An idiots guide to trailers/horseboxes

[Brimmers]

I am starting to think about getting my own transport. Can anyone give me a basic overall breakdown of costs/types of transport/ pros and cons/ any advice/ any good websites or books which are helpful or anything that I need to know. I have NO idea of where to start so please don't be afraid of being patronising. Ideally I will be aiming to get something in a years time. My instructors husband builds boxes for a living and will be coming with us to look so we will have an experienced eye with us. I won't have a big budget, it will have to be second hand. Thanks in advance

 

[humblepie]

Not sure of any good websites or books and you will get a lot of different opinions on here but might be helpful to know a bit more about what you are going to be doing, then hopefully people can give some ideas or suggestions.

So, how many horses/ponies, what sort of distances are you looking to travel, what licences do hold (i.e. are you an oldie like me who can drive a 7.5 tonne lorry on existing licence), do you already have a car which you could tow with, etc!

I have a 7.5 tonne lorry which does not a lot to the gallon but I think a towing car probably does as little! I used to have a smaller lorry that was much more economical to the mile but we went for a bigger lorry as needed living area and it is much nicer on motorways.

That said over the summer I borrowed a trailer and went to a show about 2 hours a way. Journey was nice, horse travelled well. However, at current time much prefer lorry as have facilities and far more space to do things in wet weather/place to sit etc.

Obviously a lorry has to be separately insured, MOT'd or lorry equivalent of MOT, current test for a 7.5 tonne is £95 I think. If just towing a trailer, then all that already taken care of other than just insuring the trailer which isn't much. Trailers should be serviced though as well - OH has been doing some trailer services recently and every one he has come across has had really poor brakes.

Hopefully this will bump it up so you will get other feed back as well.

 

[ROG]

How many horses do you need to transport at a time?

When did you get your car licence?

How often will you be using it?

Will you be using it on hard ground only?

At the moment I am thinking of anything from a one horse lightweight trailer towed by a family car to a 7.5 lorry so that includes horsebox vans from 3.5 to 6 tonnes as well as heavy duty trailers - so many options that need more info from yourself to give any sort of answer

 

[equinerescue]

As above, think hard about how you will use the equipment then do the sums around mileage, insurance quotes etc. Most vehicle manufacturer's websites will have info on mpg and insurance bracket. Alternatively autotrader type websites will have similar info. Make sure you're legal and, of course, don't forget you'll want to have a very good road-side assistance breakdown package too!