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  Discussion on Renting my horse trailer?
Author Message
Member:
loopylou

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 12:11 pm:

I am starting a horse-sitting & stable management business and was wondering if I could possibly rent out my horse trailer as an ajunct to the business. Before I owned a trailer, I searched high and low to find one I could rent, since I preferred to haul my own rather than have someone do it for me. Seems like renting out a horse trailer might be a good idea. I called my car insurance people - they were no help. Just putting it out there to see if 1). you think it might be a viable business idea and 2). any info about insurance & liability.
Thanks so much!
Member:
caroltd

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 12:30 pm:

Lou: What a coincidence! I was just looking online today for trailer insurance. I would think you would need very good insurance coverage for your endeavor. But it would be wonderful if there was someone around my location that would rent trailers for those who don't want or need one of their own. Anyway...I just googled "horse trailer insurance" and a whole bunch of sites came up. Good luck.

Carol
Member:
canter

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 12:45 pm:

Lou,
I just bought my own trailer, but until now, always had to rely on the good will of other's to get me to a show. So, I was always on their schedule instead of my own. Had there been a "rental" available, it probably would have saved me a bit of stress and well worth the cost, as long as I could set the schedule and the service was reliable and safe.

I think it's a very good idea - just make sure you check into good insurance.
Member:
wgillmor

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 12:49 pm:

I would expect that most people would not have an adequate tow vehicle. So I would look to renting your truck as well. For most people, any reasonable charge would be less expensive than buying (counting the use of the money.) Most horse trailers I see just sit around most of the year. So, it ought to be a reasonable business.

As to Insurance & Liability -- check with a lawyer.

Wiley
Member:
hwood

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 1:09 pm:

Lou,
Your decision may be partly based on assessment of the area in which you live. Cost of insurance varies greatly from state to state and xometimes county to county.
You can check with: www.equinelegalsolutions.com
Also, Google "Julie Fershtmann" (can't remember if it's one "n" or two). Julie has many written resources that may answer some of your questions. If you have one of her books, her contact phone number is in the back. I have called her before and she was very helpful.
Member:
kthorse

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 1:25 pm:

I dont think it should be different than renting a car. Each carry valubale livestock:-) Maybe a place like avis could send you in the right direction
Member:
alden

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 1:49 pm:

There are outfits that time share motor homes and travel trailers, they might be willing to share useful information.

How big is your trailer? Proper tow vehicles will become a problem if it's a larger goose neck.

Good day,
Alden
Member:
leslie1

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 1:56 pm:

I have rented horse trailers here in arizona. I rented one from a equipment rental place.(tractors,bobcats, rototillers etc.) They happened to rent a horse trailer out too. You could prolly call them and ask them how they insure it. Phone: (928) 636-2026
Another place here rents out moving trailers and they too have a horse trailer they rent out. Their number is 928-636 4159.
good luck,
leslie
Member:
stevens

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 2:59 pm:

I've rented trailers in California before buying my own. Like Leslie, I was able to rent them from equipment rental yards. The local U-haul had a trailer for rent and couldn't understand why I declined to use it since it was completely missing the rear doors on one side "You said you're only hauling one horse"!!!

One thing that I didn't like about renting was the rental period. The trailer was rented on a 24 hour day so if I picked it up the evening before a show, I had to have it back approximately the same time the day of the show or be charged another day.

Also, where I rented they weren't shy about not renting to people that did not have a tow vehicle that met their requirements.

Good luck!
Chris
Member:
mrose

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 6:02 pm:

I personally would rather tow someone's horse than rent out my trailer. However, if you had a basic trailer and didn't mind it getting beat up, then renting would be o.k. I would be very concerned about the tow vehicle, hitch set up, etc. Most people that go to the trouble of having a heavy duty hitch, correct wiring, brakes, etc. are going to have a trailer. People that don't have all that are not rigged safely to tow a horse, imo. Also, the weight and length of the tow vehicle are important.

Chris mentioned renters that weren't shy about not renting to people people that didn't have a tow vehicle that met their requirements. If you don't have the correct hitch, brakes, lenght of vehicle and heavy enough vehicle, it is extremely dangerous to tow a horse trailer. Add to this the fact that most people that don't own a trailer aren't experience in towing! A trailer longer and heavier than the vehicle pulling it, can easily jack-knife and cause a serious accident; all you have to do is pick up a little too much speed, and soon the trailer is pushing the vehicle. Also, if a horse is loaded on the wrong side of the trailer, or if it shifts it's weight while you're going around a corner a little too fast, it can cause an accident. I just see lots of potential problems and I'd think liability would be very expensive coverage.
Member:
juliem

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 7:10 pm:

I loaned my trailer and truck ONCE! It was wrecked--both truck and trailer. I learned that the insurance of the vehicle is the payee, not that of the driver. I had to pay two deductibles--one for the trailer and one for the truck. Plus $500.00 for towing both! The fellow who did the trailer repairs told me the vast majority of his repair work stems from trailers that have been loaned! Sara is absolutely right!!
Member:
hpyhaulr

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 9:52 pm:

Lou,
What size is your trailer? I think it might make a difference whether you are putting your trailer in the hands of a professional or not. We are horse haulers and last winter got hit in a white out on I-90... Thank God there were no horses on board they were already tucked in at the horse hotel for the duration of the storm. Our 6 horse trailer was unusable and we had a month of bookings to cover while it was in repairs. We were VERY lucky to find someone with a 4 horse... it cost us, and there was some considerable juggling to be done, but we were thrilled to get it. I know of haulers who have lost their rigs in bitter divorces, or accidents who would have LOVED to have a 4-6-9 horse to rent just to honor their commitments. I can direct you to a couple of sites to get the word out among the haulers if that is where your inclination is.
Member:
leslie1

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 11:40 pm:

Thinking back to when I rented the trailer... they did want to know about my truck. which has the whole tow-package. They wanted to know where I was going to and from. They never did ask me if I had any towing experience. I DrOve about 2 miles per hour the whole way lol.The trailer was a 2 horse that was pretty beat up, most of the cushions were torn etc. I looked at the floor boards and they were brand new, no rust underneath.
I was desperate to take Keira to the vet when she got kicked in her hock and was squirting blood. The vet could not come out. We were new to the area with no-one to ask for help.It was a 10 mile trip and I was sooo thankful that someone was there providing that service. I dont know what I would have done without the rental.
Member:
loopylou

Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 8:28 am:

You guys rock! Thanks for all the great info. The trailer is a 2 horse bumper pull and I would definitely ensure the folks renting it had the correct vehicle to tow it. I will also offer transporting the horses myself (and have some contacts to call about that) but just wanted to probe into the idea of renting out also. You've given me a lot to ponder and research - really awesome. THanks so much!
Lou
New Member:
davinci

Posted on Sunday, Feb 21, 2010 - 2:25 am:

Hello all and I just was looking around and saw that people were asking about Horse trailer renting. Well I happen to be the owner of American Horse Trailer Rental. We are a new company and we have two locations one in Visalia, CA and the other in Hudson, NY.
The reason why their are not too many people renting horse trailers is because the insurance is very high. Just the legal work you need to have before you rent any type of trailers is expensive.
We spent this year a bit over $20,000.00 just to get our horse Trailer Rental business off the ground that is not including the new horse trailers that we have.
But to all those people who think they can rent from a friend or from someone who doesn't have insurance for a rental business well if you have a accident you are personally liable fo the damages because most insurance companies don't let you rent horse trailers and attach them to your trucks.
If you do and money does change hands and the person doesn't have the proper insurance you insurance will void on your own vehicle you will be responsible for everything cash out of pocket. If anyone has questions or is looking to rent a horse trailer our number is 559-381-5357. Our web site is almost done and should be up in a couple of days it is under many names we had purchased over 300 domain names but our company is AmericanHorseTrailerRental.com or Horsetrailerrental.com We have two horse bumperpulls 4 horse goosenecks and one 45 Foot 4 horse Bloomer Living Quarters. We also rent motorcycle trailers and dump trailers. Like I said if you are going to rent make sure the person or company is a real horse trailer rental company.
Happy Trails
Gregg Miron
Please excuse the spelling mistakes. LOL
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