Cheval Liberte . . . .

A

awelshandawarmblood

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How does everyone find them?

I have a HB506 at the moment but my horse is awful to load & I've been looking at the HBX506 with the barn doors as its the ramp he has the issue with, therefore he could then just step in.

I've now come across a Cheval Liberte Touring Country with the barn door on the rear, & I love the look/spec!! Lots of windows, a tack locker in the front & still has a front ramp. Its all seems to good to be true at only 850kg!

My only other question, I can't seem to see whether theres an option to take the partition out for full breast & breach bars.

Any info greatly appreciated! :)
 
You can get full width breast and breech bars for Cheval Liberte trailers, but beware, they are very flimsily built. We went to a CL main dealer to view them last year, first impressions were that they are very smart but looks aren’t everything. That whole front nose cone is thin plastic, it’s not even sturdy enough to screw a cctv camera to (we asked the main dealer about that, he advised us to stick it on with adhesive instead). The fittings for the breast/bars are also flimsy, if you do a search on here you will find an HHOer who had the breast bar break free when she did a slow speed emergency stop.

OH, who is non horsey, was initially keen on the £££s saved over an Ifor but on closer inspection declared them not fit for purpose.

We then drove on to the nearby Ifor showroom and the build quality and strength of construction is vastly superior in the Ifors. The Batesons (we also viewed those) are basic but are much more sturdily built than the CLs. We liked them. I like the barn door, but you get that on the new Ifor HBxs.
 
I had the original 2008 CL trailer.
Lovely to tow, the best trailer I've had for towing, but the build quality was very poor.
The new ones look smashing but as stated above the build quality still not great.
 
Personally I would never buy a cheval, they're far too flimsy for my liking. We have trailers go past the house quite a bit and the Chevals all seem to rattle like crazy when they pass too. I think if you have an Ifor already you'll be unhappy with the quality/sturdiness of the Chevals.

Batesons have a great reputation and if you can find one with barn doors then I would definitely choose one of those. I'm not sure i've seen any Ifors for sale with barn doors but Im sure they must make them.

Have you considered Van Fautras? I think theres a few stockist in the UK, they are beautiful trailers and barn doors seem to be common.
 
I have a 10000XL and it is lovely. I actually prefer it over the ifor as find it gives a better ride for the pony.
 
I had one of their older large models. It towed great, but panels and floor were rotting, fibreglass was cracking, ramp hinge had collapsed. Basically it was not built to last.
 
I loved my mare and foal model. Used it as a large single. But they are a lot lighter and rattlier than Ifor. Lighter means thinner. I didn't have any problems though.

I have an Ifor now purely because one came up that had had the roof raised a few inches and I've got a growing Clydesdale!
 
We have a CL and an Ifor, both have their pluses and minuses. One thing we were told by a French dealer: with the CL you need to ensure you get a Gold model. The basic ones are not up to much, the Gold though dearer, give the horse a better ride because of the improved suspension.
The internal fittings all come out of both but the Ifor is easier and quicker to do. Both of our trailers have rears where you can use the ramp or twist and turn to convert to a door. it was standard on the CL but an extra on the IFOR. Fautras, made not far from me, only did doors when we were looking..
 
Thank you all so much! I always thought the older ones were flimsy from looking around a friend's years ago, but the new ones look a lot more sturdy in the photos - obviously not the case! Going to get on looking at the Bateson as suggested & HBX with the barn doors as by what's been said seem a better bet. Thanks again! ?
 
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