Horse Box vs Horse Trailer...

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Morag4

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Thinking about changing from a 4x4 and trailer to a horsebox (most likely 5 to 7.5 ton older model given my budget) mainly for extra space, have heavy horse plus 4 dogs and ease of manouvering.

Would appreciate the pros and cons from people who have had both, cost of running, maintence etc.

Any and all opinions appreciated.
 
Boxes are more expensive - there isn't really 2 ways about that. Unless you have your 4x4 only to tow and not as your normal car too.

You have an additional set of road tax to pay, and additional MOT and the plating on top. Compared to just the trailer service - if you have one done annually which I know many don't. They take slightly more fuel than a diesel 4x4 which is towing - but not massively more. Insurance is actually relatively cheap - but it is still another set of insurance over and above what you need for your car.

On the other hand they are easier to drive (IMO anyway - I hate towing!). Other drivers tend to respect you a bit more. Or at least cut you up less.

But they sink further into the mud parked in a field. You need to run them regularly or the batteries go flat (or get an isolator) And you still have to get pulled out of the field by the 4x4.

But you get living. And somewhere to boil a kettle.

For us - I'm saving for the Ifor Eventor. A trailer with Living!


Edited to add... Hey... I was typing and cooking breakfast at the same time. Be patient!
 
I have swapped about SO many times between trailer and lorry. I had a variety of trailers when I was younger as it was what I could afford. I have also had a 6.5 ton, a 7.5 ton, a 5 ton and am about to take delivery of a 3.5 ton.

I have finally decided that a lorry is for me. I don't like towing and my current horse travels much better in a lorry. My 5 ton box is absolutely fab, over 2 tons payload and drives like a big van. However, as I only ever travel one, and can now afford something newer, I'm getting a 3.5 ton.

It will only be a round trip of 30 miles instead of near 80 to get it MOT'd, which is a big consideration for me! Tax and insurance will not be a lot more than a bigger lorry, or my Disco, although it is newer and worth a lot more.

So I finally have something I am completely happy with, after changing my mind over and over throughout the last 20 odd years!!! Although I am sad to be selling my lovely 5 ton and my Disco - but the 3.5 ton is worth it. It even has a tiny hob in the living for making cups of tea!
 
Horse box everyday over a trailer.
I did 10 years in a trailer which was great but we were staying away a lot more so swapped over to a 7.5 ton lorry and now I never want to go back. Yes there is the extra insurance, MOT/plating but I think it is worth it for the comfort when you are at events, especially when it is chucking it down with rain and freezing cold.
 
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I'm getting my first horsebox in the new year. Seriously looking forward to it. I've ummed and arrrred for ages. Mainly down to the cost, but I want to do more horse camps with my daughter and don't fancy sleeping in a trailer.
 
I have had both, and am now running a 7.5T box. It is not much more expensive than the trailer and 4x4, bearing in mind I could only have one car so had to run the 4x4 daily. Now I have a small car so it costs me not much more to run. The comfort for my horse, and me, is so worth the small extra expense, and we both feel safer in the lorry than in a trailer. It is also easier to drive IMO.
 
Thank you everyone very helpful replies.

Our 4x4 (petrol/lpg) is now pretty much only used for towing the trailer and the rare trip to the skip! I have a teeny Yaris which is our everyday car, hubby is awaiting delivery of his motoring toy!
I am wanting to do more with my lad next year (funrides, go further afield for clinics etc) and find it very stressful thinking about having to tow the trailer along narrow lanes though mainly its the manoeuvring of it that gets my knickers in a knot, silly I know.
I also find trying to get all the horses stuff in the 4x4 plus the dogs is nigh on impossible sometimes so I rush there and back so the dogs aren't left for to long when my husbands and my calanders clash or I just haven't bothered going!
Please feel free to say if you think i'm making a mountain out of a mole hill and should just get a grip!
 
I've been debating this one for a while, mainly as I go away with mine a few times a year and am fed up of camping. I think we've solved the problem now though as OH is thinking of selling his beloved off-roading Discovery and replacing it with a Land Rover camper van, so I can just put a tow bar on that. I can still use my little Defender for day trips as I love it, but will have a camper option too. We just have to find one now that doesn't cost a fortune.
 
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Against a horsebox:

You have much more expensive insurance.
You have much more expensive MOT (Plating)
Diesel/petrol costs which are a lot more than a trailer (I do 44.5 miles to the galon when I tow with my car which is blooming good!). A horsebox probably only does about 30mpg I would imagine.
You have breakdown recovery costs, which are more than a trailer.
You have more expense when something goes wrong with the horsebox.
Its more expensive to park than a trailer if you have to pay for parking on your yard.
If you don't have a towing vehicle anymore because you get rid of your car then you will have to buy a car to get to and from work/yard.
Its harder to manouvere and you may need to take a special test (depending on your age)

I personally wouldn't bother! :)

For a horsebox:

More room for tack (i think the back seat of a car is adequate myself).
More 'prestige' if that is what appeals to you.
 
I got rid of my trailer a few years ago as have a longish commute and the 4x4 was dying. I could only really afford an older 4x4 and they can be absolute moneypits. Hated towing-well hated other road users when I was towing.

This year, dream come true, I bought my first horsebox. A fairly old 7.5t Merc. Its fab, more living than I want but mechanically really good. I figure if lorry off road because I can't afford to fix it is better than my commuting car being off road.

Insurance etc is not expensive but it is extra to the car you still need (think my was ~£240 with breakdown), tax extra as well. I have grandfather rights on driving but had a lot of practise with it before putting anything on it. Easy to maneuver, reverse and great turning circle, tilt cab and I have my own parking. Steep hills and single track roads (ie home) don't bother me in it as towing would.
 
I went showing for 20 years in a trailer... I've now moved up to a 7.5 tone for the past 3 years... There is no way on this earth would I go back to a trailer. Yes there is more expense but the comfort is amazing. I also do all my own cooking while away and at shows. I can carry more, If i want to stay away before of a late class etc and a stable is available I can. There is good and bad to both, but I wouldn't be without my lorry
 
I had to take a test to either tow or drive a lorry, and I picked a lorry (Mum has a trailer).

Definitely a good choice - loads of room, space to have a picnic/change into dry clothes when you're eventing and it's tipping it down, horses travel well in it, easy to manoeuvre, and actually cheaper (!) than Mum's aged Land Rover in terms of fuel costs.
 
I think it depends on the type of events you are going to be attending. I'm not a serious competitor, we are all about low level, local fun so for us a trailer is the better choice. We only do day trips so don't need living. We are in wet, steep, narrow lane-d Wales so the 4x4 and trailer is a better thing to have to get about as well as bring a lot cheaper than maintaining another large vehicle. We have to have a 4x4 to tow our cattle with anyway as we (like most others in this area) run stock trailers rather than lorries for the same reasons.
 
Also to add, we run a double cab pickup with 'agricultural' canopy. The canopy is the best thing ever to put dogs, spare hay, grooming kit etc in and all the tack goes on the back seats. Does depend how many people you want to carry but we get three people and tack for two horses in with no trouble with three dogs and all the other bits in the canopy.
 
Depends how much you will use it to be totally honest. I have had the last year pretty much producing youngsters rather than competing as such and the box has cost a lot to be stood around most of the year.

Trailers are better if your going to a few events and not doing many stay aways I would say, much more cost efficent and easier to look after.

We usually go to lots of stay aways so the wagon comes in handy! Also travelling 2-3 horses (Although only 2 now due to extending the living and making the lorry weigh more unladen) and keeping tack etc in it is much easier. Insurance/tax/mot is an extra cost plus on an older wagon no matter how well kept you do end up replacing lots on them. Tyres go when stood and if left for a while batteries go flat so you have to be ontop of that!

I personally wouldn't ever go back to a trailer,but for ease of maintenence & cost trailer and 4x4 wins it.
 
I think you should go on a towing confidence course and buy an Equi-trek! Seriously, lorries can be real money pits especially if your budget for buying is not high. If you bought an Equi-trek then the living gives you the extra space you need. I know some people had issues with their Equi-treks but I loved mine and I think if you go for a second hand one then generally any issues have been fixed.
 
I've had both. At the moment we are only going out a couple of times a month at the most and we've only stayed away once in about the last 5 years. I currently run a 4x4 and trailer although the 4x4 is not my daily it's very handy to have about the place especially in winter. If I did have a lorry I would need a 4x4 too to get about the farm and carry all the dogs about.

When I was competing a lot with 2 horses I had a 7.5t box (comps every weekend plus the odd mid week comp) and staying over places every couple of months. It was necessary then but not so much now. If I had the money though I'd have a 5 or 6 tonner about the place :)
 
The trailer will be cheaper to run and maintain and having a 4 x 4 may be handy other times. A lorry is great in terms of comfort, somewhere to get changed, sit down and relax assuming you have a living area. I love the fact you don't have to completely unpack it between outings. Our first aid kits, spare girths, stirrups etc, different travel rugs, buckets, tools, stud kit, grooming kit and many more things are kept permanently in the lorry so we don't need remember to pack them each time.
 
I have a lovely 7.5t lorry, however I'm looking to downsize. When I was eventing full on, I had two horses, all the gear, and attended two day events (there are no ODE's here) at least 3 times a month, plus squad, XC schooling, jumping lessons, etc. The lorry went out at least 3 times a week! I wouldn't have changed it for the world, I lived out of it. After driving for three hours on a Friday night, I could be tucked up in bed within 20 minutes of arriving at a venue. However. Old lorries need work. I've had some nightmare trips with the damn thing overheating, limping home hours behind schedule. A tire blew once and I just happened across a truck tire repair centre, otherwise I would have been in big trouble! There's things that I can't manage to fix myself because it's a lorry! It's also painfully slow (not that I drive fast, it's just frustrating that at the slightest hint of a headwind, I'm slowed to a crawl). It's hot, as no air conditioning, and you can easily get stuck in a boggy or slippery patch... I only compete or go out once a month now, so it's insanely expensive to have hanging around. Unless you plan to kick back and have a nap after cooking your lunch while doing a day trip, it's just a lot of guff to carry around with you!
 
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