Monday, February 14, 2011

A trailer for me - I call it Serendipity


Don't you love it when something good happens to you when you least expect it? I had something like this happen to me this weekend.

We've been in the market for a small horse/livestock trailer for some time. I don't know what the prices for used trailers are in your area, but in our part of northwest Oregon, prices are *insane*. People routinely ask $1500 for a 30-35 year old, dented and rusty trailer that has its floor rotting out. Since I don't need a trailer that frequently, paying so much for something that is rarely used just wasn't going to be a good investment for us.

But then... something happened that I never even considered in my wildest dreams. While on a walk the other day, we noticed that a neighbor of ours, who has no animals, suddenly had a horse trailer on his property.

The next time we saw him, we asked him about it, thinking he might be willing to loan it to us on occasion. It turns out, though, he had been given this trailer in trade for some work he did and his intention was to pull it apart and sell it as scrap metal! My husband immediately told him he'd be willing to buy it from him and the neighbor said that he would consider that and would think of a price he felt would be fair.

On Saturday, our wonderful neighbor came to our house and said that for $250 we could have this little trailer. What are the chances a neighbor with no animals would find himself in the possession of the perfect trailer for us - and want to sell it to us? Talk about serendipity. I love country life!

Now, this trailer will be called flat-out ugly by most, but to me, she's lovely. She's completely covered in rust, but she has no dents and the rust seems topical. Her body is sturdy and, inside, her wood floor is sound and solid:

We never wanted anything fancier. The best thing is that she is the PERFECT size. We wanted something that could carry the donkeys, if ever necessary, and Kai llama this spring when I need to take her to be shorn. This is an ideal little trailer for exactly this:

After we got her home, we needed to go to the hardware store to get a proper connection so we could hook it up to our truck and see if the trailer lights worked:

And, then, just as it was getting dark, my husband put on a light show for me:

I've got a trailer! She may be a rusty bucket of bolts, but she's sound and she's sturdy and she's all mine. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to find a country neighbor who wants to sand her down and paint her for me. :-)

Now we get to practice climbing into the trailer nicely when asked:

36 comments:

  1. Getting your first trailer, no matter its condition, is so exciting! You feel like the world can be your oyster now - at least I did, because it enabled me to go places and do more things with my horse.... Congrats!

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  2. Good thinks happen to good people. Your new good mood must be catching.

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  3. Excellent bargain!! And the lights work?? Double bargain. You definitely got a deal, and it looks to be a good sturdy haul. I used some rustoleum implement paint on mine and it looks like new...sealed it up anyway. Congratulations!!

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  4. It's beautiful! I want one! Congrats, I hope your animal friends like it too.

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  5. Congratulations on your find! I love those kinds of stories. Everybody wins!

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  6. The trailer is wonderful! I hope the donkey boys think so too.

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  7. I never thought anyone could be so ecstatic about a rusty old horse trailer, but then I saw it. What a beautiful, practical, affordable and useful vehicle. Good things happen to 'over-the-top-enthusiastic-grateful farm girls.

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  8. Congratulations, Danni. Isn't it funny how things work out sometimes? I'm really glad you got a trailer, and it does look Just. Perfect.

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  9. Looks like a good trailer to me. Good find!

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  10. Oh Danni.... I think she is just perfect! What an amazing "gift" you got this weekend.

    Now, maybe the boys and Kai will give you a gift and load as perfectly :)

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  11. Congrats. Good things come to those who wait :D
    LiBBiE in Oz

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  12. Serendipity is the perfect name for her! I don't think that's an ugly trailer at all. Not at all. And for $250 she's downright beautiful :)

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  13. Why you lucky duck! They go for crazy money around here too. Hence why we don't have one. For now if I need to take anyone anywhere they ride in the back of my blazer. LOL

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  14. PLEASE crawl under that and look at the undercarriage. We almost bought one that looked better than that with a new floor. The new floor covered rusted axles, etc. You put half a ton of animal back there, and wood is NOT going to hold them up!

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  15. what luck! i have a friend that is a landscaper. she just started her own business and was low on cash. she found a great deal on an old pickup that was in good running order but had rust and dents and looked pretty bad. she was concerned that the look of the truck would reflect on her abilities. so, she lightly sanded it, painted it with primer and then painted the entire truck with flowers and ferns and trees, etc.. it is the coolest thing and actually attracts attention to her business now and makes her look very artistic. maybe you could do a critter farm version of her truck!

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  16. What a GREAT deal! And you've got the right idea about getting the animals used to going into and out of the trailer now, rather than wait until it's an emergency. If you put some straw down in the trailer, they'll be more comfortable walking into it too...

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  17. Congratulations Danni! That is the most perfect trailer cause it's yours, all yours! Yep. I believe in serendipity.

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  18. I love it...It's so nice to see people being neighborly...one day we were handing out eggs to our neighbors and many of them asked why were we doing this...did we expect money? They couldn't get their heads around our "just being neighborly" reply...

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  19. I don't know what your setup looks like, but is it possible to put the trailer in the donkey pasture?
    Many folks (if their animals aren't accident prone), out the trailer out with their animals to get used to----back end open. That way if they go in/out, there is no stress involved.

    Congratulations on your new trailer!!! She's beautiful! :)

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  20. Can you say "SCREAMING DEAL"??? That is wonderful! To have all it has - when you get it, so perfect! Congrats!

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  21. What a great deal! A little sanding and some new paint and you've got yourself a fine-looking trailer. Congratulations!

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  22. Excellent find and good luck getting the donkeys in there. It took us 4 days to get ours transported!

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  23. $250!!!! I think your trailer is just perfect!
    Congratulations are in order.

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  24. That is really awesome! What a blessing. I've never owned a trailer, but those prices you mentioned for used ones even sound crazy to me. My great uncle made his own trailers, big ones because he is a cattle rancher.

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  25. Congratulations! That is amazing. :)

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  26. PERFECT!!!!! Sometimes GOOD things happen when you least expect it!! I'm so happy you got one..and now the critters can go for a ride in style! How hard will it be to train them to get in it?? Probably when they see those carrots they'll jump right in!

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  27. The trailer looks to be in fairly good condition. Around here it would run in the $1200 range. Great find.

    ~~Matt~~

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  28. I love serendipity. That looks like a very fine ride, indeed. Good luck getting the boys inside it...they look a little skeptical, although I'll bet if you put an empty feed bag inside, Kai will hop right in. *smile*

    P.S. Thank you for all the virtual hugs. Sure have needed them.

    Love you,
    Carolynn

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  29. A nice trailer and the lights even work, what a find. Have fun teaching everyone to go up the ramp. Have a great week!

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  30. Very exciting!! The practicing could be another story. :) So happy for you.
    Staci

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  31. Fantastic bargain! Trailers are way overpriced here too, which is why we don't have one.

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  32. I love it when something good happens to a good person.
    What color would you paint it and would you put a design on it?
    Now you can give trailer driving lessons.
    Congrats on the great find!
    If you find a tractor that needs a home, let me know!
    www.tailgait.blogspot.com

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  33. All it needs is racing stripes...

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  34. Wow, such a deal! And it truly is perfect for your situation. I'm thinking Jen paid about $1200 and we thought that was a bargain! Nothing compared to your purchase.

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