I am buying a two horse bumper pull on Monday. It is the trailer that has been used by my trainer/barn owner since I have known her (4+ yrs). I am buying it because it is a great deal & It can’t hurt to have your own trailer & I know it will help out my trainer / barn owner. So I have always paid regular trailering fees to my trainer when she trailers my horse anywhere. I want to let my trainer continue to use it as if it was hers and take her lesson students to shows, but I feel I need some compensation since I am now paying insurance etc. So what do I charge? There will more than likely be many times when I do not even go to the show. So what do I charge her for using my trailer? I was thinking half of what she charges the clients being trailered. Suggestions and advise please!?!
Be very careful. You may need a very different and much more expensive insurance if you are involved in commercial trailering in any way v
If you accept payment other than a portion of the gas, it makes you a commercial hauler. You don’t want to go there! Would need special insurance, commercial plates, keep a log, etc.
Talk to your insurance agent about it. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
If you charge her half, after she puts gas in the truck she gets $0.
Second talking to your insurance agent first.
After that, I’d try to calculate out a per mile cost of maintenance and wear and tear to use as a rough guide to set your price - you want to get enough to cover things like more frequent maintenance work that may be required due to the miles the trainer is putting on it, plus increased insurance costs to you.
Finally, if come up with a document to be signed by both parties outlining expectations (like is it to be returned cleaned? Is there anything she can’t do with it she might ordinarily want to do?) and what happens if the trailer is damaged during use, etc. (Don’t forget to include what happens if she has ‘booked’ the trailer and you end up accidentally making it unusable right before she needs it so she has to scramble for last minute transport or miss a show, etc. You don’t want to find out when that kind of thing happens that she expects you to pick up the tab for the expenses of missing the show.)
[QUOTE=Bogie;7812271]
If you accept payment other than a portion of the gas, it makes you a commercial hauler. You don’t want to go there! Would need special insurance, commercial plates, keep a log, etc.
Talk to your insurance agent about it. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.[/QUOTE]
I would need to do actual research on this, but I’m not sure that merely letting someone else use your trailer (even for a fee) makes you a hauler.
Someone else is doing the hauling.
Also, I think that insurance for the trailer goes with the vehicle that is hauling it. For example, I have no insurance on my trailer. Liability goes with the truck, and I don’t have collision on it bc I only bought it for $2k in the first place.
While a lovely thought, why buy something for the purpose of other’s using it, especially if you don’t have that much need for one? Not trying to say it isn’t a nice thing to do but too many of these situations end up going South and relationships get ruined. If the trainer/barn owner needs a trailer that often, why isn’t she buying it? Have a good contract written up and explain the use and cost upfront. What about the student’s horses she is hauling, who will be responsible if one of them kicks and damages your trailer? Get your insurance situation worked out before hand, make sure you and everyone using the trailer is clear on who is responsible for payout should a horse be injured or worse, the trailer damaged or the trailer damages another vehicle. Make sure your insurance company is on board and if the trainer is using her insurance make sure you have a copy. Do frequent inspections to check for damage and wear and tear.
[QUOTE=meupatdoes;7812402]
I would need to do actual research on this, but I’m not sure that merely letting someone else use your trailer (even for a fee) makes you a hauler.
Someone else is doing the hauling.
Also, I think that insurance for the trailer goes with the vehicle that is hauling it. For example, I have no insurance on my trailer. Liability goes with the truck, and I don’t have collision on it bc I only bought it for $2k in the first place.[/QUOTE]
Right, but the OP will now be providing a service (trailer rental) and needs the proper insurance to go along with that. God forbid a tire blow, chains break, a horse kicks through the ramp, etc, etc, etc. This is not the same as just being a nice person and lending it out to someone.
UHaul has pretty extensive insurance coverage on their trailers. My local tack shop rents trailers ($100/day) and has some hefty insurance to go along with them as well. There is a reason that horse trailers for rent are not an easier thing to find.
So who owns the trailer now it she has been using it regularly?
Basically if you are regularly getting payment for use of your trailer you are hiring it out and it is a commercial vehicle and needs to be licensed and insured as such.
This seems like a bad deal in so many ways. Your trainer needs to get her own trailer not rely on having clients who will let her use theirs like her own. I think you’d be better off just buying her a trailer as a gift.
[QUOTE=js;7812449]
Have a good contract written up and explain the use and cost upfront. What about the student’s horses she is hauling, who will be responsible if one of them kicks and damages your trailer? Get your insurance situation worked out before hand, make sure you and everyone using the trailer is clear on who is responsible for payout should a horse be injured or worse, the trailer damaged or the trailer damages another vehicle. Make sure your insurance company is on board and if the trainer is using her insurance make sure you have a copy. Do frequent inspections to check for damage and wear and tear.[/QUOTE]
Contracts are such lovely ideas in some cases.
I would talk to your insurance agent and be very clear who would be responsible in the event of a catastrophic crash involving truck, trailer, and occupants.
If there is a catastrophe, all the insurance companies will be pointing fingers and looking to make the “other” person pay regardless of what the actual involved parties would like.
If a student’s fancy horse is killed, they may choose to file a civil suit to collect damaged and all parties may be named. Do you want to be on that list?
[QUOTE=Paks;7812473]
So who owns the trailer now it she has been using it regularly?
Basically if you are regularly getting payment for use of your trailer you are hiring it out and it is a commercial vehicle and needs to be licensed and insured as such.
This seems like a bad deal in so many ways. Your trainer needs to get her own trailer not rely on having clients who will let her use theirs like her own. I think you’d be better off just buying her a trailer as a gift.[/QUOTE]
Agreed completely.
OP, I don’t know you from Adam but I do know a thing or two about setting yourself up to get screwed in the name of “being a nice person” or “helping out a friend”. I am a veritable expert on the topic, ask me how I know :no:
You are setting yourself up to get screwed. Even if your trainer is the nicest person on the planet, the BO has achieved sainthood and the other students don’t even know how to spell the word “lawsuit”, this situation is STILL so unstable that you’re gonna get screwed in the end.
Occasionally, my trainer uses my trailer as it’s bigger and has a nice sized dressing room. I don’t charge her anything, but to date it’s been just her horse or hers and mine to a show I’m not attending.
Agree with others about this being an invitation for trouble on multiple levels.
If I was going to do something like this, I would charge whatever your BO charged for hauls when she owned the trailer, if that meant you broke even w/ insurance, etc etc.
just seems like a mess.
Simple…do not ever loan your trailer. The trainer should have a trailer of her own or not sell the one she has. No good deed goes unpunished…do not loan it…ever!
[QUOTE=Trakehner;7812974]
Simple…do not ever loan your trailer. The trainer should have a trailer of her own or not sell the one she has. No good deed goes unpunished…do not loan it…ever![/QUOTE]
^This. I never loan my trailer out - I don’t care who it’s for. Insurance nightmare if something goes wrong. I won’t even trailer other people’s horses - ever.
This has trainwreck written all over it.
Maybe she can give you a break on your training or board? Kind of agree with everyone here. You could be getting into a tricky situation.
[QUOTE=meupatdoes;7812402]
I would need to do actual research on this, but I’m not sure that merely letting someone else use your trailer (even for a fee) makes you a hauler.
Someone else is doing the hauling.
Also, I think that insurance for the trailer goes with the vehicle that is hauling it. For example, I have no insurance on my trailer. Liability goes with the truck, and I don’t have collision on it bc I only bought it for $2k in the first place.[/QUOTE]
The only way to know for sure is to check with an insurance agent. My guess is that if the OP is charging for the use of the trailer, then by earning money from it, she tips over into commercial use.
However, if there was an accident and damages, you can bet your life that the OP would be on the list of people to get sued.
What people have to remember is it’s the insurance agents that are looking for someone to recover the money from. It doesn’t matter if the Trainer is the nicest person in the world, or if the student she’s hauling is a sweet heart. They are going to be looking at the OWNER of the trailer.
Don’t do it!
long story short the trailer was the property of the barn owner. He is no longer in horses as his daughter is in college now. So he is selling the trailer. I bought it. Trainer did not buy it as she wants to get a 3 horse trailer and money is a little tight for her I’m sure as she is adding more stalls to the barn and putting up arena lights for me so I can ride at night, she just totalled her truck and she is 8 months pregnant. I’m already aware of the insurance issues as I have already gotten that worked out with my insurance company. I am not considered a hauler! There will be contracts in place!
Will you also have a personal umbrella policy to cover yourself in the event there is a major problem and others sue you in a civil suit (regardless of contracts being in place)?
