3-4k budget for a lorry.....what can I expect to get with the money??

olop

olop

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Me & OH are looking to buy a lorry, we have a budget of around 3-4k & just wondering what we could expect to get with that kind of money??

Will need to be a 3.5t as we dont have the right license for a bigger one, it will be for my little man who is 15hh & would like to have some kind of decent storage space so I can take things that I need for shows.

Looking around on websites (ebay, horsemart, H&H etc) it seems prices really vary with what you can get for that budget & I want to be realistic, we dont mind travelling for the right box.

Thanks :)
 
unfortunately you are in a tough position. There is very little available for that budget, especially in the 3.5t range and what isavailable tends to be unsuitable. Be prepared to look lonmg and hard. Be very careful of the transit type. The floor are quit high off theground and this makes the centre of gravity high. The van, and your horse will rock side to side. The safer option would be to buy a trailer and upgrade your car to a 4x4 for that budget.

Possibly even buy a 4x4 as a second car.

E.g Mtsubishi shogun - late 90s early 2000 will cost about £2000. then £2000 for an Ifor trailer.
 
Thanks for the advice.....TBH looking at those ford transit conversions some of them look really, not sure of the word I am looking for here but you get what I mean!

Not really looking for a trailer either as it means taking another test which I didnt want to do :o

Having looked on the main websites I have found either very old (70-80s) lorries that are old & in need of work or those dodgy transit conversions!
 
I found my little lorry in that price range. It's an older model (25 years old now!), but sturdy. Costs a fair amount to maintain in good working order and throws unpredictable strops, though that is a risk with any lower budget (and even some higher budget) lorry. It cost about £600 to get on the road when I bought it, but I got it at a good price and did full investigation with a mechanic so went in eyes open.

Mine has rear loading and side unloading and the storage is plentiful over the cab. The ponies have loads of space and we can carry extra hay without any trouble. You have to be careful of weight limits as you know. Always take them to a weightbridge so you know for sure what you can legally and safely carry; don't trust the seller's word!
 
I was looking for the same, and saw some heaps of rubbish. not to mention dangerous ones,., one had the windscreen coming out, when mentioned the woman said her cob used to eat the rubber.. WTF. no the actual windscreen was coming out!

i posted on her and basically got laughed at when I said my budget and what i wanted!

I had previousley taken on board what i knew and what people said, my ned isnt the best loader so i didnt want a side ramp think they are to narrow and steep, so it ment the box had to be herrinbone. they are few and far between!

any way I finally found one, its m reg, on 116k has been very well looked after and the conversion was done by a mechanic for his partners horses so they both knew what they were talking about.. again ive seen bodies put on that are bolted into wooden blocks.:eek:

storage wise.. its bigger than it looks, it would currrently take 4 ponies, but were making it smaller so that we can have storage in it, the bit above the cab will be done so it has a fixed hob in it and cupoard (need coffee and bacon sarnies at alltimes!)

with 6 months mot and tax I paid 2.5k. heres a piccie.. yes the ramp is fairley steep but this doesnt bother me as its herringbone stalled, not done like a trailer.

lorrym.jpg
 
My Ford Transit looks exactly like jhoward's it is also herrinbone which for me is ideal. The ramp on mine isn't at all steep, infact its often commented how inviting it is. The lorry is 21years old, and is now suffering with rust in the usual places but this is currently being sorted. I have been told many times i should get rid of it because its a ford, however it drives well and the ponies travel so well in it i would rather keep it and do the work on it every year. it cost me £2000 2 years ago (which was probably a bit over priced) however i'm lucky that my friend is a lorry mechanic and only charges for parts...
 
We had a similar budget a few years ago and gave up. Given how much they cost to maintain (all types) wouldn't have had the spare to get anything on finance either. Got our 6.5T for £3k or thereabouts, and haven't regretted it at all - except that I'm going to have to do my lorry test this year so I don't need OH to drive me (sigh). Ours costs about £600 each year to get through MOT with repairs etc, then there's £200 road tax, and insurance on top. Most vans cost as much or more in repairs. Our lorry's actually really easy to drive (had a go off road the other day) and cost of test + lorry can be cheaper than cost of 3.5T box!
 
I will be looking to buy later this year and have found the same, you can get a better 7.5t lorry for a lot less money even with the cost of the test
 
To be honest you'd almost be better off getting a larger lorry for that money and spending to get an HGV licence. My friend has just (yesterday) bought a P reg 7.5T lorry for not much more than you are looking at (I think about £5k), professionally done in the horse area, has all stuff in living inc toilet but needs finishing. The reason it's cheaper is cos it's not got a luton so isn't as pleasing to the eye I guess but it does have a cut through to the cab. She went to look at another one on the same day as well, the seller was looking to get £4K for it - I don't know what that's like though.

I' afraid I do not like those ford transit conversions much at all - the centre of gravity just seems all wrong

Problem is with the 3.5T lorries everyone wants them so with your budget you could struggle and there are some god awful and frankly unsafe van conversions out there!

I thik you;d be almost better off going for those van conversions - more this type of things:-

http://www.horsemart.co.uk/horsebox...reg_with_living_north_yorkshire/advert/140943

(obviously not that age though!)
 
I tryed to sell my 7.5 ton lorry last year, takes 2-3, basic but new living, was only converted 4 years ago, had full years MOT etc, stated in all ads that it was reg in 1990 on an H plate, 3k. Did not have one person even come and look, they all wanted something a lot newer for 3k!!!!
How often are you likely to use a lorry. Hire firm near me rents out brand new equitrek 3.5 ton from £50 per day, I'm working out how often I realisticly need to use my lorry and thinking of this route, no insurance, no tax, no MOT etc
 
Sportyspots said:
I tryed to sell my 7.5 ton lorry last year, takes 2-3, basic but new living, was only converted 4 years ago, had full years MOT etc, stated in all ads that it was reg in 1990 on an H plate, 3k. Did not have one person even come and look, they all wanted something a lot newer for 3k!!!!
How often are you likely to use a lorry. Hire firm near me rents out brand new equitrek 3.5 ton from £50 per day, I'm working out how often I realisticly need to use my lorry and thinking of this route, no insurance, no tax, no MOT etc
Click to expand...

When I have my own transport I tend to go out a LOT more. I also enjoy going out on a whim; e.g. local fun ride, unaffiliated showing, etc ... I made these calculations as well, but realised I was buying not just a vehicle, but a taste of freedom!
 
Thank you for all your replies-they have been most helpful :)

It wont be me driving the lorry-for some reason I have a phobia of driving whilst having a horse on board (very sad I know but I just know I wouldnt feel safe or comfortable) so it will be down to my OH (bless him he is my unpaid groom & comes out everywhere with me!) so may suggest to him to take the HGV test. He used to be a driver anyway so he is great on the road it would just be the theory behind it all. We have seen some great 7.5t lorries in our budget so it maybe a good idea.

I am looking at going out competing every week (if budget allows to!) so hiring one is not really an option for us & plus they are all around the £99 a day mark at this end of the country :(

Thanks all :)
 
Just a little note - you don't actually have to look specifically for a 7.5T - you don't sound like you need something that large but if you expand your search from 3.5T to 7.5T you have much wider search area - there are some nice 5 and 6 tonne lorries. Unfortunately because of the (in my mind a bit silly!) new licence rules the 3.5T boxes are much sought after and priced higher as a result.
 
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