The older Trailets are beasts and tend to wear well. Get under it, look at the supports and the frame. If it’s solid and a reasonable price, I’d buy it in a minute. I’ve had a few of them. The last one I sold a couple of summers ago. I’d had it for about 7-8 years (it was 26 years old), and I sold it for nearly half as much more as what I paid when I bought it. I hadn’t done much of anything to it besides replace the wood in the ramp, and I kept the bearings greased. It was still in excellent condition when I sold it.
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Sadly (lucky for my itchy fingers 
) it’s already gone. Just to say that there are some older, high quality, trailers with reasonable price tags, but they move quickly. C&C went out of business in the early 2000’s, they are similar construction to 4 Star and Elites of that time period.
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That’s good to hear- might be worth taking the truck down to see it then
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I listened to a brief interview with a car dealer and he said no matter what happens, vehicle prices are not coming down and he worries that once they go up they’ll stay up. If the dealer brings in new vehicles at the tariff prices, they can’t lower them. And in response they will raise the used car prices because the new ones are so expensive! so much winning
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If anything, I’d expect trailer prices to skyrocket dramatically as tariffs on steel and aluminum go into effect…
I’m seeing a lot of 30-40 year old trailers advertised locally for $15-20k, which is insane to me. I don’t care how well you’ve cared for your equipment; any trailer that old is obscenely overpriced at half that.
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If it’s made of metal, the prices are going up, and perhaps dramatically.
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We’re coming into a time when a trailer will be an investment. Meaning that it is likely to appreciate in value, if you can afford to buy one.
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I think we’re already at that time.
I have a very simple, steel stock/combo trailer. I was very economical new. And I guarantee I can sell it for as least as much as I paid for it new 9 years ago.
The amount of 20-30 year old trailers I see selling for more than they would have cost 20-30 years ago is kinda bonkers.
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I have a 2006 Trail-et, and I still get compliments on it nearly everytime we go out. I think it was 9k brand new. When I went to college around 2010 my parents considered selling it but the best offer they got was 3k. The change in the market is insane but I am so glad they held on to it for me. I am keeping that thing until I die.
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How do you rust proof your vehicles?
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My trailer service shop sprays the steel frame and components with a Fluid Film product with added rodent repellant. (My trailer is aluminum panels on steel frame.)
It’s best to do it annually, and it’s certainly something one can DIY (with jackstands and a bit of yoga!)
Fluid Film is a lanolin based product that comes in either large quantity containers that require a spray gun, or individual aerosol cans.
greys
I sold my 2h bumper for more than I paid for it. With all the tariffs on steal/lumber/aluminum expect new trailer prices to increase. I’d expect used trailer prices to stay the same or go up because my guess is supply wont be available.
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With fluid film (or similar oil/lanolin based products), as @Greys mentioned below. Has to be done annually (or here deep in the salt belt they even recommend every 6 months) but it is quite effective.
Can be done yourself, but without a lift it can be hard to get into every little crevice so we tend to take ours to the shop yearly; it’s only ~$100 a pop or so.
If/when we acquire a trailer I’ll probably spray it myself. It has just been occurring to me as I browse rusty trailers that I’m surprised a quick undercarriage spray isn’t more common for trailers around here.
Note there are some rubber-based rust proofing services on the market (Ziebarts is common around here), but prevailing wisdom is that they can do more harm than good, as they often end up just trapping any preexisting salt and accelerating corrosion. So the oil-based spray ons are safest. Downside is the need for frequent reapplication.
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The cheap mechanic’s trick is old engine oil 
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By living in California 
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I wouldn’t touch a trail et especially not one that old
It’s an older brand that went out of business during the market crash in 08. It was some people from 4Star and Featherlite who defected and started their own company in the midish 90s. They are an excellent well built well made trailer…
I have 2. One is a 1998 2h GN straight load with a big dressing room that I bought new.
It is in. Amazing shape and no one can believe e how old it is. The other is an 06 3h slant GN LQ . I am meticulous about maintenance and the floors and both are in amazing shape. They hold value very well.
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