Can you finance a grain trailer?

Yes, grain trailers are financed as a standard asset purchase, usually on hire purchase or a lease, with the machine itself acting as the security. UK prices typically run £14,000 to £55,000, and most deals are written over 12–60 months with a deposit of around 10–20%. Decisions typically take 24–48 hours. Used machines are financeable too, usually with a shorter term.

Grain Trailer Finance: Compare Rates from 200+ Lenders

Typical Cost

£14k – £55k

Approval Speed

24–48 hours

Harvest-linked payment profiles available

Rates From

4.5% APR

What would a grain trailer cost per month?

Grain Trailer price (ex VAT) £26,000

Deposit 10%

Agreement term 60 months

Annual interest rate 9%

Balloon payment £0

Your estimate

Indicative only. Not a quote and not an offer of finance.

Pre-filled with a typical grain trailer price. Indicative only, not a quote.

Finance options

Hire Purchase (HP)

Rate: From 4.9% APR
Term: 12–60 months
Deposit: 10–20%
Ownership: Yours at the end
Best for: Arable farms wanting to own the trailer outright

Finance Lease

Rate: From 4.5% APR
Term: 12–60 months
Deposit: None required
Ownership: Return or buy (balloon payment)
Best for: Tax-efficient, grain trailers hold value well and suit a manageable balloon

Operating Lease

Rate: From 5.2% APR
Term: 24–48 months
Deposit: None required
Ownership: Return at end
Best for: Larger arable units and contractors wanting higher capacity for a growing combine fleet

Representative example

On a purchase price of £26,000: a 10% deposit of £2,600, then 48 monthly payments of £548 at 5.9% APR representative (fixed). Total amount payable £28,904, including the deposit. The rate you are offered depends on your business and the asset.

What buyers actually specify

Guide prices for sizing a finance agreement, not quotes. Manufacturers in this market mostly price on application, so where a current UK list price could not be confirmed the row describes a specification class rather than naming a model. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.

Machine or specification	Guide price	Type
Richard Western SF14	£14,000 – £20,000	12-Tonne Grain/Silage Trailer
Bailey TB16 Roadeo	£18,000 – £26,000	16-Tonne Grain Trailer
Richard Western 18T	£24,000 – £34,000	18-Tonne Grain Trailer
Marshall QM/20	£38,000 – £55,000	20-Tonne High-Capacity Grain Trailer

Tax benefits

Grain trailers qualify for Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), letting you deduct the full cost from taxable profits in year one, up to £1,000,000. HP gives access to capital allowances; lease payments are fully deductible from farming profits.

Market context

Grain trailers are a core part of harvest logistics on any arable farm, moving grain from the combine to the store or dryer as quickly as possible to keep the combine cutting rather than waiting, so trailer capacity and number are usually matched to combine output and the distance to the grain store. Because trailers see intensive use during a short harvest window and then sit for much of the rest of the year, chassis, floor, and hydraulic tailgate condition tends to drive replacement more than age, and the established UK trailer manufacturers, whose products are widely recognised across British arable farming, support a steady used and part-exchange market.

Bad credit?

Several of our 200+ lenders specialise in businesses with imperfect credit histories. You may need a larger deposit or personal guarantee, but options exist. Checking your options here does not affect your credit score, because we do not run a credit search to match you. A lender will run their own checks only if you decide to apply.

Frequently asked questions

Can I finance a used grain trailer?

Yes. Most lenders will finance a used grain trailer up to around 15 years old, with the rate and terms depending on the condition of the chassis, floor and hydraulic tailgate rather than age alone, since these are the components that see the most wear during a busy harvest. Grain trailers are relatively simple mechanically compared with self-propelled machinery, so a well-maintained older trailer from an established UK manufacturer is often still financeable, and a straightforward inspection or the trailer's service history is usually enough to support the application rather than a full engineering survey.

How many trailers do I need for my combine?

That depends on your combine's output and the distance and turnaround time to your grain store, rather than on the finance itself, so it's worth working this out with your supplier before deciding how many trailers to finance. Many arable farms run two or three trailers per combine during harvest so the combine never has to stop and wait for a trailer to return, and you can finance multiple trailers together as one facility rather than as separate agreements. Buying a matched set at once, rather than adding trailers one at a time as the farm grows, is often the more efficient way to structure the finance.

Are seasonal payment plans available for grain trailer finance?

Yes. Because a grain trailer earns its keep during a concentrated harvest period and the farm's income from grain sales tends to follow through the marketing year afterwards, agricultural lenders commonly structure repayments annually, timed after harvest, rather than as a flat monthly amount spread evenly across the year. This suits arable cash flow better than a standard monthly schedule, since the farm isn't making trailer repayments during the quieter months before the next harvest when income is lower. It's worth discussing a seasonal or harvest-linked payment profile with your broker at the application stage, since not every lender offers this as standard.

Can I finance a grain trailer alongside a tractor or combine?

Yes. Many lenders will finance a grain trailer together with the tractor or combine it's paired with as one facility, which is a common way farms fund a complete harvest set in a single application rather than arranging separate finance for each item. This can simplify the paperwork and give you one repayment schedule to manage rather than several, and lenders assessing a complete harvest package can sometimes offer better overall terms than financing each piece of equipment on its own. Each item still needs to be itemised with its own value on the supplier invoice so the lender can see exactly what is being financed.

What deposit do I need for grain trailer finance?

For hire purchase, most lenders ask for a 10 to 20% deposit, while finance lease and operating lease agreements are commonly available with no deposit required. Given trailers range from around £14,000 for a 12-tonne model up to £55,000 for a high-capacity 20-tonne trailer, the deposit has more effect on the monthly repayment at the higher end of that range. Farms financing several trailers together as one harvest set sometimes negotiate the deposit across the whole facility rather than trailer by trailer, which can simplify the application.

Does towing a grain trailer on public roads affect the finance I can get?

It doesn't affect the finance itself, which is arranged the same way regardless of how the trailer will be towed, but it is worth checking separately from the finance application. Whether a grain trailer can legally be towed behind a particular tractor or vehicle on public roads depends on the combined weight of the tractor and loaded trailer together, and on the driver's licence category, so this is worth confirming before ordering a larger trailer than you currently run. This is a road use question rather than a finance one, and your equipment supplier or the DVLA is the right place to check the specific weight and licence rules that apply to your setup.

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Grain Trailer Finance