equitrek trailer question

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twinkle

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Hi im in the process of ordering an equitrek show treka!

BUT

My car bmw X5 can tow 2700kg and the show treka L that i wanted, gross weight is 3000kg this takes upto two 18h horses.

I will only be taking one 16.1 horse out.

Unlanden weight is 1400kg so add say 700kg at the most to it ,thats only 2100kg so under my limit will this be ok?

Not that i will prob take any other horses out with my girl, as friends all have there own transport, but could i then also take another 600kg as that would be my limit is that right/ok?

thanks for any help
 
think you'll find that the plate on trailer states 3500kg - so you have to have something that can tow 3500kg
 
Its defently 3000kg have the trailer brochure infront of me.

so even thought i wont be towing that weight i still need it to be able to?
 
Or you can down rate the trailer to the maximum towing weight of the vehicle by having Equitrek change the plate on the tow hitch.
 
Its a bit of a grey area, the safe option is to ensure the trailer plate doesn't exceed the towing capacity of the vehicle. Most of the advice on the internet states the same, but I know of people that have done some digging and believe it is a miss-interpretation of the rules in Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 Its all to do with the potential to exceed your towing limit (you could be planning on picking up another horse)

We downplated our Equitrek from 3000kg to 2800kg to match the towing capacity of our van, paid Equitrek £25 for the new plate, although I think you can buy a blank off ebay and create your own if you have the metal punches with letters on them.
 
Never had one, but know someone who does.

They are great trailers for the horses, apparently, but I'm told they are surprisingly poor build quality, hard to tow and reverse and not very stable.

Like I said, that is second hand. Coiuld you borrow one to try it before committing?
 
Baileyhoss said:
Yep, fraid so. The police don't actually weigh your trailer. They look at the gross weight of the trailer compared to the max towing capacity of your car.
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No wrong look it up on the dept for transport web site its a Euro law not a uk law !!!
dont exceed the towing capacity of the vehicle you will be fine its urban myth like the caravan clubs 85% rule....
 
brucea said:
Never had one, but know someone who does.

They are great trailers for the horses, apparently, but I'm told they are surprisingly poor build quality, hard to tow and reverse and not very stable.

Like I said, that is second hand. Coiuld you borrow one to try it before committing?
Click to expand...

Build quality of mine is fine, its 8 months old, tows well & gives horses a stable ride. They are slightly longer that a normal trailer, I have the Show Trekka M, but no different to reversing any other trailer. How can it be a great trailer for the horses but give an unstable ride?? As for the weights thing, you are fine provided you don't exceed your vehicle towing weight.
 
I used to have a 4* which was longer and was fab to tow and I seem to remeber that there was another thread recently which said that Equitrek have changed coach builders and are finished off better now, might be worth doing a thread search for more info...
 
I have had my "Trek" for 2 years and love it. It is fabulous to tow, very steady, solid and stable. I generally HATE reversing with a vengeance :D but have never had any bother with the Trek.

I would seriously check the towing weight of your vehicle against the plated weight of the Trek. This is for a number of reasons:

1. The Law!!! Get caught with an unsuitable vehicle and you WILL be fined. There is also the distinct possibility you will not be able to carry on with your journey as you may be deemed dangerous. Please please please check the VOSA website or clarification.

2. Think about this. IF (!) (worst case scenario) you had to slam on the breaks or take evasive action due to the occasional nutter you find on the road. How would you rate your vehicles chances of controlling the trailer?

FWIW I towed my trek unladen with a Mitsubishi L200. It was not the most comfortable experience towing I have had. It pushed the car around and actually did not feel safe. Yep, the L200 is not legal to tow my trek but I had to get it home... :)
 
Ours is a 2004 trailer which we've owned for a year, no build quality issues really. I think people must go and look at these trailers expecting them to be like a lorry.

The only problems we've had are the side marker lights corroding and flickering in the wet (replaced with LED markers) and the rear door sticks slightly in the frame, could probably sort it in five minutes with a screwdriver but its such a small issue I haven't bothered. Its also nice and easy to reverse, bigger trailers are easier. Compared to an Ifor it may be more difficult without towing mirrors as the extra width means you can't see past it in the mirrors.

It has quite hard suspension, this combined with small low profile tyres on a 1 metre wheelbase does give a bit of a lumpy ride for the towing vehicle on uneven roads, but its nothing serious.

One thing I did notice, with two horses in the summer the trailer has very little ventilation and is like a sauna after a 10 minute journey. We fitted three rooflights, but never seen another with any. Saw one with a spinny vent as fitted to vans but that can't be particularly effective.

And VOSA do take the plated weights of the tow vehicle and trailer to make their calcs, rightly or wrongly its how its done. If they think you have exceeded your plated weights they can take you to a weighbridge, but they won't do this simply so you can prove you trailer weighs less than its plated weight.
 
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