Can you buy a trailer for a £1000 or less...

4leggedfurries

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that isnt a death trap or a project? Just wondering as I didnt get the job I was hoping for which means I have to rethink about how much I could afford on a trailer. Have been looking and all I can find is project ones. So can you get something that is safe, sound, reliable and not in need of repair for that price? Couldnt really go much higher as have to figure my test into it too.
 
Well yes you can BUT it may not be pretty and you'll have to check it over very carefully as it will be an older trailer.

If you're going to do this you'd be as well finding out from the manufacturer what the likely faults are, how to check for them and how much they would cost to put right as well as the cost of a full service so you can make a decent attempt to keep within your budget once you have bought it.

There's quite a tidy Rice on ebay finishing shortly that is within your budget atm, and several finsihed ones went quite low too.
 
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Yes it can be done!!!

I know someone who bought an older ifor 505. It is a lovely tidy box, not really too pretty to look at (kind of a faded pinkish brown colour) but the floor was sound and had been regularly maintained, the brakes were all in good order as were the tyres and lights.

THe partition was a different style to the modern ones, the whole thing swings instead of just from the middle and the front breast bar is one peice.

But overall, all it wants is a possibly a paint or treatment for the wood and is otherwise 100% sound!! All this for £700
 
Do the AA or RAC do trailer checks, like they will when you're buying a used car? I'm sure I once saw something about this?:confused:
 
Yes, there are plenty out there. You can find them on ebay, horsemart etc, tack shop notice boards. Check the floor for soundness & the basic structure for rust & soundness. The mechanics on a trailer are very basic & easy to get sorted. For £1000 the one you get may not be the nicest looking you've ever seen but it should be sound any you will be able to travel your horse safely.

Remember it doesn't matter what the trailer or box looks like, it's what comes out of it that's important. Good Luck in your search.
 
ok the question is how often are you going to use a trailer, if the answer is only once a fortnight in the summer then you might be better of hireing one, that way you don't have to compromise on the safety issue of an older trailer
 
You most certainly can find them if you look hard enough. I've had my trailer a couple of years now (it's an old Bahill - looks like a Rice) and, as others have said above, it's not exactly the best looking thing around. But it is solid, sound and has lots of things about it that I prefer to the more modern Ifors (for example the height of the front unload door is far better on my trailer, and the fact that it unloads on the nearside of the vehicle too). And it has a single breast bar which is great, because I prefer to travel one horse at a time without partition.

I was lucky to get mine for £750 - and yes, I know I was lucky - because once I had bought it I had 2 offers for it at £1,200 and £1,500 respectively (but said no - because I didn't think I'd be lucky enough to find another one quite as good even for £1,500).

And no - mine wasn't stolen - I had it checked out!

So a decent one might be few and far between - but they are out there. Keep looking!
 
Yes you can. I bought my ifor 505 for £1000 off e-bay. Went and looked at it first and as we were interested and local, the seller took it off e-bay and we agreed on £1000 and we bought it private. It had had a new aluminium floor and whilst tyres were a bit cracked and I've now replaced them, the rest of it is in brilliant condition. Keep looking. I wouldn't have bought off e-bay though if I hadn't seen it first. Just search for those that are within reasonable travelling distance and go and have a look first.
 
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