What's going to happen to trailer prices?

Herzlos

So we're not far away from everyone getting B+E licenses without a test, unlocking bigger trailers for a lot of drivers.

Safety issues with lack of training aside, does anyone have have info in terms of what will happen to pricing? Will demand increase? Will anyone care?

Background: I've concluded I don't use mine enough to justify having to move it around all the time, and trying to figure out (a) when I should sell it and (b) how much it's likely to actually be worth.

AdrianC

I doubt there'll be much of an effect - it certainly isn't as simple as B+E.

A year or so ago, I was talking to a local trailer supplier. Small outfit, two guys - one of whom was Polish. They imported flatpack trailers from Poland, assembled them, and sold them on. To put their prices into perspective, I was looking at an unbraked 8x4 high-sided cage trailer - less than £800, brand new. Those prices are obviously going to go up with increased import costs. At the other end of their range, somebody was collecting a 7m bed-length triple-axle car transporter trailer while I was there.

They were absolutely FLAT OUT last year... Why? Because of a lot of people were buying them in preparation for shifting all their gear back home when they left the country before the end of the Brexit transition.

Round here in the sticks, all the driving instructors do trailer and 7.5t lessons - huge demand from the agricultural and equestrian markets.

Herzlos

You're right in that maybe B+E won't make any real difference, because I suspect most of the people who need a big trailer and don't have B+E are using them anyway and pleading ignorance given the negligable chance of being caught.

Though I wonder if there'll be any uptick based on Covid/Driver/Van shortages, because if you can't get a van, you can potentially use a car + trailer, or if you have a van, you can potentially double the payload with a trailer, and so on.

That said, I'm only talking about an open topped trailer so the use is limited to weatherproof stuff and I doubt anyone would want to use it to deliver goods to shops.

AdrianC

Vans are simply far less of a pain in the backside than towing, given any kind of choice...

In terms of volume, a single 3.5t van is far more capacious than any car + trailer option short of a big 4x4 with a big box trailer. But - yep - if you're looking at particularly dense loads, then you've got more scope for weight with van + trailer. Or more scope for being overweight...

I saw a post on FB recently from the police somewhere in the country, I forget where, with a photo of a 3.5t van that'd raised their suspicions... It turned out to be 3t overweight.

Grumpy_chap

Clearly, trailer prices will plummet.  Along with van prices and used car prices.
No use without fuel.

I understand Elon has brought forward the launch of CYBER TRUCK!!!

And this:

Herzlos

It very much depends on what you're transporting, but the weight load of a 3.5t van is pretty disappointing. Obviously if you're carrying pillows it's not going to be an issue, but if you're carry cases of beer, or wood or something.

According to this, the highest payload for a 3.5t van is 1620kg : https://probuildermag.co.uk/features/which-are-the-top-five-3-5-tonne-vans

Whereas with one of these : https://www.iwt.co.uk/products/box-van/box-van-braked/?tab=spec#tab
You can get up to about 2100kg of payload, with trailers of a similar size to many vans.

So take a Movano and stick a 12x5 box van on the back and you've pretty much doubled the volume/weight load without the need for a 2nd driver (or any extra training).

Thesaltmustflow

I've got B+E AND C1E so I think I'll be ok.