3.5 or 7.5 T?

[twilight01]

I have a 16.2/3 Irish draught that may grow a little more, looking at transport options, I have considered a trailer but just the thought of towing gives me nightmares so it will have to be a wagon of some sort, my question is whether realistically a 3.5 t uprated to a 3.9T will be ok and solid enough or should i be looking at a 7.5T. I can drive either on my licence just the 7.5 seem so big and worries about on costs. any experiences appreciated thanks

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Deleted...

 

[Zuzan]

I personally prefer the 7.5 .. worth noting you can get shorter compact 7.5 as well as longer ones.

In terms of buying you will get more for your money with a 7.5 than a 3.5 .. 3.5 are like horses at the moment .. prices going through the roof..

Maintenance if you uprate a 3.5 I believe you then need to plate in the same way you would a full up 7.5

You will get more space even with a compact / shorter chasis 7.5 if you want some living / storeage as well.

Re manouevering a 7.5 .. mine is as long as a 7.5 can be and I still find it easier to drive and park etc than a large tow vehicle (I had a landrover) and an HB10.

The other think I like about 7.5 is that as a driver you are way higher than even a big van and you can see a long way ahead (bends allowing) which is great in heavy traffic .. unless of course there's another lorry infront.

If you are going any distance I think the best option is a 7.5 but if more local then then a 3.5 is probably better.

 

[Identityincrisis]

It all depends on weights, some 3.5t just wouldn't have the available weight to carry a large horse. To be honest, i have a light Arab and he's as big as i would want in my 3.5t, if the kick off it's a lot of horse in a not very big truck

 

[AFB]

It depends on where you're going as well as all the points above - if you're out competing and at ECs you'll be fine with 7.5t, for me a few hacking routes mean squeezing in to a small gap/layby and would be impossible in a 7.5t

 

[Squeak]

The costs of a 7.5t is higher than a 3.5t as the 3.5t doesn't need plating and uses less diesel etc. Often the 3.5t will actually have more space for the horse than in a 7.5t. You would need one with a 1t payload minimum but there are quite a few out there now that do and you'd also want to make sure you had one with a big enough engine.

Otherwise it depends what you want to do with the horse as the 3.5t is amazing for going places that are a bit tight or have weight, height or width restrictions as well as being easy to park up to go hacking or even just going to local shows it's so much easier. If however you're doing stayaway shows then it would be worth the 7.5t.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Some 3.5t have low roofs so well worth checking heights my 16.3 warmblood was too big for mine not high enough and I think she was too long to fit comfortably.

I think a lot of the newer ones are bigger inside so would accommodate that size horse I know a few of the new ones I rented were much bigger than my old Renault.