The Economics of Horse Trailers
January 21st, 2007 by COD
When I first started thinking about horse trailers last year, I made a very naive assumption. Based on somebody showing me their 2 horse trailer that they bought new last year for $8000 (heavily discounted), I figured $3000 would get me a lightly used 2 horse bumper pull trailer.
I was wrong, very wrong.
I was assuming horse trailers were like RVs. People buy them, use them a few times a year for a few years, then move on. It doesn’t work that way. People seem to hang onto their smaller horse trailers forever. Even if they upgrade to a larger trailer, they hang on to the smaller one because they won’t always want to haul out the 4 horse beast with full living quarters. $3000 actually gets me a used 15-20 year old trailer that is lacking in many ways. I asked several dealers yesterday about the availability of used and they all told me the same thing. On the rare occasion they get a good used 2 horse trailer on the lot, it doesn’t last a week.
So it looks like I’m buying new. I also figured out yesterday how people afford those huge trailers with living quarters. They standard financing term is 10-12 years, so a $60,000 horse trailer ends up costing you $450 a month, for the rest of your life. My first house cost $60K.
We’ll own a horse trailer next weekend. I’ve found a new one I can afford nearby and we are going to look at it next weekend with the intention of bringing it home. There was a similar model at the horse expo yesterday and it will meet our needs for at least the next few years. If we outgrow it, I know I’ll be able to resell it.
Update: We bought a 2007 Miley 2 horse slant load trailer.
10 Responses to “The Economics of Horse Trailers”
My first trailer was “free”, ha ha ha ha ha. “Here, you can have this old one in our pasture, works fine”. $1200 for a new floor and a bunch of work to the undercarriage later, that free trailer was still ugly but it worked. My next trailer was slightly better – $3000 for a 4 horse stock trailer with swinging panels that made it all open, or 4 stalls. No tack room though. That one worked for a good long while, until my crew of fair charges grew and I was hauling 20 goats, 20 sheep, and someone’s market hog or steer. Now I have a gooseneck livestock hauler, with a tack room big enough to be living quarters, and air conditioning for the livestock area… don’t ask how much that one was. But you know, the other two ARE still parked next to the barn.. just in case.
So? Does it have living quarters? Or will your wife be driving the camper? I think I TOLD YOU you’d need a bigger truck…. Have them put a rack on the top, it’s great for water tank storage or for hay.
It’s got a dressing room that Delaney could throw a sleeping bag in. Does that count?
Somewhere, not sure, I’ll have to look again, I saw these cool canopy/tent things that attach to the door on your tack room and make a room big enough to camp several people. You’re going to need something, trust me. Eating “fair food” and driving back and forth to successive day shows gets old after a summer or.. after the first summer.
I still have the $1,000 two-horse trailer my husband bought me for my birthday not long after we were married — 25 years ago. We painted it right after we got it, and it has been revamped (new floor, new hinges on the ramp/door, wheel bearings re-done, new paint again etc.) twice since then – and it is on permanent loan to a friend of mine who has taken care of the revamping and maintenance in return for not having to buy a trailer.
Ours came from near the race track in Charles Town West Virginia. I have heard that you can sometimes pick them up used around a race track more reasonably than most other places, but I don’t have any recent first-hand experience.
Good luck with the purchase.
Have you considered eBay?
http://sporting-goods.listings.....ngItemList
I wouldn’t buy a used trailer sight unseen, which makes Ebay difficult. Also, the listings sort of prove my point. 20+ year old trailers are selling for $2000+, and it’s likely many of them will need another $1000 in work to replace the floors, etc.
Ohh!! That is such disapointing news. I am like you Chris. I thought I could get a decent one for $3000. I suppose if I shop around I might be able to find that great deal on a used trailer. I can also probably expect to pay for repairs. Thanks for joining the Horse Lovers Blog Carnival.
[...] Chris ODonnell presents The Economics of Horse Trailers posted at ODonnellWeb. – Very interesting post about buying used horse trailers. [...]
Where were you when I needed you?? I would have loved to be able to pass this information on to my friend, Chris, when she was fighting with an insurance company. Their old Miley which they had just completely gone through, repainted complete with clear coat, new tires, chrome rims etc was totaled in an accident (mare and foal came out fine) had a terrible time getting the insurance company to pay them what the trailer dealers were telling them the trailer was really worth. They never did get their money out of it and they couldn’t replace it for the money they did get. So when you are buying one of those old trailers and fixing it up, just know your insurance company doesn’t care!
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