Horseboxes or trailers?

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beckieswann

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Hi guys,

I'm in the process of saving up for either a 4x4 & trailer or a small lorry. I have a 16.1hh horse and am looking to compete locally until we're ready for Intro at BE.

I was just wondering which do you think is the best option? And what makes would you suggest? I'd have to buy second hand as even though I am saving I'm saving VERY slowly! Which works out to be the most cost effective in the sense of Tax, fuel, MOT, service (if known!) Any help would be really appreciated!

I've been looking at Ifor williams trailers, or equi-trek, sonic & super sonic vechiles (although there aren't many cheaper second hand ones around yet!)

What do you guys think?
 
I worked this out ages ago, but i figured that if not having a lorry meant that you ran a 4x4 daily and you were doing 40+ miles per day, it would work out cheaper having a lorry and small economical car to run daily.

This did not take into account purchase costs, only running costs
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Trailer gets my vote - especially if you also have a car. With a lorry you have to tax, insure, MOT and plate it annually. If you also have a car for "normal" life then you have to tax, insure and MOT that too. If you have a trailer you only need one set of tax, insurance etc and no plating.

Also if you break down trailer recovery is cheaper and much much quicker. If you break down in a lorry they have to get the sort of recovery vehicle used for articulated lorries out to you and that can take hours. To recover a trailer you only need a standard car recovery vehicle. That makes breakdown cover cheaper as well.

That said - a box does offer you a living area for shows in the rain. (Although some of the more expensive trailers have a living area too I'm guessing that might be a bit expensive for you.) So if you plan to hunt or event in the winter that might be a consideration. Although I have to say - lack of living notwithstanding - I would still go for a trailer and camp in the back of the 4 x 4 in the rain!
 
Small lorries go for premium prices due to the current driving laws & elderly one's with one foot in the grave also go for mega money. The older one's will cost quite a lot in the long term keeping them on the road & you would need a car to use for normal journeys anyway. The bottom has fallen out of the market for 4x4s & you can pick up good ones at very low prices & similarly trailers can be purchased quite cheaply.

The arguement about having living in a lorry is fine, but honestly how many people actually use the living much, if ever?

I think it would be cheaper to buy a 4x4 & trailer & only use the 4x4 for towing & have another car to do your normal journeys in. I did this & found it much cheaper................. unfortunately due to an expansion of my herd I now have to have a lorry, & the associated expence.
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I would vote lorry every time, I know too many people who have had trailer accidents (my sister being one) plus have had horses who just cannot travel in a trailer (they fall and panic). Ok, so you would have to tax and MOT a lorry but it is not overly expensive and if you had a normal runabout car in the low tax bracket (say £35 a year) the the cost of the tax on that and the horsebox could actually be the same or less as the tax on a 4x4 (£215 at the moment at least unless you get a 4x4 classed as a commercial vehicle).

However, it would depend on your usage as well i guess and whether having a lorry is justified if you're only going out a few times a year. Ours goes out on average once a week or once a fortnight so fairly low use but I still wouldn't change having a lorry. We have a 7.5T as I passed my test before they changed the rules so I can drive on a car licence. If you passed your test after 1997 though and only are going to be carrying one horse then maybe look at 3.5T lorries as the running costs - ie fuel will be less as I would say that's the most expensive part.

As for recovery, we have never had any problems with recovery in our lorry and the cover itself isn't that expensive either.

I think I just feel a heck of a alot safer in a lorry basically!
 
I also weighed this up and recently went for a trailer.

We run a 4x4 and a small car, the 4x4 is good for doing yard stuff, the dogs, picking up wood etc we didn't realise just how handy it would be.

I will have to do my trailer test though but found that a lorry would cost a lot to keep for use 2/3 times a month where as 4x4 is used about 15 and keeps my other car is good-ish nick. Certainly better that it would have been, had it not been for 4x4!

The amount of times i've needed to drive through fields to fill up water and no to mention find fly masks! hahaha

With regards to trailers I looked extensively at equi trek, ifor williams (brand new and used) and Wessex.

With the ifor williams the new model it looked like a robinsons trailer - it looked awful so ditched that very quickly.

Then there was the used model, very popular and was convinced this was going to be the one... until I saw what it was made of. The sides are thin wood with a plastic coating, the central patition shocked me the most it is two thin parts of wood with polystyrene in the middle!!!!!!! No joke! I only know this as a dealer let me see the inside of one where a horse had got his feet over the front bar. It had torn the patition apart (two bits of wood had come apart) and ripped the fixing of the breast bar from the side wall - hence how I could see the wood and how thin it was. It could never have stood any amount of pressure let alone a horse on top! I was very shocked and it put me right off, I mean polystyrene in a central partition is crazy!!

I loved the equi trek and would have went for the show trekka (that little bit of living) if I had the money I'd have gone for that, but we are only competing locally at the moment too so I decided to put that on the back burner till we start travelling further. It was more important for me to have a trailer now, than wait and save.

So then I looked at a wessex and I fell in love! Gas ramps - so very light and no exponsed springs for the horse to get his foot caught in. The raps are also very shallow. Aluminitum body so light but strong and rot proof. Padded sides and partitions, the central partition is galvanised steel, so very durable and centrally hinges so opens nice and wide for loading. Very light and airy inside too, even I'd travel in there!

I am very pleased with my purchase, and think I made an informed decision, so I hope my boring research helps!
 
I have a 7.5 tonne wagon and my friend has an Ifor Williams 510 (second hand) with an L reg Discovery which she only uses for towing.

We worked it out and the running costs were about the same the wagon a little cheaper.

She has her trailer services every year and has it insured and breakdown cover. She then has the 4x4 MOT, taxed and insured.

We both have other cars to drive daily which cost about the same each so in total it works out the same.

I prefer traveling a horse in a wagon, I feel it is safer and my horse is happier over longer distances.

So, if you are only using the 4 x 4 for towing then the cost is the same for a wagon as it is for a 4x4 and trailer so it will come down to purchase price.

I would look at both and see what you can get for your money.
 
ive had both, and box wins every time im selling my box , and dreading the whole trailor thing again they work out about the same to run really with the price off fuel so expensive and shows not relating to the credit crunch good luck
 
Lorry would be my choice. I have both a 7.5 tonne and a trailer pulled by a Disco. If we move horses now its always in the lorry, they are safer you can see them and we can camp out with cooker and tv etc.
Cost wise its very little difference as the Disco is my wife's day to day car. I get pushbike or little Chevrolet (brilliant does what it says on the tin).
Trailer ends up doing hay and stuff as well as the occasional pony and we lend it to friends
 
thanks everyone! you've helped me look at things a lot differently! but i definitely do need to think about costs, and safety is a major. I definitely want my horse to be as comfortable and safe as possible! I'll keep researching and keep you updated!
 
I've just sold my Golf and bought a Disco..planning on a trailer whan I can sneak it past OH.

The disco is now my main car and as I do little mileage any way the running costs are not much.

Plus this means OH 'posh' car can remain that, the disco can be used for all the mucky work + I dont mind it getting covered in mud etc.
 
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