3.5T lorry

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Tea Drinker

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So I've been looking for a little lorry this summer. Not many about on the market at my sort of level! It makes it hard what to know what I should pay for it.
I've been invited to make an offer for a friend's lorry. I can't remember her having any problems with it. Maybe jump starting but she says she's put a new battery in and I know they replaced the horsebox floor a year ago. I don't know the make but it's done 200k miles. It's a 3.5T 2 stalled "little" lorry. Quite smart looking but no idea what make it is.
suggestions as to what I should offer here clever HnH people please :-)
 
Depends very much on make, payload, amount of advisories on last MOT and age! Without these it's a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question for me I'm afraid :)
 
It takes her 2 big horses (16.2 TBs). It's quite a light lorry. Got a little living in the back where the horses (rear facing) look into. A tack bupboard and a bench. Side ramp only. Was a post office delivery van in a former life hence high miles! No idea about the make. Nothing well known. It's just had a MOT - passed first time with no major worries. I was thinking 4k but I do't want to be too far under (looks rude) or too far over (set myself up a cropper).
 
Difficult to say without knowing age etc but to give you a guide I have a P reg Renault Master which I share with a friend and we have agreed that to buy her share it would cost £2250 so lorry worth is £4500. It has done about 110,000 miles.
 
Tea Drinker said:
It takes her 2 big horses (16.2 TBs). It's quite a light lorry. Got a little living in the back where the horses (rear facing) look into. A tack bupboard and a bench. Side ramp only. Was a post office delivery van in a former life hence high miles! No idea about the make. Nothing well known. It's just had a MOT - passed first time with no major worries. I was thinking 4k but I do't want to be too far under (looks rude) or too far over (set myself up a cropper).
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Unless they are very fine 2 x 16.2 will be over the legal weight. I would ask for a payload cert for it. How old is it? Is it a master type or a box type?
 
Although I appreciate your budget restrictions, I would be extremely careful with this. Conversions made from van bases are not usually the strongest (I worked for a manufacturer specialising in new-build 3.5t vehicles for more than 8 years) because the chassis was not originally intended for this use. In reality this type of truck should always be constructed on a Platform cab base not a cut-away van. If you want to go further with it get a mechanical check, usually an engine is good for around 160,000 miles, sometimes more depending on use and history but you may have to consider a new engine some time soon which means new gearbox too. If the ramp is full-height this will make it heavy (there is a reason for the short ramp with upper doors on most of these trucks). For safety you need to see how strong the bulkhead wall (between cab and horses) is, a horse turns into a handy missile in an accident, the wall needs to have a reinforced construction; put your back to it and kick it as hard as you can, then turn around, place both hands on it and lean very heavily on it a few times, if you feel any movement it is definitely not reinforced (this only gives an indication of what is there). Cupboards and benches can weigh heavy which is why the better models are made from honeycomb alu, so even though it looks light, check the weight. Remember you as the operator are solely responsible for ensuring that you are not overweight so your payload (what you can carry) is the difference between the unladen weight and 3.5 tons, this point in itself will help you to work out if it will suit your purposes. Unfortunately there is no magic solution with any truck, not just these small vehicles, all road vehicles have a limit and you do get what you pay for. Good luck!
 
Tea Drinker said:
It takes her 2 big horses (16.2 TBs). It's quite a light lorry. Got a little living in the back where the horses (rear facing) look into. A tack bupboard and a bench. Side ramp only. Was a post office delivery van in a former life hence high miles! No idea about the make. Nothing well known. It's just had a MOT - passed first time with no major worries. I was thinking 4k but I do't want to be too far under (looks rude) or too far over (set myself up a cropper).
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Before you think about making an offer on tyhe vehicle you need it fully checked over my a good mechanic. He should be able to say if the engine is any good, any rot or mechanics that will need replacing etc. Additionally you need a weight certificate so you know what the payload is. There a lot of 3.5 ton boxes on the road that will hold 2 x 16h2" horses but just because they can physically fit doesn't mean that they should. I would suspect that the vehicle with 2 large horses in it, driver & passenger, tack, water & fuel will make it well over weight. The brakes are designed to stop 3.5 ton, your insurance may be invalid if you travel overweight as well. Additionally if Defra/VOSAor Police stop you & take you for weighing & you are overweight they will fine you, seize the vehicle & you qwill have to make alternate arrangements to move your horses.

In short be very careful when viewing & considering buying a 3.5 ton box. They may be friends but don't accept anmything they say without documented proof be it for payload or for service history.
 
I have no idea about what it is worth but agree about weight and strength. I drive a 3.5 ton for a living and the company are very strict about weight. We can carry 850 kg and it is loaded evenly distributed. It really worries me that people think they can drive around in something because it is cheap. The fire brigade told my friend whose horse climbed over into the back of her 3.5 that they go to one of these cases a week. Terrifying
 
Thanks for all your thoughts. I hadn't thought about all these considerations so I will check them out with her. It's an Mreg so I Think 1992 or 1993. IT has a short ramp with upper doors. I only need to take one horse in it so I'm happy with the payload (for my uses).

Lorry looks like this one : https://media.ybw.com/files/instanc...29/10/04/46a9090b94ef647d4f5d6eb79b6a0503.jpg

I'm thinking £3500 for it at the moment.
 
Looking at that picture I think you'd need to at least double your bid. A 2007 is advertised around here for £20k...

I agree with what other people have said about payload and what you need to check.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
Am following this thread with interest............ have been thinking about a 3.5 but am getting worried now re. payload.

Sorry, am interrupting. I've got a 15hh trad cob (heavily built) and a 15hh lightly built Welsh D - so bearing in mind what others have said here a 3.5 isn't going to do the job then???
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Not for both at the same time, no.
 
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