bulkheads in 3.5T boxes

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purplewaldo

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Hi all! Looking for some advice from knowledgeable H&Hers. I am looking at 3.5T boxes and my main priority is safety for both me and horse. What would you deem safe and acceptable in terms of bulkhead? I have seen a box that I like which looks to have a good build quality, and have just spoken to the builder about the bulkhead. It is GRP, with reinforcing steel bars across the top and bottom (and both sides). Is it enough to have a steel rim around the edge but no struts (other than for the partition) across the middle? Could the horse not crash through the GRP in the middle, or is this not really a possibility? I know the ideal is a cage like the Bloomfields lorries but my budget doesn't stretch as far as a Bloomfields sadly.
 
I nearly bought a box that had 'manufacturer approved bulkhead' but could find no details as to what that meant and so ultimately didn't buy it.

Same as TFF I had a racemaster before that had three or four steel bars across it as a reinforced bulkhead and I know it's present owner has had her horse give it a good hoofing and it's still perfect.

I'd be very wary of a new unknown build and would to check with other owners how it had fared under actual use.
 
Tiddlypom said:
A neighbour had a brand new small Alexanders' box, think it may have been a 4.5t. Horse kicked through the bulkhead behind her as she was driving, it hadn't been strengthened at all :oops:.
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A local bod nearby had hers clatter the box, poked the outside wall out by 3 inches - where it joins the bulkhead just behind the driver.... 3 month old body on 4 yr old cab chassis, same maker!
 
ElleSkywalker said:
I nearly bought a box that had 'manufacturer approved bulkhead' but could find no details as to what that meant and so ultimately didn't buy it.

Same as TFF I had a racemaster before that had three or four steel bars across it as a reinforced bulkhead and I know it's present owner has had her horse give it a good hoofing and it's still perfect.

I'd be very wary of a new unknown build and would to check with other owners how it had fared under actual use.
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Hahaha yes that’s putting it lightly!
 
My second-hand box is quite ugly as all the reinforcement is visible in the cab (not panelled in), but the horsebox builder who checked it for me pre-purchase said he was impressed by the reinforcement, which is like a cage. I was thankful for them when transporting a friend's horse who lost the plot and started double barrelling. The vibrations from the kicks were horrific and I could feel them through my spine BUT despite spectacular marks left on the horse-side, the cab-side was completely undented. This gave me a new appreciation for the bulkhead! Would never ever go cheap on it!
 
It's interesting re. the Alexanders as friend has one and her TB has booted it hard (just random very intense boots rather than continual!) for many years. (I do think she had it checked because he does do this).
 
ester said:
It's interesting re. the Alexanders as friend has one and her TB has booted it hard (just random very intense boots rather than continual!) for many years. (I do think she had it checked because he does do this).
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I looked at Alexanders when looking at a 3.5 tonne, went to their showroom near Bramham...

I found the boxes were very different in how they were constructed. One had a wooden floor with a patchwork of rubber mats screwed on. I showed concern at how I could keep the floor from rotting, and they were dismissive. They had another with less bits of rubber, but a plastic reinforcing strip just where the front feet would be, so slippery. I asked about different ways of doing the floor, and they said they outsourced their boxes to different suppliers, and what you got depended on which supplier they outsourced to. So, the boxes were very variable and they could not guarantee what I would get.

They also would not tell me the unladen weight!

I seem to recollect the court case, with the big box that someone bought, where the horse died, they blamed the outsourced company. Not really acceptable as they sold it under their name and no one knew who the actual manufacturers were. So, they were very variable.

They did not ant to discuss ramps, bulkheads, weights or flooring with me.

I would not buy one from them as they were dismissive. I am not surprised that they went out of business.

I do think the bulkhead is important, even in mine I feel slightly vulnerable if a horse has a hooley. One young 17hh mare I was travelling took a dislike to a slipped fillet string, I was really glad to have a safety cage in! I also don't have the little window, as that could conceivably fit a hoof through near my left ear.
 
I have a Tru Leisure 3.5 ton horse box and love it. We have had it for 10 years now. Bought the chassis brand new Vauxhall Movano, and had the box built onto it at our specification. Tru Leisure were brilliant to work with and very up on strengths and safety as it was a father and son business and their were engineers. Sadly the father retired and the son went to live in South Africa.
 
ester said:
yup you are right about the court case, their response to that was terrible!
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My neighbour did eventually, after lengthy legal wranglings and the box being returned to Alexanders many times to be 'fixed', get them to take it back and a partial refund. She still lost many £1000s on it, and was without transport for many months whilst it all rumbled on.

Alexanders couldn't have been more difficult and obstructive all the way through, despite having sold her a brand new, very expensive and shockingly sub standard box with their name on it.
 
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