Maintenance & Restoration

jenbooks · 05-10-2012, 04:32 PM

1) Is it okay therefore, to give the guy I'm paying to tow it, who had 40 positive reviews on uship and seems really nice, the title, the registration, the bill of sale and the keys???? Or should copies be made in case he's pulled over, and she fedex them to me where I am?

What's the safest option?

2) She says the hitch on the burro is sideways? Something sort of unusual looking. Or tongue, rather. You know what I mean. Does a regular hitch/receiver work well? This little burro is only 13 feet and does not have brakes.

Any cautions to tell my driver besides take your time, and take it easy...

Any advice appreciated.

I may not even open it when I get it. I'm so freaked out that I did this!!! LOL.

BCDave · 05-10-2012, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenbooks

1) Is it okay therefore, to give the guy I'm paying to tow it, who had 40 positive reviews on uship and seems really nice, the title, the registration, the bill of sale and the keys???? Or should copies be made in case he's pulled over, and she fedex them to me where I am?

What's the safest option?

2) She says the hitch on the burro is sideways? Something sort of unusual looking. Or tongue, rather. You know what I mean. Does a regular hitch/receiver work well? This little burro is only 13 feet and does not have brakes.

Any cautions to tell my driver besides take your time, and take it easy...

Any advice appreciated.

I may not even open it when I get it. I'm so freaked out that I did this!!! LOL.

Give her copies. (you keep originals)

Not sure what someone means about "hitch is sideways" unless its one of those super heavy-duty hitches that seems to be sideways when unhooked but is actually a clamshell design. A bit of "overkill" ??? on a 13 footer?

Cyndivg11 · 05-10-2012, 06:46 PM

Uship is a reputable co. I agree, u keep originals, fax them copies.

Carol H · 05-10-2012, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenbooks

1) Is it okay therefore, to give the guy I'm paying to tow it, who had 40 positive reviews on uship and seems really nice, the title, the registration, the bill of sale and the keys???? Or should copies be made in case he's pulled over, and she fedex them to me where I am?

I would only give the driver copies of what ever paper work he actually says he needs & not give them the originals if at all possible- not sure why he would want the keys or the bill of sale. I would have the person you purchased it from of fedex you all the original paper work in case the trailer goes missing in transit.... its happened.

Quote:

2) She says the hitch on the burro is sideways? Something sort of unusual looking. Or tongue, rather. You know what I mean. Does a regular hitch/receiver work well? This little burro is only 13 feet and does not have brakes.

Do you have a photo of the burro you purchased to post so as to better understand what type of hitch it has on it>

I would also buy insurance for it before I had it towed......

Cyndivg11 · 05-10-2012, 10:11 PM

I also bought my fg trailer wo seeing it- asked the right questions, and it was everything as described when i finally went to get it. The man held it for me for 5 mths w a cash down payment- but we hit it off we became friends and stayed in touch over the mths till winter passed for me to make the trip from PA to OR.

Carol H · 05-11-2012, 12:27 AM

I bought mine sight unseen as well and it turned out just fine.

jenbooks · 05-11-2012, 09:43 AM

Thanks. She's sending me the originals UPS, and we're giving him a copy of the bill of sale, and a document saying he has approval to tow it for 3 days. I am not sure what you mean by insure it--when I called GEICO they said it would be insured by my liability and they wouldn't insure it otherwise as it wasn't worth enough. Of course, I am not towing it at the moment.

I think I got it wrong about the hitch--I don't know--she said The tongue is on the side, that's all. They made all burros this way. The hitch works the same as a regular trailer.

It's just that--she said she had two hitches, because it needs to be level? Can anyone tell me what needs to be done as it's being towed many miles and I want it to be towed level? I know NOTHING about this stuff at the moment and will have to learn it all. THANKS!

ThomasE · 05-11-2012, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenbooks

It's just that--she said she had two hitches, because it needs to be level? Can anyone tell me what needs to be done as it's being towed many miles and I want it to be towed level?

She probably means she has 2 different height drawbars, the drawbar is the thing you screw a hitch ball to that goes into the hitch receiver. I would think that a professional hauler would have the right height drawbar or an adjustable one.

Carol H · 05-11-2012, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenbooks

I am not sure what you mean by insure it--when I called GEICO they said it would be insured by my liability and they wouldn't insure it otherwise as it wasn't worth enough. Of course, I am not towing it at the moment.]

What I meant when I asked about the insurance was if it gets lost or stolen or damaged while its being delivered to you, will your insurance cover you for the cost of what you paid for it? If you have not yet registered it in your name? As you bought it I am assuming you paid something for it. Or does the person who is towing it for you carry their own insurance which will cover it while its is in their possession.

I would not worry to much about the being towed level issue - if the person doing the towing for you has towing experience its a good bet they know what they need to do to make it a safe tow for them. To make yourself feel better about it though you could ask the person doing the towing how big a truck they will be towing with and if they have drop bars with them to level your little trailer out a bit if needed.

I am sure it is going to work out just fine!

jen b · 05-11-2012, 03:20 PM

No advice to add, but....yay, another Jen with a Burro!

RogerDat · 05-11-2012, 04:41 PM

I wonder if they mean the ball latch handle is sideways?

jenbooks · 05-12-2012, 07:51 AM

Well, thanks y'all for the advice. She is UPS second day air to me, the title, registration, key, bill of sale etc. She's written up a document giving him permission to tow it to me through Tuesday (ie arriving Tuesday). He probably will arrive Monday, though. They will call me when he arrives.

No, I don't have special insurance, in case something happens. And she is letting us use her tag, which is really nice, and solves a zillion bureacratic issues. So basically he's towing it, period. I won't even yet have the key when it arrives (we decided that was best, so it's locked, and even though he seems a very nice guy and has no interest in going in it, for liability issues, I'd rather not have the temptation.)

I have chemical and mold sensitivities, that was an issue per my previous posts on here, which is one reason I'm still very anxious, and yet it's the reason i bought it. Utah is dry, it was stored under a carport, not cooked in, and she has chemical sensitivities too (she is the second owner), so, she didn't use fabric softener, pesticides, or crap that would poison my delicate system.

But there's no proof there might not be some rot somewhere, who knows. I've read the long thread here where someone is rehabbing a burro with a totally rotted floor and the plywood was only 3/4 inch or something like that. Because it's double walled, rain can get in thru leaky windows and into the floor. But since it was in a dry climate and stored under cover, and not used much at all in the last ten years, as the previous owner had a fifth wheel, well, I have fingers crossed, plus this gal had looked it over fairly closely before she bought it herself.

It seemed better than buying something sight unseen in the southeast where I live, simply because, it's very humid here at times and unless an owner is careful, lots more problems can arise. And the fact is, even when a trailer was four or five hours from me, I'd never get a chance to see it if it was well priced, as it would be sold in a couple of hours.

Well wish me luck! It might not work out, I'm prepared for that. I hope it does though. I suspect I"ll replace the carpet with nontoxic wool berber high quality carpet, or maybe some other nontoxic flooring, and the water tank needs to be replaced, and I'll probably put miniblinds up, maybe I will even put a really beautiful sink in or something. A few small touches. I want simplicity though.

Please all send me good wishes, prayers, and any good thoughts that it all works out!

jenbooks · 05-12-2012, 07:56 AM

By the way, I am fairly certain I overpaid for it. I didn't dicker about price. The history of the trailer seemed such that it was worth taking the risk. And the towing adds to cost, and then, whatever updates nontoxic I will make IF I'm lucky enough for it to work out. I don't mind! Also it's 13 feet. I started small. Maybe if it works out I'll get two foot itis like others say. LOL.

Donna D. · 05-12-2012, 08:00 AM

Congrats Jen, I know your condition required a special trailer and I'm betting this one is it! I don't know about you, but when I buy something I'm less concerned about price as much as I am about making the right choice for me! We know if you were willing to wait (and wait and wait and wait) you may have found a cheaper trailer right in your home town... or maybe not. NOW, it's yours and you'll start making memories right away.

You will post pictures won't you?