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tt473

Loaning a rig, for payment

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Hi. I don't really jump very often and I have a perfectly good rig with a forgiving 210 main that I know a lot of the other newer club jumpers at my DZ would love to use if they could, rather than waiting for rental/student rigs when available.

I might jump on one more occasion this year, or maybe not even that, so my rig is just sitting there doing nothing. I've heard before that people do loan their rigs to people for the short- or medium-term and I'd be interested in doing this, to get a bit of money back for myself and seriously cut costs for the other guy as well.

Firstly, is this actually done or am I mistaken?

What do I need to think about, and should I draw up a little contract in case of problems? I'm thinking of things like who is responsible for repacking costs in case of a reserve opening (definitely the guy jumping it, IMO), and what if he loses the main, or damages it or the some other part of the rig? Wear and tear should be accounted for in the fee he pays me to use the rig, but large-scale damage is another matter.

Do you have any suggestions or is this a fairly simple thing really?

Thanks,

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tt473

Hi. I don't really jump very often and I have a perfectly good rig with a forgiving 210 main that I know a lot of the other newer club jumpers at my DZ would love to use if they could, rather than waiting for rental/student rigs when available.

I might jump on one more occasion this year, or maybe not even that, so my rig is just sitting there doing nothing. I've heard before that people do loan their rigs to people for the short- or medium-term and I'd be interested in doing this, to get a bit of money back for myself and seriously cut costs for the other guy as well.

Firstly, is this actually done or am I mistaken?

What do I need to think about, and should I draw up a little contract in case of problems? I'm thinking of things like who is responsible for repacking costs in case of a reserve opening (definitely the guy jumping it, IMO), and what if he loses the main, or damages it or the some other part of the rig? Wear and tear should be accounted for in the fee he pays me to use the rig, but large-scale damage is another matter.

Do you have any suggestions or is this a fairly simple thing really?

Thanks,



I would have to know someone pretty damn well before I would even consider loaning/renting my gear to them. Too many possible bad outcomes for everyone.

I also don't like to hear someone say they don't jump very often. You don't mention your experience level, but regardless it's not safe to put long breaks between jumps.
Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

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I rent used gear to new people sometimes. There are two ways to go. Charge 20 -30 a jump and take the risk of damage, lost handles, rigging and parts yourself. Or sit down and talk to the person about who is responsible for what. Write down a list of what parts cost how much and make sure the person has the resources to pay if needed.

Most of the time when I do this it's for a monthly or even seasonal basis. It helps quite a bit that I am a rigger and can do most of the maintenance myself. I usually include repacks in the price because I don't want the cost to be a factor in anyone's decision to cut away. I honestly don't think I would do it if I wasn't a rigger, although it still may work for you. A lot would depend on how nice the rig is. Newer jumpers WILL fall down and scuff it up at least a little. You have to expect normal wear and tear.

Chuck is correct about currency, but that's not a gear issue, so I won't address it except to say that if you do very few jumps maybe you should sell the rig and rent yourself. How many jumps per year are you planning?
Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

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I agree that currency is good. The more the better. I don't think that not jumping very often should mean that you rush out and sell your gear. I've had periods where I didn't jump much but I was glad I had the gear to get current on again.



gowlerk


Chuck is correct about currency, but that's not a gear issue, so I won't address it except to say that if you do very few jumps maybe you should sell the rig and rent yourself. How many jumps per year are you planning?

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ctrph8

I agree that currency is good. The more the better. I don't think that not jumping very often should mean that you rush out and sell your gear. I've had periods where I didn't jump much but I was glad I had the gear to get current on again.



Agreed. It'd cost me a lot more to replace my gear than I'd make selling it, and I always knew I'd come back after my times of infrequent jumping.
cavete terrae.

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gowlerk

How many jumps per year are you planning?



More than enough for owning gear to make sense financially. It's an average £13 for rental at my DZs. Reserve repacks are £40 (so £80 per year, say, assuming I jump through winter as well). Assuming I have no other maintenance costs, I only need to make 7 jumps to be in "profit" from owning instead of renting - and every jump above and beyond that is £13 saved. Assuming no other rigging costs! Which hasn't been the case this year :/

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Quote

I know a lot of the other newer club jumpers at my DZ would love to use if they could, rather than waiting for rental/student rigs when available.



Your best bet will be to work through the DZ/club and make a deal with them where they take the rig into their rental fleet, and come up with some sort of split on the rental income. Have them handle everything from collecting payment, to packing, to overseeing the maintenance.

If you can just hand it over and get $5 per jump, it's going to be much better than you trying to 'manage' the rig for $13 per jump. You never have to worry about who is jumping it or what they are doing, you just let it sit and make you money. Truth be told, you'll probably make more money working with the DZ as opposed to trying to do it yourself. You'll have more people wanting to jump the rig, and the DZ can 'manage' the rig while you are not there to oversee things.

Now keep in mind that you will add wear and tear to your rig, it's going to get dirty when the newbies tumble on landing, and you're going to wear out the lines on your main in the process. Of course, if you can collect $5/jump, that will more than pay for a new lineset (new lines run under $1/jump, figure on $350 for a reline that will last for 500 jumps).

But for your personally to deal with individuals who want to jump your rig, I would pass. You would need each person to sign an agreement, then you would need to physically hand them the rig each day they wanted to jump it (and collect it from them afterwards), and you would either be limited to one jumper per day, or you would have to set up a complicated 'sharing' arrangement where jumper A gets one jump, then passes it to jumper B, who then passes it to jumper C, etc. If one of those jumpers is late, or gets bumped back a load, everyone has a problem and is looking at you to solve it.

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