Hiring out your horse box - any information!

[canteron]

I am looking for a little horse box 3.5 tonne and have a £20k budget.
I am only an occasional user and it just occurred to me if I bought a 40k horse box, would I be able to rent it out and what would be the implications?

I am pretty sure there is a market here, and the going rate is £100 day. I would basically just want to cover costs plus a bit and get it used.

Anyone know anything about this!!!

 

[Abacus]

I used to do this via a company that offered insurance. It was easy money but some people don't treat the box very well. Not sure it's worth £100 per day if there is scratching and damage on even one fifth of rentals. If I were to do similar again, I would only offer it with a driver.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

No no no no no.

A friend did exactly this and all went well, till it didn't. This a 2 yr old cab chassis with a brand new body.
Within 4 months, every corner was scratched or dented, by the time it was 6 months old it had the luton bashed on both sides, clutch burnt out (dont ask!) Plus damage inside from kicking and wall banging.
By the time it was just under a year old, it had spent over a month in a body shop for 3 visits, 10 days getting fixed at garage, had fuel drained and cleared through as petrol put in twice- by same hirer, delivered back filthy several times, sometimes late back, lost revenue because it was off the road being fixed.
Hardly used it herself as was booked out most weekends.
Even the damage waiver didnt cover some damage, you really need to read the small print. A big dent might be 'only' £600 to fix, but time out needed while it's in workshop, lost hire while its away....

She got it fixed up, sold it after another year of own use.

 

[SilverLinings]

£100 is nothing, and many people won't respect a vehicle that's someone else's responsibility. People are a d@mn sight more careful about scratching their own box than they will be with yours, and many will just deny the damage was caused by them or you won't be able to get them to pay for it without taking them to the small claims court (when you might struggle to prove it was them who cased said damage). You will spend a LOT of time cleaning it due to other people's laziness. You will also have to make sure that your insurance covers them/their horse being injured. If you don't keep on top of minor repairs then it will be difficult to prove that new ones were caused by the most recent user, and if significant damage is caused then you will face the prospect of no horsebox for several weeks/months until it has been repaired.

Sorry OP, but I think this idea is more likely to loose money and cause you stress than prove to be worth it.

 

[Julia0803]

Nope, no way. I have just sold my box as it wasn't really getting enough use so I really understand how it feels if its not being used, it just sits there costing money.

When I first got my box I let a few people have lifts/borrow it. I stopped pretty sharpish and then had a blanket rule that I didn't let anyone else use it. These people were yard friends or once friends of friends in a pickle. There were minor issues like a horse scuffing/marking/damaging the EVA rubber matting at the bottom of the wall where their horse repeatedly kicked and fidgeted. Scratching the bodywork going down narrow lanes with overhanging branches - nothing major but a bit irritating as it wasn't me/my horse that did the damage. Once a horse really damaged the ramp - it had to be replaced. They did eventually cough up but my box was in the repair shop for weeks and weeks whilst it got sorted.

Never again. People might have thought I was a miserable cowbag but so what. People do not care when it is not their stuff on the line. I had several previous liveries ask me if they could use it when my horse was on box-rest, I explained I had been previously burnt so didn't let anyone else use it. Most people were respectful of that answer, some asked a few times. I am very glad I stood my ground as a few months later, talking with the same woman about getting out to shows, I asked if she had considered a trailer (she had a car that could tow), and she said she didn't think it would be safe as her horse kicks out a lot whilst travelling.... Obviously she had told me he was as good as gold when asking if she could borrow my box!

 

[Polos Mum]

We used a company to hire out our campervan in the same way, thinking it was good to keep it in use and earn a few ££;s

It cost us way more than we earned as the hire company always sided with the renter not us on damage. Cleaning was a nightmare and people told lies about having dogs etc.
It's a real shame but people just don't respect hired stuff.

I have a box and I've put a few good scratches in it with overhanging branches that couldn't be avoided. Sometimes damage just happens - but you'll be really sad when your £40k box is worth £30k after a year because of other people's use and you've earned £1k rental and £1k damages from it !

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Big red flag!

Nope I wouldn't. I know I respect other people's property, but there's a lot out there that simply don't.

 

[Britestar]

A friend did this and had her box abandoned 100 miles from home, because they couldn't be bothered to bring it back!

And they left the keys in it.

Their rental business lasted less than 6 months , the above was the final straw.

They had dents, scratches, not cleaning, late returns amongst other things.