More advice...Anyone shared their lorry?

[Thea]

Hello all.. asking for more advice/peoples experience.

Has anyone entered in to a share agreement on their lorry?

I only ask because it’s something I’m thinking about. After advice from another post on here I’ve decided recently to slow down my competing and give myself and the horse some time out over the next few months which means the lorry will end up sitting there for weeks on end not being used and I’m sure won’t be good in the long run for it.

It’s a 3.5 ton and insured for anyone over 25 to drive, I know if I hired it out I would need to change insurance to cover this but Im loathed to hire out as don’t want lots of people driving it and random horses in it. I was more hoping to find someone who wanted to use the lorry regularly with a sensible horse and just contribute an amount towards keeping it on the road so to speak. All my friends have their own transport so it would be a ‘stranger’ I’d be looking to do this with. There are quite a few on the yard who have no transport and currently hire but if I allow one on the yard to use it I feel I’d have to allow others to and not all the horses are great travellers. Plus it would make it awkward should there be any fall out being on the same yard.

Has anyone done this? Did it work out? Or am I better off letting it sit there and just start it occasionally on the weeks it’s not used?

I used it today for the first time in 3 weeks and it started and ran no issues even though it was -6 overnight. Just conscious as it’s not a brand new lorry it needs to keep ticking over all the time to stop anything seizing up.

Any thoughts appreciated!

 

[chaps89]

My friend has a 3.5t lorry I use. We have no formal agreement which I know some would run miles from.
Way I see it is if I break it, I pay for it to be mended.
I don't pay for it's upkeep as she's happy it's just out and about being used - although it doesn't really sit around as she uses it most weeks herself! I do however leave it with a full tank of fuel after each use and covered the difference in insurance costs. The odd bottle of gin makes it her way too
I'm very very lucky! I've also known her a long time.
She is selling it shortly now she has more horses who are bigger. So if you happen to be in the south east feel free to let me know

However, all that aside I think I would be very very wary of letting a lorry go off with someone I didn't know.
I think even if you don't formally take money for it you would need to be careful with the insurance side of things too.
If it was me I don't think I could let a prized possession go off but as above, it can work for both sides if it's the right people so you never know.

 

[Bernster]

Mixed experience from me. It did work when my good friend used it but I knew her well, she was very reliable, looked after it, paid half all running costs and we never had any major damage to deal with. She also used it mid week when I didn’t need it.

Had others borrow it from time to time and it didn’t work so well.

Wouldn’t lend mine out to an unknown, too much potential for damage and inconvenience.

 

[Shay]

Right at the beginning of my daughter's competitive journey 3 of us bought a lorry together. We had a strict 1/3 split of purchase cost, plating, MOT, rescue etc. and then an honesty pot for petrol. All 3 sets of kids were competitive and we were out together most weekends at the start. They were all in 128's pretty much all going to the same shows etc. It worked really well for a couple of years and they the kids began to go different competitive ways and qualify for different sets of stay away shows. We spoke together as a group and one parent bought the other two out.

It really worked well for a time and I loved the camraderie. But it would not suit us - or any of the others - now.

 

[Thea]

Thanks all, contribution wise I was only thinking a very small amount each journey put into a pot to go towards anything it needed from being used more than I do like tyres or wear and tear things that appear. Obviously they pay for their fuel too. I still have to pay tax, services/MOT and insurance regardless of how much I use it so I’m not too bothered about covering the cost of that.

I’ll have to give it a good think. You’re all probably right about not lending it to a stranger, someone I know would be better but currently don’t know anyone off the yard without transport.

 

[ROMANY 1959]

When I bought a 3.5 ton lorry for my sons horses, I allowed a friend on the yard to use it for a small fuel contribution, it worked ok till they went to a big local show and someone backed into it and caused £1500 of damage to the tack locker and wheel hub at the rear, friend refused to pay at first, as had no idea who had damaged it.. she did pay in the end, but friendship was finished I am afraid, and I never loaned it again, I did hire myself and the lorry out a few times,,me driving it