Trailer buying... HELP PLEASE!

floradora09

floradora09

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Am beginning to look at some local trailers for sale, so anyone give me some tips as to what I should be looking for, what needs to be done etc etc...

-Floor? Wheels? Chassis? Brakes?
-Take someone who knows what to look for?

Help please, will love you forever if you'll give a complete dumbo some trailer advice?
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defiantly check the chassis. my first mistake was checking everything BUT it and (thankfully without the horse in it) the wheel and part of the chassis fell off!!

just check history and ensure you have someone who knows what their looking for with you. spend your money wisely!!
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Floor.
I bought a 4 yr old IW years ago and thought how nice of the the seller as they had jet washed it all. I realised months later when I took it for a service that it was rotten!. Needed new floor and new sides. The jet washing covered up the fact that the floor was wet all round the sides. It was dark when we viewed it and not ideal conditions, ie in a muddy field.
 
Take a torch and wear old clothes.

Shine torch in behind wheels, looking for any rust.

Shimmy under chassis and use torch to look for any rust etc. An old trailer won't look brand new, but it should all be pretty sound.

If it's an ifor you should be able to lift up the rubber and check underneath it for any signs of the floor rotting. Pay particular attention to the bits at the front where the horse's front feet are - this is a common place for floor to rot as it's in contact with the chassis, ditto round the edges of the floor. This is a relatively expensive thing to replace, been a while since I priced one, but think a new ally floor is at least £500 - £700 fitted.

Not sure who you phone, but if you get the id number off the front plate you should be able to check with IW whether or not it's been reported stolen.

Check electrics etc, but this is usually more of a haggling point, than big issue. Assuming it's an ifor (don't know about other trailers) but don't worry too much about stiff jockey wheels, you can buy a replacement quite cheaply from an ifor dealer.

Check tyres for wear, but again these shouldn't be a deal breaker.
 
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