Big horse small horsebox!

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ponios

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Hello,

I have been reading this forum for a long time but never posted...here goes!

I have a 17.2/3 IDxTB and looking to sort out a horse box.

I was originally planning to buy a 4.5t Citroen Relay/ Fiat Ducato type box but as I would rather buy second hand there is not alot of choice. So I was thinking of buying a 3.5t and then uprating it to 4.5t myself (or rather getting a mechanic to!). From what I understand it is quite simple to uprate.

Now that I am considering this route I am wondering if while I only need to transport 1 big horse I keep it at 3.5t and then when/if I find that I need to transport 2 horses I uprate then. I only have a B category licence so I could get going with it at 3.5t and then uprate and take category C test if and when I need to.

I have have driven this style box before and really like them. Where we live the lanes are really narrow and the access to our property is quite narrow hence looking for this small style box rather then taking cat C test and getting something bigger. The headroom inside is 7ft9 (8ft without the matting) so similar to the bigger boxes anyway and my horse is only 6ft9 in rugs so not particularly long.

The models that I have been looking at have a payload of 1250kg and I will only be doing short journeys up the road to hire a school (15 min) or join the hunt when Its a little too far to hack to (max 20 min) so wont need to carry much with me other then myself and tack (in addition to the horse!) as water is available at the other end.

Does any one foresee a problem with traveling a big lad like mine on his own in a 3.5t?

Thanks!
 
As far as I can see, if you have enough payload and physical room, which it sounds like you do, it should be fine :)

However I think you can only uprate a 3.5 ton to 3.9 ton, so you may not have enough payload for yours and another even if you uprate, you'd need to do the maths to make sure if it was important to be able to take 2 sometimes. Do you know what your horse weighs as a starting point?
 
He was 760kg a few months ago but has built up more recently so may be closer to 800kg.

I think that the Renault Masters can only go to 3.9t but the Peugeot Boxter, Citroen Relay and Fiat Ducato can go up to 4.5- that is what I have seen advertised on box builders websites but I may be confused!
 
If you buy the smaller boxes, its worth double checking about where the tackroom space is. Too many sad and horrendous stories of horses going over the barrier and then getting stuck in the small space they could get to.
 
You should be ok with that payload in a 3.5t although lots of them have far less than 1250 so check carefully. One big horse should fit into the standard 3.5t types. I've taken a 17.2 easily as they do tend to come with a decent amount of headroom etc. Rarely will they fit two horses payload wise, even smaller horses. I had mine uprated to 3.9t but not seen the option of going all the way to 4.5t before.
 
One of my friends has a big boned 17.2 Warmblood. He fits in her 3.5t Renault master coach built box fine. She's recently had it uprated to 3.9t as he's a heavy boy and she wanted to be absolutely sure on payload.
I have a similar box and travel a 16.2 I'm sure you will be fine with payload but the uprate to 3.9 is fairly simple to get done if you do need the extra payload.
 
I would hire a 3.5 horsebox for a weekend/week and see how your horse likes it before buying.

Sometimes although the big horses can physically fit, they don't always travel well. My big lad ID 17.1 cannot travel in a conventional 7.5 herringbone partition arrangement with a second horse as there just isn't enough room and comes out with friction burns of his bum the once we had to when our 4x4 let us down. I also wouldn't like to put him in some of the 3.5 boxes that you see but that is my preference but he is a solid horse and even when not carrying any extra weight, tips over 810kg on the weighbridge.
 
My last horse was a strapping great 17.1 WB in 6'9" & 7' rugs. I have travelled him in a 7.5t herringbone, a 3.5t Renault Theault rear facing and a 4t Peugeot boxer rear facing. He preferred the Peugeot very definitely, didn't hear a peep out of him all journey, and that was with me driving, whereas the other lorries had been driven by experienced or professional drivers of horses and he had been pretty stampy and grumpy.

My friend travels his 18h dressage horse very happily in a small 4.5t box both alone and with his 16.2 without being overweight.

If you are economical on the build and don't have lots of heavy tack lockers and fancified living, you can get a pretty good payload on a smaller box if you uprate it.
 
I have a 16.3 ID and a 15.3 WB. I've been looking at boxes mainly for the smaller horse but would like to take the big horse out occasionally too. I looked at a 3.5t, a 3.9t and a 4.5t and they were all essentially the same size with slightly different small living but same size horse area and slightly different payload. What I struggled with was having such a big horse right behind the cab in case of an accident. They all said they used high quality strong materials but it was hard to see how they got a decent payload if the box was as strong as they said. Also I had no way of knowing which boxes were strong enough as they all look lovely when new. In the end I opted for a 6.5t box with a more substantial chassis FB higher payload. One guy was very honest and said he wouldn't put a big horse in his box even uprated to 3.9t as the only thing they changed was the suspension.
Also the wait times on the better brands I'd been recommended are now into next year.
 
As above really. I struggle to see how a 3.5 with a decent construction so that you don't get the horse sitting on your head every time you break could have a 1.250 payload - ask to weigh any lorry you are considering buying. Never heard of uprating up to 4.5 either but again I may be wrong - speak with an independent mechanic to confirm this.

I have a 5.2 and the size inside changes considerably. I can travel two large horses comfortably and I think that is what you need really.
 
BOSS 3.5 ton lorries have 1250 payload, I had one for 7 years, lovely light airy lorry and I travelled a huge 17.3 many times ..but 2nd hand they are like hens teeth!
I sold mine few months ago it was only on FB for 4 hours and it sold . So you can get 3.5 ton with the payload, and they can be uprated to 3.9 . But you need the budget to buy one(35k) new, 24k second hand..
 
A few years ago my 4x4 broke down on the motorway and the recovery company sent a 3.5 ton to rescue us.
Without doubt we were completely overweight: driver, me and both my parents (dad travelled in the tack room!), tack and rug - I refused to leave them in the car. Plus my beloved Big Pony: 18.1hh pure bred Clydesdale who weighs circa 800kg!
They'd taken the partition out and he stood diagonally across but space was very tight and I wouldn't do it again unless in a similar emergency situation.
 
Thanks to all have posted.

Having done some more research not all 3.5t Relays/Boxers/Ducatos can be uprated to 4.5 only the Maxi chassis.

Having been to visit a few second hand boxes I am now draw to buying a new build so that can get exactly what I want, none of the second hand boxes were quite what we were after. With a new build I can get exactly what I am after with the peace of mind of knowing where it came from and what is underneath e.g reinforced wall behind driver

Off to rob a bank now...
 
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