3.5 tonne horsebox conversion (from a van!) -experiences?

[ponypolisher]

Hello everyone,

experiences of 3.5 tonne van/horsebox conversions? Van spec? Points worth noting? Any experiences of doing DIY conversions?

Thoughts and pointers appreciated!

x

 

[montanna]

We make them
The best ones are based on a renault master, vauxhall movano or nissan interstar (all the same vehicle, just badged differently).
Make sure they have a reinforced bulkhead.
Make sure the van that they are converted for a good reliable, fully serviced vehicles.
Check the payload.
Don't be duped by a fancy paint job!

 

[maree t]

We have just had one converted . In future I would choose an experienced person to do it. It has been done to a high spec but took three times longer than quoted . He charged more than most , it is a good job on the whole althoigh a few minor things uncompleted . Thankfully we havent paid the whole amount and wont be . Some people use flat panels which I think dont look as good as the fibreglass panels that mimic the original shape of the vehicle. On the whole it drives like a car , very easy and the horses so far seem to be travelling very well . If you are looking at a company in kent then pm me .

 

[ponypolisher]

We make them
The best ones are based on a renault master, vauxhall movano or nissan interstar (all the same vehicle, just badged differently).
Make sure they have a reinforced bulkhead.
Make sure the van that they are converted for a good reliable, fully serviced vehicles.
Check the payload.
Don't be duped by a fancy paint job!

Excellent thank you for your reply! Do you do it commercially, if so do you have a website? (maybe not allowed to post??!)

We are looking to have a basic conversion done, but provide the van and do the rest of the conversion and paint job ourselves as we are lucky to have the facilities to do so - but not the expertise to do the bare bones. If rather have the body of the conversion done by professionals.

We are in a Scotland however, and finding it difficult finding a company up here that will do it!

 

[ponypolisher]

If you are looking at a company in kent then pm me .

Thank you, unfortunately you are miles away (we're in Scotland) as would have been great to have some pointers in local companies!

 

[maree t]

It was more a who to avoid !! . I hope you find someone near you !

 

[ponypolisher]

It was more a who to avoid !! . I hope you find someone near you !

Ah I see now! Im sure there are a few of those :/ Thank you!

 

[Vodkagirly]

"Make sure they have a reinforced bulkhead."
Maybe a stupid question, but how do you tell if the bulkhead has been reinforced? what are the signs and what is the best way to reinforce it?

 

[ktj1891]

Make sure ramp has been cut into top of lorry otherwise you will find a lot of horses have to duck when loading!

 

[montanna]

Excellent thank you for your reply! Do you do it commercially, if so do you have a website? (maybe not allowed to post??!)

We are looking to have a basic conversion done, but provide the van and do the rest of the conversion and paint job ourselves as we are lucky to have the facilities to do so - but not the expertise to do the bare bones. If rather have the body of the conversion done by professionals.

We are in a Scotland however, and finding it difficult finding a company up here that will do it!

I think if you have the facility to do the little bits, that's a good idea as you can have it exactly as you want it. But it's important to have the metalwork and bulkhead done by someone who is absolutely mustard and knows exactly what they are doing. My dad is a joiner by trade, and the reason we started doing them was because we couldn't find anyone to do a proper job when we were looking for one for me personally! And then a few others asked him to make them one after seeing mine and it snowballed a little!

It really is a minefield out there. Most importantly we sourced the vans ourselves so we knew they were sound reliable vehicles. You wouldn't believe the absolute **** some people convert - with 100k plus miles!!

We still have the last one we did for sale but my dad is back concentrating on his property renovations now good luck... just make sure you do your homework!

 

[montanna]

"Make sure they have a reinforced bulkhead."
Maybe a stupid question, but how do you tell if the bulkhead has been reinforced? what are the signs and what is the best way to reinforce it?

Get someone who knows what they are looking for to check it it is quite easy to spot... a lot of the van conversions just have the standard very thin sheet metal that comes with the original vehicle covered in ply! This is not enough... Very scary when you potentially have up to a ton of horse in there that could come hurtling through to the cab in the case of an accident! They need to be reinforced with either steel sheeting or bars welded to the frame by a fabricator.

 

[L&M]

Sadly I assume shropshire is too far for you, but Three Counties Horseboxes convert vans and are very reputable. They have a very comprehensive website and would at least give you an idea on pricing and building.

They do everything from a basic conversion to a top spec and mine was converted by somone who works for them and their standard is very high.

 

[ponypolisher]

I think if you have the facility to do the little bits, that's a good idea as you can have it exactly as you want it. But it's important to have the metalwork and bulkhead done by someone who is absolutely mustard and knows exactly what they are doing. My dad is a joiner by trade, and the reason we started doing them was because we couldn't find anyone to do a proper job when we were looking for one for me personally! And then a few others asked him to make them one after seeing mine and it snowballed a little!

It really is a minefield out there. Most importantly we sourced the vans ourselves so we knew they were sound reliable vehicles. You wouldn't believe the absolute **** some people convert - with 100k plus miles!!

We still have the last one we did for sale but my dad is back concentrating on his property renovations now good luck... just make sure you do your homework!

We are actually in a very similar situation - looking to build one for ourselves but there seems to be a shortage of people in scotland that will do it??! Our family is in the motor trade so we will be sourcing the van(s) too. We someone who could possibly do the conversion, I think a blacksmith to trade originally but does all bodywork on vehicles. Considering looking into it / discussing further and maybe doing quite a bit of it ourselves. Pros being we can be sure of the quality, downside is there's bound to be a few learning curves are really want it perfect!

Where abouts are you?

 

[Holly Hocks]

Definitely get one with a reinforced bulkhead. I got my first one and didn't know what I was looking at really. I took THREE people who all said that they knew what they were looking at and said it was fine, so bought it. It became quite clear on the way to my first dressage that it wasn't reinforced by the way my horse decided to plant his backside on it and out of the corner of my eye I could see the bulkhead gently bending in towards the side of my head. Anyway, that one was knackered anyway and went back to the dealer after it was found to be clocked, started leaking oil and then the engine blew up when I was driving it back to him and shat most of the engine onto the hard shoulder. It was returned to him on the back of a low loader. It was exchanged for one again without a reinforced bulkhead, but as I knew I was going to get it like this, I took it to a steel fabricator who's wife has horses and he knew exactly what I wanted. It now has steel bars and even when the horse leans on it , it is shaped so that the horse can't even touch the bulkhead directly - it can only lean onto the bars.

 

[sidewaysonacob]

My top tips:

Make sure the ramp has been made properly e.g. the wood was thoroughly sealed and the frame is as leakproof as poss. Just had to replace mine only 4 years after build and even with salvaging bits from the old ramp the bill was £700.

Most 3.5s have condensation problems on the roof ceiling but fitting a swirly 'dog fan' thingy in the roof seems to help.

Get an isolator fitted as vans are designed to be run 5 days a week not 2 or 3 times a month.

 

[meesha]

On mine the original bulkhead has been totally removed and a custom reinforced bulkhead fitted so its obvious its done but went to view one that was only reinforced with ply and was a wreck, very scary..... Guy who did mine was very keen to show me every stage of the build, v reassuring.

 

[teresagarsden]

I purchased a marlborough conversion last year / second hand - they are based in lancashire. Cracking horsebox never let me down, drives like a car and strong and sturdy. No body roll and does not rock in the wind when traveling.
Marlborough have a good name and have been converting the smaller vans for many many years.
Good luck with your conversion I hope all goes well for you.

 

[spuds]

How did you get on with the conversion?

 

[L&M]

Removable breast bar and good ventilation (mine has 2 grilled windows and 2 roof vents).

Even if Three Counties are far, have a look at their website, as where I got mine from and would 100% recommend. They also have very useful photos which could give you ideas on what a decent conversion looks like.