dixie
Well-Known Member
Where did you get one of these? I asked at my local trailer centre and their's was £300.
How many of you have trailers?
- Thread starter Firewell
- Start date
Where did you get one of these? I asked at my local trailer centre and their's was £300.
stencilface
High upon a hillside
I'll be the odd one out then 
We have never had a trailer, my sister's pony could never travel in one so we started off with a small 2 horse box (maybe 3.5T, not sure, was 20 years ago so not a swanky modern job!) and we have just upgraded from there, we are now on our 3rd 7.5T which is ace.
I was in an accident 4 years ago with a trailer on the M1 - brand new Disco, new IFW trailer (I think - wasn't mine) and we hit the divots that the lorries make in the inside lane and just snaked out of control, flipping the trailer and the car. We were not doing more than 50mph, it was just one of those things. Spending 3.5 hours on the M1 hard shoulder with two (thankfully alive!) horses is not something I would like to repeat. I have had blow outs before with lorries, but nothing that exciting.
I had to take my test to drive ours, which was a pain but completely worth it. If you have to take a test anyway to drive a trailer, why not pay a little more, do a HGV test and get a 5T or 7.5T? These are more often cheaper than the 3.5T horses as less people can now drive them, and if you're planning kids - well you need somewhere to put them on days out Precisely the reason my friend has now got a 7.5T with living, instead of a trailer 
We have never had a trailer, my sister's pony could never travel in one so we started off with a small 2 horse box (maybe 3.5T, not sure, was 20 years ago so not a swanky modern job!) and we have just upgraded from there, we are now on our 3rd 7.5T which is ace.
I was in an accident 4 years ago with a trailer on the M1 - brand new Disco, new IFW trailer (I think - wasn't mine) and we hit the divots that the lorries make in the inside lane and just snaked out of control, flipping the trailer and the car. We were not doing more than 50mph, it was just one of those things. Spending 3.5 hours on the M1 hard shoulder with two (thankfully alive!) horses is not something I would like to repeat. I have had blow outs before with lorries, but nothing that exciting.
I had to take my test to drive ours, which was a pain but completely worth it. If you have to take a test anyway to drive a trailer, why not pay a little more, do a HGV test and get a 5T or 7.5T? These are more often cheaper than the 3.5T horses as less people can now drive them, and if you're planning kids - well you need somewhere to put them on days out
Precisely the reason my friend has now got a 7.5T with living, instead of a trailer 
Firewell
Well-Known Member
Wow thanks for all the replies!
I think the first thing to do is look into the test and get some practice and see how I feel.
I just want to be independent now and not have to rely on other people.
Thank you so much for all your replies!
I think the first thing to do is look into the test and get some practice and see how I feel.
I just want to be independent now and not have to rely on other people.
Thank you so much for all your replies!
galaxy
Well-Known Member
this is the one I have
http://www.laleisure.co.uk/bulldog-caravan-stabiliser-200q-670-p.asp
gone up a few pennies since I bought mine. But not that much!
Appletree Training
New User
I have just read your post and would imagine that by now you are all sorted. I guess many out there have a similar view but there is help available. We run trailer courses for anyone that either needs to take the full B&E test or who just want to know how to do things safely. They run for a day (non B&E) and cover everything from hitching, driving techniques and maintainence.
You could even reduce the insurance bill too! We currently run these courses for the Caravan Club and are just about to start work with the BHS, so if anyone reads this and want to know more, please do let me know.
You could even reduce the insurance bill too! We currently run these courses for the Caravan Club and are just about to start work with the BHS, so if anyone reads this and want to know more, please do let me know.
GreyCoast
Well-Known Member
I wrote an essay and lost it, so here's the concise version!
Never lived in a country with the range of trucks you have, so trailers are the norm for me. Only know of one horror story which could possibly have been prevented with chains. Obviously there are safety measures that are essential. Good suspension, solid A frame, proper chains, electric brakes etc etc. My must haves are (straight loader): full length and height if you have horses; tack box with saddle racks; water tank; solid storm door over tail gate; feed bin rails; breaching gate bolt; shoulder divider. I have bunk beds, but can't see myself using them. Not sure what's standard or not in England, so I apologise if this isn't relevant!
Towing is not that hard, just practise with an empty float. I learnt to tow by moving round bales, which gave a bit of weight to the float. It was nice because I couldn't really tell the difference, so I wasn't so freaked out when I first towed my horse. There's a triangular guiding device to help hitching up, but I haven't used one. Might be worth looking into?
Never lived in a country with the range of trucks you have, so trailers are the norm for me. Only know of one horror story which could possibly have been prevented with chains. Obviously there are safety measures that are essential. Good suspension, solid A frame, proper chains, electric brakes etc etc. My must haves are (straight loader): full length and height if you have horses; tack box with saddle racks; water tank; solid storm door over tail gate; feed bin rails; breaching gate bolt; shoulder divider. I have bunk beds, but can't see myself using them. Not sure what's standard or not in England, so I apologise if this isn't relevant!
Towing is not that hard, just practise with an empty float. I learnt to tow by moving round bales, which gave a bit of weight to the float. It was nice because I couldn't really tell the difference, so I wasn't so freaked out when I first towed my horse. There's a triangular guiding device to help hitching up, but I haven't used one. Might be worth looking into?