Your horse’s safety should be your number one priority as you shop around for a used horse trailer. You need to be especially careful when buying a horse trailer that’s already been used, because there could be wear and tear on the trailer that may not be easily seen by the naked eye. This means that it is in your best interest to inspect every used trailer you look with a fine-tooth comb to make sure that you don’t miss anything that could be potentially dangerous to your horses. Make sure that you ask the owner of the dealership a lot of questions about the trailer, especially about how many years of use the trailer went through prior to its arrival at the dealership.

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Checking with the dealership about how old the trailer is and how much use it has seen will help you save a lot of money in repairs. There is nothing worse than paying a small amount for a used trailer only to have to pour thousands of dollars into it to fix it when problems start popping up.

One of the things you will want to check for is to make sure the trailer doesn’t have any holes on the inside. This means you should keep an eye peeled for even the smallest hole, as this hole will gradually get larger over time. This can cause serious injury to your horses and even cause you to lose a few if not taken care of promptly. Also check for splinters and other debris on the inside of the trailer that may cause the horse to stumble or fall. These can cause injury to your horses as well, because they may cause your horses to panic.

Always give the doors a good looking over and make sure they shut and latch properly. If there is anything that could cause the door to not close correctly, you run the risk of the door flying open on the road, and this can be extremely dangerous. You may lose your load on the road, which could kill your horses and cause a major accident.

Another tip for those searching for a good deal on used horse trailers is to make sure you check around at different dealers. Don’t forget that we live in the age of the Internet. Use the Internet to do some research and to help widen your options for purchasing a used horse trailer. There are a ton of sites that not only can connect you with the information you need, but can also connect you with individuals who are willing to work out a deal with you and sell their horse trailers.

Finding the right type of used horse trailer can be quite a challenge. Please make sure to do your research before deciding on a trailer, and also remember to make your horse’s safety your number one goal. This should ultimately be what determines your decision about which trailer will work best for you.

Borrow your horse trailer
Your first option is the cheapest option but possibly also the least likely way out and surely one of the more complicated ways to go about it. As you probably already know a verity of people interested in horses you might already know someone who already owns a horse trailer that you can borrow and use when it can fit into their plans.

One of the problems with borrowing a horse trailer is that you need to find someone that has a spare. Horse trailers are normally not something you have an excess of and you might therefore have to work a little harder at it. If you’re friends with people at some or the larger ranches or schools for riding, you might be lucky to find one. The second thing is that when you borrow something you are normally doing it within a timeframe which will come to an end at some point by when you will be stranded again.

Rent a horse trailer
A way to avoid having to buy a horse trailer is to go rent it. Renting will give you a lot of advantages but also some disadvantages. If you are serious about running a business that includes horses then renting is not for you. From a financial and a practical perspective renting has never been the best decision but renting is a fast and easy way to go about things and that is why it is so popular.

Purchase a new horse trailer
You have probably already been searching for horse trailers in offline magazines and maybe even online and have come to the conclusion that brand new horse trailers are rather costly. Unless money isn’t an issue for you then you are left with two options. Either downgrade the standard of the horse trailer or go for a used one.

You can find many places online where you can purchase horse trailers and get decent advice on what to look for. A great tip that I normally use is to go to the merchant and ask a lot of questions and then afterwards go back and surf the internet for a better price. If I’m able to find it I would call the merchant to arrange a discount to match (or get close to) the online price. This is often accepted by the merchant and you have made yourself a nice little savings.

If you need help finding financing options please visit the section about horse trailer financing as well as the section about horse trailer insurance.

Get a used horse trailer
Finding a used horse trailer is not as easy task but in order to help you find the places to look we have made a list of some of the best dealers when it comes to service, selection and usability on their website.

What you will often find is that most trailer dealers will both have new and used horse trailers up for sale. When someone comes to buy a new trailer they will often take the old one in return. This way they are able to make a profit on both the new and the old trailer.

This is your change to get a good used horse trailer at a fair price. My suggestion is that you take my list below and follow it one step at a time. In the end I am convinced that you will have found your trailer.

Step 1 – Decide what type of trailer you want
Remember to consider all the elements like size, color, brand, age etc. You will however give yourself a harder time for each “requirement” you setup. So only write down the things that are important to you.

Step 2 – Start calling the dealers on this list below and ask them what they can offer you
It is always best to call more than one and I suggest that you call at least 10 dealers before deciding. You will be able to cut hundreds of dollars of the price by doing the proper homework.

If you are so lucky to find dealers offering the same trailer you can challenge them against each other and have them lower the price significantly.

The dealers you can call

Uncle Bob’s Trailers
Phone:
800-944-1410 / 701-252-1410 (North Dakota) or
866-987-4827 / 605-787-4828 (South Dakota)
Fax:
701-252-5814 (North Dakota) or
605-787-4830 (South Dakota)
Email:
sales@sundowner-trailers.com (North Dakota) or
unclebobstrailers@rapidnet.com (South Dakota)
Website:
Sundowner Trailers