renting out horsebox

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silverstar

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Would you do it?/have you done it?

My horsebox stands still most of the time, however, when I get a new horse Im planning to use it more. But Im just wondering about the idea of renting it out to recoup the cost of tax, insurance etc.
 
not sure on the legal side of things....but i would love to be able to rent a horsebox like that!! :-)
i think you would probably need to check with your insurance company as it may change to commercial insurance.
im sure others on here will be more helpful.
 
yeah I would need to check legal side, just wondering if it would be worth it, taking into consideration hire and reward insurance.
 
Isn't there something in this week's Horse & Hound about that. You would have to do it through an agency I would think.

I seem to remember that someone else tried to start this a few years ago. Sounds like a good idea, although everyone would want the horsebox on the same weekend. Might work.
 
Hi - I looked into this a few years ago. Tax would be no different. The key issue is the insurance. It's quite tricky but not insurmountable. Basically you need it to be specially insured for 'on hire'. Two ways of doing this. Either a specialist policy which you can find by googling - cost is at least 4 figures. Alternatively you can buy an IT system which allows you to put the wagon 'on hire' periodicallye.g. hired out from 8am until 6pm. The system is quite good in that it also does all the credit checks / address verification too. And you only pay insurance premiums for the time it is on hire Cost of system quite expensive too (about £800 a few years ago, although technology may have improved and costs come down) Only problem here is that the vehicle is not insured when off hire and insurance companies will not allow two policies on the same vehicle. You would need to have a trade insurance policy (v expensive also)
Also on both types of insurance you are likely to have a 25% excess!! And you would have to take every endeavour to ensure the validity of who you were hiring to. I looked at a tracker for about £200 fitted.
Talked myself of the idea after looking into it lol
 
I'd be really interested in if there is a way to rent out your horsebox privately, mine is a lovely equicruiser 3 stall with gorgeous living, but my job means I work abroad (am in Vietnam at the mo) so have had to sell my horse. I am reluctant to sell my wagon as I could never afford to replace it when I get another horse, but at the moment it's in a barn. I wouldn't mind renting it to cover the cost of keeping it up together, but at the mo it's gathering dust.
 
Also don't forget as the vehicle will become a commercial vehicle you might find you need to have your taco working etc. Best to give VOSA a call and ask them all the details. I would suspect unless you can regularly hire it out the costs to you wouldn't make it profitable.
 
I can see why renting out could work for some but I wouldn't want to rent mine out.
You would need to keep track of any minor scratches/damage etc, and some horses kick the stuffing out of lorries so you would need a good deposit from anyone renting it out.
 
Just been reading that article, it's a good idea. I'd just be concerned about mileage, as there's no way for you to control what kind of mileage the person who rents it out does with it. I'd be quite happy if it was local journeys but not if it was doing countrywide trips constantly. Also if it was doing high mileage it would need servicing and parts replacing more frequently and would get de-valued more quickly. Would be interesting to speak to someone who's done it. Most people don't use their lorry often enough.
 
We rent ours out for self drive hire. TBH we don't make any money from it. What we make in the summer just about covers what we loose in the winter.
However it does mean that we have a nice horsebox to use ourselves which we probably couldn't afford if we didn't hire it out.
I must say it breaks my heart when it comes back with damage or scratches on it but I guess that is just the nature of that kind of business, people won't look after something like they would if they owned it!
 
I rent my box out independently, with full insurance and breakdown cover. I saw this article and was interested to see the website. I think in theory its a good idea, but the breakdown cover seemed a bit woolie... you have to pay extra for that if i remember correctly. I would never let my box go out without it.

It is full of pit falls however. They never get returned on time - and if you dont have your box at home, you will be hanging around at the yard waiting for the customer. They never get returned in the clean state you send it out, so account for an extra hours work cleaning it yourself. People dont fill it up with as much fuel as it went out with etc. It goes on.

I charge more than the boxes i`ve seen on the website, and dont pay any comission, but there still isnt a huge amount of money in it. You have to keep the box in tip top condition - beyond reproach, pay for maintainance from the extra use, and include the depreciation from wear and tear - extra mileage etc. Theres a lot to think about.

Its very seasonal so really only works feb to end sept - 7 months.
Once per week at £85 for 28 weeks per year = £2380 - and then you have to pay the commission and registration fee. Aslo tax implications. Is it worth it?

From a customer point of veiw - the company dont check on the roadworthyness of the boxes - so is safety an issue?

Good idea - not sure in practice.
 
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