Buying a Lorry. Which one??!

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Eccles

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My husband has just sold our 4WD as amongst other things, we are upgrading to a lorry. We would have around £14k to spend, maybe a bit more for the right one. We need something for my 16.3HH ISH, poss another horse in the future along with a bit of day living as a minimum. I can drive up to 7.5t on my licence.

The lorry needs to be reliable and fairly smart. What would you buy? I hear so many conflicting viewpoints so would be grateful if anyone has any idea what would be a good buy/what to look out for/do any HHO's have anything??!

Would be very grateful for any info.
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Yes thanks have heard that about the Cargo. What about the Iveco? I am so ignorant, any info gratefully received!
 
you can't beat a MAN for reliability and ease of service.

great to drive and the chassis are light..so a larger payload.
 
mine is a MAN 8153. i have had it 7yrs and the only major thing was a gearbox this year.

we hadnt had a problems before and none since the repair and we love it.

it starts everytime ( in 7yrs it has never not started!!)
 
I've been told it's the 4 cylinder Cargo to avoid as the parts are hard to get. The 6 cylinder is ok though.

How reliable that is - who knows, but Iveco don't seem to think it's a problem.
 
Mines a Leyland Daf TD EuroII 7.5t Its a dream to drive in fact i`d rather drive my wagon than my 4x4. lol
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Defo recommend one ive never had any probs with mine
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I wouldn't have anything but an MAN.
My OH deals DAF's, MAN's and Mercedes.
The most reliable cab/chasis that will age well, is without a doubt an MAN.
 
I bought a S reg Ford Iveco 3 years ago and touch wood it's been a fantastic runner so I'm a bit biased towards Iveco. Happy box hunting
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Ah right, well it shows you how much I know, I didn't realise that the number of cylinders meant a different engine size, lol
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We've got an Iveco 1013 (or something like that), I was told the 4 cylinder is hard to get parts for, the 6 cylinder isn't - by Iveco - and it's a Cargo btw.
 
When it comes to secondhand trucks you pays your money and keep your fingers crossed. Remember haulage contractors buy trucks to work them hard, you do not see any truck being nursed up the motorways. Most companies lease truck and lease them for 3 to 4 years or 400,000 miles because this is when they need major money speeding on them. Premium trucks will do 500,000 to 600,000 such as Mercedes,Scania's,Volvo's. I have owned Daf's, Volvo's and Bedfords.Renualts and found the Volvo's to be the better of those 4, but all lorries cost alot to maintain correctly . 2 years ago I sold a Renault 13ton 24ft box that I had used for Driver Training to a lady from Cornwall . She was going to have it converted to a horsebox, I saw it at Bicton reasonly looked to be still going strong, she hadn't repainted it. It was an Ex Boots contract vehicle, I bought it from Measham Auctions for £1750 used it for 18 months and sold it at a profit without spenting a penny on it although it was only driven empty. If you go for coachbuilt whilst they look beautyful you need to keep repairing engines and gearboxes. If you buy cheap you can always swop chassis cab if you get problems with engines or rust. good luck.
 
Stick to looking at the main 3 chassis - Iveco (not ford cargo) , DAF 45 -150 ( the 130 is a great engine but can be gutless - the 150 BHP is superior), and M.A.N. ( dont forget the M.A.N chassis is around 300 kilos heavier than Iveco and DAF) - we dont rate Renault for reliability reasons, Mercedes are expensive for parts and roll quite a bit giving the horses sealegs, and Volvo although good trucks are again expensive for parts and are a very heavy chassis on 7.5 tonne basis.

Go and view quite a few vehicles and you will get a feel for what is value for money and build quality etc. Ideally coachbuilt lorries will always realise more money - especially for resale, and are lighter than a conversion.

Look to see if the cab tilts - and where it tilts - if the tilt is designed to go through the front of the luton (an older way of tilting) check for signs of leakage. If the cab is fixed then make sure an inspection panel and bonnet has been cut away below the passenger seats for easier engine access .

I would take a diesel mechanic with you - when you have found a suitable vehicle - always go for full service history - the mileage is not too much of an issue as long as the vehicle has been well maintained, the engine is designed to be running up and down motorways so when a vehicle becomes a horsebox it goes into "retirement".

Spend time looking at the underneath of the lorry to check for areas of corrosion - take a sharp pointed stick with you and lift up the mats in the horse area and have a real good poke around especially where the floor meets the body and in the corners.

Raise and lower the ramp - listen to the springs - and see where they are located - ideally the ramp should be undersprung ( springs undernaeth the ramp at the bottom) and give the ramp a jump up and down (on when lowered) and again check for signs of corrosion.

Ask for appiances to be turned on ie fridge, heating etc - see if you can smell gas - gas bottles should be housed on the external in a well ventilated compatment or on a floating stowage.

Check for signs of leakage- and feel the walls - its not unusual to have condensation at this tme of year but anything more than that will mean a leaky lorry.

There are companies listed in horse and hound who will check the vehicle for you - dont buy in haste and then find you have a total death trap- you are travelling your most precious cargo - usually horses and children so it has to be safe and well built.

Work out your capacity you need and then get a weight certificate for the lorry, make sure it is weighed - with partitions on - so at least you know you are legal when laden. 7.5 tonne means it can carry no more than 7.5 tonne no matter what.

Good luck
 
Wow thanks everyone so much for all the information there! Its such a minefield and of course safety is the key issue, I think the world of my horse!

Gosh so much to think about!
 
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