HELP! Any horse box mechanics out there?

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speedbird

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Last year I took my 5.5 ton old LV 50 horse box to get tested and it passed without any work being done to it, except they said get my mechanic to get the handbrake tightened on the left hand side . Of course I left it all year before being done and a few weeks before my test, I gave it to my mechanic and told him what the man said at the test centre .
My mechanic said it needed new brakes all round and ,as it was an old J reg, the front brakes needed to be custom made!
He took it the test centre and they failed the handbrake by 1 %. He stripped it all down again( after the test centre said they needed bedding in more ) and I took it for a retest. They said it was even worse and to fill it up with weight and take it again and it might pass.
It s quite hard when you re clueless , about what s going on. That's why I took it to a mechanic, but I wished I had taken it like last year without anything being done to it! Anyone know of a good mechanic in the Surrey / Sussex area. I now have a huge bill and
a lorry I still can t use!
 
We had exactly the same problem with our HGV box, try and get a couple of big straw bales in the back and take it again, you need the weight over the back axle if possible. It is something to do with the way the weight changes how the brakes work on the rolling road. (eta. one big bale is probably enough with your wagon.)

You could also try doing some 'slow' emergency stops with the handbrake to try and bed it in a bit and if that is the only thing it has failed on you can get a free brake test at the centre before you book it in to make sure it has worked so you don't pay for another failed test.
 
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