FINDING, FIXING, AND SELLING SMALL TRAILERS

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Try to avoid "boxes" built on the converted back axles of rear-wheel-drive cars or trucks, since the differential-equipped units are heavier than the front shafts are, and more likely to have gear or seal problems as well. Furthermore, if your prospective purchase has metal sides, they should be in fairly good repair, because body work can be both expensive and time-consuming.

Don't be ashamed to use a little "trader's psychology" when you're negotiating a deal. Look skeptical, scratch your ear dubiously, and mumble a bit under your breath. Maintain a somber mien as you kick the tires, open and close the tailgate, and pick up the tongue to evaluate the balance and the hitch weight. Then, while you shake the trailer from side to side to test it for spring strength and wheel wobble (which could be a clue to bad bearings), it probably won't do any harm to grimace a little.

In short, you should try to put the seller on the defensive without being too obnoxious . . . a talent that's shared by almost every trader worth his or her salt. When you've got the owner almost to the point of apologizing for the quality of the goods he or she is trying to fob off on you, it's time to make your offer.

And just how much should that initial bid be? Well, I find that a good rule of thumb is to visualize the trailer all fixed up and ready to sell, estimate your asking price, and then deduct 75% . If the owner looks thunderstruck and threatens to run you off the place, up your offer to 50% of your estimated selling price. Generally, if this tactic isn't successful, you'll be better off looking somewhere else. Of course, there are exceptions. When you run across a real find — a goods hauler that's slick and clean and pretty nearly ready to sell as is — you can settle for a smaller profit margin because you'll have to invest less time and material than usual in readying the trailer for sale.

RECONDITIONING YOUR WARES

I never (well, maybe once in a while, as a last resort) buy anything new to use in remodeling a secondhand hauler: After all, that'd cut into my profit. Instead, I improvise. For instance, despite the present state of the economy, there seems to be a construction boom in our area, so I haunt building sites and scrounge lumber from their trash piles. I also make regular checks of the local dump to look for salvageable materials there. [EDITOR'S NOTE: In many places it's against the law to take anything from a public dump. Check your local ordinances before trying to do so. It's also a good idea to ask before hauling anything away from a construction site, regardless of how "discarded" the material may appear to be.]

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