Advice needed on best trailer with living

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sfmarriott

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Hi all,
I am wondering if anyone can offer advice. I am looking to swap my Ifor Williams 510 for a second-hand trailer with small living space. I have seen a few Equi-Trek Show Trekas for sale recently and they look really good, but I have read mixed reviews. The Ifor Williams Eventa looks great, but much bigger and much more expensive and there is a Cheval Liberté one with herringbone configuration. Both of these seem to be much more expensive than the Equi-Trek, so I am wondering if anyone can offer advice.
What do people think of the Equi-Trek? Can you lower the breast bar to fit Shetlands in it, as well as bigger ponies and horses?
Many thanks in advance.
 
The Cheval Liberte seems to be getting good reviews, there are a few different ones about. Maybe Google Equi- Trek? You’d need a big 4x4 to tow and plenty of room inside but seem to be big and heavy.
 
Equi-Treks are marmite. I love mine, but I have friends who hate them. It's a 2016 show trekka and i tow with one horse on using my Freelander with 2200kg capacity. However, I do live in the flatlands of East Anglia, so there are no hills to navigate. I travel up to 4 hours each way and do about 1000 miles yearly.
It tows well, the horses seem to travel well on it, and the living is just enough; the bed is a bit narrow, so you have to be careful when you roll over!
It's serviced annually, and apart from a new ramp when I purchased it, so far, there have been no issues. For the money and the weight, I couldn't find anything similar.
I also have a friend who has a new mutl-trekka with a big living, and she's very happy with it so far.

ETA I can't see how you would lower the breast bar for a shetland though, there's no adjustment on it, it's fixed in place and runs the full width of the trailer.
 
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the cheval liberte do one with a “tack room” in front, if you’re wanting storage rather than actual living. if you want the living, i think a good 2nd hand equitrek that’s already had panels replaced etc would be a good one to look out for!
 
Alibear said:
Equi-Treks are marmite. I love mine, but I have friends who hate them. It's a 2016 show trekka and i tow with one horse on using my Freelander with 2200kg capacity. However, I do live in the flatlands of East Anglia, so there are no hills to navigate. I travel up to 4 hours each way and do about 1000 miles yearly.
It tows well, the horses seem to travel well on it, and the living is just enough; the bed is a bit narrow, so you have to be careful when you roll over!
It's serviced annually, and apart from a new ramp when I purchased it, so far, there have been no issues. For the money and the weight, I couldn't find anything similar.
I also have a friend who has a new mutl-trekka with a big living, and she's very happy with it so far.

ETA I can't see how you would lower the breast bar for a shetland though, there's no adjustment on it, it's fixed in place and runs the full width of the trailer.
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thank you so much for your comments. If the breast bar can't be lowered, I think this could be a sticking point for us. We are planning on Shetland racing this season so need a suitable trailer. Thanks again
 
dottylottie said:
the cheval liberte do one with a “tack room” in front, if you’re wanting storage rather than actual living. if you want the living, i think a good 2nd hand equitrek that’s already had panels replaced etc would be a good one to look out for!
Click to expand...
thanks - we want some living, so looking to replace our Ifor Williams 510
 
sfmarriott said:
thank you so much for your comments. If the breast bar can't be lowered, I think this could be a sticking point for us. We are planning on Shetland racing this season so need a suitable trailer. Thanks again
Click to expand...
I had the trail treka so can’t comment on the ones with living, but the breast bar in mine only had 2 options and needed tools to move, and the lowest would’ve been too high for shetlands. however, if you find a good one and you’re happy with the setup, i’m sure a good horsebox builder could rig you something up!
 
dottylottie said:
I had the trail treka so can’t comment on the ones with living, but the breast bar in mine only had 2 options and needed tools to move, and the lowest would’ve been too high for shetlands. however, if you find a good one and you’re happy with the setup, i’m sure a good horsebox builder could rig you something up!
Click to expand...
thank you so much. Did you like the trail trek? Good build quality?
 
I bought an eventa last year when trying to downsize from a lorry and as lovely as it looked inside it was absolutely dreadful to tow and I sold it very quickly. I have just bought a cheval Liberte maxi3 which tows brilliantly. Mine doesn’t have living but I’m going to see if someone can do something clever for me to get some living in the tack locker as it’s quite big!
 
sfmarriott said:
thank you so much for your comments. If the breast bar can't be lowered, I think this could be a sticking point for us. We are planning on Shetland racing this season so need a suitable trailer. Thanks again
Click to expand...

Can you fit a second, removable, one lower? Maybe suspended from the top one somehow?
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My friend loves her Equitrek but don't buy new, let somebody else take all the hassle with fixing the things that aren't right first! It's been back several times and it's now out of warranty and still things are failing on it.
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