A first lady's horsebox

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starllight

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Am looking to purchase a horsebox, preferably a rear travelling two horse box. This would be my first box. Am in the north west area. Does anyone have any advice on purchasing your first box or any details of any dealers in the North West area? Any information would be really appreciated.

Thanks
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Not in your area so can't help with that..but would just warn that those little ones that are often described as a lady's (ggrrr-sexism
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) box are often plated at low weights and only good for carrying ponies so do be sure you buy one of an adequate size to carry you, passengers, 2 horses, feed, hay, water..and have some weight allowance left over too
 
Can't help with the dealer thing but my current lorry is the first I have had although I did share a ford cargo with a friend previously. Us ladies are not as feeble as some (men) like to imply! I am 5'6" and easily manage my 5.5 tonne dodge with no power steering with no problems. Go out and try a few til you find one you are comfortable with but bear in mind it takes a bit of driving around with it empty to get used to it. As the watcher says, don't limit yourself to 3.5 tonne because you think that's all you can handle as a chick.
 
I hire out horseboxes in the North West I buy them from a chap called David Rees, he is really very good, he has three different models, all that are suitable for us Ladies. His website is www.marlboroughhorseboxes.co.uk.

The one I have is a "Cob", its based on a 3.5 ton Renault Master or Vauxhall Movano chassis. The box is designed to carry larger horses than the "Sport" having an internal height of 7' 4".

Carrying capacity is around 1200 Kilos depending on the exact finish of the box. So thats about two 16.2's.
 
[ QUOTE ]

The one I have is a "Cob", its based on a 3.5 ton Renault Master or Vauxhall Movano chassis. The box is designed to carry larger horses than the "Sport" having an internal height of 7' 4".

Carrying capacity is around 1200 Kilos depending on the exact finish of the box. So thats about two 16.2's.

[/ QUOTE ]

My point exactly..you would be maxed out on weight, or even overweight with a passenger to two
 
Well the unladen weight is 2,200 kilo approx with passengers, so you still have room for the two 16.2's, i do this as a job so have to be ultra careful with weights.

So you would be able to do it in one of these
 
Can I ask what build you have on the Renault Master with an unladen weight of 2200kg? I have the Renault Master from Scott horse Shuttle. It has a living with the sink and little cooker and a water tank. I was told that the payload was 1250. However, I took it to a weighbridge a couple of weeks ago, had it weighed with my 98kg hubby on, half a tank of diesal and half tank of water and it weighed 2640 leaving me 860kg! fortunately, I just need to transport my one mare, but I'd be very unamuzed if I'd bought it with the intention of travelling two!

That said I love it! Its very easy to drive, great on fuel, has a light easy ramp, doesn't need plaiting just an MOT and my mare travels like a dream in it. But I will always have to be aware of the 860kg payload.
 
Just get something with a light ramp - that is the thing that makes a difference, you can cope with driving anything it's just putting the ramp up if it is heavy is a nightmare
 
Agree with DieselDog, I drive my 7.5ton B-reg Bedford (Bluebell,
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) quite happily, and I am only 5'5. And I did my HGV in a 16ton flatbed, and it was so so easy to drive!! The only think is how easy the truck is to use - can you get the ramp up alone, ours is managable, but other silly stuff like living door sticks sometimes needs some brute force!! Just give any lorry you look at a thorough test drive!!
 
I have a marlborough Sport on order, having gone through all the /4x4 and trailer vs van' issues and then the 'which van' questions and decided I wanted something I could easily lift the ramp (I'm 5'1" and will be on my own, so want it to be effortless), that i could drive without effort - and enjoy doing so, and that the horse would be safe in. Marlborough came out tops.

Mind you, if I get it home and it weighs in at more than they've said, I'll have them for Trade Descriptions faster than you can blink... And they'll have the van back asap with a full refund

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I bought my renault master coachbuilt box from a company called Travel Two. it is a rear travelling two horse box. They have a web site- just google in Travel two. They are in Carmarthen but they deliver, i am in the north west also. The lady who owns the company seems very knowledgeable about payloads etc. worth ringing to have a chat.
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Adding to my previous post- travel two is owned by Polly Xanthos and tel no is 01267 241694. She advertises on horsemart quite a lot.
 
and her website always crashes my machine, but that might be a Mac issue.

she sells 2nd hand coachbuilts, plus the occasional van conversion (not coachbuilt) and has some Mark 1 Renaults created as new conversions. Personally, I don't like driving the old Mark 1s, but that's purely because I like something that feels more like a car. I drove a new face lift 04 Renault Master the other day and it was like driving a Ferrari after driving the tank of the Mark 1, but the old ones are cheaper and they do the job.

good luck

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[ QUOTE ]
I have a marlborough Sport on order, having gone through all the /4x4 and trailer vs van' issues and then the 'which van' questions and decided I wanted something I could easily lift the ramp (I'm 5'1" and will be on my own, so want it to be effortless), that i could drive without effort - and enjoy doing so, and that the horse would be safe in. Marlborough came out tops.

Mind you, if I get it home and it weighs in at more than they've said, I'll have them for Trade Descriptions faster than you can blink... And they'll have the van back asap with a full refund

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[/ QUOTE ]I am a bit miffed but it doesn't state the payload anywhere in the written specifications, so there is no breach of contract that I can prove. It was discussed several times, but I have no whitnesses to that. Also I'm torn because I really like it and so does my mare. Its just a pain that I can never take a friend anywhere with me!
 
Bad Luck... at least with the M'borogh, it's there on their spec so if it's over weight, we can nail them to the floor.

Have you ditched the spare tyre? That's get you another 25Kg... not htat it's enough, but it'll at least let you put more gas in the tank!

at least if we publicise these things, other people will listen (and you can point this out to the vendors in your negotiations with them for a refund)

The point to the potential buyer is to steer well clear of the cowboys who'll look you in the eye and tell you they put in two 16.2 horses and were under weight. You'd want to see the photographic evidence, and the weighbridge results, and work out how they did it...

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I bet its the difference with the kitchen fittings and water tank then because (correct me if I'm wrong) but they are not part of the Malborough spec are they? Interestingly, the Scott Horse Shuttle at Northern Horse boxes is now not listing them as the base model, but pricing them as extra. That wasn't the case when I bought mine last October. Maybe they have come to realise. its not a problem if the customer is made aware and makes an informed choice. I'm not going to make an issue of it because I'd rather have the water tank and kitchen than carry a second horse, so I would have gone ahead on the same basis anyway, but its fortunate that I feel that way isn't it?

I always thought that legally vehicles had to carry a spare wheel! I could well be mistaken though.
 
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