Equitrek v Ifor Williams. Sorry I know its been done before

Louby

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Aaaaagh I dont know what to do!
Sold my horsebox due to lack of use, so in a position to buy a trailer now... but I dont know which one to buy!
Ive had the old IW and tbh I really dont want to go back to my tack in the boot and sitting in the drivers seat if its chucking it down. I really want an Equitrek, either Space or Show Treka, just so I have somewhere to get changed, have a brew etc, and after having a wagon I would really like this space.... but I know theres been issues with the Equitrek, build quality wise. I just love the concept.
My funds wont stretch to a new Equitrek, although I could buy a new Ifor as I also need to change my car. Im beginning to wonder why on earth I sold the wagon :( :(
Why is it also that when you are looking to buy something, theres never any for sale or they are the other end of the Country? but when your not looking theres loads!!
Thanks in advance for any help and/or advice :)
 

Asha

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was chatting about this today. Apparently ifor Williams now do a trailer with living etc, maybe worth having a look at that ?
 

Louby

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Thanks for replying. They do, Ive seen one and its nicer than my house lol. The problem is its about £26 grand lol and would need a Range Rover to tow it! :(
 

Jnhuk

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That is the problem with trailers with living bits and you need a decent towing vehicle.

Put up a wanted ad in your local fb horsey groups as when equi-treks come up second hand they usually go quickly unless overpriced.

I have had a Bateson Deauville in my time and although no separate part for changing etc..., they had a two saddle rack in the nose which helped free up the towing vehicle from stuff. I found that I could put buckets and water container under the lowest saddle as well.

Off the top of my head other makes that do trailer living are fautuas and titan although I have not had any direct experience of them.
 

turnbuckle

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Good point, what do you propose towing with?

Fautras very fine, Titan...one hears less good things.

You sometimes get odd German, Danish, other makes which come cheap because people don't know the brand. Always worth keeping an eye out.
 

Toby_Zaphod

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Any make of trailer is better than an Equitrek, they are poorly made, bits break on them very easily & they look extremelt tatty after a short peiod of time. Oh, & customer service when you have an issue is awful. Don't waste your money.

Oh I forgot, another vote from me for the Bateson Deauville as previoius poster has said. I had one years ago & the build quality is great, ride is smooth, ramp is low & inviting for the horses & there's 2 saddle racks in the front. After sales service is very good & they also hold their price.
 
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Louby

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Jnhuk, thanks for that. Even if the tack was elsewhere that would make a difference, I will have a look at them.
Ive emailed a couple of Equitrek ads but they havent got back to me. Thanks Lovescobsmas, I really would love an Equitrek. Looking at the ads so far, I reckon I may be able to get about a 2010 model. Seen one advertised locally that is a 2007 but I think its possible overpriced and its been reduced once. I think I read that is one of the years affected by the axle issue.
 

Louby

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Good point, what do you propose towing with?

Fautras very fine, Titan...one hears less good things.

You sometimes get odd German, Danish, other makes which come cheap because people don't know the brand. Always worth keeping an eye out.

We have a Shogun atm but its a work car and hubby is rather precious about it lol, so Im looking at either a Kia Sorrento or SWB Shogun. It will be my everyday car too so ideally I dont want something too big and guzzly! Ive even toyed with a 3.5t horsebox as when doing the sums, it may work out cheaper in the long run. I sold my wagon though as it wasnt getting the use it should, so to buy another one seems daft and the 3.5t are soooo expensive!
 

Louby

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Any make of trailer is better than an Equitrek, they are poorly made, bits break on them very easily & they look extremelt tatty after a short peiod of time. Oh, & customer service when you have an issue is awful. Don't waste your money.

Oh I forgot, another vote from me for the Bateson Deauville as previoius poster has said. I had one years ago & the build quality is great, ride is smooth, ramp is low & inviting for the horses & there's 2 saddle racks in the front. After sales service is very good & they also hold their price.

Thanks, this is my worry with the Equitrek, the concept is fab though! There is a definate gap in the market for a well made trailer with small living. It will be sods law I get the one made on Friday afternoon!
 
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I wouldn't touch Equi-trek with a ten foot barge pole! Awfully badly built! No time or effort taken over them, they are just put together like an air fix kit and shipped out as fast as possible. And if you have an issue with one? Well forget even contemplating asking Equi-trek themselves!

I have had my Ifor for nearly 15 years and it is just as good as new and that is with nigh on weekly use between ponies and hay.
 

LovesCobs

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Jnhuk, thanks for that. Even if the tack was elsewhere that would make a difference, I will have a look at them.
Ive emailed a couple of Equitrek ads but they havent got back to me. Thanks Lovescobsmas, I really would love an Equitrek. Looking at the ads so far, I reckon I may be able to get about a 2010 model. Seen one advertised locally that is a 2007 but I think its possible overpriced and its been reduced once. I think I read that is one of the years affected by the axle issue.

The customer service is rubbish but a good maintenance person will sort most things for you. New axel was about £350 including the labour. Mines a 2008 I think. It's worth allowing for some work snd finding out who can service and do any work on it you may need.
I have no problems with the trailer section for the horses. I have it serviced and checked yearly. It needs a new door handle on the living and had a new saddle rack part. So yes TLC needed but I'm not sure if that's more than trailers that age. I towed it originally with a Pathfinder that had a 3t tow weight limit and it was fine even through muddy fields.
I'd love an Ifor with living but yes the price tag is too high for new and 3.5t towing ability would be needed
 

skint1

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I'm another vote for Ifor Williams all day long, haven't heard many good things about the Equitrek. I have a 510, I tow it with a Shogun. We have before now sat in the front bit on deck chairs when it's been raining, we are hillbillies :)
 

Louby

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ha ha a lady at the yard has been to camp in hers and slept in it. She looked at me a bit odd when I said but where will I sit and get changed.
 

FfionWinnie

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I wouldn't have an equitrash as a gift. Recently hired one and it was falling to bits. Build quality was appalling.

We've ordered a cheval liberty optimax 4. It has a seperate large tack room BIG bonus and herringbone lay out. I wanted to be able to tack up inside as sick of getting wet. No living but my plan is that the front horse stall will be the very basic living that we may need. Build quality is superb and I was amazed at the price compared to what else is out there.

I just hope my new giant horse fits in it as it was certainly not bought with him in mind!
 

Britestar

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I've had my equitrek for nearly 12yrs. I love it. It's done around 90,000 miles.
It's well looked after, serviced and I wouldn't swap it for anything else. Towed with an Isuzu pick up from 04 until 16, 3 ton tow. Now with new d-max 3.5 ton tow.
 

Spottyappy

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I have a landrover disco 3 and recently sold my equitrek as I have brought a lorry.
My daughter's car, Audi Q5 won't tow an equitrek so brought her an ifor 510, an older one as the build quality imho is better than the newer ones.
However, tow wise, there is no contest, the equitrek wins hands down. It also wins hands down on horses travelling better.
I had the show treka M, a 2010 model.so, not an issue with the chassis as it did not need to be recalled. As to build quality, I would say it's much more robust than the current range of Ifors. They appeared very flimsy when we looked at them before buying the equitrek.
I hate towing, but if I go back to it, I would choose the equitrek every time.
 

popsdosh

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I took a hell of a lot of convincing however I bought an Equitrek 5 yrs ago does a lot of miles with mares foals and youngstock .
I can only say positive things about them . I have never had any horse or pony be difficult to load and they travel so well.
The only advantage with an IW is you can hear its squeaky suspension from a mile away .lol. If not Equitrek there are others to chooose from with more modern suspension than IW ,Nugent would give give best of both.
 

millitiger

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You couldn't pay me enough money to put my horse in an equitrek!

There are far too many horror stories about build quality.
My friend has one and the wheel fell off as she was driving along, the axis had snapped.
When she told equitrek they said it was wear and tear and not a fault!
 

popsdosh

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You couldn't pay me enough money to put my horse in an equitrek!

There are far too many horror stories about build quality.
My friend has one and the wheel fell off as she was driving along, the axis had snapped.
When she told equitrek they said it was wear and tear and not a fault!

Those have had a recall and all sorted it was a duff batch of axles from the manufacturer ! Admittedly they didnt handle it well they should have picked up on it sooner but assumed it wasnt their problem because that axle had been used for years.
I have had the same issue with IW with two cattle trailers rolling due to wheels snapping off so its not Just equitrek they would not accept it was their problem either until I found out other farmers had similar problems with Ifor stock trailers.
 

FfionWinnie

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Heard many many more local disasters about equitrashs than any other make. You know legs coming out of side panels (doesn't end well!) and that sort of thing. :(
 

Louby

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Gosh, thanks everyone. Id swung back to IW last night and now Im aaaaagh again lol. The Fautras are supposed to be fantastic trailers, pricey but I suppose you get what you pay for. They seem like hens teeth though 2nd hand. Ive seen one advertised but at £6800 its a lot to pay for a 2nd hand trailer that doesnt have that little changing area. We will pay a bit more than my initial budget but if so would like to get one that had the changing area and tack locker... and I dont think it exists! Ive heard Chevals are nice trailers but more suited to smaller horses due to the build quality and the Bateson only has a 7'3 headroom, Id like 7'6 really.
I just wish there were a dealership relatively local that we could go to and see these trailer in the flesh.
Thanks again
 

FfionWinnie

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Where about are you. I went to JSW in Northallerton (from NE Scotland) to see their trailers. They have Nugent, CL and fautras at least. For me the fautras was way out of date and clunky looking and needed a real modernisation to get it to work how I envision it needs to for the money. They had a lot in stock so worth a trip if you want to see different makes side by side. They are also coach builders and I am getting them to put an additional battery in it to power the lights which will charge up while driving.

I would honestly look at CL yourself because the build quality of the one I am getting is far superior to the year old IW I've just sold. In a totally different league in fact.
 

Louby

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Where about are you. I went to JSW in Northallerton (from NE Scotland) to see their trailers. They have Nugent, CL and fautras at least. For me the fautras was way out of date and clunky looking and needed a real modernisation to get it to work how I envision it needs to for the money. They had a lot in stock so worth a trip if you want to see different makes side by side. They are also coach builders and I am getting them to put an additional battery in it to power the lights which will charge up while driving.

I would honestly look at CL yourself because the build quality of the one I am getting is far superior to the year old IW I've just sold. In a totally different league in fact.

We are North Manchester, thanks I will have a look at their website. The new Chevals do look nice, the optimax fab!! but more than we want to spend unfortunately. Are they about £11k? What are you towing it with? I havent looked at the spec, just the price lol
 

FfionWinnie

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We are North Manchester, thanks I will have a look at their website. The new Chevals do look nice, the optimax fab!! but more than we want to spend unfortunately. Are they about £11k? What are you towing it with? I havent looked at the spec, just the price lol

10 plus vat. We were looking at a lorry which wouldn't still have carried enough horses really and would have been dearer to buy and then run so this seemed like a cheap option for our sponsor. Will be towing with a 3.5 tonne rated pick up. I haven't looked at the rest of the CL range but perhaps there is something that fits your spec and budget. I just wouldn't rule them out without looking at them in the flesh as I had done until I saw this bad boy :eek:. I thought the fautras looked amazing until I was faced with it at the dealer's. Didn't look at the nugents as didn't fit my spec but they do look smart and worth a look.

The only benefit of IW is they hold their value like nothing else in the world but if you aren't buying new then that isn't actually a benefit.
 
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