Horsebox help

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kellie1189

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9 January 2010
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Hi i'm new to this! I am looking into either buying a horsebox or trailer and was looking for some advice.

I own a 16.1 throughbred and will only be carrying one horse when i travel.

I have considerd a 3.5ton but am not sure if i am within the weight limit, plus i could drive this on my own. Would like peoples advice into buying one or whether it would be worth getting a 7.5ton or a 4x4 and trailer? either way if i buy a trailer or 7.5 tonn will have to take a test. didnt know what would be cheaper to run.

Any help and advise would be greatly appreciated, thank you
Kelly
 
I would always have a box over a trailer. can't stand trailers and know too many people who have had accidents in them (my sister being one of them). Plus horses tend to travel better in wagons.

If you are genuinely only going to carry one horse then a 3.5T should have more than enough payload but they are quite expensive in comparison to the 7.5T (for what you get for your money) due to the high demand for them since the changes in driving licence regs. Still, if i was in your situation I would go for a 3.5T as running costs would be lower (fuel wise).
 
Hi kellie1189, I have a 3.5ton horsebox an love it
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. Its so economical to run and you do not have to plate it so cheaper than a 7.5ton and you do not need to take a test to be able to drive them. Not sure whay you are thinkin about a 7.5ton as u will be within the weight limit with a tb for a 3.5tone and if your only going to be transporting 1 cant see the point in paying so much extra to run a 7.5 tone, plate it and take your test
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Not sure about a trailer if you already have a 4x4 which will tow one then I might look into this option but if you havent again its the cost of runnin a 4x4 for everydy use.

Hope this helps
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Another 3.5t fan! If you can look at my past posts, you will see quite alot of info on them. I am old enough- more's the pity!
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- to be able to drive a 7.5t or a trailer without a test, but after considering the options decided on a 3.5t. The initial outlay is comparable to a 7.5t, depending on budget, but the running costs must be way lower. my insurance is £300 a year INCLUDING break down cover, tax was £180.My citroen does about 45mpg, its brill!!
The MOT which is slightly less than a plate, but is considerably less fastidious- I don;t know anyone who doesn't spend less than £1000 annually on plating fails. Hopefully, even if it fails the MOT, it would be less to fix than that. Servicing is also more expensive on a 7.5t.There are a whole raft of legal requirements on vehicles over 3.5t, including some daft ones coming in about refelctive strips. Stay clear of the bigger ones is my advise, unless you have more than one horse to transport or really need lots of living!!
I transport a 16.2hh who weighs about 580kg.With a passenger and tack etc, I am legally within my payload of 900kg. Some boxes have a bigger payload, so you could take 3 passengers or a small pony as well.
 
If you definitely only ever want to carry one horse the OK but often its nice to be able to take a friend with you - if you never want to do this then OK but often I have found people change their minds about that one.
There are a range of boxes between 3.5t and 7.5 - mine is 6.6t and drives like a large van and has enough payload to carry two large horses (600kg), tack and people. The MOT (plating) has cost me around £600 - including all work e.g brakes etc.) the last 3 years and is really just like an MOT. Often the 3.5 t are more expensive to buy than the larger ones as more people seem to want them.
This year
Tax (12 month) - £167.50, Insurance £330 inc breakdown & recovery
Service £350, MOT £610 . On average over the last 3 years I worked this out the other day it has cost me £80 a month for MOTs, Servicing, tyres etc. Need to add Fuel on top.

Hope this gives you and insight into likely costs if things go well
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Thats great thanks guys, will deffinatley only be transporting the one as he doesnt like company and i prefer to go by myslef! and been able to drive myself rather then having to use my dad till i passed a test would be great as he works most weekends!

I dont think i could afford to run a 4x4 for everyday use i do to much milage travelling to university and to the yard.


Which 3.5ton would you advise to look at and to stay away from. What do you think to second hand 3.5ton?
 
Would def go for the 3.5T then as a decent 4x4 to tow a trailer is gonna cost you a lot more than a 3.5T box (well depending on age of wagon).

For the record though the tax and insurance on a 3.5T isn't really any different than on a 7.5T if any different! I love our 7.5T and am old enough that i can drve on my car licence although my sister can't drive it - she is looking to get her HGV licence though (may as well as opposed to getting an LGV). It is nice to have seating, cooking facilities and toilet etc but you can get 3.5Ts with small kitchenettes.

Will depend on your budget I am no expert on 3.5Ts but the common vehicles seem to be Vauxhall Movanos, Renaults and Fiats (Ducatos). Older ones are generally renaults and VWs. I would imagine with VW's reputation they would be pretty good reliability wise but you want to make sure the horse area is safe and suitable - double check the flooring!!
 
Go for a 3.5t every time, cheap to run, economial, the horses travel better than in a trailer. A 7.5t Horsebox is going to be heavy on fuel, and they cost a great deal more to maintain. A trailer and 4x4 does have its place and they use they alot on the continent, but for what your looking for a 3.5t will do you fine. The only pitfall is that there are lots of poor builds on the market (chopped up vans!), try and find a reputable make, have a look at somewhere like www.horseboxworld.com there are lots of buyers tips and info on sites like this. If you can find an older 3.5t (like a theault), thats been a horsebox from new that would be best. If your worried about the weight issue, any seller worth their salt wont mind you taking it to a weighbridge.
 
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