There are times when renting a trailer makes sense. You have to take in the pros and cons of buying trailers vs. renting trailers to finally arrive at the right decision. Here are some of the benefits of renting a trailer:

1. Duration of Use

If you only need a trailer for a short duration or a one-time event, then yes, it makes sense to rent it. You have the convenience of getting in and out fast. You don’t have the hassle of arranging for financing, and you don’t have all the licensing, registration and insurance paperwork to fill out. With short-term renting, you also don’t have upkeep responsibilities that you do as an owner.

2. Financial

Renting a trailer is a good idea if you have financing issues. Most financial institutes require a substantial down payment, and that dips into your cash reserves. You might also have a significant existing debt-to-service ratio which makes financing a challenge. You don’t have those problems with rental trailers.

3. Flexiblilty

Another benefit of renting a trailer is flexibilty. When renting you have the ability to choose a different trailer based on what you are trying to accomplish. For small jobs you can hire a smaller more practical trailer and then when you need to move large furniture or objects, a large tandem trailer would be more suitable.

4. Storing

Where you store your trailer when not in use might be a challenge if you own it and have the trailer around permanently. Trailers take up parking room. That could be a premium, depending on your location. If you rent a trailer, you can pick it up and drop it off at the rental company rather than trying to store it where you have little or no room.

5. Maintenance

Rental companies have the responsibility to maintain their inventory. Reputable rental companies keep their fleet well-maintained because it makes good business sense. Regular maintenance costs money, and this is all covered by the rental company. There’s some peace of mind here.

Benefits of Owning Trailers

Trailers are an excellent asset. That’s regardless if you’re a professional earning your livelihood with a trailer as a business tool. Or, you might be a serious hobbyist who pulls a trailer full of recreational toys. Either way, if you plan to use your trailer often, you’ll want to look into the benefits of buying a trailer.

1. Capital Investment

If you purchase a trailer rather than rent one, you have a capital investment to show for it. In other words, your money goes into a hard asset. You’ve acquired a tangible commodity that’s yours, and you have a valuable possession that you call your own. A bought trailer becomes part of your overall portfolio whether you’ve made it as a business investment or consider it a personal asset.

2. Return on Investment

When you’ve bought and paid for a trailer, you can expect a return on your investment. Unlike a rental arrangement, purchase agreements allow you to gain a return on your investment. That can be from using your trailer as a business venture or tool where it makes you money. Or, it can be a return in the way of having a valuable commodity to your name that you can use to leverage other options like borrowing collateral.

3. Availability

An owned trailer is an available trailer. It’s there when and where you need it, rather than having to contact a rental company and source a trailer when necessary. You have little or no downtime spent traveling to a rental agency and picking up a trailer. You also have the convenience of leaving your trailer loaded between uses which saves you more time.

4. Flexibility

By buying a trailer and owning it outright, you have the flexibility to use your trailer as you see fit. You’re not bound by terms and conditions that a rental company fixes. You can loan or sub-let your trailer to another party, which you can’t do with a rental unit. You have the flexibility to convert your trailer into another configuration to serve a purpose you never anticipated. You also have the flexibility with ownership to sell your trailer if the right opportunity arises.

5. Taxability

If you use your purchased trailer for business, you have some attractive tax benefits available. Whereas a rented trailer is considered a one-time business expense, a purchased trailer is a business asset. You’re allowed tax deductions for depreciation which offset the initial purchase cost. This adds to your return on investment and makes taxability an attractive benefit.

6. Overall Use

How many times you’ll use your trailer is a critical factor in tipping the ownership benefit scale. There’ll be a point where the number of times you use a trailer will make buying one the only sensible and logical option. That number of overall uses will depend on your specific situation. It also takes in the previous benefits and makes the total ownership package your only viable choice.