|
I've had a couple of equipment trailers (10k) and a couple of utility trailers (3k) over the years. I've also had a few different snowmobile trailers. The snow trailers were all bought used while the others were mostly bought new.
Used trailers can be a great way to save money, but there's a lot of due diligence that needs to be done to ensure you aren't buying into a money pit. And you have to be comfortable with what you're buying.
For example: LOTS of folks opt for torsion axles because they allow the trailer to ride a little more smoothly than one riding on leaf springs (they may also be able to ride a touch lower to the ground). That's great while they're in motion, but leaf spring suspensions generally hold up much better over time because they don't suffer the same issues as torsion axles by being left sitting. My snow trailers used torsion axles and I never had an issue. But that's because the 9 months of the year when they weren't in use they were sitting up on blocks that allowed the wheels to hang free without compressing the suspension inside the axle.
If you're buying a used trailer, you probably should immediately factor into the cost what it will mean to replace all of the wheel bearings, all of the brake shoes, and the breakaway battery. You will want to check the tires very closely for checking / cracking and may need to factor in the cost of replacing those as well.
Wiring and the operational status of the lights is always something to check closely as well. Snow trailers use a four-flat connector which provides a ground. Because they corrode from road salt, the grounding aspect of the wiring often ends up needing to rely on connectivity back to the tow vehicle through the hitch. If you connect the plug to a tow vehicle and any of the lights don't work properly, this is more work to be done...
Not saying any of this is unknown to you - just mentioning some of the key things I've learned over the years for anyone's benefit that may read this.
|