A fellow boarder and I are considering buying a two horse trailer. I have the cash to own it. Her hubby has the truck and experience hauling large construction trailers. (We know there is a learning curve for hauling horses!)
We are looking for something basic for two horses under 16h for local travel in CT,
So how old is too old? Need to check wiring, tires, floors, brakes? Any other tips or cautions for this uncharted territory?
Iâm going to be the debbie-downer here and suggest you donât buy a trailer with a fellow boarder. I understand you will own it and her husband will be the one towing it, but here are a couple scenariosâŠ
What happens when boarders husband crashes the trailer? This is obviously a worst case scenario, but things happen. Will your collision insurance cover someone else towing it?
What happens when you want to go somewhere but boarders husband doesnât want to tow? Youâre at the mercy of every time you want to go somewhere, you have to coordinate with someone elseâs spouse.
What if you have a falling out with fellow boarder? Now you have a trailer but no way of moving it. Or even if you donât have a falling out with the boarder, what if her (or you) switch barns? Now sharing the trailer becomes more of a hassle when you have two pick up/drop off barns.
I think the benefits of owning a trailer are incredible. The freedom to be able to go wherever you want when you want is nice. In an emergency, you donât have to scramble to find someone to tow you.
Iâm not saying donât buy a trailer, but Iâm saying also buy a vehicle to tow it with and then get comfortable with towing it yourself. Seriously, it seems like a daunting task to pull your horses around but if you have a sound truck and trailer, and practise towing it, youâll find itâs not that big of a deal most cases.
Signed, an adult ammy who tows her own horses with her own rig. 
I was 22 when I jumped into hauling my own horse.
I read that differently, as co-owners who plan on learning to haul a trailer & benefit from the husbandâs knowledge for maintenance & maybe teaching them to tow.
If thatâs the case, please draw up a contract that specifies what happens if 1 wants out, who pays for maintenance & how often trailer is available to each partner.
Iâve had straightload, GN (slant) & stock trailers (all aluminum)& for my purposes the stock works best. BP is my hitch of choice - see below 
.
16â, center gate means I can haul my Driving miniâs cart(s - Iâve had 2 in there) in front of the gate & him behind.
In a pinch all 3 - 16h horse, 13h pony & mini -could be loaded.
No ramp as I prefer stepup so no added hydraulics to mess with & no godawful heavy ramp. Bonus is horses automatically lower their heads to get in (mini jumps in 
), so no bonked heads.
I did not prefer the GNs, found them no easier to back & hated having to crawl in & out of the truck bed to hitch.
My 1st trailer, the straightload BP, was a dealership demo - so new, others bought in the mid-2000s were all late 70s models.
While I think c0608524 makes solid, valid points that you should consider, I will throw in that as a kid my parents had a similar arrangement with a fellow pony addictâs parents. We shared that trailer for 8-9 years and at the end of that time frame (we both went off to college and I kept my horse addiction but she did not) my friendsâ parents gave my parents their half of what the trailer was valued at that time. The only real difference in our arrangement was that both families had their own towing vehicle.
If you do decide to move forward with getting a trailer, I would also take a ride in it without horses of course to give you a better idea of how it hauls and as important how âsolidâ or not it is in the back/horse area. It would also be wise imo to have a plan on how, over time, you plan to acquire your own towing vehicle, work out ahead of time how to decide who gets the trailer if there are conflicts in regards to plans of use, and address insurance coverage before hand - put it all in writing. Thatâs what my parents did and when the other parent had a collision (was hauling photography equipment and no horses) they paid for the repairs. Because I didnât always board or if I boarded it was just one horse (rest at home) we kept the trailer at my friendsâ house. It worked best that way because her father used the trailer for work (he was a professional photographer). Crap does happen but fortunately my parents and her parents were reasonable people and shared the challenge of raising horse crazy girls. Both Dads were intent on keeping us focused on horses over boys 
I love this! And you arenât wrong - when things go well itâs an awesome way to split expenses.
I shared a trailer with two others for years. It worked well, we all understood the parameters of use. We each had our own towing vehicles. When we wanted out the others bought out the person for current value.
While I wouldnât be thrilled with this arrangementâŠ
Iâd say that 15 years is max that I would buy used. I know lots of people have plenty fine trailers older than that, but I just wouldnât trust that I would be able to dot all my 'iâs and cross all my 'tâs.
I would not buy the following brands, at all, full stop: Kieffer Built, Sundowner, Shadow. Theyâre all pieces of garbage. Sundowner had the frame issues that they dodged liability on, Kieffer Builts are light built and not in the good way (doors have fallen off, gone untrue, been warped by a horse on every single one I know of), Shadow is cheap for a reason.
That said, I wouldnât be looking at any newer 4-Stars either, as their quality isnât what it used to be for the price theyâre asking.
Hawks and similar tend to retain their value, and you arenât paying for a flashy name.
If your horses are big or youâre going to be hauling really far, youâre looking at straight loads. Get one that allows you to slant the divider over and have a wide open back opening - that could be a removeable back center bar, or it could be a ramp over doors, or it could be a ramp with dutch doors (least fav).
If your horses are normal sized and you arenât hauling too far, slant loads are fine. A lot of horses prefer loading in slant loads, it just feels more open.
Doors - strongly prefer cam latch (latches top and bottom) versus the center paddle closure. A committed horse will kick the paddle latched door out of whack (seen it multiple times, 3x on cheap Kieffer trailers).
Windows - slats or windows, both are fine. Windows, check that the screens are intact. Not a big deal to replace, but a bit of a PITA. Slats you can cover some of them for the wintertime. Less moving parts = less crap to break.
Ventilation - I would want roof vents in the horse area, I feel they make a big difference
Dressing/tack room - not necessary but man does it make life easier to have that stuff in its own compartment.
Material - if youâre just looking at a 2-3 horse and you have sufficient truck to pull it, either steel, steel/aluminum, or aluminum is fine. For aluminum, make SURE you pull the mats and have someone under the trailer shining a light to check for holes in the floor. It is a way bigger $$ to replace an aluminum floor than it is to replace/repair a wood one.
Thatâs all I can think of for now. Keep in mind that older aluminum or aluminum skin trailers may look âprettierâ but the proof is in the structure. Just because they look nice doesnât mean theyâre sound.
I read this as-
I am planning to buy a trailer but do not own a tow vehicle. I will own the trailer.
A fellow boarder with a truck will supply the towing.
And, since I am planning to buy a trailer, what are the critical things I need to know when trailer shopping?
Right or wrong interpretation?
How the trailer has been stored is as important as how old the trailer is. If the trailer has been under a shed or in a barn, the condition will be so much better than a trailer left out in the rain (in a wet climate). You might have some dry rot in the tires but very little deterioration in the body of the trailer. So age is not an absolute.
I would never do this. Itâs all great until it isnât. There are so many ways this could go wrong.
The big horse trailer dealer here in Aiken will not repair any horse trailer tire over 5 years old, no matter how much tire tread there is. Itâs time for a new tire. For the safety of my horses and my own peace of mind, my trailer tires get replaced every 5 years too. So I advise you to factor a new set of tires into the trailer price if the ones on it are older. The spare tire as well, so 5 new trailer tires.
Thanks for the info and insight.
Yes, I would buy the trailer and friends hubby (and eventually friend) would haul it. I am old and retired and have no intention of now learning to haul and buying a truck that wouldnt fit in my garage! 
We are looking at older basic 2 horse bumper pull trailers. I am comfortable writing off the cost of the trailer if there are problems. Good point about the insurance - will have to investigate that.
The plan is to haul to shows within 30 miles as well as trails and events within a similar radius. This came up because the BO now only has a huge 4 horse gooseneck and is limited in the times she can be away from the barn.
Confirm with your/friendâs insurance of course, but in my case and my insurance:
If you donât need collision, the liability insurance on the trailer gets tagged to the truck hauling it.
Check the floorboards. Lift up the mats and see whatâs going on underneath. If wood, poke it with a screwdriver or your keys and make sure itâs not soft. Also look for any rust on the walls right next to the floor. Look underneath at the frame. Surface rust is to be expected, but make sure itâs not major rust.
Check the operation of all doors, windows, latches, etc. All of these things are fixable if the price reflects the need to fix them. Hook up the electric and check all of the lights. Ask when the bearings and brakes were last done or checked. Look for any evidence that the roof leaks.
Age is less of a consideration than condition. I sold a 20 year old Hawk 2H in 2020. It was still in excellent condition despite always being stored outside. It had a dent in one of the escape doors and I had to fix a couple of the running lights before I listed it for sale. The floors were still in like new condition and otherwise was in the same shape a much newer trailer should be in.
As far as your plan goes, it can work out. My father and his neighbor co-owned a dump trailer and a few tractor attachments, and it turned out just fine. When it comes to insurance, itâs not required because itâs covered by the tow vehicleâs insurance when in use. Not insuring it at all leaves you at risk for loss if a tree falls on it, a tornado flips it over, or any other damage is done not related to towing. Can you afford to take that risk and self insure? I always have. Sure it would suck if it was suddenly totaled and Iâd be out thousands of dollars to replace it, but things like that rarely happen and Iâm willing to take that chance. So far so good in 40 years of trailer ownership (starting when my parents owned it).
Everyone has given you good advice and good thoughts --nothing to add except to stress what @LCDR said about tires âI would plan on replacing tires immediately and having brakes and bearings checked then --which leads me to another thought . . .my trailer takes about $500 a year in maintenance cost (two horse bumper pull Merhow 2020). Yearly brakes and bearings, tires every 3 years, battery for the break-away brake, and whatever else, but $500 a year --who is paying that?
And make sure you have a fire extinguisher in the trailer (mine is mounted just inside the trailer door of the tack area, along with a carpet knife to cut lead ropes).
I was never happy with any kind of âsharing the trailerâ arrangement. Might just be me and the fact that I grew up as one of those annoying kids who had to beg for rides --always said to myself if I ever had a trailer, Iâd take great care of it --and I do! But I have discovered in the 40 years of owning a trailer, that other people donât think about horse trailers like I do âone âfriendâ (no longer a friend) complained that I wouldnât let her put her hay in the tack area --had to go in the back of the truck --âbut itâs a horse trailerâ she said --yeah, but it is my horse trailer and I donât put hay in my tack area where I keep my riding clothes, saddle pads, and saddles.
Same whine when I asked if she was willing to come over and wash the trailer (inside) if I picked her up to go trail riding --although she initially agreed, after the ride, she said she shouldnât have to come over and help wash the trailer because her side of the trailer was âclean enough for a horse trailer.â
Anyway, I am an old grumpy lady and am probably better off hauling by myself.
How does your friendâs hubby feel about this? I think that a towing plan that includes volunteering someoneâs husband to do the driving soundsâŠproblematic.
I also agree there are a host of problems related to sharing a trailer/towing vehicle.
Excellent trailer purchasing advice has already been given above. Itâs a bit daunting to find a good used trailer, definitely have an experienced reputable trailer mechanic (not regular mechanic) to inspect prior to purchase.
Obviously the OPâs preferences are her own. Nonetheless I think itâs important to discuss that any capable horse ladyâincluding the OPâcould learn to hitch up a trailer and safely tow in less than a day if she wanted to. If the OPâs preferences happened to change, she would likely be better at hauling horses than some gentleman with experience towing construction trailers.
Have a repair shop look the trailer over before purchase. A local welding shop can be a good choice, they KNOW metal! We have one elderly stock trailer that husband maintains. He has replaced the boards in floor a couple times, along with replacing and adding more cross bracing. Came with cross braces 24" apart on 18ft of floor. He did not think that was enough support under 1200-1400, times 4, horses. So trailer now has cross braces 12" apart. They do get rusty, rusted out, over time and use. Plan a yearly checkup with the shop. Also check the shackles holding the axles onto the trailer. We had those rust out and BREAK! We had washed horses, loaded things, ready for the horses, when I was walking by and noticed two trailer tires were REALLY close together! Called husband to look, he said the shackles were broken. No fun for us that day!
Other places metal rusts out are where the trailer walls and floor come together. He has replaced the angle iron along the side walls twice now, the wood floor holds moisture, even with mats picked up.
We do use this trailer a lot, so handy for horse things and many other uses. It is kept under cover but is on a dirt floor. So always moisture under it. It gets cleaned immediately after use, but with those heavy, solid mats, we donât pick them up for storage until winter storage. So they hold in moisture too.
if buying a used trailer one thing that needs to be verified is the spare tire, make use it fits the trailer.
We bought a really nice used two horse trailer, we discovered the spareâs wheel which looked correct actually would not fit, luckily this was discovered when we were replacing the tires so acquired a wheel that actually fit.
OP - have you run the numbers in buying vs just hiring someone (besides your BO) to do the hauling? How often do you plan to haul out in a year?
Keep in mind the trailer will require insurance ($100-300ish/ year, trailer and insurer and insured dependent) + annual maintenance (cleaning, repacking bearings, 5 new tires every 5 years so account 1 tire per year essentially, various other maintenance - lights, wires, breaks, etc). So all in, youâre looking at a couple hundred to maybe a thousand on the high end per year for care and keeping of said trailer. It sounds like youâll be dependent on friend/ friendâs DH and their schedule(s) - not a problem if hiring out. Just trying to play devils advocate.
I, like others, canât imagine owning a trailer and not learning to tow it as the biggest benefit of owning a trailer is being able to hook up and go on my own schedule on whatever whim I have. Trailers are not cheap (I would expect to pay $8-10K for a trailer that needs no work for a 2H BP that is maybe 15-20yrs old) and are an added level of âworkâ as far as maintaining it and ensuring everything is as it should be. Iâm not saying itâs too much or even very hard, but for someone who wants to be hands off of the actual towing I donât think owning a trailer makes much sense.
at least for me that quote range is not realistic, our trailer is fully insured at an agreed upon value for about $20 per year as an extension of of our vehicle policy
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