Advice Please on Buying/Towing a Trailer

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sbsmiths

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I really need your advice please. Can you tell me what to look for when buying a trailer? How can you tell if the floor is sound and strong enough - ours is a 17hh Irish Draft x. Also, we've got an automatic Ford Galaxy - would this be suitable to tow? What sort of figure (ballpark) am I looking at for a secondhand one?
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Thank you in anticipation.
 
Dont know anything about cars sorry! Trailer wise i would say ifor 510 or similar, aluminium floors are a safe bet as the wooden ones rot. Price range second hand, depending on the age the cheapest i have found with that floor is about £2750 but they are normally more. Have been shopping around to see how much the one at home would be worth too (dont think we r selling it, just wanted to kno)
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HUmm, firstly I would always buy a trailer with an aluminium (sp?!)
floor. There are some perfectly sound wooden floors but they need constant checking and wont last forever. An aluminium one will last a pretty long time. Just use common sense, try to look under the rubber matting and have a real good stamp around.

For a big horse like yours I would really recommend the Ifor Williams 510 (the newer ones are 511) maybe have a look at the IW website for dimensions which you can translate if you are looking at a different brand.

I am not familiar with Ford Galaxys but look in the manual & see what the maximum weight is that it can tow then look up the weight of the trailer (all info available on website) & add another 600kg for the horse.
 
Just so you know if you see an IFor willimss with a wooden floor it costs approxc £500 to have an ali one added. I did this to my trailer so if wooden is cheaper (often are) you could consider paying for the upgrade. I got an Ifor dealer to do mine the floor part was £360 and it was £150 to fit and took approx 3 hours
 
I have towed an Ifor 510 with an Isuzu Trooper which is a 3.1 turbo diesel. Its a heavy car and has plenty of towing capacity. Hubby is as work at mo or would ask him for you re the Galaxy, hes a RAC man and knows about these things. You could check with the Ford dealers but from what I know hes told me before I dont think that your car will tow with a big horse or 2. You also have to consider all the tack, water, haynets and people too.
 
a Ford Galaxy? no! not a good idea. and esp not with that sized horse as you'll need a big trailer. might get away with towing a pony but really not designed for towing a live weight. Bad enough on the roads but what happens when you get stuck in a wet field at a show? 4x4's all the way for towing - no compromise i'm afraid. weight is not the only factor to take into consideration by far.

trailer wise - anything with an aluminium floor.
 
I was just about to post a similar query! I'm just about to start the hunt for a new trailer, and having asked around I've been advised that the Ifor 510 is one of the best. I think the new version is 511? I just need to find one now! Can't seem to find many round here! (Somerset, in case anyone knows of one!
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Personally I wouldn't tow with a car, if you go anywhere and park on grass you may struggle to get going again. Also, you will need to check the legal towing weight of your vehicle, not sure if yours will be allowed to tow a box? It's something to do with the maximum laiden weight of the trailer, or max combined weight of vehicle and trailer i think........I'd poke my OH to ask but he's asleep and was up half the night with a sick 1 year old........it should be in your manual, and look on Ifor website for max capacity of the trailer. Sorry, can't be more specific
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If buying second hand beware buying a stolen trailer. ALL floors need regular inspection, even the metal ones will rot through.

The only way to really get a good look is to get underneath it and look at the floor and the chassis, pull at the wheels to see if they are ok.

You can find out from the trailer's manufacturer if the model is large enough for your horse. If the horse feels unsafe they will not load! They need enough width so they can spread their legs to travel, the partition does not hold them up, it is so two horses won't step on each other's legs.

As for towing, drive smoothly and slowly. I know it is illegal to travel in the back of a trailer, but if you ever have you will know that 30 mph feel as if you are going 70 for the horse. I find on an ordinary B road 30-35 is quite fast enough, on good smooth roads faster is OK.
 
Thanks fjordhorsefan, I've just found the JSW website - looks good. Didn't realise the Chevral's were cheaper than Ifor. Lots of useful info from everyone - thank you - sounds like my car is a no no, so probably won't be able to buy one for a while.
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Cheers everybody
 
i have a Bateson and love it! Vvv solid trailer and high spec. I would recommend the Ascot model for your horse. You def wont be able to tow off your current car, you need to know the max weight of trailer (weight will be on makes website) and horse also allow for tack etc,then you need to find out your cars max braked towing capacity you will then have your answer as to how much your car can safely tow. With a 17hh and a IW you will def need a decent 4x4.
 
For horsebox / horse trailer advice, would really rec. somewhere like horsebox world, www.horseboxworld.com and look in the FAQ's the important bit is the Gross laden weight and what you car can pull horse trailer wise, the manual should be your first port of call, then check horse trailer towing weights.
 
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