Horsebox body repairs

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KHippo

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Has anyone had any of the side panels replaced on their lorry? What sort of cost would I be looking at for this? Looking at a very cheap lorry to buy, and one of the side panels backing on to the cab in the living area is spongy & needs replacing. I can see a join between this & the next panel back, which is fine, so would assume this one panel can come off & be replaced? Very old box, the sides are ply. Would I be looking at £200 or £2,000 to have this done?
 
Sadly not stick construction...

The ramp itself is sound but needs reboarding at some point, though not urgently (which we can do) and the floor is solid & only a few years old.
 
Can't see why not. Bit odd, the non-stick ones usually have a single panel.

My guess is £500 including paint, there are always more bits to come off than you think, but you need to get it looked at by a bodybuilder. An ordinary commercial one should be OK.
 
I may well be wrong then in that case, it probably is all one panel. In which case I would be looking at replacing the entire side of the lorry... Painting I would happily do myself to save money (plus I really don't care what it looks like!)

Anyone know what the requirements are for the plating with regards to bodywork? There is nothing falling off or loose, just a spongy area on the exterior corner of the living area.
 
As long as the body isn't falling apart and has no loose bits projecting they are fairly easy. Chassis and cab rust taken much more seriously, the problem is its quite subjective and what one guy would wave through another.....

Tell su more about the lorry. Bargains can be just that and then some or heartbreaking money-pits!
 
My horsebox has a similar issue - one side in the horse area is totally rotted behind the fibreglass covering. Took it for a quote and they said best part of £1000 to replace most of that side, move the door & windows etc.
 
Hmm, I don't want to go into too much detail on here in case the seller is a member... Its a Renault Dodge with space & payload for 2 x 16.2's.

There is rust to the cab, especially under the wheel arches but this has not been brought up as an advisory on the last 3 platings. I have been underneath & all appears very clean & solid. There are little things that need doing, I would probably want to put about £350 into it (if I can get away with not replacing the side panel!) for me to be happy with it.

There is 3 months plate remaining. At £1,500 it is cheap enough that if I can get it through its next plating without too much expense then I would be happy if I just ran it for a year & sell for spares/repair before that runs out. Tbh its mostly that soggy panel thats concerning me, to look at it you wouldn't realise there was anything wrong, its only when you give it a poke...
 
KHippo said:
Hmm, I don't want to go into too much detail on here in case the seller is a member... Its a Renault Dodge with space & payload for 2 x 16.2's.

There is rust to the cab, especially under the wheel arches but this has not been brought up as an advisory on the last 3 platings. I have been underneath & all appears very clean & solid. There are little things that need doing, I would probably want to put about £350 into it (if I can get away with not replacing the side panel!) for me to be happy with it.

There is 3 months plate remaining. At £1,500 it is cheap enough that if I can get it through its next plating without too much expense then I would be happy if I just ran it for a year & sell for spares/repair before that runs out. Tbh its mostly that soggy panel thats concerning me, to look at it you wouldn't realise there was anything wrong, its only when you give it a poke...
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Hmm can I ask what sort of area you viewed this in?

Before finding the one I got, we looked at a cheap dodge and it was terrible. Have heard that they all rust terribly.
 
I'm in the process of looking for a cheap lorry. I was at the workshop of the guy doing any pre purchase inspections for me yesterday and he was showing me what to look for.

If this is a proper "coachbuilt " you will see rivets down the sides where the joints are and individual panels can be replaced. If the side is smooth this will be one panel for the whole side and replacement will be about £2k.to £2.5k.
 
JulesRules said:
I'm in the process of looking for a cheap lorry. I was at the workshop of the guy doing any pre purchase inspections for me yesterday and he was showing me what to look for.

If this is a proper "coachbuilt " you will see rivets down the sides where the joints are and individual panels can be replaced. If the side is smooth this will be one panel for the whole side and replacement will be about £2k.to £2.5k.
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£2000 for a side sounds pretty fully priced. I'm guessing about £600 for the panel, work to take out depends on living, windows, doors, etc. but hard to see that getting to £2500 at £35 to £40 hour which si what most commercial bodybuilders charge.

A full panel will aactually be a sandwich of a few smaller panels inside GRP "bread".

Dodges do have a rotting rep, but basic welding needn't cost the earth. But don't lack of advisory fool you, my old DAF went from clean sheet to lost cause inside a year!

If the soggy panel is only in the living and you're only hoping for a year, why not just leave it? But a proper look may reveal nasties elsewhere. It usually does :(
 
turnbuckle said:
£2000 for a side sounds pretty fully priced. I'm guessing about £600 for the panel, work to take out depends on living, windows, doors, etc. but hard to see that getting to £2500 at £35 to £40 hour which si what most commercial bodybuilders charge.

A full panel will aactually be a sandwich of a few smaller panels inside GRP "bread".

Dodges do have a rotting rep, but basic welding needn't cost the earth. But don't lack of advisory fool you, my old DAF went from clean sheet to lost cause inside a year!

If the soggy panel is only in the living and you're only hoping for a year, why not just leave it? But a proper look may reveal nasties elsewhere. It usually does :(
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This was my thinking, assuming it will pass its plating with the soggy panel...

Aargh this is so frustrating, I was all ready to go for it until my OH started convincing me that it will be a money pit. He doesn't seem to share my logic that buying a £5k lorry won't necessarily mean it's any less of a money pit, and the Dodge is basically a massive old van so less complicated mechanically than a 7.5t with air brakes & other things to go wrong!
 
To be fair I was at the point that you are, where I thought buy something cheap and get a year out of it and that a more pricey one might be as much of a money pit.

I've viewed a few and I'm now at the point of spending a bit more as I think I'd only end up spending the same on a cheaper one anyway.
 
JulesRules said:
To be fair I was at the point that you are, where I thought buy something cheap and get a year out of it and that a more pricey one might be as much of a money pit.

I've viewed a few and I'm now at the point of spending a bit more as I think I'd only end up spending the same on a cheaper one anyway.
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It is such a nightmare, I am starting to think I may be better off not bothering & finding something local which I can hire regularly. Only issue with that is there are only 3.5t available to hire locally & my mare is picky about side loaders & smaller boxes!
 
It's a minefield isn't it! Worse than buying a horse!

I've found something I want to buy but just waiting for pre purchase inspection. The last one didn't go so well so I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much.

I was thinking of hiring too, but the problem is I just never seem to actually get round to it.

Sold my trailer a year ago.when my horse was lame but now I'm just desperate to be mobile again
 
It is such a minefield!

Does your horse like trailers? They are the cheapest option I think and there's a bit less to go wrong really.
Unfortunately my horse doesn't, hence getting the lorry!

There are some bargains out there, keep looking! You might find something that just needs a little work and at least then you know it is safe.
 
She won't go in a trailer sadly, she only started to be sticky to load in the smaller lorries after her encounter with a trailer. We removed the partition & got her to walk through following another horse, but as soon as I ask her to stop in the middle or she can't see a way out through the front ramp she panics, so its not something I feel is worth pursuing with her, it would never be safe to travel her in one.

Maybe there will be more bargains out there now we are heading into winter & people aren't holding on to their transport for the summer season.
 
KHippo said:
She won't go in a trailer sadly, she only started to be sticky to load in the smaller lorries after her encounter with a trailer. We removed the partition & got her to walk through following another horse, but as soon as I ask her to stop in the middle or she can't see a way out through the front ramp she panics, so its not something I feel is worth pursuing with her, it would never be safe to travel her in one.

Maybe there will be more bargains out there now we are heading into winter & people aren't holding on to their transport for the summer season.
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definitely a good time to be looking :) i've seen some very nice looking bargains on some of the facebook groups. not sure if you're on there but worth a look?
 
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