3.5 Ton Horsebox - Reviews

[Darremi]

I apologise if there are a million other threads on this topic already . I have never been able to figure out the search forum function.

Anyway,

I am looking to buy a 3.5t lorry and I see that there are many different brands in the marketplace. I have no idea which are the good brands to go for.

I would very much appreciate any feedback or reviews from people who have bought a professionally built 3.5t horsebox. For me the chassis is very important so any issues/advice with that would be useful.

In particular I have found: Bloomfields, Wilcox, Chaigley, Owens, Bethmans, Equibabe but I am interested in other brands that I might not be aware of.

Thank you.

Ps. If anyone can link me to those other threads where there may be reviews I would also appreciate that.

 

[Fides]

i have a VW LT35 which i love. it is more like a small wagon than a van, has a cut through from the cab, luton bed, day living with cupboards, sofa, sink and ho , decent tack lockers and the horses are in the back. The horses travel forwards so it will fit a bigger one. The ramp is a sideways one

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

For the cab/chassis for a 3.5t, you wont go wrong if you plump for a Vauxhall Movano or a Renault. (outside chance of Citroen, but not as easy for parts etc, hence cheaper).
The older VWLT (as Fides mentions) are good workhorses too
Dont bother with a transit or merc as both have quite high loading base & 'can' roll.

 

[Abacus]

I have an equimark and am very fond of it. It's on a Movano base which are reliable and easy to fix and service. Horse has lots of space and travels well.

For the search, it really is worth trying as there are lots of old threads on this. Click on the search, just put in the make you are looking for (i.e. 'chaigley') and press search. If you put in too many words it doesn't seem to work very well and can't find anything, so keep it simple. Good luck.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I have just bought a 3.5 ton Renault Master, the lorry shape rather than van conversion. We actually went to the dealer to look at a Movano, again lorry shape which was a bloomfields conversion and a tad over budget.
When we saw the Vauxhall in person so to speak we were disappointed in the condition and there was just no "wow, I want this one" feeling- then we saw the Renault, older less shiney but within budget and in pleasantly surprising looked after, cared for condition.
I love it, so far its proved easy to drive (and anyone who saw my first day thread will know I wasn't confident about driving I!) economical and just lovely to have!
We have the same at work and its just gone on for ever- over 300,000 miles and it starts first time every time.

 

[OWLIE185]

Like most things you get what you pay for. There are numerous people building 3.5 ton horse boxes but many of them are not up to it. If you go for a well known respected brand you may pay more but you will get a good product and after-care.
Oakley, Marlborough, Bloomfield all build well made 3.5 ton horse transporters and offer excellent after care.

 

[poiuytrewq]

NB- Im not dissing Bloomfields who I understand to be a very good company! This one wasn't a newly converted lorry and just looked tired and dirty!

 

[OWLIE185]

You can not beat a Renault Master Chassis Pan Cab - Nice low centre of gravity and have proved to be reliable.

 

[poiuytrewq]

You can not beat a Renault Master Chassis Pan Cab - Nice low centre of gravity and have proved to be reliable.

Is that the lorry shape!? V new to all this but love hearing good things about my new debt!

 

[Darremi]

Thank you everyone for offering me sound advice .

I must say I like the look of the Bloomfields but they do not seem to have lockable external tack lockers.

I go away to one/three day events all the time and need to lock up the tack!

 

[ROMANY 1959]

I bought a BOSS 3.5 ton built on a Renault master 2.5 diesel chassis. I chose colour and what I wanted inside it. It has driver side ramp, and adjustable and removable partition, it has a payload of 1300 kg with £20 of diesel in tank. It has rubber floor and on the ramp, ramp is shallow and inviting for horse to enter, horse travels backwards.
4 tie rings in horse area, two for horses two for haynets. Two tie rings on passenger side of lorry, and two seats in front of cab and a bench seat/ small bed in back of cab. Small sink in grooms area at the back with single gas ring for day living. Small bench seat in grooms area for changing clothes ect. They build to what you want and are based in Flint N Wales. Customer service and after sales are excellent it has lockable tack locker and two other locable lockers. I love it

 

[Darremi]

I bought a BOSS 3.5 ton built on a Renault master 2.5 diesel chassis. I chose colour and what I wanted inside it. It has driver side ramp, and adjustable and removable partition, it has a payload of 1300 kg with £20 of diesel in tank. It has rubber floor and on the ramp, ramp is shallow and inviting for horse to enter, horse travels backwards.
4 tie rings in horse area, two for horses two for haynets. Two tie rings on passenger side of lorry, and two seats in front of cab and a bench seat/ small bed in back of cab. Small sink in grooms area at the back with single gas ring for day living. Small bench seat in grooms area for changing clothes ect. They build to what you want and are based in Flint N Wales. Customer service and after sales are excellent it has lockable tack locker and two other locable lockers. I love it

WOW I love your box!! Boss do look really good but probably out of my price range

 

[Angelbones]

Like Romany I too have a Boss box. Mine is on a Vauxhall Movano chassis. It is the shorter one though, although horse space is the same. It has a 3 seater cab, no rear bench, two stalls rear facing, removable/positionable partition, a door through from horses to small living with sink and hob combo, and masses of lockable storage lockers with a horse pump shower. I chose the colour and spec etc (extra tie up rings, dog tie up hook, parking bleepers!). I had to have an automatic and Boss sourced the chassis for me. It drives beautifully, has masses of power, and is smoother and changes gear better than my Discovery! It was delivered for free from Flintshire down to me in East Sussex, excellent service. I've tried loading pics from Photobucket but can't get it to display correctly - any ideas?!

 

[Angelbones]

Finally worked out how to post pics, but sorry they are so big!

 

[Red-1]

Thank you everyone for offering me sound advice .

I must say I like the look of the Bloomfields but they do not seem to have lockable external tack lockers.

I go away to one/three day events all the time and need to lock up the tack!

Hi,

I just ordered a Bloomfields, having looked at and Priced all of the other brands mentioned. I think you will find that the lockable tack lockers may not be fitted as standard, but they can be ordered separately.

They have been very helpful in organising whatever you want. I have ended up with a one horse box with a HUGE horse partition, and a lockable tack locker in the (smaller) spare compartment. To do this they have had to design a different opening back door so I still have the emergency wide rear exit for my horse, as well as a custom internal lockable tack locker. The external lockable tack locker was offered too.

As a lorry/van is such a big purchase I would recommend visiting each manufacturer, and/or when we have visited big shows there have been several companies there to compare boxes from each. I took mainly safety in mind, as well as weight and price.

 

[Darremi]

Finally worked out how to post pics, but sorry they are so big!

What a lovely box!! I <3 the colour you chose.

I really want a BOSS now

But I reckon Bloomfields look good too.

 

[showjump81]

Another vote for Bloomfields, Im on my second one now and absolutely love it! Went to see Alexanders (along with others) before I got my first one and was not impressed and so expensive. My friend has a Boss - again not impressed loads of sharp edges and stuff - mine would rip themselves to bits and low roof flimsy, but they do look nice on the outside. Never herd of Bethmans or Owens so just googled them quickly and not loving the small back door or partitions - infact the back looks the same are they the same people building them? I think you should go with a big reputable builder who ever you choose because the small ones you never know what quality they build and if they are going to last or not, and you could end up with a load of trouble. After sales at Bloomfields is brilliant, infact I am changing my partition to a sliding one as they hadn't quite got it finished when I got mine. Only down fall is the waiting list but I can defo say that it is worth it! Happy horsebox hunting

 

[Darremi]

Another vote for Bloomfields, Im on my second one now and absolutely love it! Went to see Alexanders (along with others) before I got my first one and was not impressed and so expensive. My friend has a Boss - again not impressed loads of sharp edges and stuff - mine would rip themselves to bits and low roof flimsy, but they do look nice on the outside. Never herd of Bethmans or Owens so just googled them quickly and not loving the small back door or partitions - infact the back looks the same are they the same people building them? I think you should go with a big reputable builder who ever you choose because the small ones you never know what quality they build and if they are going to last or not, and you could end up with a load of trouble. After sales at Bloomfields is brilliant, infact I am changing my partition to a sliding one as they hadn't quite got it finished when I got mine. Only down fall is the waiting list but I can defo say that it is worth it! Happy horsebox hunting

That is very useful advice, thank you show jump. Do you know what the typical payload is on their smallest model (Legacy)?

I like how Bloomfields are very up front and document their build process on their facebook page. I makes them seem much more legitimate and trustworthy.

They may have a new customer

 

[showjump81]

I think its 1200kg they do a light weight version but when I was deciding what to go for on my new one they said that the light weight stuff still needed more reinforcement than the GRP and it was more expensive and didn't give that much extra pay load to make it worth it for me (but I was trying to stick to my budget, if you can afford it you still get more pay load but I cant remember exactly how much more), depends what you are carrying I guess, they can do a 3.9T if you can drive it. Best thing would be to talk to them as I don't want to tell you the wrong thing!!!

 

[Red-1]

The Bloomfields box I have ordered is the "Professional", and that too has a payload of 1200KG.

I found it quite scary how some manufacturers do not quote the payload. Echo Showjump 81, give them a call, they were very helpful and not at all pressured.