Coachbuilt 3.5t Horsebox for 1 horse-help

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sweethearts

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I'm just in the process of looking for a 3.5t horsebox and wondered if I could ask for peoples opinions, advice and recommendations.
I've been searching and searching and so far I have come to the conclusion that I need to be looking for a coachbuilt box, also my boyfriend is adament that it can't be on ancient chassis (which is really not helping my budgeting)

My requirements are:
  1. It has to be able to carry one 16.1hh horse
  2. It needs to have a luton that can sleep two
  3. It needs to have a sink and if possible a gas ring
  4. Year 2000 or newer, with no more than about 100,000miles on the clock
  5. And here's the crunch bit... needs to be around the £10K mark or below

The reason for the sleeping and sink/gas ring requirement is because we want to be able to take it to Glastonbury and to be able to take it in the campervan field you need to have a fitted sink and bed!

I am kind of leaning towards looking at getting one custom made but I have a feeling it's going to be way over my budget...but if anyone could suggest any particular companies I could look at or any potential boxes that would be amazing(...or maybe just give me a kick and say I'm dreaming and need to magically up my budget!)!!

Thank you for reading :)
 
In an ideal world those boxes would exist! I searched high and low for about 6 months and in the end have gone for a 6.5ton two horse box which has all the features you describe and dimension wise is very compact and nothing like the size of your average lorry (although is a 97 plate and has just over 100k miles) and Im investing in getting my test done instead. The one I have bought has gas hob, sink, sleeping for two over the luton, sofa, cupboards, wardrobes, huge tack locker, huge rug racks, aluminium flooring, full mot and full sevice history (the mot it had before we bought it it didnt need a penny spending on it) and is immaculate inside and out - that said though it did take constant searching for about 6 months!

even the most expensive 3.5tonners realistically wont be able to have the features you describe (with regards living etc) and still come within weight unfortunatley.
 
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hmmm georgiegirl I do seem to be coming to the same conclusion! I was just hoping that somebody would be able to point me in the direction of a horsebox builder that I haven't come across yet.
I really don't mind what it looks like too much, as long as it is safe for my boy and reliable then I'd be happy.... i suppose I can dream...and keep saving!!
 
I think even if you saved up for one of the 20k versions then you would still find it impossible to find a 3.5 ton box with luton sleeping, living etc and payload for horse and associated gear that would still come within the weight limit!

I found a 3.5t box last year (which was for sale on a very reputable horsebox dealers site) which had living etc. After asking to have it weighed before we made the journey to go and view it it turned out it had a payload of 300kg!!! Obviously I didnt see it. Needless to say it was after this I looked at bigger ones. Even something that was a 5ton box would probably suit your needs if you need it to double up as a campervan etc. I think a lot of people are put off by the supposed expense of a bigger box but as long as you find a good one then you will be ok. From what ive paid the tax on a bigger one is actually less expensive (mine is £160 for a full year) and the insurance is the same (I pay £27 per month for two drivers fully comp with full roadside asisstance and horse recovery). The only other expense is the driving test (if you need to do it) and of course plating which is £90 as opposed to your usual £55 for an mot certificate
 
Tbh I really don't need it to have full living, just as long as it has one of those little sinks fitted and space for a matress over luton that's all I'd need it to have so it's eligible for the campervan field.
I kind of thought i might be ok weight wise as I'd only ever be carrying one horse.
 
I hadn't realised it wasn't that much more for the running costs of a bigger lorry...I think I'd imagined it to be a lot more expensive.lots of things to think about and consider;thanks for the info :)
 
sweethearts said:
Tbh I really don't need it to have full living, just as long as it has one of those little sinks fitted and space for a matress over luton that's all I'd need it to have so it's eligible for the campervan field.
I kind of thought i might be ok weight wise as I'd only ever be carrying one horse.
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could you not use a blow up mattress and put it in the horse area?! Just a novel idea if you are short of sleeping space :D
 
sweethearts said:
Paint me proud...that is exactly what I would do, but apparently it has to be a proper bed to be classed as being suitable for the campervan field. Very annoying!
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You won't be taking your horse to Glastonbury, so you could just pop a bed in where the horse normally goes. A portable camping stove with a gas bottle for your stove. The sink I can't help you with but maybe someone else can.
 
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Just to throw a spanner in the works, i bought a 3.5 ton LDV Convoy only 72k on clock on a 98plate service history came with 12months MOT and 6 months tax has sleeping for 2 over luton no mattress as i have no need for it so is just storage for me, has a sink and gas hob and takes my 16.2/3 with ease and with a payload of just under 1.3 (i do have weighbridge cert for this) and i didnt pay anywhere near 10k for mine granted some people might think it dosent look the part as isnt all shiney and new does needs a good paint job but starts first time EVERY time and most importantly is SAFE for my horse. so if your lucky enough to find one they do exist!!
 
sounds to me like you'll need to buy one and have some tinkiering done.

Don't let your BF put you off older chassis/lorry, mine is an N reg Master and has done 56K miles only. She's ultra reliable and starts after 3 months in the winter even when temps in the low negatives (-7).

I got her from travel two and when I was going to sell her back this year (couldn't bring myself to in the end) I think Polly was going to ask about 6.5K. This would leave you quite a bit to get the Luton made into a bed (looks quite easy) and to have the sink etc fitted behind. I have already converted it to one horse by putting in another partition so horse travels centrally (much more stable with a tall horse). So in essence although they are like hen's teeth (and I'm never selling mine now) they do exist. Polly would be my first call as she may be able to help you with a custom build/alter although doubt in your budget. Good luck!
 
mga4ever said:
This one is over budget but sounds like it has everything you need. I rang about it but i need to take horse away for weekends with all his kit. Unfortunately wih only 700kg spare payload it wasn't enough for me. Maybe they would build you something similar but on a bit more of a budget.
http://www.halcoleisure.com/horseboxes.htm
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Looks like that one has had extra welded onto back of chassis - I'm no expert though but miles longer than normal. I'm NOT saying this is the case, but there are lots of cowboys out there making really unsafe conversions as there is no regulation. You also must check that the front bulkhead is reinforced or you might just end up with a horse in the cab. Really worth getting some advice and stick to a 'name' if you can. Safety first.
 
wildcard said:
Just to throw a spanner in the works, i bought a 3.5 ton LDV Convoy only 72k on clock on a 98plate service history came with 12months MOT and 6 months tax has sleeping for 2 over luton no mattress as i have no need for it so is just storage for me, has a sink and gas hob and takes my 16.2/3 with ease and with a payload of just under 1.3 (i do have weighbridge cert for this) and i didnt pay anywhere near 10k for mine granted some people might think it dosent look the part as isnt all shiney and new does needs a good paint job but starts first time EVERY time and most importantly is SAFE for my horse. so if your lucky enough to find one they do exist!!
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Don't suppose you fancy selling it to me? ;)
Seriously though where did you find it? I've been trawling all the websites I can think of!
 
scarymare they can come longer but I dont think I would be happy with that one, pretty much all of your horse weight is past the back axle.
 
I have to agree with others about the Blue box is extremely long wheel based.. i

I was very lucky actually found mine on ebay when i wasnt even looking for one had a 4 by 4 and trailer but saw this one day whilst bit bored at work and thought was worth a look as wasnt to far away.. turned out she wanted a trailer as wasnt doing as much competing so PX d my bateson trailer saved me loads of hassle aswell and very lucky as she had over 500 watchers on ebay for it. Right place at right time i guess..

Only suggestion i would give is dont discount older not so pretty boxes as not everything can be a beautiful duckling but dosent mean it isnt great at its job..
 
I agree with the older boxes can still be goodies...I'm just going to have to work on persuading my boyfriend. Although once I present him with the options of remortgaging our house for a slightly shiner box or just using our savings for a slightly older box I think he might be persuaded!!
 
I'm fairly certain that there was one fitting your description in the horse and hound magazine last week. I'll check for you when I get home tonight.

I've just had a look to see if I could find it on the HHO Classifieds but I don't think it's there.

There is this one?:

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/classifieds/details.aspx?pu=BPmXvHOJFapxpHa6zlSgMw&cu=975&kw=2-horse%20Horse%20Boxes%20and%20Trailers&ca=&st=&at=2&ag=975*31564999*HHO:295313&pg=7&si=CAT*1**0&sr=h&cr=9&sn=1&kwe=%20+%20$d1417&ref=http%3a%2f%2fwww.horseandhound.co.uk%2fforums%2fshowthread.php_f2_t=520469_f1_page=2&cc=1
 
A 3.5 Ton chassis pan cab will weigh no less than 1.8 Ton
A well built and safe container will weigh no less than 1.0 Ton
That will leave 0.7 Ton for the horse, passengers, water etc.
If you value the safety of your horse, yourself and other road users then take great care in choosing a safe vehicle that will not cause you to go overweight as the vehicle will not handle correctly especially in an emergency situation.
Always take the vehicle to the weigh bridge yourself to check it's true weight.
 
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