Renting out trailer.. bad or good idea?

C

chandalen

New Member
Aug 7, 2011
367
Alexandra Bay,NY
Boat Info
'83 Sundancer 270, Humminbird 593c
Engines
Twin merc 305, with new SEI 106 drives
So.. I have a nice tri-axle trailer just sitting for the season.

My initial thought is to rent it out. Of course, have a rental agreement, damage (lack there of) sheet, release of liability, and requiring proof of ID and insurance and a nice deposit.

Local marinia said I could make a killing as very few places rent them out, and actually just haul the boats for the people.

I understand even with a liability release, there is always that one person that has to blame everyone else...

Is this venture too high in risk?

Thanks!
 
Not a lawyer, but sounds like a way to make some gas money and be helpful to the boating community. I personally wouldnt do it for less than 100/day.
 
When I had my 240DA I needed to find a good trailer in a short time frame. After contacting few dealers one had a perfect fit for very good money. It was a trailer they used to rent out. The dealer did basic maintenance and this thing served me for 4 years with thousands and thousands of miles on the tires. The bottom line is that it's not such a bad idea as long as you have properly formed contract to keep people liable for things they break. You can always have some conditions in the contract like towing experience. Sure people might lie, but with few additional questions it's not hard to find if their story sounds legit.
 
Couple of hoops, but I'd say do it. Get them to provide some sort of weight ticket or documented weight, then get the agreements and such in place.

Be sure your insurance covers, or else make them provide it.
Good luck!
 
I see you are an active duty soldier. Thank you for your service. JAG would not be able to advise you however they should have a listing of lawyers whol could. Legal Zoom dot com may have a rental contract you could use as a template.

I see you have a 27 footer. I can see several folks getting together with similar size boats and haul for a day to do mid season wash, pressure wash bottom, check zincs.......

I think it's a great idea.
 
Cool, thanks for the input. I was unsure if this was a huge nono, and the extra gas money would be great!

/thanks dpmilvey!
 
I am going to do this for sure. I just bought a nice tandem mutil bunk trailer for my 270. There is a guy in Chicago that gets $250 per day and he is booked even in the winter.

Just cross you T's and dot you I's.
 
Bad idea after you get the trailer set for your boat you are not going to want to move bunks bow stop.
 
If I could find somebody that had one for a 30'.....I would rent it in a second! I'm looking into buying one this year, maybe this is a way for me to make some money back on it.
 
Write down all you do to use the trailer and reference it to the trailer manual. Go to a lawyer and get him or her to put a contact together. I used to write contracts at one time and a good lawyer should be able to do you one in less than a day. He will cover all items including acts of God (slipper roads, wind blowing boat off trailer,etc ) make sure he puts in they are responsible for off road damage (EG backing it into soft bank and damaging the running gear). The lawyer should ask you questions about how it works, what you need to do to use it and maintain it. You should be fine. No idea what to charge. If you ask to much it will not rent. If you ask too little it will be rented all the time. Keep a log book of rentals and cost. At tax time best to declare income you made. Do not forget to depreciate the trailer on your tax return.
Good Luck
 
I am going to buck the trend here. Not because I think it's a bad idea but just from a different perspective.

1. If the marina thinks you could make a fortune,...."Why ain't they doin it"?
2. Insurance & liability issues may not be so easily handled with a simply one page rental agreement. Learn local & state laws including business licenses, business insurance, (not just trailer insurance), and of course taxes.
3. Don't forget to add in your time, equipment maintenance, worry & other intangibles.

Again, not a bad idea, he'll, I'd rent it. Just do your homework. Good luck. Keep us posted.

AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
 
mwph said:
I am going to buck the trend here. Not because I think it's a bad idea but just from a different perspective.


1. If the marina thinks you could make a fortune,...."Why ain't they doin it"?
2. Insurance & liability issues may not be so easily handled with a simply one page rental agreement. Learn local & state laws including business licenses, business insurance, (not just trailer insurance), and of course taxes.
3. Don't forget to add in your time, equipment maintenance, worry & other intangibles.


Again, not a bad idea, he'll, I'd rent it. Just do your homework. Good luck. Keep us posted.


AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
Click to expand...


+1


Spot on!




In a litigious society, you'll lose everything before you make a dime. A wheel bearing goes bad and the renter loses a boat.....who pays? I have let friends borrow my trailer. My insurance company was OK w/ that. They would not cover anything where contractual money changed hands. Different animal.

If you divorce yourself from ownership & set the trailer in a business you have the opportunity to do something. I am thinking hauling business if you have the vehicle. Good luck & thank you for your service.
 
I started my career working for one of the largest transportation equipment rental companies in the country. I now do a lot of expert witness work on lawsuits involving death, serious injury involving trailer accidents mostly for the major trailer lessors.

Trailer rental works great until something happens. My experience is that in most cases some level of stupid is involved. You can not contractually protect yourself from that. My clients have hundreds of thousands of trailers on the road in North America, and even with their contracts get dragged into lawsuits. So a contract cannot completely insulate you.

No doubt you will at some point use the trailer personally. That will drag you personally into any lawsuit that happens.

So, to answer the; "Why aren't they doing it?" Answer is because the risk is too great for a one or two unit rental business.

Henry

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
I would NEVER rent my trailer. If you are not close enough (friendship wise) for me to loan it, you are not getting it. :grin: I see how the yahoo's care for the trailers they own, I can only imagine what they would do to a rental. And dwna1a just rent this one, :grin: heck, everybody with a 370 (slightly exagerated) on down will think they can use this trailer to get their boat out, "it's a rental". They might not tow it but they will put em on to get em out, and if that works this year, next year they might just tow it home. :smt021

MM
 
I know when I rented a car trailer from U Haul they wanted plenty of details. Car & Model being loaded and plenty of info on the tow vehicle! I had to retrieve my son's car 4 hours away that lost a head gasket on a Mazda6 V6. It was a fair deal for $100. Their trailers are built very well and tow great but the 45mph stickers were funny. Towing a 35ft boat trailer with a 29ft boat is another whole can of worms. My trailer also sets all summer and I would go get a boat for a friend if needed. I would not dunk it in salt water though. I'd have them sling it on and off. Having a towing business would be like a trucking business with too much state & federal paperwork for me, Mike.
 
I've rented trailers two times from a private person. He has 3 or 4 trailers. Two 25' dual axles and a 27' dual axle. He may also have a small single axle.

I was charged $75 a day for the 25'er and $100 a day for the 27'er. They are all roller trailers with surge brakes. When you arrive you sign paperwork (seems very simple document drafted by a lawyer I assume). You give him a boat your towing and he checks that your tricks ok to do it, he also rents equipment to help load the boat (a homemade thing to lift the boat off its stands).

He has been renting them for at least 10 years and I'd imagine a whole lot more. I know nothing of how secure his contracts are, or what happens in case of damage or death? I will however say its a GREAT resource to have locally and if his trailer would fit a 28' x 10.5' express, I would have rented it again a few months back.
 
25thmustang said:
He has been renting them for at least 10 years and I'd imagine a whole lot more. I know nothing of how secure his contracts are, or what happens in case of damage or death?
Click to expand...

As my mother says "it's all fun until someone eye is poked out"

Like many small side businesses, they just don't think through the gamble they may be taking. Kind of like the generator discussion, "I have slept on a boat with a Honda running hundereds of times and I aint died yet" If they have a simple contract they may still be rolling sevens...

MM
 
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