3.5t Horseboxes

Squeak

Squeak

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Having always had 7.5t lorries in the past I'm thinking of swapping to a 3.5t. Looking at the MOT histories of the vans I'm surprised by how many (pretty much all) have advisories and fails every year even when fairly new or with low miles.

Are people finding that they're spending a fortune mechanically on them or that they're unreliable? For my budget I'd be looking at 06 - 08 plates with about 100k on them, in your experiences are these going to still be ok or am I better going back to a 7.5t?

Eventers do you also find 3.5ts ok for ODE's or am I going to miss my living too much?

Thanks in advance :)
 
I changed from a 7.5 to a 3.5 and am now on my second 3.5. I have had to have repairs on both the little ones but in comparison to what it was costing me in diesel and plating for the 7.5s, there is no comparison. The 3.5s have been much cheaper. My first one had about 75K on the clock when I bought it and my present one is a much newer chassis but with more on the clock 120K (more than I wanted tbh) however, a huge number of miles had been put on it over a period of 2 years and it had had a lot of things replaced. I did have to replace the gearbox last year (ouch) but otherwise it's been pretty OK. the gearbox went in my last 7.5 and that was hugely expensive to replace. Insurance and recovery is also cheaper. I miss the living from time to time but I stay b&b instead if I'm away overnight. We had the 7.5s when my daughter was eventing and it was lovely to have the living, especially when the weather was vile so I think you may miss it, so it's a balance really cost v comfort.
 
I have an 07 3.5T with 110k on the clock
I've had it for 2 years, sailed through 2 MOT's and never done anything mechanical on it at all.
Its a Citroen if thats any help.
Insurance is about £250 for the year and tax something similar. I don't put many miles on it, so it seems to last. Its also economical on fuel.
 
Oh & I have enough space at the back (full wall to horse area also) that I can pop in and get changed and dry on a bad day.
I would never have been one for cooking or making tea (when you can just buy it when you get there and not have to clear up after!) so I don't care that I can't do that.
They are very much a day truck though in my opinion, even though you can get ones that you technically can sleep in, so as long as you're happy with that then its not a bother
 
When I had my 3.5t van I used to take a fishing camping bed, a stove and cool box and was more than happy sleeping in it. I sold it last year after only using it occasionally as I have a trailer also , as it was really low mileage and hardly worn it sold within minutes, they are quite rare and in demand.
 
I have an 08 movano, had it since 2012 and was built for me, about 110 thou on the clock now.
Much cheaper to run in all ways than previous bigger boxes (had several 7.5s and a couple bigger), from spares to repairs etc.
I get it serviced annually regardless, usually at same time it goes for mot in Feb, then a 2nd 6 month wet service and safety check in between.

I take a bag containing 2 x flasks of hot water, coffee, tea and sugar in jars and a smaller flask of milk as well as a few mugs etc, if am on a longer day out.

Was gobsmacked last autumn to find its hardly dropped in value, when I was thinking of selling.
 
I do miss the heating, the cooking facilities, the sofa, being able to sleep in a double bed on the way home, being able to cook on the A1, being able to plait up on the A1.... Not that I did those things ;):p...

But...

I don't regret swapping for a 3.5!

The diesel cost is not such an issue (30mpg).

Packing the box is a 5 minute job.

Horse travels as well as they did in the big one.

The auto box is a godsend for a bad left hip.
 
Always found mine relatively cheap to run in comparison. Generally didn’t need work to pass mot. But towards the end I did need to replace a few bits so that got pricey but easier to do and suspect cheaper than a 7.5t job.
 
I've had full use of my friends 3.5 Movano for a year whilst her horse was off work - its a grand wee box.

my 17.2 travels in it like a dream, so easy to drive and park, enough storage in it for a weekend's worth of stuff. I even slept in the back for two nights late November last year! Made myself a bed on top of shavings bales and the restaurant filled up my hot water bottles for me- was plenty cosy!

Plenty room to get changed in the back too, either in the grooms area or in the other partition in the back.

In the time I've known it its been super reliable too.

I'll be going for one when I can finally afford it!
 
Thank you, was having a bit of a wobble about getting one but sounds like they are the way to go and will be far more practical than a 7.5t.

Hoping I can get one with a bit of space at the back to change/ hide when it rains. Think I might have to be a bit more creative with packing all my gear in one as in the 7.5t I quite literally packed everything including the kitchen sink!!

Now just the task of finding one. Some of them don't look safe enough to put a pet gerbil on let alone a horse.
 
Love my little box. Nearly 3 years and its broken down once and had one tyre blow.

Might be selling mine, but its 1998 so older than you need to be looking for your budget.
 
I’ve had two Renault masters.
The first was amazing mechanically and sailed through everything except it needed a fair amount of welding. It was a mid 1990s model though so to be expected.

My second is 04 and has been a mechanical disaster. Everything that could go wrong has and I’ve spent close to 2k in a year maintaining it.

I have found they need to run very frequently. If it’s not moving every week mine starts to seize up everywhere.

They are relatively cheap to run though in comparison to running a 7.5t and much easier to deal with.
 
Squeak said:
Thank you, was having a bit of a wobble about getting one but sounds like they are the way to go and will be far more practical than a 7.5t.

Hoping I can get one with a bit of space at the back to change/ hide when it rains. Think I might have to be a bit more creative with packing all my gear in one as in the 7.5t I quite literally packed everything including the kitchen sink!!

Now just the task of finding one. Some of them don't look safe enough to put a pet gerbil on let alone a horse.
Click to expand...


I love my 3.5 after 30 years of 7.5s. I would never go back.

I have a long wheelbase Fiat Ducato which has room for one to sleep in the back, and two in the Luton if you don't want it as storage. The bunk in the back is a collapsible stretcher from eBay, so that it doesn't permanently block the groom's door. Plenty of space to sit between classes on the bench under the right hand end of the stretcher, and to change. Photos below.


IMG_20170922_183747.jpgIMG_20170922_183732~2.jpg
 
We were looking for one last year and in the end we bought a van and got it converted. It gave us more freedom on the choice of vehicle as my mechanically minded OH was horrified at the mileage and mot history on many 3.5t for sale privately.
 
Walrus said:
We were looking for one last year and in the end we bought a van and got it converted. It gave us more freedom on the choice of vehicle as my mechanically minded OH was horrified at the mileage and mot history on many 3.5t for sale privately.
Click to expand...

This is what I'm struggling with. You're paying a lot of money for something that fails it's MOT every year and has high mileage. I'm surprised that some of the top coachbuilders are picking the vans they are for converting. Maybe it's just luck for what's on the market.

Out of interest who did you use to do your conversion?
 
Michen said:
Don't worrrryyyy I realised I can't actually sell her, or my car... it was just a moment of madness where I felt clearing a credit card was a responsible thing to do ;) it's passed now!
Click to expand...

I should have bitten your hand off for it during your moment of madness :p
 
ycbm said:
I love my 3.5 after 30 years of 7.5s. I would never go back.

I have a long wheelbase Fiat Ducato which has room for one to sleep in the back, and two in the Luton if you don't want it as storage. The bunk in the back is a collapsible stretcher from eBay, so that it doesn't permanently block the groom's door. Plenty of space to sit between classes on the bench under the right hand end of the stretcher, and to change. Photos below.


View attachment 32170
Click to expand...

I don't know why more of them don't make the tack lockers like this, it makes so much more sense to be able to access it inside and out. I think the Long Wheel Base will be the way to go for a bit of extra space.
 
Mine is 2001 chassis so older than what you're looking at.
It's cost me £444 this year for MOT & Service, including the advisories. They tend to sit around and rust a bit so I guess some advisories are inevitable. Mine has failed on occasion, but usually on very minor points so was fixed and re-tested the same day.
 
Mine is a 57 plate with no advisories as yet on the MOT however has needed a lot of work. Something I’ve learned is manufacturers use cheap rivets for cost and weight and these do not tend to hold as well as say coach bolts. Currently having £6k of work done to rebuild to a much higher spec than most boxes on the market in this range. Still works out cheaper than some of the premium manufacturers though

I would suggest taking an independent box builder with you if you can find one to advise on the actual build not just the mechanics
 
Michen said:
Don't worrrryyyy I realised I can't actually sell her, or my car... it was just a moment of madness where I felt clearing a credit card was a responsible thing to do ;) it's passed now!
Click to expand...
I had one of those eejit moments too! I even went as far as to advertise it and entertain timewasters. Thankfully came to my senses and it's off the market. Here's to being irresponsible and skint ha ha
 
Squeak said:
This is what I'm struggling with. You're paying a lot of money for something that fails it's MOT every year and has high mileage. I'm surprised that some of the top coachbuilders are picking the vans they are for converting. Maybe it's just luck for what's on the market.

Out of interest who did you use to do your conversion?
Click to expand...

We used Regent. :)
 
Be very careful of Regent if you use them, anyone. Mine is a Regent build, bought through another box supplier, and I will happy PM you the extensive list of 'snagging' problems which included a completely new ramp at six months old. They are cheap, but they are cheap for a reason.



..
 
Squeak said:
I don't know why more of them don't make the tack lockers like this, it makes so much more sense to be able to access it inside and out. I think the Long Wheel Base will be the way to go for a bit of extra space.
Click to expand...


They didn't. I got the sellers to cut the hole 😁.

Mine is long wheelbase with a bit of extension as well, so I get four feet of living space. It's workable. I only carry one horse, so I have a loo and tack in the driver's side and the partition moved over to let the horse travel in the middle (though both current horses are choosing diagonal).

..
 
ycbm said:
I love my 3.5 after 30 years of 7.5s. I would never go back.

I have a long wheelbase Fiat Ducato which has room for one to sleep in the back, and two in the Luton if you don't want it as storage. The bunk in the back is a collapsible stretcher from eBay, so that it doesn't permanently block the groom's door. Plenty of space to sit between classes on the bench under the right hand end of the stretcher, and to change. Photos below.


View attachment 32170View attachment 32171
Click to expand...
That is such a good idea. I could do something simiar with my little box!
 
Squeak said:
Having always had 7.5t lorries in the past I'm thinking of swapping to a 3.5t. Looking at the MOT histories of the vans I'm surprised by how many (pretty much all) have advisories and fails every year even when fairly new or with low miles.

Are people finding that they're spending a fortune mechanically on them or that they're unreliable? For my budget I'd be looking at 06 - 08 plates with about 100k on them, in your experiences are these going to still be ok or am I better going back to a 7.5t?

Eventers do you also find 3.5ts ok for ODE's or am I going to miss my living too much?

Thanks in advance :)
Click to expand...
I have a 3.5t Renault Master and am looking for a 7.5, perhaps we could do a deal.
 
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