Horse boxes.. Possibly a daft question?

I expect a lot of people with big horses end up buying a HGV.
I noticed lots of ads say stalled for 3, in other words, theres room for 3 but I aint saying it can legally carry 3.
Most sellers will have got a weighbridge certificate IF it has a good payload, if they havent, it can often be they hope the potential buyer doesnt ask.
It is a minefield
 
Pardon Pardon :confused: buck stops with driver! If vehicle is owned by you as we'll as driven by you it,s all on you. If you buy a truck @ 7,495 kg empty it is fit for purpose when you buy it. If you decide to put 1,300kg of pony inside, 150kg of 3x people, 300kg of gear etc! Now you are at 9,245 kg! Who is at fault??? Real world buck stops with driver!
 
mutley75 said:
Pardon Pardon :confused: buck stops with driver! If vehicle is owned by you as we'll as driven by you it,s all on you. If you buy a truck @ 7,495 kg empty it is fit for purpose when you buy it. If you decide to put 1,300kg of pony inside, 150kg of 3x people, 300kg of gear etc! Now you are at 9,245 kg! Who is at fault??? Real world buck stops with driver!
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Me? I don't understand this lecture in common sense that you're giving me :confused:
 
mutley75 said:
Pardon Pardon :confused: buck stops with driver! If vehicle is owned by you as we'll as driven by you it,s all on you. If you buy a truck @ 7,495 kg empty it is fit for purpose when you buy it. If you decide to put 1,300kg of pony inside, 150kg of 3x people, 300kg of gear etc! Now you are at 9,245 kg! Who is at fault??? Real world buck stops with driver!
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Two different issues Mutley. Of course the driver is responsible if s/he drives an overweight vehicle.

But contrary to what you suggest, a truck sold as a horsebox which does not have sufficient payload to carry one driver and one 15hh horse is not fit for purpose.
 
mutley75 said:
Because it is a 3 stall!! As long as it is under weight empty, buck stops with driver! If you want to over load it the man that sold it to you did not hold a gun to your head!!
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No and few years ago it wasnt an issue the men who pleasure themselves could get away with building overweight lorrys with non tilt cabs !!! now people are getting more aware of whats what!!! and there resposiblity to the law, however its amazing how few adverts/ web sites have the most important infomation listed
which is unladen weight size of the horse area and if the cab tilts on the bigger lorrys... I wonder why that could be:D,
 
Elsiecat said:
Daft isn't it!!! Why say "3 horse" if the horses have to be miniatures :eek:

I'm from Denbigh way :)
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Yep it's daft, just like the 3.5t which you'd be luck to get one 16.2 in with stuff never mind 2! Think when the time come I may just go the whole hog and do the HGV licence or get a trailer. The size of my loan lad, he'd have to travel alone in most of them with that payload.

And that's not far from me at all :) are the horses kept denbigh way then?
 
Gentlegiant88 said:
Yep it's daft, just like the 3.5t which you'd be luck to get one 16.2 in with stuff never mind 2! Think when the time come I may just go the whole hog and do the HGV licence or get a trailer. The size of my loan lad, he'd have to travel alone in most of them with that payload.

And that's not far from me at all :) are the horses kept denbigh way then?
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Went to see one today. Big old thing. He reckoned I had a 3 and a half tonne payload on it. I asked if he had a certificate and he kept changing his mind. Didn't trust it in the end. Also said on the advert everything was great, then when we were looking around her pointed out some 'small' problems.

Yesss, about 3 miles outside of Denbigh near Bodfari if you know that?
 
I always allow a tonne per horse. I have show cobs and hunters, and all the gear and water is considered. Mine is stalled for 3 but would be overweight. I would need an hgv for 3 big horses. Simples.
 
Will I find anything 7.5 for 2 medium ish horses and a small pony? Horses are very fine, 16.1 and 16.3 tbs and a tiny 11.2 welshie?
 
Depends on payload....

If you can find a 7.5t which weights 5.5t or less unladen then yes. You said your 3 add up to around 1500kg plus tack, water, humans etc. = 7.5t on a 5.5t unladen.

Other option is to take horses to weigh bridge so you know exactly what they weigh.

It's really difficult to find a 7.5t which takes 3 tbh unless of course you have no living whatsoever in which case it's not too much of a problem (think hunt boxes for example)
 
But how can I take the horses to a weigh bridge without a box to transport them in! Ahhhh!!!
This really isn't as easy as I first thought. Might put a wanted ad up and hope something comes my way!
 
Elsiecat, the weighbridge at the end of the M56 is a VOSA one and only operates when there is a check being carried out. If you are near Bodfari, surely there is a local quarry who would allow you to run over their weighbridge, possibly on a Saturday morning when they are not so busy.

Weigh the vehicle with everything you would normally have on it, minus the horses. Fuel, water, equipment, food - absolutely everything including yourself and any passengers that may travel with you. Then deduct that weight from the Gross Plated Weight (found on the Ministry Plate displayed on the vehicle, possibly in the cab) and the result will be what the livestock can weigh when they are on board.

As previously suggested, you need to weigh the front and rear axle as well as the total vehicle, as the Plate will state the permitted maximum weights for these too.

Wondering if it would be useful to organise a "Weigh-In" morning for people to bring their vehicles for a check-weigh?
 
A lot of the feed companies now have mobile horse weigh bridges. If you want to find out the exact weight of the livestock you need to carry then perhaps you should book them a feed review ;)
 
Milkmaid said:
A lot of the feed companies now have mobile horse weigh bridges. If you want to find out the exact weight of the livestock you need to carry then perhaps you should book them a feed review ;)
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This is the only other way to find out accurately or for a rough idea use a weigh tape then add 100kg to that weight to give you a guestimate.

Don't forget if you are carrying three - you will need tack for three so figure out what all your tack weighs. Water containers are heavy also don't forget to factor in any other folks travelling with you. All these things contribute!

I have heard of some unscrupulous horsebox manufacturers that have a weighbridge certificate, take the box down to be weighed with everything off or light, ie no water on board, partitions out and spare tyre off, and minimal fuel. Buyer beware!!!!

I have a 7.5 box which has a genuine 2.5 payload as I have huge horses an 17.1 ID who has been weighed at 848kg and the 'smaller' 16.1 WBxID a surprising 700kg! My living is minimal, ie couple of racks for saddles and couple of plastic big bench storage boxes to put stuff. There are non HGV boxes out there with decent payloads but don't expect them to have any fitted living.

Folks are a lot more aware of the legal aspects of weight now. When I was horsebox shopping a few years ago, when I asked the sellers unladen payload - none knew it accurately. They were more keen to tell me about the bells and whistles rather than the essentials
 
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Elsiecat said:
Will I find anything 7.5 for 2 medium ish horses and a small pony? Horses are very fine, 16.1 and 16.3 tbs and a tiny 11.2 welshie?
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Yes !!! but you need to know what to look for if you have a modest budget avoid older (pre 2000) coachbuilts and anything with a body longer than 20ft or a luton few if any will be less than 6000kgs , instead look at more basic boxvan types with the newer 2001 4 cylinder engines, my last DIY lorry was 20 ft box on a Merc atego and was 5500kg stalled for 3 with full living the Atego is about 400kg more than say a daf LF, If you have plenty of cash you could get a kevin parker (luxury) or Tristar (more of a working lorry) both are good payload and quality builds...
 
I had an old 6.6t Merc 709d stalled for two horses/3 ponies with a small living )ic hob & fridge) and when I took it to the weighbridge with two people and with all kitchen gear in plus various bits it still had 1.9t payload and was correct over each axle as well.

So if you get the right 7.5t then I don't see why you can't get what you need.

I bought a book on it off the BHS website and did loads of research - Happy stressful box hunting! :)
 
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