Converting a Chassis Into a 3.5 Tonne Box - Costs???

[Mithras]

Has anyone got any ideas? The thing is, I want an automatic, and none of the standard coachbuilders have any, or if they do, they are the stupidly overpriced ones at £25,000 + when you can get similar second hand for £12,500 plus (or at least you could if any automatics ever came up). So I want to buy my own automatic chassis and pay for the conversion. Has anyone any ideas what would be a reasonable price for the conversion (just basic say, horse area, with one external tack locker and grooms seats, nothing else) and can your bog standard coachbuilder be expected to supply the necessary lightweight materials or is it more a specialised thing?

 

[Oberon]

I found this website useful. They break down costs so by providing your own vehicle, conversion with them costs £8000.

http://home.btconnect.com/orbitvehicles/horse/horseindex.htm

However, if you went to your local conversion place and asked for what you wanted only, it may be cheaper.

You would need them to put a ramp in. You would need to make sure the bulkhead is secure so your horse can't kick you in the head while you are driving. Other than that - paneling, rubber walls, breast bar, tie rings, vents and windows - could be bought from the cheapest sources and added by a handy person.

If you watch the video on the link as to what they do to convert a box, you will get an idea.