Help me please ,my head hurts with Trailer buying

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marlyclay

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I really need some sound advice from this forum.I am trying to get my head around the mind boggling world of buying a new trailer.I have always traveled my horses ,ponies in a lorry but alas the expensive of keeping the old girl on the road has finally forced me to send her to the scrap yard.(boo hoo)
So i have been and looked at the new ifor 511 and well quite frankly was not that impressed.
Thought it looked cheap and plasticky ,with flimsy fittings and not worth the £4,400 price tag!Also wasn't sure about the aliminium floor which looked quite thin and springy,even though it had rubber mat on top. However i did like its airy and roomy size as i will need a bigish trailer for my 16.3hh.
So will be off to look at a richardson supreme ultra tomorrow to compare,i hope that they will be more sturdy and i have heard that the floor is plastic?(thick i hope)and therefore rot free!!!
Please share your thoughts on trailers as i really don't have a clue and am feeling quite scared already at the prospect of putting my beloved horsey in what feels like a sardine can after years of traveling in a lorry.
Oh and thought i would mention that there is a second hand pegasus to look at tomorrow too,but havn't a clue what they are like.
 
Does it have to be brand new? Could you not look for one of the newer 510's? I cant understand why IW changed the trailers....the saying "if it aint broke dont fix it" springs to mind.
 
Look at a Bateson.

Have so many features as standard that you have to pay extra for with an IW. Sturdy, quiet tow, airy and easy to use. If you can get one with barn doors even better! (much better for loading than a ramp)
 
I like the older IWs aswell, have to say I would probably have a rice or a richardson as my 1st choice tho. My box is a rice and although it's a good few years old and could do with painting it's a fantastic solid trailer, very well made and really roomy. Used to use a smaller newer richardson which is also a lovely box, both have the added benefit of the front ramp being on the left side so if you have to unload at the roadside in an emergency horses are coming not unloaded into the traffic side.

agree with nativeponies aswell, have used a wessex before and also very nice box!
 
galaxy23 said:
Look at a Bateson.

Have so many features as standard that you have to pay extra for with an IW. Sturdy, quiet tow, airy and easy to use. If you can get one with barn doors even better! (much better for loading than a ramp)
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I think the dealer i am going to see tomorrow has Bateson ,so i shall have a look.
Again thats not a make that i have heard much about.Ifors seem to be the dominating make of trailer round here.
 
navaho said:
Does it have to be brand new? Could you not look for one of the newer 510's? I cant understand why IW changed the trailers....the saying "if it aint broke dont fix it" springs to mind.
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No it dosn't have to be brand new,and the old classic 510 would be good ,but its finding one.
 
Just like you I have always had a 7.5 wagon. The yearly expense of plating her was running to around £1K and all for half a dozen outings and our yearly holiday at NPS champs.It was economicaly not viable so I looked to getting a trailer too.
I looked at the IW and like you thought it too flimsy and plasticky for the money plus I have heard too many stories about nags putting their legs through the front panel!
My livery has a Richardson (new) which leaks like a seive plus the fittings are cheap and nasty!
I assumed the Equitrek range would be outside my price limit but when I checked them out they had launched a new model, the Trail Treka. Just the job as it is a side loader and after years of wagon luxery one of my ponies refused to go in a rear loading IW and in fact became quite dangerous reversing out at speed after getting claustrophobic.. She loves the Trailtreka(believing it to be a wagon as it was up the ramp, turn, partition closed!) and travels beautifully. I have put a camera in tho as you cant see in the window, and for peace of mind it was a well spent £80.
Good luck in hunting one down that suits you.
 
my 2x 17.2 richarson compared to the ifor 510 has more headroom, more width, sligthly less headroom infront of the breast bar, but still enough room for a 17.1 giraffe necked tb!! it doesn't bounce around, the front ramp opens on the correct side for the uk! the front grooms door can be opened from the inside!!! little touches that make it more useable!! I also like the cut back head of the front ramp top door, at a show it looks alot less restricted in size for a horse putting it's head over the front ramp part! Have to say with relation to the above post, I've never noticed mine leak at all???

I also like the look of the Bateson's but don't have the experience of owning one.
 
It is difficult. If you print off all the information on different trailers is it so hard to compare like with like. You will find that some have more headroom, but less width than another make - makes me feel I need a maths degree to help choose. Be careful with stall width as they vary quite a lot. The Chevel Liberte are a good price, the Fautras are quality (and whizz up and down French motorways), then there is Equitrek, Wessex, Rice/Richardson, Pegasus and a few rare ones like the German makes.

IW are very popular, because they are the cheapest, but I don't like them because they are noisy. I have a friend who is a mechanical engineer and he chose a Bateson for his son's Cyldesdalex TB, who was pretty big, and they towed her all round the country
 
competitiondiva said:
my 2x 17.2 richarson compared to the ifor 510 has more headroom, more width, sligthly less headroom infront of the breast bar, but still enough room for a 17.1 giraffe necked tb!! it doesn't bounce around, the front ramp opens on the correct side for the uk! the front grooms door can be opened from the inside!!! little touches that make it more useable!! I also like the cut back head of the front ramp top door, at a show it looks alot less restricted in size for a horse putting it's head over the front ramp part! Have to say with relation to the above post, I've never noticed mine leak at all???

I also like the look of the Bateson's but don't have the experience of owning one.
Click to expand...

The richardson seems to be getting the thumbs up from most of you,so i am now feeling more hopeful about my quest tomorrow.
 
IW are very popular, because they are the cheapest, but I don't like them because they are noisy. I have a friend who is a mechanical engineer and he chose a Bateson for his son's Cyldesdalex TB, who was pretty big, and they towed her all round the country[/QUOTE]


Bateson seem to have a good rep too,i shall defo enquire about them tomorrow too.
Thanks guys you have all been very helpful and have given me food for thought.
 
lannerch said:
Are you sure iw are the cheapest when I bought my classic ( ok not the cheapest model ) the richardsons were cheaper, nice trailers also btw
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I think the current price for an ifor 511 is £4400 and for a richardson supreme ultra £4875
Trouble is by Jan the vat will have risen so they will both be in the £5000 + area!!
So i am keen to buy something soon.
 
marlyclay said:
I think the current price for an ifor 511 is £4400 and for a richardson supreme ultra £4875
Trouble is by Jan the vat will have risen so they will both be in the £5000 + area!!
So i am keen to buy something soon.
Click to expand...

Think it depends where you buty them from have found these pirce lists first two I searched for the iw http://www.barlowtrailers-products.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=169_27_139 and the richardson http://www.phhb.co.uk/richardson.htm#Price

both ex vat so yes I agree buy very soon as they will be going up!
The richardsons are very nice and I agree the new iw do not look the same quality as the old ones. I do not know about the batesons certainly worth a look, but they do not seem to be that popular going by the fact you rarely see them around.

Whatever you buy remember it is a good time to cut a deal so do negociate on price

good luck :)
 
my 16,3 rides very well in IW 506 have camera so can see what she is doing and never stressed, why are there more IW than other makes around.
 
I have an IW 510 Classic and its lovely and roomy. I have looked at the new Ifor's and they do seem all plastic. A livery on my yard has just bought an equitrek and it looks lovely.
 
Love, love, love my Bateson Deauville. It's a great trailer, light and airy. tows like a dream, has independant suspension so a really smooth ride. Can't rate it enough, definitely worth a look.

Mine has the American style doors and I don't even need to pull out the little ramp (even for my fussy loaders), it's so easy:)
 
marlyclay said:
I really need some sound advice from this forum.I am trying to get my head around the mind boggling world of buying a new trailer.I have always traveled my horses ,ponies in a lorry but alas the expensive of keeping the old girl on the road has finally forced me to send her to the scrap yard.(boo hoo)
So i have been and looked at the new ifor 511 and well quite frankly was not that impressed.
Thought it looked cheap and plasticky ,with flimsy fittings and not worth the £4,400 price tag!Also wasn't sure about the aliminium floor which looked quite thin and springy,even though it had rubber mat on top. However i did like its airy and roomy size as i will need a bigish trailer for my 16.3hh.
So will be off to look at a richardson supreme ultra tomorrow to compare,i hope that they will be more sturdy and i have heard that the floor is plastic?(thick i hope)and therefore rot free!!!
Please share your thoughts on trailers as i really don't have a clue and am feeling quite scared already at the prospect of putting my beloved horsey in what feels like a sardine can after years of traveling in a lorry.
Oh and thought i would mention that there is a second hand pegasus to look at tomorrow too,but havn't a clue what they are like.
Click to expand...
I had a bateson it was well made towed well and was light and airy, however work out how much a trailer and the tow car will cost to run, tax is over 200 for older 4x4s and 400 for newish ones add to that 30 mpg ish at 125ppl for diesel and expensive servicing costs just to tow horse trailer once in a while!!, my weekly mileage is fairly high so running a 4x4 was much more than my small 60mpg diesel car and the lorry is now..
 
but is 4x4 servicing anymore? our 1.3vauxhall combi van as cost us a small fortune, whilst xtrail hardly anything bigger engine built to last!
 
I was it your position and it did my head in looking on the net. Finally travelled to a dealer in Nottingham who stocked 7 or so different makes and had a good look at them all. I fianally chose the Bateson best for price, features, weight room etc love it!!!!
 
mon said:
but is 4x4 servicing anymore? our 1.3vauxhall combi van as cost us a small fortune, whilst xtrail hardly anything bigger engine built to last!
Click to expand...
oh those combo vans!!! not good the sevice intervals are to long so after about 70k they are about buggerd and the fiat engine costs a fortune to fix... yes I would say they are, more parts to check/replace as part of the service and they hold more oil so parts cost/ labour is more and the tyres wear out faster...
 
Well i have spent several hours today looking at many trailers and have taken into consideration all the points that you guys have brought to my attention.
And i have taken the plunge and have bought a black Richardson supreme ultra trailer .
I really liked the Equi Trek show space L but it was £1000 pounds over my budget and to be honest as nice as it looked i still had some little niggling doubts about the wheel bearings issue as i had heard that some had had issues but the dealer assured me that that was a past problem that has been rectified.(Blooming well wants to be at that price!!)
What sold the Richardson to me was the fact that i have heard so little complaints about them.Search any forum and they rarely if ever have anything bad said about them and most people who own them still sing their praises 20 years on...now thats what i call value for money!To be honest it is not the prettiest trailer on the market,it has its roots firmly in an agricultural background.But handsome is as handsome does as the saying goes.I loved the solid build,and roomy feel...plenty of space for a big horse and the partitions and fittings don't rattle as much as other makes.The floor is some sort of thick german plastic with a rubber mat on top which should last the life of the trailer.I managed to get a water carrier put on as an extra and the price was £4875 inc vat.Alot but hopefully i won't be needing to search for another trailer anytime soon.
Thankyou so much for all your replies i can always rely on you guys for help.x
 
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