trailer hire
Should you hire or buy a trailer?
Trailers are the category where buying wins soonest, because a galvanised trailer barely depreciates and a used one sells quickly. The real question is rarely the money - it is whether you have somewhere legal and secure to keep it, and whether your vehicle and licence can tow the one you actually need.
Last reviewed 13 September 2026
Why trust this page: GetBrent is a directory. We take no commission on hires and we sell nothing. The manufacturer would rather you bought and the hire company would rather you hired - we have no stake in which way you go, which is the only reason a comparison like this is worth reading.
Hire when...
You need it a handful of times a year
A tip run every few months, a house move, one horse show. At that frequency hire costs less than the insurance and storage alone.
You need a type you will not need again
A plant trailer for one delivery, a car transporter for one collection. Buying a specialised trailer for a single job is how yards fill up with trailers nobody uses.
You have nowhere secure to keep it
Trailer theft is common and a trailer on a driveway is both a target and, in many streets, a parking dispute. Hire hands the storage problem to somebody else.
You are not sure what size you need
Hiring twice and getting it wrong once is far cheaper than buying the wrong trailer. Most hire firms will happily tell you what people your side of the job actually take.
Buy when...
You use one most weeks
Regular use is where the arithmetic flips fast, and it flips faster for trailers than for anything else in hire because depreciation is so low.
You need it at no notice
The trailer you own is available on a Sunday morning. The one you hire is subject to somebody else having brought it back.
You will get most of your money back
A well-kept galvanised trailer from a known make holds its value unusually well - which is why the resale market is so active and why buying is less risky here than in most categories.
The spec matters to you
Ramps, a specific bed height, a particular hitch or a cover you rely on. Hire fleets stock what suits everybody, which may not suit you.
Work out your own break-even
We do not publish prices, because a national average would be wrong for your job. Put in the quotes you have actually been given and the sum does the rest. Nothing is saved or sent.
On running costs: Storage, insurance and servicing spread across the days you actually use it. If you hire storage at a monthly rate, divide by the days you expect to use the trailer that month.
Enter a purchase price and a hire rate to see the answer.
A guide, not advice. It compares cash spent and ignores finance, tax treatment, VAT recovery and what the item is worth when you sell it - all of which can move the answer, sometimes a long way. For anything substantial, put the numbers to your accountant.
The costs people forget
A purchase price against a day rate is not a fair comparison. These are what sit on the ownership side of it.
Storage
Secure, dry, and somewhere you are allowed to keep it. Often the single biggest ongoing cost and the one most often left out.
Insurance
Most car policies cover towing third-party only. Cover for the trailer itself and its contents is usually separate.
Servicing and MOT-equivalent checks
Brakes, bearings, lights and tyres. A trailer that sits unused still degrades, and bearings are the classic neglected item.
Towing capability
A tow bar, electrics, and a vehicle rated for the weight. If you need a different vehicle to tow it, that is the real purchase price.
Licence category
Heavier combinations need the right entitlement. Check before you buy, not on the morning of the job.
Before you commit either way
- Check your vehicle plate for its maximum towing weight, and your licence for what you are entitled to tow.
- Weigh what you actually carry, not what you think you carry. Payload is the number that matters, not the trailer size.
- If buying used, check the chassis number, ask for the original paperwork, and look hard at bearings, brakes and the floor.
- If hiring, ask whether straps, a cover, a spare wheel and lighting are included or extra.
If you are buying, know the makes
What each manufacturer builds, the model ranges, and how they compare.
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