Horsebox Help

silverbullet

silverbullet

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26 June 2008
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South Yorks/Lincs Border
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I'm looking at getting a 7.5 tonne box this year.

For those of you who have them did you buy them done or have them built to your specification.

If you had them built who did it - would you recommend them?

If you bought it what type of lorry is it (as in the engine??)

What would you list as your must haves in a lorry, what couldn't you live without.

Thanks
 
I think its down to what you need so do you need a full living or is just seats and a gas hob in a day living, how many people go with you, will you be staying away in it at shows, clinics? my must haves are nice horse area with good ventlation light ramp, (not powered), cctv to see the horses are safe, big tack lockers, then in the living bed area, fridge, gas hob, microwave, comfy seats hot and cold water, heating, shower/ loo hanging closet and cupboards, I also have a built in generator (nice when there is no hook up avalible)
I part built mine you can have one built but its a bit of a mine field and most of the builders cant keep promises, I would look at geting something ready to use or part built say horse area done and needingLQs done so at least you can use it, then get it done to your spec
late.r Choice of chassis is MAN, Merc, iveco, Daf are all ok its best to get the best deal and not be too fussy about the make, Whatever you do make sure it still has a tilt cab otherwise its playing russian roulette with repair bills and will be harder to sell on...
 
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Interesting that you post as I was also thinking about doing a horsebox one.

We have a coachbuilt DAF 7.5tonne which has full living (sleeps 4, proper upholstry, cooker, oven, microwave, central heating, on board Onan generator etc), shower, toilet and sink, lots of outside lockers, horse shower and good horse area vents etc. I would really want all of these again although I could live without the shower as when we stay away it is at permanent show centres with shower facilities.

We've had this lorry 5 years and whilst it has everything we need I'm aware that if we don't upgrade now we'll be left behind with a chassis that is getting older (1996). I guess it's a bit like cars - if you don't upgrade while they are worth something you end up having to keep them forever. However, our lorry has everything you could possibly need so I'm now sure what to do on this one.

We also had a cheaper make of lorry built for us about 10 years ago and that can work with a reputable firm but I've always tried to work my way up the lorry chain hoping one day I'll get an Oakley. The one I want on their website is £269,000 plus VAT and so unless I win the lottery I've had it!
 
After searching for lorries, I couldnt find anything that seemed ok in my budget, which I thought was decent. We ended up getting one made by a professional company and had to up the budget even more.
I was made promises that werent fullfilled and ended up compromising on a few things I was promised. The person who made mine does make great coachbuilt wagons but at a price. I suppose I had his budget version. The problem I had was I had to pay up front for the chassis which Im told is normal as some people say they want one building then back out. By paying up front, I was sort of stuck as I couldnt walk away with a half finished wagon when things he said he would do werent. I gave up in the end and took it to another company to finish things I had asked for, this company was fantastic and I wouldnt hesitate to go there in the future.
I am happy with what I ended up with, it has everything I need and I know its safe, one advantage of having new, providing of course its built by someone reputable.
Saying that if I was to do it again I think I would take much longer looking and buy a horsebox that has always been a horsebox on an older chassis at a cheaper price, if they do exist??? m only saying this as mine cost a fair amount and I just havent used it as much as I thought so I hate seeing so much money just stood there, different if you are going to use it regulary.
The main problem I had was I havent a clue about anything mechanical, so something that looks the part could be a mechanical wreck. Its ok getting them checked out but how many times can you afford to do that? This was another reason why I decided to have one made.
My list of must haves is, safety ie floor and horse area construction, battery isolator, cctv to horse area, easy ramp and storage.
 
We had Thorpe Horseboxes in Essex do ours years ago and are really pleased with it.

We have an N reg ford iveco 6 cylinder :)
 
i have a very nice MAN lorry for sale. will take 4 ponies (got 3 partitions) good ramp. nice paint work. tack lockers, huge living (half fitted) sleps 3 to 4 snug up!!! 2001 reg. taxed and plated! be careful; what you buy the old cargos are rot boxes. mercs roll too much. etc
 
A friend of mine is just having an 02 Iveco 7.5ton converted into a 3 horse with small living. Should be ready in about 4 weeks. Guy who converts them is local to us, he's always very busy, doesn't advertise and just specialises in converting 3.5ton vans or 7.5ton lorries. I can give you details if you like depending on where you are. He's based in the North West. :)
 
ofcourseyoucan said:
i have a very nice MAN lorry for sale. will take 4 ponies (got 3 partitions) good ramp. nice paint work. tack lockers, huge living (half fitted) sleps 3 to 4 snug up!!! 2001 reg. taxed and plated! be careful; what you buy the old cargos are rot boxes. mercs roll too much. etc
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Mercs roll too much ???? have a drive in mine baby its as solid as a rock !!!!!!
 
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