Hello peeps…
I’m having a slight dilemma with a trailer that i own. It will be 9 years old next month & i’m wondering what to do with it…
I have 3 options. The first option is to sell it & buy a brand new trailer ( +/- 30.000 euros).
2nd option is to sell it & buy 2nd hand trailer maybe 2/3 years old ( between 14.000 & 18.000 euros). Therefore saving me money.
Option 3 is to put new body work on it including a new bulkhead & curtains . Therefore turning this trailer into a DIN EN 12642 (code XL) (cost around 10.000 euros).
With option 2, i’d still need a trailer with a 9 ton floor & i’d have to add extra stabiliser legs at the back ( +/- 2500 euro extra).
With option 3, the trailer would still be 9 years old after i’d put new bodywork on. Therefore trying to sell it later might be difficult due to its age…
This trailer only covers around 350 km’s a day doing the same work everyday ( It’s like Groundhog day for it)…
I’m just looking for advice as my Accountant says one thing, I think something else & then my wife chips in with something else. To top it all, the client has also their point of view…
Help… Cheers… Geoff.
Option 3 seems the best to me. New curtains and the work to make it EN12642 XL along with a shotblast and respray should satisfy your client. All the mechanical and electrical items although worn, while expensive to renew are only going to be what you might have to spend on the option 2 trailer anyway. You could consider whether you might want to update some systems like the level of EBS or fit stability control if the loads have a high C of G, but you would need to price that to see if worthwhile. In the UK this updating would be considered a notifiable alteration so you would need to research what your actual position is regarding that.
However before committing to anything you need a thorough assessment of how much chassis corrosion and cracking is present. You will need to go as far as ripping up the floor above the kingpin to check the state of corrosion in the hidden crossmembers and rubbing plate because this may well write off the entire project, although it can be rectified. If OK you might as well fit a new kingpin regardless.
dexydog:
Get rid and rent one
I’ve enquired about renting, but it’s too expensive for what i need. For a bog standard trailer probably ok to rent.
What does your customer want - New?
I recently bought two trailers new, specialist but you can get them second hand with maybe a few tweaks, at 55k each. My thinking was that a. It looks good from the customers perspective, b. It should give me no serious problems and c. I’m thinking long term, I can ‘forget’ them for a while and if either the contract finishes or changes it’s still a saleable asset.
Personally, I’d rather go for option two over three if option one doesn’t appeal to you.
Don’t know if that helps really. Ultimately there isn’t a right or wrong, there’s only what seems best to you.
Finally got round to buying a new trailer.
Took a while to make your mind up then… 
chaversdad:
Took a while to make your mind up then…
Yes… 
,but got there in the end.
I work for a difficult client with high demands. So, yes it took a while longer than expected.
