Coach, TB height. Floor boards and mats are great. It has some rust over the wheel wells. The tires are not so good. Plenty of tread, just old. They have weather checks. The furthest I have taken the trailer is 150 miles away which I had no choice. I had to pick up a mini mare. I still need to get tires for it and I was quoted $125 per tire. Five tires. Yeh, they will have to wait. I have the tires covered and will always cover them when parked after I get the new ones. Man New tires cost way more than the trailer.

 

[novachick]

Basically, don't get caught up in the "I need this trailer" scenario and pay way too much for way too little, I am always here on the other side of the mountain if it's an emergency, and trust me, I know that horses don't know that they aren't suppose to get sick on holidays or at 2 am, it's okay.

Hi Carolyn,

Thanks for the offer, I really appreciate it. I feel so out of control knowing that I don't have a way to transport these guys easily in an emergency. I've seen this trailer down the street for a while and thought, hum, wonder if their going to sell that and here it is. Thought maybe I can get a deal on it. Good to know how much you paid for your new one though, definitely something to keep in mind!

I'm going to go take a look, thanks everyone for all the pointers...I'll take a VERY CLOSE LOOK!

 

[Coventry Lane Farm]

Biggest thing is the flooring.... if its not rotted out in the sides of the trailer and the underneath the matting or wooden flooring, wearing of the tires, brakes if they are locked up from sitting for a long time, axles and the hitching components, lights working and not any broken wiring. Surface problems can be fixed reasonably.

 

[novachick]

Well, I went to look this afternoon and it seems to be in pretty good shape. Definitely needs new tires and the electric brake system would need a new end for it to be compatible with our truck's system. But the floor boards look good, I pulled up the mats and the carpet in the front and only one board had a bit of a soft spot. Underneath all the boards and frame rails looked good. There is no rust around the bottom of the trailer wall. The back is only half enclosed, so there is some rust damage about halfway up, but it's not completely through and I think we can stop the rust early enough. I'm going to watch the bids, and if it doesn't go too high it might be worth it, but we don't absolutely need it...so we'll see how it goes.

Thanks everyone for all the advice, it's been very helpful!

Jen

Hi Pam!

I tried to get some new pics for you guys, but Rascal raced around me, Goldi stuck her nose in the camera and Red wouldn't get her head out of the hay pile...so I didn't get very many good ones!

 

[Coventry Lane Farm]

Hope you guys are lucky to get the trailer, sounds like it would be a good deal...as far as getting pictures of the kids, its a tough thing to do...sometimes it takes a long time and patience before you get any good ones, been there before with these guys, sometimes they just want to be not very cooperative in the picture taking dept.