Difference between a 3.5 tonne box and 6.5 tonne box?

[Stinkbomb]

Yes i know what the obvious difference is..... 1) the weight 2) the plating thingie.......

Now we were looking at getting a 3.5 tonne box, or converting one. I have just seen a 6 tonne box that looks just what we are looking for. Yes i have two minis and you might say that i dont need one but we do travel all over the country and stay over quite often. ( well havent been as often as we would like, as we just cant stand the tent!!!! ) Inky would sleep in the box ( as he does in the trailer ) how much extra do you think it would cost to run a 6 tonne box as oppose to a 3.5 tonne and what other things do we need to consider???

Sorry for all the questions about boxes but its alot of money to spend!!

 

[dieseldog]

First thing is can you legally drive it?

The tax is £165 a year - which might be cheaper than a 3.5t lorry.

Insurance is about £200 fully comp any driver

The good thing is the plating. As it isn't going to a commercial garage but the ministry, they won't rip you off as they can't make any money out of failing you - like a garage can.

 

[Stinkbomb]

Yep had licence since 1990 ( god im old )

Is the tax cheaper for a 6 tonne then???

Insurance might be a little more expensive for me ( 6 points between me and OH

)

Its just passed its plating so hopefully we should be ok next time if we keep it in good condition???

 

[Puppy]

I'm sorry to highjack the thread

But I too have been looking at 6.5Ts. Please could someone tell me, approx how much is the average payload on one of these??

I'm thinking a nice compact 6.5T stalled for 2 would be better for me than a 7.5T, as most are big in the body and stalled for three, which is no use to me as once I've got my two in there'd be no real payload left over...

 

[dieseldog]

Mine is a 6.6t and I have about a 3 ton payload in it. It will take a 17.2 and either 3 ponies or 2 hoses herringbone. It's got a lovely big luton that you cab sit up in bed in, and a reasonable sized living.

 

[Puppy]

Oh awesome! Yes, that's the kind of thing I want for my girls. I'd never get them in a 3.5T, but a 7.5T seems excessive given the size body of most of them, and the fact I shall usually only be travelling the one. Cool! Cheers DD!

 

[dieseldog]

It is definatly cheaper on Diesel than a 7.5t. It costs me about £55 to fill it up and I can do about 300 miles on that.

My typing in the last post was awful. I thought you had bought a new lorry or are you still looking?

 

[custard]

Well have had both now, started with a Cargo 609 then had an Ifor Williams container on a Transit. Last year had the same container put on a Merc Sprinter.

TBH didn't find the Cargo all that expensive to run by comparison but much prefer my little box. When I had the Cargo was doing a lot of showing though and ex OH liked to stay away from home overnight. It was just a pain though really, couldn't keep it at home so had major packing and unpacking issues. Also found one house was enough to clean without a second sink etc in the lorry!

Depends on what you want to do but it sounds perfect for your two boys and am thinking of changing it for something quicker/newer/posher. What do you want to spend?

 

[Puppy]

Cheaper is always good!

It's rather annoying as most of the time I shall be travelling just the one, and I'd love a little 3.5t, but I can't see the point of buying a box that I can't put both in as and when we do want to take both out. Trouble is, I shall have to take a test for a bigger box as missed the deadline by a few months... DOH!

So no, I haven't found one yet. The search was put on hold while we were faffing about sorting saddles etc, and then thought there was something wrong with Be. I'm sort of hanging out till xmas break when I can do some more work and hopefully up my budget a bit more. Not to mention I don't really have the time till Dec to go driving around viewing. I *really* hope I can find one for xmas though - now that would be one awesome pressie to myself!

 

[christine48]

With a 3.5t lorry what you have to look at is the paye load. There was a new Oakley 2 horse at Burghley put the paye load was only 1 ton therefore you wouldn't be able to put 2 large horses on it. Ideal for 1 big horse, ponies or youngstock though. If you've got 2 large horses then you will need a 6 or 7.5 ton lorry

 

[Puppy]

[ QUOTE ]
With a 3.5t lorry what you have to look at is the paye load. There was a new Oakley 2 horse at Burghley put the paye load was only 1 ton therefore you wouldn't be able to put 2 large horses on it. Ideal for 1 big horse, ponies or youngstock though. If you've got 2 large horses then you will need a 6 or 7.5 ton lorry

[/ QUOTE ]

That would be exactly what I said in my above about why I needed a 6.5/7.5T and could not buy a 3.5T, yes

Did you actually read my post before replying to me about what I should do....?!

 

[christine48]

I wasn't answering your question! You know what you need anyway
As for the paye load on a 6.5 ton lorry it depends on the material it is made from I have a 2 horse DAF with living which weighs 5.4 ton empty (7.5 ton chassis). Therefore has 2 ton payload. A friend has just built a bigger lorry with larger fitted living under floor storage etc but it's made from alluminium therefore lighter. The only answer is to weigh it empty.