Horse trailer advice

squiz22

squiz22

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 December 2009
Messages
933
Location
Binfield, Berkshire
Visit site
Dear All,

I would really appreciate your thoughts on a couple of things.

Firstly does anyone know how straight forward it is to get a trailer floor replaced and how much this would cost?
How much does it cost to have a new centre partition put in?
I have found two really sound trailers but they are just old. They both say that they are solid as anything and it certainly looks that way but they do both have old style centre partition and wooden floors.

People keep telling me to buy a new one and I would if I had the money but I don't.

Any words of advice for purchasing a trailer?

I have a 17hh warmblood so I need a big one. Both trailers I have seen I have measured up and they are the inline with the internal measurements of the ifor Williams 510/511 so should be fine.

Or - if anyone wants to sell/off load a suitably sized trailer I am open to options. I have just purchased a 2.5 diesel discovery 2003 model so I can tow a lot (hence why my trailer budget isn't so big!)
 
My brother (who's a mechanic) put a new floor and mats in my trailer for £500.... That would be family rates too! I'd imagine if you need a partition made that would be at least a coupld of hunders too..... It's hard work that sort of thing.

I think it would be cheaper to buy a usable trailer if you can't renovate yourself. I sold my trailer (with the new floor, tyres) for £850! I made a loss if you look at the price I paid etc etc, but I did get use out of it too.
 
I would think it will be quite expensive. Garage labour rates around our way seem to have increased lately.

I agree with galaxy - maybe its better to up you buy something a bit better quality than spend more on repairs. Sometimes when you start repairing things other parts drop to bits.
 
I agree but both trailers seem totally fine in terms of how sound the floors are. Its whether people are still buying trailers with wooden floors really?

I could just be being paranoid as I know loads of people must still tow with trailers with wooden floors??
 
There is nothing wrong with a wooden floor, so long as it is maintained and you check it is sound. An aluminium floor can also fail. I had a very nice old Rice for several years. I only sold it because it was getting tatty and I wanted something with lighter ramps. To be honest my new trailer does not tow anywhere as well as the old Rice. If the floor is sound, leave it alone. Why do you want to mess with the partition, is it broken or something ?
 
I had my floor replaced with a wooden floor.... Used marine ply which is very very tought.

If you're thinking of buying a trailer with a wooden floor make sure you get underneath it and look at the state of the wood from there.

I could have sold my trailer 10 times over, I literally had a list of people wanting it!
 
galaxy23 said:
I could have sold my trailer 10 times over, I literally had a list of people wanting it!
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I did do - ten minutes after buying it!

I bought an elderly yet sound wooden floored trailer at auction simply to move one pony and somebody overheard me saying it would only be used that one day and offered me a hundred quid profit on it. I used it and he collected it from me a few days later. He hadn't had the cash with him at the auction and was shocked at how cheap wood floored models were, so missed out on a deal.

Anyway, so long as you get under the floor with a torch and stick a screwdriver into the timbers to check them, you can get a good trailer very cheaply. The one time I added to a trailer's floor, I just put marine ply over the older timbers and screwed it down well. It was a pain of a job and not really needed, yet it made me feel better.

Partitions are far from cheap and rarely offered alone. You need the right fitting and if you do find one it's probably naff (nobody sells good ones, why would they?) so forget that part of the plan.
 
As other said - nothing wrong with a decent wooden floor. My only concern with them, esp in old trailers, is that the roof and walls often leak. From experience it's pretty much impossible to make a trailer totally water-tight and over time the rain seeps down inside the walls and into the floor.

As for a partition, have a look at Ifor Williams website/brouchure. They sell literally every trailer part imaginable and you might find that one of their partition types can be altered to fit your trailer - they'd need to be the correct height but otherwise all you'd need is a correctly spaced hole in the floor, and the fittings bolted on in the correct place.
 
Ditto what others have said about flooring, as long as it is kept dry & cared for a wooden floor can last for ever. Get someone to check the soundness for you if you are worried. Get the brakes serviced too, especially if the box has been stood for a while.

Do you need a partition? If it is one of the old style boxes where the breast bar goes all the way accross you can use it without. I've found that many horses travel better this way anyway, and it has the advantage in that you just about have room, if the horse is a calm to tack up etc inside if the weather is bad once you get to the show.

If it was me I would check the soundness of the floor, and get some decent rubber matting fitted with any spare cash (this should be lifted after every trip and the floor allowed to dry).
 
Hello!

Thank you every body for your comments. I really appreciate them.

I have purchased a trailer with a wooden floor and it appears to be as solid as anything. The trailer was a Rice and was basically rebuilt 6 years ago by a company that build horse boxes. It has a hard wooden floor with further planks on top enabling me to replace a plank at a time should it be required which i think seems smart. I have ordered rubber matting to go down over the floor and also up the side panels as they aren't padded.

The partition is just the usual fixed one and i like the new ones which have a pole in the middle and two flaps because they are quick and easy so my wanting one is purely preference. I have found quite a few places though that will sell you the parts and ifor williams will supply ifor williams parts very cheaply and amazingly only charge £6 for delivery even on the bulky items!!

I pick it up tomorrow!! Very excited that I can get my horse out and about more so and we are finally independant! Thank agains everyone!
 
Lift up the rubber mats every time you use it to let the floor dry. If you keep the floor dry between uses it will last and last.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top