Equi-trek trial treka or Ifor williams HB506??

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any advice on either of these i see there has been some previous posts but wanted to see if anyone had any updates etc to add. Like the IFor and look of them (have had ifor in past in pony club etc) but also like loading gates and saddle storage on equitrek. i have a 16.2 WBxTB and would poss take a 15 hand TB X out too and notice triak trek has 2000kg limit but ifor has 2600kg.

any advice etc grateful
 
Yes trail treka M has a payload of only 1120Kg which really isn't much! Especially when you take into account, water, tack, feed, etc, the Trail Treka L Has a payload of 1580Kg a much better option if looking to be transporting 2 horses as opposed to ponies!

The ifors used to always have a good reputation but the newer ones seem to be riddled with problems from what I've heard. But in comparison to payloads have a respectful amount to tow 2 horses with!

Have you looked at Richardsons? I have one and love it and you seem to hear alot more positive feedback from these than the modern ifors.

You could also look at Bateson trailers and Cheval liberte.
 
I have just gone through the whole Equi Trek or Ifor Williams debate and purchased a Ifor Williams this week.

Originally intended to get an EquiTrek as this is what horse's previous owner had and I knew that horse was happy to load and travel on it. Was told that he wouldn't go in an Ifor Williams. BUT spoke to a couple of Equitrek owners, neither were happy with build quality of Equitrek and servicing costs are high. Both recommended I get an Ifor Williams.

My horse is 16.1 cob cross and he is quite long and chunky therefore didn't want to squeeze him into a 505/506. I compared the internal sizes of the Equitrek and 511 and there isn't much in it. Eventually I bought a second hand 511 but before buying they let me borrow one for a day to make sure he would load and travel OK.

Purchase price and servicing costs of Ifor Williams are lower and everyone recommends them. Some people prefer the older models (505/510) compared to the newer models 505/511 though.

Hope that helps.
 
thanks folks If anyone else has any tips. I have just been told by an equitrek dealer that ifor williams should be avoided as they have recalls on the HB506 on VOSA website but i can only find one for the 506 in late 2008 for mould, floor plates and tie rings. he also said there was a double page spread in H & H on them. not looked for this yet. he also said equi treks were stable as had a skirt, didnt really mention the weight but i dont think its a lot if you have 2x 16.2. he said no probs with trial treka.
 
Scribble based on the payload of the trail treka M, it will NOT take 2x 16.2's, the trail treka L would however, so make sure if this is the direction you are going in that you get the correct model for your needs.
 
I have recently changed a 4yo Equitrek for a new Richardson.

I do really miss the storage space in the Equitrek - it is much much more difficult to transport everything in the Richardson, however it is definitely easier to tow. If you do a lot of shows, then I would seriously consider the Equitrek - if however you are like me and just do hacks out and lessons then I would suggest the plus side of conventional trailer (more robust, etc) would outweigh the benefits of the Equitrek.

As an aside, the reason I needed to change was I have a horse who won't travel with a partition - in an equitrek she tended to put most of her weight on the same side as the side ramp, and I always felt I was trailing unbalanced trailer.
 
We've got the 511 and love it. Every horse (even the difficult loaders) have loaded and travelled well. They had quite a few teething problems initially but they seem to have ironed them out.
 
We have had a equip trek trailer for just under 3 and have had no issue until now. Took the trailer to be serviced by one of their agents who call us back to inform us the chassis was cracked.

Avonride who make the chassis said they would send a repair kit not happy with that. So we contacted the NFU their engineer said in his opinion it was a manufacturers defect. The comment back from the manufacturer was we hand been misusing the trailer as we had taken it over fields. Lol when have you ever been to an event where all the parking is on hard standing. Since the trailer is out of warranty we are faced with a bill of approx £1000 to have the chassis re welded and the fibre glass at the front of the A frame repaired.

There is no damage to the underneath of the trailer to point to accidental damage so we are now putting the issued in the hands of the NFU legal team

With regards to equip trek themselves even their agent had issues getting them to respond back.

Suggest your best bet is a IFOR at least they look after their customers etc...
 
I wouldn't go for an Equi Trek. Friend has one, the axle has been a problem and the ramp keeps twisting on it, sometimes you can not open it... Also it is 3 y/o kept in a barn and looked after well and the paint is peeling off by the metre!!
 
I would go for the Ifor Williams 510 with an aluminium floor. The new models look a bit 'plasticky'. to me. The earlier 506 and 511 certainly did have a mould problem but I think that has now been resolved.

If money was not issue I would go for a Vans Fautras.

I wouldn't touch an Equitrek with the proverbial bargepole.
 
Brutus said:
We have had a equip trek trailer for just under 3 and have had no issue until now. Took the trailer to be serviced by one of their agents who call us back to inform us the chassis was cracked.

Avonride who make the chassis said they would send a repair kit not happy with that. So we contacted the NFU their engineer said in his opinion it was a manufacturers defect. The comment back from the manufacturer was we hand been misusing the trailer as we had taken it over fields. Lol when have you ever been to an event where all the parking is on hard standing. Since the trailer is out of warranty we are faced with a bill of approx £1000 to have the chassis re welded and the fibre glass at the front of the A frame repaired.

There is no damage to the underneath of the trailer to point to accidental damage so we are now putting the issued in the hands of the NFU legal team

With regards to equip trek themselves even their agent had issues getting them to respond back.

Suggest your best bet is a IFOR at least they look after their customers etc...
Click to expand...

I would look at the previous post re Equitrek and consider getting trading standards involved under the Sale of Goods Act. A chassis should last longer than 3 years.
 
We have a Ifor 510, which I love. Can't really comment on the newer models, but lots of people I know have them, and haven't had any problems. Equi-trek are made near me, so I would love to plump for a local firm, but have heard a lot of bad about them. An ex livery had one, and her horse cracked the back wall by kicking. My husband is a mechanic, and he says that to get the size and storage, the trailers are made of thinner, less durable materials. He says that he wouldn't touch one. A lot of people do well with them, so they can't all be bad.

On a seperate note, there is no need to go to the manufacturer for services. Most good local garages will service your trailer as well as, if not better, than a main dealer, and cost a lot less. Our own garage does loads.
 
I know friends with equi-treks and they all moan about the problems they have had with them and the general poor quality of the build.

We were debating what to buy last summer.We had previously had an Ifor Williams. I think the new Ifor Williams look really nice but after borrowing one for the day from a friend we felt it was a bit plastically and didnt feel as robust as the HB505/510 so ended up going for the HB510.
 
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