Horsebox build.....our story!

tootsietoo

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Fabulous! My DH is almost excited about us both doing our HGVs as I am about having the lorry. He wants to send me out trucking part time to earn extra cash!!
 

Farmer Chalk

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Tootsietoo i’m really really pleased that the thread has been useful,for you. It was great whilst building it to have all the forum members input as to what worked and what didn’t on their own boxes!

In relation to your queries...

Firstly the most important part is the planning with your builder.a lot will depend on what chassis you have acquired or about to acquire...unusually you want length not girth in these circumstances!!

The primary weight in the lorry is going to be the horses when they are onboard...and therefore you could do with of much of that weight between the main axles....
You can have weight behind the rear axle but you want to keep this to a minimum if possible. That’s why the long wheelbase Daf trucks are such common horseboxes which allow easy spread of the load....our Mercedes Atego had a relatively short wheelbase which meant some weight had to go behind the rear axle. This also restricted chassis length....as you can’t have much overhang....

This was another mistake I made in retrospect..I was hoping to have a dual purpose lorry whereby the girls could use it as a horsebox one week and I could use it as a race car transporter the next.. alas the overhang beyond the rear axle would be too much which negated that plan...Drat...failure!

In answer to your hubby’s question re race car trailer that was how I will now have to use mine...hence the tow bar then became a necessary part of the build...as I understand it as the lorry is an HGV I need an artic licence to drive the horsebox with a trailer behind it...(no probs as I have an HGV 1...)

If SWMBO wants to drag an additional horsebox behind I think she requires a C+E..so we won’t be doing that anytime soon...!

The other restriction you will face is what equipment your truck has mounted under the load bed... I.e.the battery trays, emission devices, adblue tanks etc as this will dictate what you can do where.. for instance if you want a fold out step into the living area there needs to be space at the side of the chassis rails for the step to fold back into....
An issue you may face is the bed area above the shower cubicle. Fo this to happen your builder will probably make the shower a step down enclosure.. the get the headroom he will lower the floor of the shower below the primary chassis rails....which will give him the height to be able to build a sleeper cabin above...but you need the relevant free area between the axles for this to be able to fit!

In relation to the generator fitment...

It will be fine providing you only ever use plug in pitches...I.e. you can power other devices such as a microwave using electric plug in cables supplied at events...

In reality we have attended a number of events where this has not been available or the sites power has failed. Having your own on board genny means it doesn’t matter.. we can rock up anywhere and be totally self sufficient. We can microwave ready meals, watch tv and power the air conditioning without any worry...a word of warning however..on board generators are very expensive to purchase and it may be worth looking at portable ones if you decide not to go down this route...

Re air conditioning....our main purpose of this was in the event we were trapped in a traffic jam in the summer.... you’ll be amazed how hot it gets in the horse area when travelling with them... we have designed our system with outlets that vent into both the living area and the horse area....so if we are stationary on the M25 or A303 we know we can always keep the horses cool and comfortable....

If I built the lorry again I would consider building an extractor fan in the back. This would help during the winter months in the horse area with condensation as it’s like a steam room in there after two damp horses are loaded after an event!

As a total aside I would also look at the fitment of a radiator of sorts, even an electric plug type one. The reason I say this is an air blown heater like the eberspacher type are noisy at night.. you hear the fan blowing which drives you potty in the middle of the night.
We now take a small electric oil radiator with us when we know we have a plug in pitch. Brilliant, keeps the box warm and toasty without the blower fan noise all night! I would certainly research fitting a small wall heater electric radiator that when you were on mains hook up you could use! Definately on my next list!

Keep your eyes peeled for the lorry out on the road! We run regularly competitions when we are out and about that the first to spot us will win a Datatag Saddle protection kit. Daughter announces our travels on the Datatag Twitter feed!

Good luck with the lorry and feel free to contact me via PM for any specifics!

Last point...the lorry build is always a compromise...you can never have exactly what you want as you have to reason cost, space, necessity and practicality...

I would love a longer bigger truck but that comes with it cost, manoeuvrability down our tiny lanes, fuel economy etc etc etc..hence we never get what we really want! :)
 

tootsietoo

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Ahem. I'm sure my predictive text could not think of an alternative....? :eek:

Thank you for the detailed reply, will reply in full in a bit when not on the iPad
 

tootsietoo

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Right, full reply.

Builder has recommended DAF. DH is a petrolhead (although no truck expert) and had in his head he wanted a Merc or a Scania. Apparently Scanias don't come in 12 tonne (I don't know if this is right or not) and Mercs are a no go says builder for cost of parts or some such reason, so he has been persuaded. Currently hunting for it. And I am avidly reading lorry spec sheets! Will bear in mind long wheelbase and short overhang. (Finbar Saunders could have a field day with this truck discussion). I had suggested we could have a dual purpose car/horse lorry. But I'm not sure if the horse area would be quite long enough for a car at about 4m, and DH seems to think it would need special rings for straps etc. Plus there is the small problem of clashes of dates - I don't want to be arguing over who gets to go out having fun at the weekend! I have re-checked the licence categories and it would appear that we would need a CE licence to drive a 12 tonner with a car trailer on the back (as the car would be over 750kg). One to think about!

Re the layout. I guess I will need to wait until we have the chassis before I can finalise it. I notice that you have gone for the seating round the top end adjacent to the cab with the door entering the living in the middle instead of one end - that's what I'd like to do after looking at pictures of the Sovereign lorries that have living arranged like that. Does it work well? Do you ever have a problem using the cut through? I can't imagine we'll be wanting to jump backwards and forwards between cab and living a lot.

We would definitely need to plan on not having hook up. I don't want a microwave, and the heating, water heater and cooker would be on LPG, but we would want to run all the usual stuff - charging cords, lights, possibly TV - on electric. Builder seems to think with LEDs all round that leisure batteries would be enough for a few days. Useful to know that a portable genny could be an option - then we could add it at a later date if the leisure batteries are not enough.

I am really thinking about the aircon as I travelled up the M6 in a friend's lorry last summer and we broke down on one of the hottest days of the year. Thank goodness we had left at 6am, because by the time we were recovered home at 2pm the horses were really starting to sweat up. Fortunately the lorry had the flip open windows which were a godsend. No aircon though. Our builder seems to think flip open windows are not as useful as his really good vents. I have no idea whether he's right, unfortunately!

Also have experienced the middle-of-the-night-fans in my friend's lorry so I know what you mean! Useful, thank you.

A couple of other things about the living area - questions for everyone. I really do like the pics of your living Farmer Chalk, the walnut (?) coloured lacquered wood is lovely, but I do wonder why all the fancy living areas I see on the websites are made in such dark colours? Has anyone got a lorry with living with white walls? Or at the very least magnolia?! I find it odd, as few people live in such dark houses, but it seems to be the style of choice for lorries! I have collected a lot of pinterest photos of white camper van interiors which are all really lovely, but when I mentioned it to builder, he looked confused and showed me samples of very dark laminate for the walls. Maybe it's something to do with keeping it clean, but in my experience dark surfaces look as grubby as light ones when dirty! And the kitchen - lots of lorries have enormous amounts of kitchen kit. I hate cooking at home, so I sure as hell am not planning to do much at competitions. With a barbie packed, I think I can do away with a microwave, a grill and 2 of the usual 4 hob burners, which may make more space for a larger freezer for ready-to-heat meals and ice boots! Am I making a mistake?

We are a very long way from Kent, but it sounds as if you get around a bit, so will keep eyes peeled!
 

Farmer Chalk

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Okaydokey...

Great if you are still looking for your truck...the minimum you need is a Euro 4 but go for as late as you can... look at the big truck dealers like Junction 6 or Walker Movements who are big truck dealers.

I would certainly look for as low as mileage as you can but I would prefer to also buy an ex fleet vehicle from a renowned name.. I.e. John Lewis, Sainsbury’s etc as you know the trucks would be serviced every six weeks at no expense spared... try not to go for ex Post Office or multidrop vehicles as you know they’ve been hooned about...

Don’t worry about the condition of the body.... as you’re going to cut it off anyway! It may also be worth looking at salvage auctions where the body has taken a hit...

Don’t be put off from Mercedes... they are renowned for their reliability and that’s why we went with one.. the last thing I wanted was the lorry breaking down or failing to start. I can quantify that they are certainly beautifully built and the quality of components are excellent....

Re the dual use you could still do it but you need to work out length and obviously the rear ramp would need to be well built. You can get floor mounted tie down rings which would also secure the car appropriately....

Whilst you are hunting certainly also consider cab air con.... early trucks don’t often have it but later ones sometimes do... definately worth it as our horses travel better than us in the summer!

If you are going for a roof pod and ears on your cab you will definately have issues trying to lose the heat of the engine...normally the rear of the engine is open to the elements and heat can freely escape... once you build a body surrounding it you need to find ways to seal this heat out and let it vent.... hence when you look at photos of our truck you’ll see gills behind the front doors which allows this hot air to escape...

Re the cut through we very rarely use it.... occasionally daughter will climb through when on the move but in reality it’s quicker to pull over and use the main doors... the seating works really well and we can all sit and eat dinner together around the table and watch tv if necessary... you will see that there is a step up to this seating area. This is because we have a full width under locker that goes across the front end of the truck.

Re the microwave... this is probably the most used bit of kit when we are away particularly if we are staying away in autumn and winter. It’s great for heating ready meals like paella, lasagne etc straight from the fridge. This enables us to be self sufficient when away... it’s a normal domestic microwave that can be run on the generator or hook up... its excellent and for the size it takes up I wouldn’t dispel the idea of having one just yet...

Re your leisure batteries.. if you are just using LED’s all the way through the lorry they will last for ages. Where it will eat the batteries is when you start using converters to run tv’s etc.

Consider getting on board chargers which will top up the batteries when on the move and when using hook up or generator power.

We will be on the road throughout the Country again this year...just had the good news that daughter has qualified both horses for the Pet Plan Nationals at Hartbury next month so will be one of the first road trips of the year!
 
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Spottyappy

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Tootsie, I had my much smaller 7.5t box built to my fairly basic spec.
I can’t post photos as photobucket won’t let me and I’m not technically minded enough to fathom other methods out!
My interior is light coloured with white cupboard doors.
If you would like photos, pm me with your email and I will send you some.
 

9tails

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Tootsietoo, it sounds like your builder is only willing to build the lorry to his own specs. Roof vents won't be much use if you're stuck in a traffic jam.
 

tootsietoo

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Brilliant Farmer Chalk, all so so useful, thanks. Spottyappy, I'd love to see some photos so I'll send you a pm. 9tails, he will do whatever we want, but of course he's got lots of views on what works and what doesn't, and I want to hear them, he's built more lorries than me! I just need to work out where I need to adjust his ideal spec to suit us. I need to do a lot more research on the issue of ventilation/aircon/flip up windows before I make a decision, I have little experience of any of them (I currently have an Ifor HB610 which the back doors have come off - that's a bit more ventilation than I need!)
 

turnbuckle

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Sorry about getting the CE/C1E wrong, I hadn't you realised you were starting with a 12T.

I would come down firmly on the side of aircon, can make a HUGE difference.
 

tootsietoo

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Yes, nice. I spent a snowy Sunday this weekend looking at Autotrader Trucks! And then our lorry man called on Sunday night to say he'd found one, and it's now bought!! 12 plate DAF with a long wheelbase (about 5.1m apparently which is more than I was expecting), automatic, air suspension and, most excitingly, aircon in the cab. Higher mileage than your link, but husband who thinks about these things is certain that this is not a huge deal. Now to get on the case with planning the layout, fixtures and fittings and the HGV training. That'll all keep me quiet for the next 9 months :D. No doubt I will refer back to this thread a fair few times!
 

tootsietoo

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I couldn’t cope with it not living up to expectations casey76! It may not look as fancy as farmer chalk’s! I have been looking at Pinterest a lot and I am drawn to refurbished airstream trailers.... I wonder if I could make my living look similar - white and minimal and a bit mid century modern. Or whether it would just look bloody ridiculous in a Horse lorry and I should stick to the caravan wood effect laminate. Also getting rather excited about multi-functional fittings on bulkhead in Horse area to carry bikes/scrambler/wheelbarrow etc. And trying to work out optimal horse tying/ tack locker locations. DH very bored of me already ��
 

Farmer Chalk

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Brilliant! I’m jealous already! Aircon....you :cool:

Enjoy it and use the peeps on here for ideas! It’s a great plan to walk round the chassis with the builder and decide what is possible and where!
Remember you don’t have to build it all at once...negotiate with the coach builder what is an absolute must... I.e.the outer shell and locker locations, the rear ramp etc... the rest, I.e. interior, you can add to over time when finances allow..

Get lots of swatches, lots of trims etc and go looking at other lorries..

Once you have decided what the first build is going to include make sure it’s committed on paper and the price is agreed....

We spent a lot of time at Badminton looking at those box manufacturers and how they did theirs and what we wanted...take photos and look at caravans and motorhomes for inspiration....

Look at alternative sources for the kit and don’t just rely on the horsebox catalogues...
Sinks and kitchen stuff look out for Bathstore sales as the quality is ten times better than camping and caravan stores..

Fabrics you can source anywhere..

Electrical superstores etc etc...

Another great idea which we saw on one but couldn’t utilise ourselves for lack of under locker space was a locker which had a pull out drawer. This drawer was the exact size of a small bale of hay which fitted perfectly and was the perfect thing for a couple of days away!

Get creative!

PM me for any advice if you or OH need to ring me as a sounding board...

Above all enjoy! It’s hard work but great fun!
Pity your postman over the next year who will deliver the majority of your lorry...:)
 

tootsietoo

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Thank you for your offer of help, very kind. The timing is perfect for Badminton! I think I shall have to allocate a full day for perusing display lorries, armed with a tape measure and camera! Interesting you mention Bathstore, I have bought things from there quite often in the past and always thought it's good value for what you get. After talking to a friend yesterday I've decided to go for a separate shower enclosure rather than all in one loo/wet room as she said she hates using the shower as you're then paddling through shower mess afterwards to use the loo, and as we've got the HGV we might as well. So will have a look at Bathstore again. I visited our local "flash" lorry builder at the weekend and they have one in build with slide out drawers in some of the skirt lockers. Not sure how much of a difference that will make to ease of use of the lockers. Will think on it. When I told friend (who used the same builder for her lorry) yesterday that I was busy with my squared paper and scale rule she sounded slightly appalled and said she just told him how many beds she wanted and left him to get on with it! I have pre-warned him that I have "lots of ideas" :D
 

Farmer Chalk

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Well peeps!

Super quick update and warning to all you horsebox owners....

Spent the day preparing the horsebox for the coming season... those who are hoping to use yours as the season starts my word of advice is get down and check your truck out with plenty of time...

Ours is going out tomorrow for one of the first training days...and have spent last couple of days equipping it for service after a short winter lay up...

However the Beast from the East has definately taken its toll whilst it was parked up... despite draining the primary water tank down prior to the snow coming it’s apparent I didn’t manage to empty all the water out.... without the luxury of being able to park the lorry in a barn the deep freeze for the week had set deep into the lorry.

The damage fortunately is not huge but the mixer washer in the sink tap has distorted allowing water to escape all over the worktop!

Had to remove and dissect the tap to get it going properly again!

Had a devils own job to prime the water pump again... had various pipes off and trying to siphon, back fill, and attempts to pressurise the system... pulled most of my remaining hair out in frustration..

Also found the frost had whacked the batteries to a point where the old girl didn’t want to start... fortunately the beauty of having an on board generator which fired up via the leisure batteries... a few minutes running gave the main batteries enough charge to the main lorry batteries to enable starting...

So advice is get down check your lorry out and make sure every is tickety boo before relying on it to get going!


Another quick addition whilst I was down there was to fit a dashcam to it.... Got absolutely fed up with idiot motorists who have no understanding of horsebox hgv’s and expect you to reverse your loaded lorry for miles to enable them to pass! Other drivers who cut you up on the motorway to exit their junction....

Just about to start teaching daughter to drive the lorry and as a learner driver it adds even more pressure... so a dashcam is now running to protect us from the idiots!
 

Farmer Chalk

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One for those of you who get fed up with your on board water pump pulsing or knocking....which in turn interrupts the water flow or manifests itself with knocking water pipes..

Just fitted this Shurflo water accumulator at around £50...dead simple to fit...you place it after the water pump but before the taps or outlets...

Superb has totally stopped the pulsing flow and banging pipes...you’ll still have the noise of the pump but the flow of the water out of the taps or horsewash now remains a smooth constant flow!
Highly recommended!

Also those building trucks, the new push-fit 12mm water pipe and connectors are simply brilliant! Don’t use anything else... took me less than 3 minutes to fit up everything! Perfect.... and these connectors survived the coldest deep frost without issue!

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tootsietoo

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Read your updates farmer chalk, very useful indeed. How is your lorry working with horse tying on the offside? Do you have your tack locker on the offside too? Is that ok from a security point of view?
 

Farmer Chalk

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The compromise of our build was our chassis length... and the fact that those who must be obeyed didn’t want the tack locker to impose into the horse area... we have had too many friends who had had issues with their horses climbing up on the locker from the horse area...
Thus we were always going to have smooth walls in the horse area and run the horses in a herringbone fashion.

As such my compromise was to build a full height locker at the rear right hand side of the horse area which is accessible from both sides, I.e from outside just in front of the horse tying up area and also from within the rear load area.

The benefit of this was that I could also find room for locating the air conditioning unit in the upper cupboard and have also just fitted an extractor fan which vents through this cupboard to the outside of the lorry.
This has massively helped with condensation when the horses get back in either wet or sweaty and rather than condense on the roof or Windows is now extracted to the atmosphere...

Hence the idea is you tie up the horse on the right hand side, and the lower rear locker houses all the feed bowls and buckets and plumbed in horse shower.. hence you can drench them to cool them down after work out, and fill water buckets etc..

In front of that is the tack locker and when the girls are eventing the quick change necessary from show jumping to cross country is made easier.

This is made easier come rain or shine by having the full length awning so everything we need to do is easily accessible and either in the dry or shade as is needed..

Re security... again this is made easier as all of the lockers are alarmed... we designed it to protect the perimeter of the lorry but still having the back ramp down.. hence we can be at shows sorting out the horse or out on course and just push one button on a fob which alarms all lockers, internal living and truck cab protecting it.

Vice versa by zoning it the girls can be sleeping at night or moving around inside the living area and yet have the outer perimeter protected...

How’s your build going?. Need photos! :)
 

tootsietoo

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Thank you. That is a unique layout I reckon. I wondered what the door was on the offside that looks like a jockey door. Our chassis is about to be stripped down and they’ll start the body in the next month or so. There is no rush, we are aiming for Christmas.
 

tootsietoo

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Oops I posted early! I have one pic of one currently in build which is an identical size. I’ll post when I work out how! I’m sure I’ll have more questions soon!
 

Farmer Chalk

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Not the best photos but it will give you an idea of our layout on the right hand side....

First photo shows unadulterated lorry and position of lockers, second is to show tack locker and storage lockers... the middle locker we fitted out with a tool chest of drawers which has all the horse first aid, studs, bandages etc...

So horse is tied up and everything they need is accessible to hand should they need it....

Third photo is only to show the intrusion of that tack locker into the horse area...as we herringbone our horses it still leaves plenty of room and a space to locate brushes, wheelbarrow and feed for a few days away...

My advise is to sit down and plan what you will do with your horses...
Definately a thing to consider is hay bale storage.... if your away for a few days then you need to consider storage space for that!

Feel free to PM me for further queries!

Good luck! The fun now starts! :)
 

9tails

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Read your updates farmer chalk, very useful indeed. How is your lorry working with horse tying on the offside? Do you have your tack locker on the offside too? Is that ok from a security point of view?

Farmer Chalk doesn't tie the horses on the offside inside the lorry, AFAIK. He ties them outside on the offside with all their gubbins within easy reach.

The horses travel with their heads to the nearside.
 
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Farmer Chalk

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What have they done to this thread?
All of my photos have gone! Spent hours in the first place trying to suss it out... probably melted their server....!

Five year update!
Can’t believe i’m saying that myself.... wifey has just had to renew her HGV /LGV medical so shows its true!

Overall dead chuffed with the box...it has served us well and has certainly travelled the country up and down and done thousands of miles...

Faults?? I hate to say they are all driver related... ( I hope she doesn’t read this or i’m dead! ) I now have Mercedes lorry parts on speed dial... and they now always have in stock left hand side mirrors!

Given up the number of times i’ve now replaced them... in fairness the lanes around us are tiny and the lorry only just fits down them (or not!)

Chassis has been brilliant and super reliable...only costs have been yearly servicing which is done regardless of mileage. Those who haven’t previously read the thread I had highlighted the difference between running an LGV over a 3.5 tonner..the biggest nuisance for having the extra payload is running a tachometer and drivers hours especially on a long distance journey which needs careful planning or a secondary driver. The second nuisance is the yearly test which for obvious reasons is super strict. You have to consider booking these a year in advance!!

Anyone who needs specific photos from the thread I will dig out and repost if interested especially if it helps with your build...
 

Bernster

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Ah I think your photos have fallen victim to the updgrade maybe. Although pics are apparently easier to upload now. The irony.

Sounds fab but I did chuckle at the regular replacement of left hand wing mirrors! Oops.

In the meantime I paid far less attention and care but ended up upgrading my very basic 3.5t to a 4.5t from Freddie Gover which I’m loving althougnmy horse, who is no respecter of nice things, has already booted the outside. I’m still trying to keep it clean - will that pass OP?!
 
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