Horsebox Timeshare/ Syndicates?

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OxfordHacking2025

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Hi,

Any experiences or views of the horsebox timeshare type arrangements?

I really want to get out and about with my boy in the near-ish future. For varied hacking not to shows etc

Realistically it's not going to be much, couple of time a month at the most I expect. So it seems like buying, and more importantly the running costs, doesn't seem worth it.

I don't really have enough contacts to borrow other peoples at the yard plus I'm not sure I want to blur lines so I'd rather it was "commercial" with limited potential for falling out etc.

I've seen a couple of ads for the timeshare type arrangement and I was curious if anyone uses one etc? I haven't found a local one or fully explored details etc.
 
I wouldn’t do it. So much that can go wrong!
There was at some point some sort of website/app where people hired out their personal boxes and the website covered the insurance. I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called, and I haven’t seen sight or sound of it in recent years so assume it flunked.

Honestly, either get yourself a tow vehicle and buy a trailer or rent a 3.5t
 
ihatework said:
I wouldn’t do it. So much that can go wrong!
There was at some point some sort of website/app where people hired out their personal boxes and the website covered the insurance. I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called, and I haven’t seen sight or sound of it in recent years so assume it flunked.

Honestly, either get yourself a tow vehicle and buy a trailer or rent a 3.5t
Click to expand...
Friends lorry got absolutely trashed by someone using that scheme, then she was without it for ages.

A couple of friends did a time share lorry but even that got complicated
 
Is there a local horsebox hire place near you? I'd do that in all honesty as the £80-odd a day it will cost you will pale in insignificance to the hassle of MOT'ing, servicing, maintaining, insuring and dealing with damage incurred from part-owning a box with other people.
 
I guess it will come down to how dates for using the lorry are assigned.
It would be annoying to sign up and then the lorry was booked for all of the dates you wanted!

Also how does it work if lorry is damaged while another party is driving it?
A collision or body damage would be covered by insurance but what if their cr@p driving caused gearbox failure or similar?
 
You can long term lease trailers? Might be a better way to do it? Quite a few companies do that now, saves buying your own. Someone I knew did it and it was something like £250 a month but it was a brand new massive 3 horse maxi trailer, can probably get it for less
 
I am currently hiring a trailer whilst I see if it’s worth me buying one. It’s an ifor 505 and costs £160 a month plus insurance which is about £12.

Boxes to hire round here at £100 a day which is far too much.

I absolutely would not do a timeshare type arrangement. Sounds like a world of agro
 
OP,, if you have the disposable income to purchase a 3,5t you might be surprised at costs.
2 x monthly hire at £100 a time (yes, I appreciate that can be less regionally, but add in replacement fuel, travel to get to and from pick up point and its likely to be over £100 each time. Total £2,400+ per year.

Purchased box costs will be insurance, breakdown (both those likely to be £5 - 600 +/-) MOT £57 +/-, road tax just under £300.
Total £1,000+ if rounded up.
Then add annual service cost average £250+ plus keep around £500 for urgent repair or replacement parts.
Own box total then could be £1,750 plus fuel.

Own box means you won't miss out events/training etc by not booking in time. Obs totally depends on having purchase funds.

TFF, not enabling at all ......🫣
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
OP,, if you have the disposable income to purchase a 3,5t you might be surprised at costs.
2 x monthly hire at £100 a time (yes, I appreciate that can be less regionally, but add in replacement fuel, travel to get to and from pick up point and its likely to be over £100 each time. Total £2,400+ per year.

Purchased box costs will be insurance, breakdown (both those likely to be £5 - 600 +/-) MOT £57 +/-, road tax just under £300.
Total £1,000+ if rounded up.
Then add annual service cost average £250+ plus keep around £500 for urgent repair or replacement parts.
Own box total then could be £1,750 plus fuel.

Own box means you won't miss out events/training etc by not booking in time. Obs totally depends on having purchase funds.

TFF, not enabling at all ......🫣
Click to expand...
Jumping on this sorry, any idea how much I’m looking at for a cheap lorry that won’t break down immediately and spectacularly. I’m looking to invest in transport and I can’t decide whether to get an old tank of a tow vehicle and a trailer, or go for a horsebox.
 
I had a friend a few years back who did essentially a timeshare with somebody else in their lorry and that did seem to work although I don’t know any of the details. I also know a couple of people who jointly own a lorry for the day don’t know the details though that seems to work fine as well. It all comes down to having the right legal document in place about who is responsible for what and of course the correct insurance.
 
Babypony said:
Jumping on this sorry, any idea how much I’m looking at for a cheap lorry that won’t break down immediately and spectacularly. I’m looking to invest in transport and I can’t decide whether to get an old tank of a tow vehicle and a trailer, or go for a horsebox.
Click to expand...
I really couldn't answer that, sorry.
Any vehicle can go wrong for a multitude of reasons, shoddy building, neglect of maintenance, parts expiration, excessive wear and tear, bad driving (such as riding on clutch, trailing brakes, over revving, whacking kerbs) etc etc and just catastrophic failure.

Nobody can say that any vehicle wont break down immediately, but you can try and mitigate as much as you can by getting it fully checked over prior to purchase, keeping it serviced and checked over very regularly.
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
OP,, if you have the disposable income to purchase a 3,5t you might be surprised at costs.
2 x monthly hire at £100 a time (yes, I appreciate that can be less regionally, but add in replacement fuel, travel to get to and from pick up point and its likely to be over £100 each time. Total £2,400+ per year.

Purchased box costs will be insurance, breakdown (both those likely to be £5 - 600 +/-) MOT £57 +/-, road tax just under £300.
Total £1,000+ if rounded up.
Then add annual service cost average £250+ plus keep around £500 for urgent repair or replacement parts.
Own box total then could be £1,750 plus fuel.

Own box means you won't miss out events/training etc by not booking in time. Obs totally depends on having purchase funds.

TFF, not enabling at all ......🫣
Click to expand...

To add to this my breakdown, insurance and road tax is ~745 and I've had quite a few years where mine sails through the MOT and service for ~250 but I would agree that it's prudent to budget for more for repair and parts. So actually costs could be less than you've quoted and half the cost of hiring per year. You also have an asset at the end of it rather than it just being money that's gone.

I would caveat this with if you don't use a horsebox enough then it will be more likely to have mechanical problems.
 
From a purely financial perspective if you have say £15k to buy a lorry (which should buy you something that is reasonable if not very new or smart) you could put the same amount in a savings account with 5% interest, making £750 per year which would buy you a few outings. No dramas of servicing and insurance or repairs, but on the downside you have to collect it every time and may find them booked out at busy times.

One upside of buying is that they seem to keep their value, mine cost £18k 5 years ago, and I've just had it valued for sale at from £15-16k so not a great loss over that time. If you have to use finance then obviously you'll pay some extra in the interest.

As others have said I wouldn't do a timeshare with friends, too many pitfalls. A commercial arrangement might be interesting but on the whole I do prefer to have my own transport available whenever needed. It's nice (luxurious) to leave it stocked with essentials and not to weigh up the cost if I fancy a little outing to hack with a friend nearby, which I probably wouldn't do if I had to collect it and pay each time. If you go out twice per month it would be a significant amount of faffing when you have to collect and return it.
 
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