Do you charge a 'use fee' for trailer-pooling?

[mvp]

[QUOTE=tinyrider;8259065]

But now I’m not sure what to tell my trainer when she inevitably asks why we are not trailer pooling. Should I be honest, or is a little white lie better in this situation (eg, I just decided my pony would be more comfortable in his own trailer)?[/QUOTE]

Yes, you should be honest. That’s not snarky (at least on your end). Chances are that trainer didn’t imagine the Use Fee thing, either. Don’t ask the trainer to do anything about it or even to have an opinion. Just let her know what her other client offered and that you declined and leave it at that. The wheels will turn in her head as they will. Maybe she’ll have a word with that client.

ETA: If you tell a white lie about why you declined, you are effectively protecting Use Fee Girl from some consequences (her trainer perhaps thinking she’s a jerk)… of her treating you badly. Why would you do that? Don’t make it happen, but don’t protect her either, she chose her course of action.

[SnicklefritzG]

OP, just tell the truth. You can tell your trainer that the other person wanted to charge a use fee and that you feel it would impact her commercial vs. non-commercial status and liability, etc. But you would have been happy to share gas.
Then you can say that the associated logistics would make it easier for you to just go by yourself.

[QUOTE=tinyrider;8259065]
Thanks for the opinions. I’m glad to hear that others feel her ‘use fee’ is a bit unusual. It did occur to me this morning that perhaps she is unaware that I have my own trailer, and that she isn’t doing me any favors by hauling my pony for me. Regardless, I cannot think of a way to broach the topic with her without sounding snarky about it, so I think I will just politely decline her offer.

But now I’m not sure what to tell my trainer when she inevitably asks why we are not trailer pooling. Should I be honest, or is a little white lie better in this situation (eg, I just decided my pony would be more comfortable in his own trailer)?[/QUOTE]

[trubandloki]

[QUOTE=SnicklefritzG;8259119]
OP, just tell the truth. You can tell your trainer that the other person wanted to charge a use fee and that you feel it would impact her commercial vs. non-commercial status and liability, etc. But you would have been happy to share gas.
Then you can say that the associated logistics would make it easier for you to just go by yourself.[/QUOTE]

I agree with this. No reason to not be honest or get snarky about it.

[Simba27]

[QUOTE=mvp;8259112]
Given what it costs to purchase and maintain my truck and trailer… distributed among the few times I haul horses, I can imagine that it costs me more than $50 to put a horse in a stall next to the one I’m using to haul my horse. That’s if I wanted to be a profit-making accountant about it.

So yeah, the OP’s friend is perhaps logically within bounds. But it still strikes me as a bit rude to ask someone who has a rig and would be riding along with you just to save you some gas money to pay for more than that. After all, she has her own rig to pay for and maintain. And although the OP’s friend’s big horse might not fit well in the OP’s trailer, I could see how some day in some emergency, the OP’s friend/horse might desperately need a haul. And then what kind of formal fee and contract is going to be involved.

Seriously friends, we get to lie in the beds we make for ourselves. I really like to err (just a tad) on the side of generosity when I’m first doing business with someone local to me. If it goes bad, I haven’t lost much but I did learn a lesson. But if you start out pissy, you burn that bridge. I guess not everyone knows that.[/QUOTE]

Hmm. I purchase and maintain my truck and trailer for my own use, so that cost is negligible because I’d be spending that money anyway. I save money by splitting gas when I haul someone to the same location. I also assume theyd bring their own hay so I wouldn’t even be paying for that. I don’t charge my friends a “use fee” when I let them carpool with me to offset the costs of maintaining my car. Just my two cents

[SomedaySoon]

[QUOTE=tinyrider;8259065]
But now I’m not sure what to tell my trainer when she inevitably asks why we are not trailer pooling. Should I be honest, or is a little white lie better in this situation (eg, I just decided my pony would be more comfortable in his own trailer)?[/QUOTE]

Tell her the truth–it isn’t really more convenient and the other person wanted $50 on top of it. She should know so she doesn’t suggest it to someone else with their own trailer again.

[arapaloosa_lady]

I would stay vague: “after discussing the details, boarder 2 and I decided it would make more sense to travel separately.”

I would be surprised if your trainer actually cares why two people decide not to carpool together.

I find it a huge PITA to drive others in my car. They’re never ready on time. They spill crumbs on my seats. I can’t leave when I want to. So, I just solve it by refusing to drive most people, even where it makes more theoretical sense to carpool. I would suspect the other boarder is similar to me, but just adds a fee instead of flatly refusing.

[BuddyRoo]

I don’t have a rig at this point in my life and am always happy to pay if someone is willing to haul my horse. I at least plan to pay for gas (100%).

But your situation is different. You HAVE your own rig. I wouldn’t have even considered trailer pooling if I were in your shoes. But then again, I hate begin on someone else’s schedule and like to have an out if I want to leave.

As for what to tell trainer, I think honesty is the best policy. “I contacted boarder and she charges $50 plus gas, so it doesn’t really make sense for me given that I have my own rig. It was a good thought though.”

[candyappy]

[QUOTE=tinyrider;8259065]

But now I’m not sure what to tell my trainer when she inevitably asks why we are not trailer pooling?[/QUOTE]

The truth. As you should tell the other lady.

[AppendixQHLover]

This is a slippery slope at times. Normally I ask for 50/50 on gas and consider myself lucky if I get that. People who don’t have trailer don’t understand that when my trailer is fully loaded my diesel will suck gas down like it is a Gatorade and diesel is more expensive. They crab about how much it costs. The next time someone asks I will say 50/50 and keep all my receipts so they can see what the gas actually costs and their previous payments haven’t even been close to half.

When my truck was stolen I had to pay a shipper to send my horse to FL. I gladly paid my portion because I knew there was no way that I could find someone else to do it for that cost and if I did it would cost me more in gas.

[cutter99]

Tell your trainer the truth if she asks.

[SuckerForHorses]

Tell trainer and other girl that you declined because you have your own trailer and truck and its less cost to you to use your own because of the “use fee” that the other girl was going to charge.

[SuckerForHorses]

And no, I don’t charge a “use fee” - anybody that has trailerpooled with me in my trailer has offered to pay for some gas. Not necessarily half, but something, because I was going from point A to point B anyways, so its not like I’m using that much more gas to add another horse.

If I had to go out of my way to haul the other horse somewhere, I would expect at least money to cover my gas even if I was hauling a friend’s horse.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=Simba27;8259374]
Hmm. I purchase and maintain my truck and trailer for my own use, so that cost is negligible because I’d be spending that money anyway. I save money by splitting gas when I haul someone to the same location. I also assume theyd bring their own hay so I wouldn’t even be paying for that. I don’t charge my friends a “use fee” when I let them carpool with me to offset the costs of maintaining my car. Just my two cents[/QUOTE]

Hehe. Yes, I’d spend the money on my own rig so that’s a sunk cost. Unless! I could get my friends to tie up their capital in machinery and then let me use it for an “at cost” thing that was limited to fuel!

I believe Practical Horseman did the math on this a while ago and found that it almost never pencils out to own your own rig for pleasure.

[shakeytails]

Weird. I’d drive myself in that situation.

More than once I’ve trailered a friend’s horse to a show so she didn’t have to drive her big 4H trailer all the way from her house to the barn (over an hour) go to the show (usually another hour or so) then back to the barn and home again. I lived a whole lot closer. But my horse also rode on her trailer a time or two for free as well. No fuel money even changed hands.

[North_Dakota]

Definitely drive yourself.

I have a truck and trailer, and I hate on the rare occasion that I ship with someone else. Besides the insurance etc. I have my trailer packed just so, and hate having to move things to someone else’s trailer. So annoying.

When I’ve brought others horses in the past we usually just split diesel since I’m going anyways. I won’t let a horse on my trailer that I don’t know it’s trailering behaviour and history. If it kicks/paws/anything else naughty it is not welcome on my trailer.

[simc24]

I think she wants to haul alone for some reason or another and this is her way of getting out of it.

[Wonders12]

To barn mate: “Oh, trainer suggested carpooling to save us both some gas money. With the use fee, it’ll be cheaper for me to just take my own rig, so I’m going to do that instead. Thanks for offering to drive though. See you there!” Insert, “You’re welcome to catch a ride in my trailer and split gas if you’d like.” If you to.

To trainer: If she asks. “I didn’t realize Person wanted a $50 fee for trailering Pony. Splitting the gas costs would have helped us both out, but I wasn’t prepared to pay half the gas AND the $50 fee. So I decided to trailer Pony myself instead.”

Short. Simple. To the point so both know why you chose not to carpool. But no drama.

[TriplePlay]

If traveling in someone else’s rig, I’ve always thought it fair to pay all of the fuel costs. They pay for the wear and tear on the vehicles, so it just seemed fair. Now, if we alternated vehicles, or were going a really short distance, I probably wouldn’t do anything other than buy coffee and lunch or some such thing.

Also remember, the rig’s owner usually does most of the driving, so I see that as a favor to me - I get to relax for the ride.

[TriplePlay]

Oh, and back to the original question. I think that it sounds as though she doesn’t really want to do it.

[red_mares]

[QUOTE=spacytracy;8258643]
I feel like a " use fee" would make more sense when you’re hauling for someone without a trailer, to a location of their choosing.
Not so much when the ppl are going to the same place. It’s supposed to make it cheaper and more convenient, not costlier and a pain![/QUOTE]

Why does it make any difference if you’re hauling someone who owns their trailer? It’s the same for the hauler either way.