Help with buying Horsebox please!!

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Shrek-Eventing-SW

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We are thinking of buying a lorry. At the moment we have a 4 x 4 and a Ifor Williams 510 trailer. This will be our first lorry, so we don't really know:
1) How much cost is involved with running it i.e. plating/insurance/tax?
2) Which ones do we keep away from.
3) How heavy the lorry has to be without horses, so that it does not exceed the limit with 3 horses in.

The kind of lorry we want would be a 2/3 horse lorry with good living, must be Non HGV. We have a limited budget and when we do view a lorry, we will be taking a local mechaninc with us to check it out.

Thank you
 
Shrek-Eventing-SW said:
We are thinking of buying a lorry. At the moment we have a 4 x 4 and a Ifor Williams 510 trailer. This will be our first lorry, so we don't really know:
1) How much cost is involved with running it i.e. plating/insurance/tax?
2) Which ones do we keep away from.
3) How heavy the lorry has to be without horses, so that it does not exceed the limit with 3 horses in.

The kind of lorry we want would be a 2/3 horse lorry with good living, must be Non HGV. We have a limited budget and when we do view a lorry, we will be taking a local mechaninc with us to check it out.

Thank you
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Can pretty much guarantee that it's nigh on impossible to find a non-HGV that can legally carry three horses by the time you've taken account of the weight of water, full tank of diesel, people, equipment etc.
 
MegaBeast said:
Can pretty much guarantee that it's nigh on impossible to find a non-HGV that can legally carry three horses by the time you've taken account of the weight of water, full tank of diesel, people, equipment etc.
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Thats interesting to know. Thank you. It would be at maximum 2 horses and a 14.2hh. But maybe that is still too heavy.
 
we have a non-hgv lorry and we took 2 horses to the PC championships. It was then overweight. We didn't take water as it would be there, we only took tack people and feed. Mums having to take her HGV so next season with 2 big horses we arent overweight! You really would be pushing it with three horses!
 
My lorry which I am selling has a payload of 1.7 tonnes approximatly. If you budget 500kg for the two horses and 400kg for the 14.2 that takes you to 1.4 tonnes. People, lets say 140kg, 2 x 20l water carriers = 200kg, so now you're at 1.74 tonnes and not yet any tack, haynets, spare clothes, lunch etc in.
 
I think ours has about 2.3 tonnes before you start putting anything in it but we fitted living ourselves with very lightweight materials. It is easy enough to get a lorry weighed so if you are interested in any particular lorry ask them for a copy of a weighbridge print out. You have to look at the individual axle weights as well to ensure you are not overloading either of the axles.

Main advice would be to look past the shiny pretty living and ensure that the floor/mechanics/chassis etc of any lorry are good. The actual ministry test was £75 or may just have gone up/be going up again, you generally need to have it washed/steam cleaned - Not everyone bothers but you should present the lorry in a clean state for inspection. You can take it through the test yourself and I always used to but much nicer to have some practical person/mechanic take it for you since if say the headlight needs adjustment, the ministry inspectors will generally let you do that there and then rather than present for a retest.

A point that is frequently debated on here is the pros and cons of a tilt cab - some lorries which have been converted will only have access to the engine etc through a small area as the cab no longer tilts forward. That can make repairs more expensive as it is more awkward/time consuming for the mechanic. My OH is a mechanic and he insisted the lorry we got still had the tilt facility.

Hope you find a good one.
 
Either I just got ripped off or it has gone up to £95 ;)

My new one has a payload of 2.09 tonnes but is only big enough for 2 horses. I think with anything older/on a budget with living you will struggle to get the payload for 3 horses.

Not only should you look past the shiny living, you should also look past any shiny paint jobs too ;)

My old one has no tilt cab, but it's never been a problem as nothing much has ever gone wrong with it.

Budget 1K per year to get it through its MOT - some years you'll spend less, some you'll spend more. New tyres are at least £100 each.
 
Yes, think it went up about 2 days after I booked mine back in April, so good timing on that front.

Agree with you re the looking past the shiny paint job and that an older lorry/lorry on a budget likely to struggle on the weight front as I think there was less thought/consideration as to weight issues. Wouldn't say we weighed every nut and bolt, but everything was done with weight in mind. That said, I only travel one horse so not quite sure why we bothered quite so much.
 
I was pulled by VOSA last year and put on weigh bridge. With 2 horses, water and tack for dr and SJ/XC we were only 200kg under. Only 2 people on board. Very basic day living, with no hob etc, but is GRP body (heavier than coach built)
 
Sorry - typo from doing invoices and posting on here - luckily the clients did not get under-charged by the same amount ;)

I think the point still stands though - 3 horses + people + kit = difficult in a 7.5 tonne box.
 
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SpottedCat said:
Sorry - typo from doing invoices and posting on here - luckily the clients did not get under-charged by the same amount ;)

I think the point still stands though - 3 horses + people + kit = difficult in a 7.5 tonne box.
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Of course it does, unless one of the newer fancy boxes made of ultra light materials, but then limited budget goes out of the window;)
 
So essentially OP, either ditch the living, ditch the requirement for it to carry 3 horses or stump up the best part of 40K for a brand new equitrek ;) Real life's a b*tch isn't it?! :D
 
Agree to a large extent but it is possible ... I have an L reg Merc 7.5t.... Unladen just 5.3 with half a tank of diesel and me and the dog and all the stuff I store in the lorry! so I can have 3 up legally. As it happens my 3 are 420, 520 and 550 kg so not huge but there are lorries out there. However we have a small living that's really a tack area with a small unit with a sink!
 
Wow, thanks for all the great advice.

Living is a must, 2 horses is a must. I just thought room for a third horse would be beneficial but not totally necassary.

I honestly couldn't care less what the box/interior looks like as long as it is going to be reliable and not break down when it is most needed!!

So what kind of box shall I be looking for with living and capable of carrying 2 horses plus everything else I need but not exceeding 7.5t. Any ideas? :D
 
It's going to depend hugely on your budget tbh! I bought my first lorry for £3000 (1982 Bedford) and it was a fabulous faithful servant for 3 years. Then swapped to a much newer (1994) Merc to have the extra horse space and so far, touch wood, thrilled with that too, that was £6k but a bit of a bargain as sold by girl on yard who had left the country!
Of the ones I have driven I liked the DAF and MAN the best, easier to drive than my merc, but now I am used to the merc it's fine. Have a couple of friends who have had some mechanical issues with an iveco but they are I believe generally pretty well regarded. Certainly lots around!
Other things to consider are do you need a cut through (I found ones without were generally cheaper) v CCTV and a tilt cab? Also do your horses travel happily herringbone?
 
ecrozier said:
It's going to depend hugely on your budget tbh! I bought my first lorry for £3000 (1982 Bedford) and it was a fabulous faithful servant for 3 years. Then swapped to a much newer (1994) Merc to have the extra horse space and so far, touch wood, thrilled with that too, that was £6k but a bit of a bargain as sold by girl on yard who had left the country!
Of the ones I have driven I liked the DAF and MAN the best, easier to drive than my merc, but now I am used to the merc it's fine. Have a couple of friends who have had some mechanical issues with an iveco but they are I believe generally pretty well regarded. Certainly lots around!
Other things to consider are do you need a cut through (I found ones without were generally cheaper) v CCTV and a tilt cab? Also do your horses travel happily herringbone?
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Max budget would be around £6000 I think. Have seen a nice one for £5300 and offering to P/X for a car and trailer. I don't mind about the cut through, obviously with would be nice, but not too fussy. Apparently tilt cab is better to have? Not bothered about CCTV. Horses travel happily herringbone.
Thank you
 
Second one is best I'd say, but doesn't mention whether it has any living?
Tilt cab is deinately better. I'm a bit strange I guess in that I don't like ones without a luton, and a cut through, a luton and a tilt cab would be a bit like the holy grail, so I sacrificed the cut through. Mine has a luton where I can sleep/use for storage, and then a panel in the front swings up to let the cab tilt, but I don't have a cut through. Its something I might look to add at some point as it would be fairly straightforward for a coachbuilder I think as there is a clear panel in the living and the back of the cab so I can see into the livinG!
 
http://www.horsemart.co.uk/advert/3_horse_k_reg_living_surrey/108740

I emailed about this one but i bought mine before i got a reply so never went to see it. I asked about the weight and it is light enough to carry 2 horses and stuff.
However just seen where your are so its abit of a trek!

http://www.horsemart.co.uk/advert/3_horse_p_reg_living_herefordshire/107197
http://www.horsedeals.co.uk/horsebo...r-sale/mercedes-3-hores-lorry__28-6-10-577727
http://www.horsedeals.co.uk/horsebo...sale/Fabulous-First-Or-Ladies__28-6-10-793687

Again might have to check the weight on them, horse box hunting is a bit of an eye opener i have to admit.
 
You DEFINATELY need to have a tilt cab - if you ever need to have any major works done to the lorry (which will happen, trust me!) then you will need a tilt cab otherwise it will cost a fortune in labour.

I have a lorry stalled for 3 horses with full fitted living (hob/sink/grill/fridge/freezer/sleeps 4) - i can take two horses and all my tack - just. We loaded up everything (filled the water tank up/diesel full/horse water full/haynets tack/us/dogs etc) and went to a weightbridge and we were 270kg under. Ours is a lightweight build lorry as we paid decent money for it, we also had a new lightweight ramp put on it after we brought it (even though it was a brand new build when it was brought).

I think you will be very hard pushed to find what you want with your budget, sorry :(

Also like someone said you need to check the individual weights are correct over each axel, not just the total loaded weight.
 
MIne is light enough to take 3 but i never do. It only has a very small living but big enough for OH and i to stay overnight in. Before we fitted the living it weighed 4800kg and we have fitted everything very light. I bought mine privately advertised on NFED website and only paid £6000 so they are out there! It is old (H reg) and leyland Daf but has tilt cab and cut through and my OH does nearly all the work on it even thought hes not a mechanic and the parts are really cheap.
I only ever take 2 and have my saddle and bridle and rug racks in the partition nearest the living.
Like i say, its not posh but has everything i need and is comfortable enough
 
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