3.5/4.5 tonne horsebox recommendations

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Charlie31

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I'm thinking of trading in my 3.5 tonne horsebox for something a bit newer. There seem to be a ridiculous amount of horsebox companies these days and I don't know where to start looking. Kevin Parkers and the likes make me drool but I simply don't use my lorry enough to justify that sort of price (plus I can't afford it!) and some of the fancy finishes I think are just not necessary and will only get ruined by mud anyway. At the other end of the scale there seem to be all sorts of backstreet blokes who fancy giving it a go with their own conversions and you just don't know if you can trust them at all. So I'm looking for recommendations for decent makes to look out for, either new or secondhand.

The most important thing is safety. You can keep any fancy extras and I don't need a loo or a sink or anything like that. Mainly it has to get us all from A to B in one piece. If going for a 3.5 tonne one then I would love it if I could find a model with a 1200kg payload, although I recognise that this and safety don't necessarily go hand in hand. Safety would come first but if there happened to be such a model that had the payload and was safe that would be great (and probably a miracle!). The only other requirement really is a decent amount of storage as I keep quite a bit of my stuff in it when it's not in use.

Budget is not finalised but I think I could stretch to 20-25k depending on what I get for the existing one. Don't really mind between a 3.5 or a 4.5 tonne one, or even 3.9 tonne although these don't seem to be that common, but I don't want anything too massive really as parking space is limited, and I probably need to keep in mind easing of selling on at some point in the future.

Any recommendations?
 
I can't recommend any brands personally but I hear good things about Foxy, Marlborough, and a couple of others that I just can't think of the names (helpful I know). If you can drive bigger than 3.5t then get a bigger one as there is less buyers competition so you'll get a lot more for your money.
 
Thanks, will have a look at those. I'm an old fart so no problems going bigger on the license front. Never thought about the buyers' competition aspect, that's a good point actually.
 
Have you looked to see if you can get a second hand one from/by Kevin?

His lorries are fab. we're on our third now - we outgrew our 7.5T and then bought a giant of a horse who didn't fit in the 12T, despite it being built to take four of my 17.3hh IDx. 🙈

We looked at Alexanders, Marlborough and Equitrek as we wanted something quickly but in the end we decided we were better sticking with Kevin.
 
Very similar to me. I keep an eye out as potentially will upgrade my 3.9t one day but don't need loads of living, just a good build and payload. Big range in prices depending what you want, and not many around in the 4/5t type range.

I like the look of Kevin Parker, Peper Harow, Freddie Gover,. Boss and alexanders are a bit pricier i think. I love my box which I got from foxy twin, he does some nice simpler builds with a decent payload and price. Also have bought from Thorpe horseboxes but that was a while ago, an old basic 7.5t but it was a good runner.
 
blood_magik said:
Have you looked to see if you can get a second hand one from/by Kevin?

His lorries are fab. we're on our third now - we outgrew our 7.5T and then bought a giant of a horse who didn't fit in the 12T, despite it being built to take four of my 17.3hh IDx. ��

We looked at Alexanders, Marlborough and Equitrek as we wanted something quickly but in the end we decided we were better sticking with Kevin.
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I've looked online and have never managed to find one. I thought second hand ones were an urban myth! Might be worth dropping him a line to see if he ever gets anything in though.

Bernster said:
Very similar to me. I keep an eye out as potentially will upgrade my 3.9t one day but don't need loads of living, just a good build and payload. Big range in prices depending what you want, and not many around in the 4/5t type range.

I like the look of Kevin Parker, Peper Harow, Freddie Gover,. Boss and alexanders are a bit pricier i think. I love my box which I got from foxy twin, he does some nice simpler builds with a decent payload and price. Also have bought from Thorpe horseboxes but that was a while ago, an old basic 7.5t but it was a good runner.
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Thanks. A friends has an Alexanders and the quality looks poor to me but I'll definitely look at the other makes.
 
They do come up. They just sell on really quickly - our 7.5T sold within a day or two of being listed. 😄

You can ask to be put on the waiting list. Just drop them a line - they're all really helpful in the office.
 
There's a place near me in Northamptonshire that do 5.2t with nice living for your budget. Huntsman horseboxes, they advertise on horse deals
 
Bloomfields have a very good rep and I believe include a lot of safety features in their designs although I believe they often have a sizeable waiting list as they're so popular. If you're after basic but sturdy then Racemaster may also be worth a look as again they have a good reputation for safety (That's what my box is... there's a few things I'm looking to tweak on it storage space wise but mine was secondhand. If buying new I'd imagine most companies would be able to tweak things to suite your needs)
 
Yes! Peper Harow where one of the names I couldn't think of, they always look brilliant when I see them out and about, and they seems to do a good range of options and sizes.
 
May have just been mine, but my Peper Harow was nothing but awful. It ended up on the back of a truck with all sides and roof caved in. They built it themselves and would never ever get another. This was a few years ago so maybe they do a better job now but how my horse was still in one piece having had the back collapse I do not know.
 
Try Winterbourne in Dorset who will give you very good advice and after care or Bloomfield in Nottingham who build a very nice box for you. There is of course Oakley at high Cross Hertfordshire (who build both a racing box and a leisure box) and Charles Oakley is very helpful indeed.
 
I bought a 3.5 and had it upgraded to give 1.6 payload. mine was made by Freddie gover, also recommend bloomfields and a company who operate out of felbridge show ground. They will make to your spec and cut out all the bits you don't want and sort the upgrading out as well
 
kevd said:
hi hannahgb. do you mind me asking how long ago this was and if it as a new build or a conversion.
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We bought it 6 years ago. It was a conversion- I'm not sure how long ago they had converted it as they had done the work for the previous owner who sent it back to them to sell when she upgraded.
 
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