"Derry Argue" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:
[email protected]...
> In contrast to the header, I am considering buying a car trailer big
> enough
> to take a Land Rover. (Capacity around 2.5 tonnes).
>
> My reasoning is that I need a "new" Land Rover and will require the
> means
> to collect it. That means two drivers, or hitch-hiking, training,
> busing,
> or flying a long distance. I'm thinking that there must be others in a
> similar situation and I might be able to justify the expense by hiring
> it
> out occasionally.
>
> So, (a) what are the legal implications of hiring out a trailer and
> (b) is
> there likely to be any demand? Now, I know you guys won't let me down!
> Go
> on, talk me out of it. Please!
>
Been there.
Everything is stacked against doing this sort of thing as a part-time
business.
Word of mouth will get you a bit of work, but "friends" expect to get
the trailer cheaper than a normal commercial rate. Then when you've
quoted a price, they'll want odd little extras throwing in, like
securing straps. It seems mean, doesn't it, wanting an extra couple of
quid for straps, but they mysteriously suffer a great deal more wear and
tear in one hire than a month of your own use.
And so does the trailer. There are _lots_ of ways to abuse a car
trailer: loading it "on the twist"; spinning the wheels of a car being
driven on, thus damaging the deck; putting a heavy car far too far
forward, grossly overloading the front axle; dragging a car on with
seized wheels, damaging winch and deck; using it for unsuitable loads,
whether it be machinery that imposes loads in the wrong place, or heaps
of rammel that accompany a classic car and chatter and fret their way
into the deck; kerbing tyres at speed; pulling lighting cables out; and,
of course hitting things like gateposts and other cars.
You can put all the terms in your hire agreement that you like - and
believe me, I have (I used to write commercial contracts): but there's a
big difference between having a contract and enforcing it, particularly
in these "customer is king" days where "unfair" always seems to hit the
trader, not the consumer.
Then there's the real biggies: what happens if your customer decides
that towing's a doddle, so it's a steady 75 down the hill on the M5
until suddenly he sees the trailer overtaking him, dragging a few
holidaymakers with it? OK - you know it's not your trailer's fault, or
your fault for not ensuring the driver knew what he was doing, but can
you afford to go to court to defend yourself, let alone pay the damages
if you are found negligent? Easy - insure it. Yes, right. Getting any
insurance for "motor trade" is like joining a medieval guild: "you've
been doing it how long??" "OK, that'll be your first-born child plus the
gross national product of wazzeyestan, please".
If you're running a big enough business, you can probably get this
particular public liability cover thrown in with all your other
insurance, but as a one-off - ouch!
It's going to be increasingly difficult to get customers: very few
people seem to be taking the trailer tests, so it will soon only be old
men who are still allowed to tow big trailers, and I saw in last week's
papers the suggestion that the new EU driving licence harmonisation will
put a stop to them, too. Ever-tightening legislation and enforcement
will also soon, I'd guess, stop people towing beyond the
ultra-conservative manufacturer's limits, and even with the growth of
4x4s, many of the toy ones aren't rated for towing proper loads. As an
aside here, google this group for just how low the official towing
capability of Series Land Rovers is. (cue: "I can tow a house with mine"
(but legally?)).
You need the right premises, too. Trailers take up a lot of room, and
numpties who hire them will not be able to back them into your drive
ready for the next person. So you might finish up doing all the
hitching and unhitching in the road, and having to fire up your own
truck to put it away. Have you got tolerant neighbours, or will some
curtain-twitcher report you for running a business without planning
permission?
To go down the other route - providing a complete collection service,
saves the "what's he doing to my trailer?" problem, but makes the
insurance problem even worse. A couple of thousand pounds for motor
trader insurance may be bearable if you're working every day, but it's
80 quid on each job if you're only getting one a fortnight. The trouble
is that, as a business, the barrier to entry is relatively low, and once
you're in it, whether with a trailer or mackled-up Transit, the
temptation is to try to get business solely on price, simply to recover
a few of your overheads. So you finish up doing a day's work, and once
you've topped your tank up you might have a hundred quid to pay for
insurance, maintenance (tow motor and trailer), tyres, depreciation, the
advert to get next week's job - and your national insurance stamp,
council tax, and cheese sarnie.
And of course, you'll need a tachograph, in theory.
If you're the sort of person who breezes through life without a care in
the world, who's got no money so doesn't care if he's taken to the
cleaners, and no imagination about what could go wrong, or you can tack
it onto an existing business, go for it.
--
Kevin Poole
**Use current month and year to reply (e.g.
[email protected])***
Car Transport by Tiltbed Trailer - based near Derby
