Randy, for the record I think highly of you and personally think you of all people don't deserve this.

A couple years ago a very generous member here offered me one of his boats for the weekend to enjoy. Said it was sitting there and I could take it with no worries. I was very honored that he even offered. I didn't hesitate to turn down his offer for one simple reason. If a drive or motor went while I was operating the boat there was no way I could possibly afford to repair it for him. In my opinion I couldn't afford to borrow it from him regardless of his generosity.

I'm thinking your borrower was raised a little differently than some of us were.

Buck

That was your first mistake.



Not the first time that person walks away from resolving an issue.

Randy, not that you're real excited about doing "business" with said party in the future, but what can they do for you that is not cash out of their pocket?

I suspect they could have claimed it on their truck insurance.

If they hit something like road scrap on hiway and ripped axle mounts, doesnt insurance cover that ?

+1

I very rarely borrow or loan anything. I have a few close friends that I have trusted with my boats, cars and even airplane. I have also on occasion borrowed some of their things. I would never, ever borrow something that I was not willing or able to repair 100% in the even of a mishap, my fault or otherwise.

sounds like that dip $hit from LOTO that has a 40 Skater huh

A well know out of state used boat sales company asks to borrow your tilt trailer (free of charge) for an upcoming event to show off a little, you hesitate but eventually say yes because you are a nice guy and think it would be cool. company takes trailer hauls it from MO to FL with boat on it and back empty.

That was very nice of you to loan it to whomever it was that needed it. The generosity of the boating community can be pretty amazing at times.

Trailer comes back with a flat spare and flat spot on the existing tire still on the trailer with a locked up break and a busted axle and a bent up fender. My guy hooks up to it, drives less than 100 miles and the axle and wheel come flying off. Price to fix trailer is $7500. Company says they will pay for a new tire and thats it, its not their fault. WHAT

Did your guy discuss the busted up stuff with them before he hooked up to it, or was the only visible problem at the time was the tires? If the stuff was not busted, and your guy hooked up and pulled it, it may be pretty tough to hang it on the folks that borrowed it.

OK, i get it, maybe if i would have been hauling the boat the same thing would have happened, maybe not, how long did they pull the empty trailer with a locked up break? Who nows the real deal, i dont.

You may never know, and you may drive yourself nuts trying to figure it out

So my question is, should i just bend over and pay for it or what, what would you do?

It could be argued that all of this would have happened anyway. It seems like a good resolution would be to offer to split the cost of repairs with the folks that borrowed the trailer. They will just need to look at it as being $3750 worth of rental on a high dollar trailer. Now if the axle would have let loose while they were actually towing it, then I would say that it would be all on them.

If there is a silver lining to all of this, at least Speedy was not on the trailer at the time. I have seen pics of tires/axles that have blown out and done some pretty major damage to the boat on the trailer. Not much consolation under the circumstances, but you may have dodged a bigger bullet.
Imagine your driver calling you 1/2 way between home and Havasu and telling you the bad news.

Whatever happens, good luck with it, as it is never a good situation.

My Dad taught me to never borrow anything you can't or are unwilling to cut the cheque to replace in case you screw it up.

Sounds like you will be the one getting screwed here.

It is pretty crappy who did this. I have seen this trailer in person and it is pretty messed up.
Randy should we post pics of it?

Jupiter aka Culumbo dont quit your day job :D:lolhit: