Most of the times the ads I see on Craig’s list are sad. They usually involve horses that are underfed, haven’t been shod in months and need to be rescued.
This one is pretty funny but it also has some good advice for people who are actually looking at used trailers to buy.
Nice 2 horse bumper pull trailer. Brand new treated floor. Frame was sandblasted and painted before floor was installed. 4 new tires and spare. Our new QH won’t get in it because she’s used to a stock trailer. I now have two trailers and this one needs to go. I have over $3500 invested, asking $2000. Will consider trade for a small tractor with a mower, or a heavy duty riding mower.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, here’s the rest of the story. I don’t want you driving to Nelsonville thinking this trailer looks like it just rolled off the assembly line.
If you buy a horse trailer, look up ‘what to look for when buying a horse trailer’ on the innerwebs before you buy a trailer, and not after. I didn’t. I’m impulsive, and I’m also a bit of a moron.
I purchased this trailer from an individual in Southeast Ohio. It looked nice. Sure, it had a bit of rust on the inside trim around the edges, but the floor and tires are the main thing, and the ad said the floor was ‘solid’, the tires were ‘good’. Apparently, ‘solid’ means you can put your hand through half of the floor boards if you give it a push. Wouldn’t it be cool to have your horse’s foot go through the floor of your trailer, and break it off at the knee! Sweet! My bad for not inspecting thoroughly. Soooo, to remedy this, I had the ENTIRE FREAKING FLOOR REMOVED and professionally rebuilt by welder Steve Weimer in Carroll. He does a nice job if you need work done. The floor is solid. There were two spots where the frame was rusting through(apparently, that equates to ‘SOLID’ in a Craig’s list posting). He sandblasted the frame, and beat it up with an air hammer to knock all of the rust off. It was in more solid than he originally thought, but he reinforced the spots with more than surface rust with 1/4 inch steel plates. He then replaced all of the floor boards with new pressure treated 2x6s. I woudln’t hesitate to load my daughter’s horse in it now without fear of some horrific accident that would require decades of therapy for her….. that is provided the $&*&#*^@ thing would go near it.
The ad also said ‘good tires’. Being the impulsive type, I gave them a cursory look and noted they had decent tread. When I went to hook up the trailer to drag it up to the aforementioned welder, one of the ‘good’ tires was flat. Being past the adrenaline infused fog that typically impedes me from any rational purchase decision, I inspected the ‘good’ tires a bit further and noticed a bit of dry rot, and the fact that they weren’t even trailer tires, but RADIAL FREAKING CAR TIRES. Not only that, but they weren’t all the same size, and there wasn’t a spare. To remedy this, I purchased all brand new trailer rated tires(6 ply rated for 1820 lbs each), including a spare. I wouldn’t hesitate to load a horse on the new floor, and wouldn’t hesitate to drive on these awesome new tires.
The floor frame, and frame for the sidewalls are very solid. Some of the trim inside, and wood that lines the back and side doors isn’t in the best shape. I had thick plywood installed all around the bottom half of the inside as a kick plate to protect any horse that rides in it. The floor of the storage under the manger has a few rusted spots. That’s mostly cosmetic, but wanted to note. If you plan to have a wedding reception in it, that would be a huge problem, but if you’re just hauling horses who have no greater wish than to take a dump on the floor, it’s all good.
The individual I purchased the trailer from rewired it himself. The trailer has an RV type plug, but my truck had a 4-pin plug. When I looked at the trailer, nothing worked when I plugged it into my truck. Did this deter me? NO! NOT MR. IMPULSIVE!!! Trailer sales dude assured me it was probably an issue with my truck, and not the trailer wiring. When I went back a few days later, the brake and tail lights worked(through an adaptor to fit the RV plug to my 4 pin plug)! MIRACLE! I now have an RV type plug installed on my truck for my other trailer, and when I plug this trailer in, nothing lights up. I do know all of the lights work, as I’ve seen them all light up when Trailer sales dude’s neighbors were hitting the wires with some type of battery charger thing when I first looked at the trailer. It mesmerized me like a retarded slobbering monkey staring at a picture of banannas. Basically, someone needs to crack open the wiring harness and figure out what’s jacked up, or why it’s mad at my truck.. They had worked with my 4 pin, but not so much now. I know it has to match your truck with how the wires are lined up, and it obviously doesn’t match mine. I’m not about to touch it, as I mentioned above, I’m a bit of a moron.
The trailer stops with no problem. It’s 1720 pounds, which is pretty light. The trailer has brakes on the rear axle, but I haven’t had them checked. Given that I’m not sure about how he wired the trailer, heck, the brakes may have never been engaged, and the pads might be brand new! I store the trailer on top of a hill accessible by a steep gravel driveway, and coming down the hill is not an issue, so it stops very well.
I paid $1700 for this trailer. I then put over $1000 in the floor/frame. I also have $600 worth of new tires on it, plus odds and ends. I’ll consider it a costly life lesson on inspecting used merchandise. I started out asking $3000, but that isn’t happening. I’m not a trailer salesman, nor do I have any desire to be. First $2000 takes it. I won’t take a penny less. If I still have it in 6 months, I’ll fill it with the old rotten floor and tree trimmings, douse it with gas and have a $3500 bon fire. Heck, I may do it anyway to see how much heat it takes to melt 1/4 steel plates.
The price reduction is more than enough to fix whatever wires need switched in the RV plug. Heck, it might cost nothing and take 5 minutes if you know your way around a trailer. I’d also check the brake pads, although trailers don’t get a ton of miles on them, and brake pads last a while. Do that, and you’ll have yourself a darn solid trailer that I would haul any horse in. It does pull great and you don’t even know it’s behind you. There are also heavy rubber mats that cover the floor that aren’t in the picture. The debris in the pic is just pine shavings I had in there when attempting to get horsey on board, and perhaps just a bit of my faith in mankind.
Also, if your name happens to be ‘Pastor Ken’, and you want me to arrange payment via your ‘financier’, please do not apply. Also, if you live in Belfast, or are overseas in the military, and wish the trailer to be shipped to Spain, please don’t bother. I’m impulsive and a moron, but c’mon people.
Thanks for looking!!