Horse box basics, recommendations, warnings please.

Landcruiser

Landcruiser

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I'm considering replacing my trailer with a horsebox but have little idea about them as I've never driven one or used one before. I want one which has a half decent living which would sleep 3/4 at a pinch and 2 in comfort, and preferably a loo/sink/cooker...and a fridge would be nice. Mostly I'll only ever be travelling one horse, who's 14.3.

Budget is fairly tight...like, no more than about £6000 max...and I need it to be reliable. I've had a look on the usual websites and there seem to be plenty about which might fit the bill. I guess I need a 5.5 - 7.5 to get the type of living space I need.

What I need is recommendations of what to look for, what to look out for, maybe best makes to look at.

What's the insurance like for these trucks? I'm a mature :o female (insured currently with SAGA, what a giveaway!), never had a claim against me, no points on licence, been driving for about 35 years.

What about road tax? Does it differ between 3.5, 5.5 and 7.5?

What sort of MPG do they have?

Any information would be helpful (I've read the generic info on "Buying a horse box" on this website and on the Horse Deals site...but I'd like some personal experiences please.
 
Leyland daf 45. Drives like a car, with a very good turning circle. 7.5 tons. Unladen weight between 4 and 5.5 tons depending on what materials used. Tax £90-75 for 6 months. My insurance with NFU costs approx £270 per year fully comp. I've always built my own, and do the pre test checks myself. Test costs in the region of £137 inclusive of lane fee. With a lane fee, if theres a little fault, the garage there will usually fix then and there without charging a fortune. Its when you send lorries away to be put through a test that costs can rack up. PM if you want any other details.
 
No idea on the mechanics but we have a7.5T P reg Iveco. Seems a common chassis and it drives well. I believe ours is approx 5.6T unladen and is stalled for 2 horses. I will sleep 2 on the luton but could sleep 4 if we made the seating convert in to a bed. We have a toilet in ours which is REALL handy and we had a small tack locker put in under the living. I avoid tack lockers in the horse area,I just don't like them!

In fact I have a big bug bear about boxes with fab living/storage but where the horse 'accommodation seems to have been the after thought (ie crappy partitions/not good enough ventilation etc).

Insurance is not that much (as mentioned above). However, with a budge of 6K you will need to be careful and, I possible get someone knowledgeable to go with you to check it for you.
 
cundlegreen said:
Leyland daf 45. Drives like a car, with a very good turning circle. 7.5 tons. Unladen weight between 4 and 5.5 tons depending on what materials used. Tax £90-75 for 6 months. My insurance with NFU costs approx £270 per year fully comp. I've always built my own, and do the pre test checks myself. Test costs in the region of £137 inclusive of lane fee. With a lane fee, if theres a little fault, the garage there will usually fix then and there without charging a fortune. Its when you send lorries away to be put through a test that costs can rack up. PM if you want any other details.
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Same, except mine's a roadrunner 1991, I've never spent much more than £700 for new tyres and around the same for all the brakes to be overhauled. Last year around £200. Love my lorry :) Oh and get one with a tilt cab so you can get to the engine easier!
 
Daf and Iveco are good as are Man and Merc. watch out for rust, make sure you get tilting cab, isolater on battery etc. watch the weight. get a weighbridge ticket BEFORE you buy it. box will do about 10-20mpg depending on what it is , how heavy and how you drive. if you want to take it into London then you will need one of the newer ones with good emissions on engine.
 
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