Thinking of Buying a Horse Trailer? Three Things You Should Check First

 

So you’ve decided it’s time. You are tired of borrowing your friend’s horse trailer, you now have a vehicle designed to pull a trailer, and it’s time to go shopping. But not so fast. Before you plunk down that savings on a new ride for your beloved beast, here are three things you should check first.

 

The Floor. When we shop for horse trailers, we tend to think in numbers. How many horses will it hold? How tall is it? How wide is it? What does it weigh? And while these things are important, they can also blind us to a more important, and limiting, factor – the floor. You see, if the floor is bad, it no longer matters how many horses the trailer will hold (I’d say zero), what it weighs, or how tall it is. It is not a safe trailer. I repeat, if the floor is bad, the trailer is not safe. So how do you check the floor? You grab those mats, pull them up, and give it a look. Or better yet, pull the mats all the way out and inspect every inch of the floor. Look for any signs of wear, such as cracks, rust, or loose joints. Unless the floor looks perfect, have the trailer inspected by a professional. Replacing a floor on a trailer can be cost prohibitive and may make the purchase price of the trailer out of range. On the other hand, you can negotiate the price to account for the needed floor replacement. In either case, this is information you should know before you buy the trailer.

 

The Frame. Just like the floor, the frame of a trailer is often overlooked. Instead, we see the shiny new looking trailer, and figure it must be well cared for. Again, not so fast. The frame, after all, is what holds all that shiny stuff together – and more importantly, holds it up. So where should you be checking the frame? Really everywhere, but the most important place is under the trailer. So grab your kid’s skateboard, hop on your back, and slide under there. Check for any signs of wear such as cracks, rust, moisture damage (urine can wreak havoc on a steel frame), or loose screws and joints. If you see anything that looks suspect, insist on a professional inspection – before you buy the trailer. Because if the frame under the trailer has wear, additional stress is put on the floor of the trailer, which then leads to additional damage. All things that you should know before you buy.

 

The Wiring. You know the lights work because you checked them. But chances are, that’s as far as you went. What is much more important to check than the lights is the wiring. Why? Because loose or frayed wiring is a hazard. Wiring carries an electrical current, and last time I checked, your horse should not be carrying one also. But if the wiring inside your trailer is damaged and it’s near your horse, this is a risk I’m sure you’d rather not take. And I haven’t even mentioned the cost of repairing bad wiring. Fixing a trailer’s wiring, because it runs throughout the entire trailer takes a lot of labor – that is usually not cheap. So again, before you get excited about finding the perfect trailer, take a moment and look at the wiring (it usually runs along the top and sides of the trailer). Check for frayed or exposed wires, or any signs of damage to the wiring. Again, if you see anything that looks suspect, have the trailer inspected by a professional before you buy.

 

 

This article is brought to you by Trailerman, a trailer repair company in Davie, Florida that specializes in expert welding, trailer repair and routine maintenance.