what to ask/look out for when looking at trailer

texansunrise

texansunrise

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Please could you give me some advice what to look for / ask when looking at a trailer?

Im looking at a 5 year old ifor williams hunter trailer this saturday , as its my first trailer i would like all the advice i can get!!

Thankyou in advance x x
 
At 5 year old it should be sound. Ask them if they have had it serviced and have any paperwork to back up.
Have they got the original paperwork, do the numbers match up on the paperwork and chassis. There should also be a date plate on it so you can check how old it is.
It will be data tagged, ask them if they have the paerwork for that. I managed to lose mine but sold the trailer anyway!
How much are they asking? It might be worth trying to negotiate but they do sell well.
Good luck!
 
it was last serviced 18 months ago - ( im not sure how often trailers need servicing??) but has full service history.
It has new tyres inc spare and wheel clamps etc.
IThey are asking £2000 which i thought sounded reasonable..is this a fair price?

I was tipped off by my instructor as she knew i was looking for a larger trailer and they seem to be hard to come by this way x

Thanks for the great advice :)
 
Sounds a fair price to me. Is the floor aluminium or wood? I would have thought 5 years old it is aluminium - if not ask if it is the original. Ask if it has been involved in any accidents - if it has check the chassis. Make sure the ramp isn't twisted - ie does it lay flat when put down.

You can tell a lot by general inspection ie the condition of the paintwork, look at the electrics - are the wires covered and the lights clean (ie not filled with water).

Check that all doors and catches close properly.

If it's all fine I think you have a bargain.
 
Before you make a wasted journey, ring the sellers and ask for the chasis number. Then ring Ifor Williams and ask them to do a check to insure that it's not stolen. We did this for every IW we were due to view. Good job too as one turned out to be stolen (the sellers had owned it for years and didn't even know - they had bought it in good faith). It may save you a wasted journey and can prevent you losing your trailer straight over to the Police when you eventually come to sell it on and someone else asks for the chasis number which you hadn't previously checked.
 
That is a brill price if everything is as they say! Agree with checking the chassis number too though, they are very stealable.
Is it the 505 or 510? As far as I am aware they don't make the Hunter anymore.
I sold mine (same age but was last summer so only 4 years old then!) for £2650 including a tack pack.
 
That's quite a good price for a 5yo IW505. A dealer would offer £2200 - £2300.

These trailers are hardy trailers, so it should look really good inside & out.

Ok starting from the front. Make sure that the hitch key turns easily & you get both keys from them. The lock should have a little plastic cap. If it doesn't, WD 40 should sort it and keys are only a few pounds. DONT order them from IW. use a regular keycutter or mail order from Fastkeys.

Operate the handbrake a few times, shouldn't be sticky or grindy. But should be left off, with the wheels chocked to prevent the brakes binding. with the handbrake off and the wheels free, you should easily be able to 'rock' the trailer back and fore by hand to check the brakes aren't binding.

Electic cables should be the boingy variety and have a clean plug on the end that goes into your car. look out for green corrosion on the points which might interfere with your electrics. They aren't dear to replace, but may indicate that they haven't been looked after well.

Emergency brake cable should be in good condition.

Jockey wheel should operate easily with one hand and there should be a chain to secure the handle, but these chains are easy to replace if it's missing.

If it's been serviced 18 months ago, the damper should still be well lubricated Check that the grease nipples on the top of the a frame aren't dry and that if you lean again the hitch head, it will push in very slowly against your weight, (it's quite tough) and very slowly expand again when you let go. If this isn't the case, it's easy to sort with a grease gun, but may indicate poor servicing/maintainance.

Floor. should be ribbed matting, running from front to the back of the trailer, all one piece. At that age the matting should be in good condition and it should have a good shiny aluminium floor underneath, but you should still look at it. Check the mats for signs of damage and you can either flip up the front and back of the mat as far as the mat retaining bolts will allow to get a general idea of the state of the floor. Or you could ask them to remove the clips (from underneath the trailer, take out the split pins then remove the bolts) and look at the floor properly, but at that age, it shouldn't be corrosion to worry about, it'll be damage, so your mats and general conditiion of the inside of the trailer will give you a good idea of whether you need to worry.

Ifor trailers are hardy. At 5yo, the inside should be in very good condition. all the bars and padding and partition should be the same colour as the body of the trailer, (if not, could indicate that the trailer may have been resprayed at some stage (stolen). Look out for scrapes and kick marks on the sides at the back. Lift and replace all the breeching/breast bars and make sure they aren't bent and should lock into place easily. If they don't then something has been buckled at some stage. All the fastners should be there on chains. If they aren't, they are cheap to replace, but again tells you it has or hasn't been looked after.

Ramps should lift and close easily, with one hand. If they are heavy the springs haven't been looked after. If they are squint, then somethings been buckled quite badly possibly indicating structural damage. Check none of the fastening hooks are bent and they all have their original pins on chains. They are only a few pound and easy to replace. But they shold be fine at that age. Open all the ramps and top doors and make sure they fold back onto their fixings properly and haven't dropped. they can be a pain to fasten if they have.

Body work of the trailer - allow for the odd bit of faded paint or scratch from passing trees or horses being tied up with haynets etc, but there should be nothing too noticable - look out for cracks or dings.

Check the walls of the tyres for any signs of cracking, which is the rubber perishing. check the treads all match, which they should if they are the original tyres, they could be different if some have been replaced, but the tread should run in the same direction. Don't mix cross with radial treads.

Check the pressures in tyres & the lights all work before you drive of with it.

Before you go to see it, phone IW with the serial number. They'll tell you immediately if the trailer has been reported stolen and they will verify the age for you. If you purchase it make sure you give Ifor williams & datatag your details.

Ask for the paper work, in particular the user manual. You can get IW to send you a copy if they don't have it.

Trailers, should ideally be serviced annually depending on how much they are used. Definately every 18months, wouldn't leave it longer than 2 years.

Good Luck!. Hope it's a good one.
 
thankyou so much for all of your replies..il go in with my eyes and ears open with a long list of questions to fire at them now :D fingers crossed. Thankyou that has really helped me, very much appreciated. x
 
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