Buyer tells you, you google it anyway and bring more than one size AND spare chains. Better yet you have seller deliver to place that is going to go through the thing and do the brakes and ensure it’s safe.
Just yesterday DH and I were driving down our road, which had a two mile long groove cut in it, that sometimes was a double groove, obviously from a flat and probably seized tire rim. One neighbor bought a stock trailer out of a field from another neighbor :eek:.
How exactly did the trailer become disconnected from the tow vehicle? A 2" hitch over a 1 7/8" ball only has 1/16" inch of play around the ball itself. If the hitch was properly locked, it would have been sloppy, but should not have been able to come off.
Leads me to believe that either the trailer’s hitch locking mechanism was faulty or the max load rating of the ball was exceeded by the weight of the trailer causing it to fail. Most 1 7/8" balls are rated at 2,000 or 3,500 lbs. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if an older, steel stock trailer weighs more than 3.500 lbs.
Either way, the trailer never should have hit the highway without safety chains.
I think the buyer is 100% at fault.
I believe that ignorance is not a reasonable defense. I think the buyer is at fault.
Now if she had purchased from a dealer it may be a different story. But a private sale? I don’t think that they have any liability, because I am sure it will come down to a “he said/she said” sort of thing.
[QUOTE=Highflyer;8635636]
I would guess it’s ultimately legally the driver’s responsibility. And definitely if you take nothing else away from this story-- get in the habit of walking around youe trailer to make sure the doors are closed, ramp is up, chocks are unchocked, and check your hitch, every time, no matter who hooked it up.[/QUOTE]
^^THIS. It is the driver’s responsibility every single time. And yes, recheck everything EVERY time you park and go away from the vehicle…some idiots out there think it is funny to unlock couplers, etc. I simply can’t repeat this enough.
[QUOTE=RubyTuesday;8636027]
^^THIS. It is the driver’s responsibility every single time. And yes, recheck everything EVERY time you park and go away from the vehicle…some idiots out there think it is funny to unlock couplers, etc. I simply can’t repeat this enough.[/QUOTE]
I’m not a lawyer, but this may fall under due diligence of the buyer, ignorance is no excuse etc.
The buyer can consult and attorney, or her insurance (I am assuming if she didn’t have a trailer policy, her car insurance would follow the trailer but it is policy dependent). She should count it as a lesson learned and be very thankful no one was hurt in the incident.
100% buyers’ responsibility. The trailer was theirs. The moment the bill of sale was signed and the cash changed hands, even though it was in the selelrs’ driveway probably still.
Wow. How scary! So glad no one was hurt.
I would say the fault is in the hands of the buyer simply because the rig is the responsibility of the person driving. It is their job to make sure everything is safe.
[QUOTE=Brian;8635968]
How exactly did the trailer become disconnected from the tow vehicle? A 2" hitch over a 1 7/8" ball only has 1/16" inch of play around the ball itself. If the hitch was properly locked, it would have been sloppy, but should not have been able to come off.
Leads me to believe that either the trailer’s hitch locking mechanism was faulty or the max load rating of the ball was exceeded by the weight of the trailer causing it to fail. Most 1 7/8" balls are rated at 2,000 or 3,500 lbs. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if an older, steel stock trailer weighs more than 3.500 lbs.
Either way, the trailer never should have hit the highway without safety chains.
I think the buyer is 100% at fault.[/QUOTE]
This is what I was thinking. Makes me wonder if the trailer needed a 2 1/2.
No chains is a no-no. Trailer wouldn’t have passed inspection without. Assuming the state tagged in requires inspection. I would bet that the owner was given a ticket for not having chains. Assuming the police were involved.
IMO operator error. Didn’t follow let alone know the very the basics of trailer operation.
I’m with Laurierace, let the insurance company sort it out. But considering they didn’t follow the basic rules they may not have had the trailer on their policy.
What side was the horse loaded on? (sorry couldn’t resist because this was asked and debated in another thread recently)
Unless she added the trailer to her insurance policy, there is no insurance in play here. With the standard auto policy, you and your covered autos (including a trailer being pulled by your covered autos) are covered for liability, but you need to specifically add the trailer to be covered for anything else, like damage to the trailer.
[QUOTE=OverandOnward;8635717]
Buyer’s fault. Even with the bad info from the seller, it should have been obvious that the ball was the wrong size from the get-go. Then, of course, the chains.
It’s the responsibility of the person doing the towing to make sure they know what they are doing before they take off down the highway. It was not the seller’s responsibility to give lessons to the buyer on towing and towing safety. All the buyer paid for was the trailer, not the safety lessons.
No clue how courts decide these things, though. Buyer was very, very lucky no people or property were hurt other than the trailer.[/QUOTE]
I would agree with all of this.
Once the buyer hooked the trailer to their tow vehicle, they were responsible for following all laws, and common sense, that goes with towing a trailer. The buyer should have brought someone along that was more knowledgeable if this was buyer’s first trailer purchase.
Agree with others, buyer is at fault. I recently purchased a trailer through a private sale. You better believe I did a lot of checking before driving away with it. I confirmed ball size myself when we did our first look. Went back with a trailer and appropriate hitch.
Trailer was covered by the buyers insurance.
[QUOTE=SuckerForHorses;8636277]
Once the buyer hooked the trailer to their tow vehicle, they were responsible for following all laws, and common sense, that goes with towing a trailer.[/QUOTE]
I would argue that there is no “common sense” regarding hitching and towing a trailer. No one is born knowing how to do this, and it isn’t something one can necessarily learn “along the way.”
Common sense does enter the picture, however, in that the buyer must have known that she wasn’t knowledgeable in this area, and should have either done some homework or taken someone who was knowledgeable with her.
[QUOTE=Equibrit;8636354]
Trailer was covered by the buyers insurance.[/QUOTE]
Not necessarily.
Typically, unless you insure your trailer separately, once it’s not attached to your vehicle, it’s not covered (and sometimes even when it is attached, the coverage is minimal).
[QUOTE=Equibrit;8636354]
Trailer was covered by the buyers insurance.[/QUOTE]
What kind of insurance did buyer have?
[QUOTE=SillyHorse;8636373]
I would argue that there is no “common sense” regarding hitching and towing a trailer. No one is born knowing how to do this, and it isn’t something one can necessarily learn “along the way.”[/QUOTE]
Apparently.
It’s scary that someone is purchasing a trailer to presumably tow a horse, and hasn’t even noticed small things that may not be common sense but at least observations of things that are fairly standard, like safety chains on a trailer.
Common sense does enter the picture, however, in that the buyer must have known that she wasn’t knowledgeable in this area, and should have either done some homework or taken someone who was knowledgeable with her.
Agreed.
I work at a warehouse. When we load flatbeds, we don’t help the drivers strap down their loads because if something happened, like the load shifting and falling, we open ourselves up to liability if the driver or his company claims we improperly strapped down the load.
Keeping that in mind, I side mostly with the buyer. In my opinion, seller took responsibility when they hooked up the trailer.
[QUOTE=SuckerForHorses;8636462]
Not necessarily.
Typically, unless you insure your trailer separately, once it’s not attached to your vehicle, it’s not covered (and sometimes even when it is attached, the coverage is minimal).[/QUOTE]
I think Equibrit was referring to in this instance, it “was” covered, as some people have been following the thread on Facebook (which is where the question came from).
[QUOTE=Pennywell Bay;8636528]
I think Equibrit was referring to in this instance, it “was” covered, as some people have been following the thread on Facebook (which is where the question came from).[/QUOTE]
Ohhhh, gotcha.
[QUOTE=Pennywell Bay;8636528]
I think Equibrit was referring to in this instance, it “was” covered, as some people have been following the thread on Facebook (which is where the question came from).[/QUOTE]
But “coverage” is a great question. The insurance company may even have to do an investigation to decide that!
Someone may assume that insurance is covering something, only to find out that the company has its own opinion based on a variety of factors. And the company may decide to try to expand responsibility in its own best interest.
Had the trailer caused more havoc than it did, maybe more than one insurance company would have been in on this ‘discussion’. This Buyer was hugely, hugely lucky to have dodged what could have been a life-changing catastrophe. Not just because of the danger to life & limb to themselves and other people!
Regardless of where legal responsibility lies, the best guardian of our own security is ourselves. Especially when it comes to what size ball hitch is needed! 
