I have jusy bought myself my 1st trailer, tips?

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Ladylina83

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Hello all

As title really - after all my years riding and having Lina for 9 years I never thought that having my own transport was going to happen, but today it has ! I have bought an Ifor510 and would really like some tips re insurance, safety, storage and security - the horses are insured with KBIS so I am going to get a quote from them first. I have been saving up for a new car but when one of the ladies at the farm said her son was giving up so her 2 ponies were going, I instantly thought oooooh a trailer !! So she sold 1 pony on Saturday - the pony actually came with the trailer and she has already made £900 over what she paid on just selling him, so said make me an offer, did my sums and offered her £1000 .... deal done + deposit paid ! She knows she could have got more but as I have helped her in the past she is pleased it is going to me :-) HAPPY

I am over the moon, it is a little tatty round the edges like the fold back clips that hold the back doors open at the top have broken off + it needs 2 new light lens covers and a service ( how much will this cost ?) + a good jet wash as it has been under a tree but it has had a new aluminum floor. I am too young to tow but OH has a HGV licence and Pa has a Nissan Navara so in the mean time before I learn to tow we can get around

Also I will now have to look for a slightly bigger car - thinking of a Kia Sorrento (is that what they are called ?) or a Ford Ranger

Any advice anyone can offer would be brill :-)
 
Being someone that had their IW trailer stolen on the night of purchase I would recommend the below:
Wheel Clamp
Hitch Lock
Photo's - lots
Insurance before you take delivery - watch out for clauses like not covered within 1st 28 days etc
Make it difficult for thieves - park behind cars / machinery/ close to wall

Sorry but they love to 'steal' IW trailers................
 
Get a wheel lock and if you can (this was my OH moment of genius) see if you can get an old ball hitch.... Get somone to cut the plate off so it cant be re attched to a vehicle and then lock it in the hitch....
 
Meandtheboys said:
Being someone that had their IW trailer stolen on the night of purchase I would recommend the below:
Wheel Clamp
Hitch Lock
Photo's - lots
Insurance before you take delivery - watch out for clauses like not covered within 1st 28 days etc
Make it difficult for thieves - park behind cars / machinery/ close to wall

Sorry but they love to 'steal' IW trailers................
Click to expand...

I had already thought of all of these - don't want to shatter my dreams too soon hey !! It does have a wheel clamp on it already - I was thinking of making it distinktive somehow too OH does some sign writing so thought about putting thier names on it - the horses that is in gloss or something, might bring my resale down like but lets face it I have only spent a grand on it !!

I have also put on my reciept for my deposit that it is refundable should it get stolen before I take ownership

AndiK said:
Get a wheel lock and if you can (this was my OH moment of genius) see if you can get an old ball hitch.... Get somone to cut the plate off so it cant be re attched to a vehicle and then lock it in the hitch....
Click to expand...

Excellent advice - I work slap bang between 2 scrap yards so this can't be to hard can it ?!?!?! Fab idea thanks
 
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Also might be worth etching your postcode on some of the metal bits. Basically the more you make it readily identifiable with permanent markings, rather than stickers which can be removed the harder it makes it to be sold on.

From memory I think the annual service is around £80 - 100. Well worth the money. Make sure you keep the tyres inflated at the correct level and if you don't use it to take the horses out for a while still move it anyway so it isn't standing on the same bit of the tyre all the time.

It is great having transport, you will wonder how you ever managed without it!
 
For insurance try http://www.4counties.co.uk/, they have insured my trailer for the past few years considerably cheaper than the main horse insurance companies.

Service well worth it and will cost in region of £75 - £150 depending on where you are and whether you use a mobile mechanic or take it to a dealer. I bought mine from a main IW dealer who serviced it as part of the price, and it needed new brake shoes - I would not have known that without having the service, and it would have been dangerous to drive in that condition!

Hope that helps.
 
Always put the wheel lock on the rear wheel - stops thieves from lifting the hitch & towing the trailer away on the back wheels.

The handbrakes on IWs have a tendency to jam so the trailer is best stored with the brake off and bricks in front of the wheels.
 
Congratulations on getting your trailer - it does make such a difference. I bought a small horse truck about three years ago - it's given me so much freedom. No longer do I have to pay through the nose to hire a float or stress for weeks as to wether flatmate would loan me his car or find someone else to take me.

I come and go as I please now.

Some tips. Apart from the ones already mentioned.

Check the tyre pressures are correct before going anywhere - they need to be all the same otherwise the trailer will try to fishtail.

If mats are not bonded to the floor, lift them regularly and clean out well to avoid the floor rotting. I always travel mine with straw as they seem to travel better - it also absorbs pee & poo better.

Regularly touch up any rust spots with a rust convertor and paint over. Try to keep the trailer under cover in winter - even a tarpaulin will help reduce rust. Keep everything greased well so that it functions correctly - such as the jockey wheel. Check the hydraulic brake fluid if it has that type of braking system and keep topped up.

When driving if the trailer starts to fish tail DON'T use the brakes, slow down using the gears.
 
Chestnut_Fan said:
Always put the wheel lock on the rear wheel - stops thieves from lifting the hitch & towing the trailer away on the back wheels.

The handbrakes on IWs have a tendency to jam so the trailer is best stored with the brake off and bricks in front of the wheels.
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Noted :-) Pa came over to check it last weekend and the brakes had stuck for this reason YO fork lifted it up and we knocked them all off, Think this is one of the reasons I got it so cheep as she was a bit ashamed of herself and I know it needs a bloody good service before we go anywhere in it.

Evelyn said:
When driving if the trailer starts to fish tail DON'T use the brakes, slow down using the gears.
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Really lucky that Pa is a greenkeeper so is used to maintaining trailers etc and towing and OH was a HGV driver for years so I will not be attempting to do ANY towing for the forseeable future, give me time so save for a 4x4 of my own - Imagine my colt will be old enough to ride by then lol. Looking at Ford rangers today - any experiance with one of these ?? They seem reasonable in price

I am very excited - doesn't seem real atm, I have seen people have trailers stolen that were not insured no way am I going down that route
 
I bought a cheap tyre pressure reader from Halfords and also a tyre pump. Keeping the tyres at the correct pressure is of course common sense. However I found the reality of hitching up my trailer and actually finding somewhere to do it was another matter! Halfords all the way but do NOT do what I did. i.e assume it would be easy. Had to go out unexpectedly and thought I should check my tyres. Took 3 of us in the pouring rain to work out to make the wretched thing work!.

Another one for ensuring that your trailer is not in casual sight, park it somewhere tricky to get out off. I park mine at the back of the yard behind a house. It is a complete pain to get in there but I always pacify myself that thieves would also struggle to get it. I never leave the handbrake on mine as all trailers seem to seize easily either. Something I also do which everyone else does now is to actually cover the braking device/machinery at the front of the trailer with a haylage bag and tie it down. Stops that part rusting. WD40 is kept in the trailer along with the pressure gauges as a matter of course. Enjoy!
 
Sounds silly but your OH may not be able to pull the trailer! It depends how old he is and therefore what license he's got. The old HGV And LGV no longer exist. He's prob got the new C+E (articulated lorry) license but if he's only got his C license (over 7.5tonnes) then he can't pull a trailer even with a car (stupid rule, I know). Worth double checking
 
As part of your security measures, why not paint your post code on the roof in large letters/numbers. If its stolen this mite not be noticed immediately by any thieves but can be seen from the air by police helicopters or motorway cameras etc.
 
Oh well done!! What year is it? (The month and year of manufacture is stamped into the wheel rims). I bought an old 505 for my Christmas present last year and I'm just about finished doing it up now!

Some hints I'd give you from doing my own, are to make sure the panels are sealed properly or water gets in at the bottom of the panels and rots them. I took the mudguards off mine and resealed all the panels.

When refitting fixtures, I've used stainless steel fittings that won't rust, as it's a right pain trying to undo rusty fittings, and rust marks down the side of your trailer aren't a good look either!

Check all your tyres in case they're perished, and also make sure they're the right size - should be 165R13C - the C means that they're Commercial - normal car tyres aren't up to the weight. On my trailer, 3 were perished and one was a car tyre!

Get hold of an Ifor Williams parts catalogue and you'll find virtually everything you need in there, but double check on ebay before you buy as there's often cheaper options on there.

With regards to tow cars - I have a Kia Sorento and my friend has a Ford Ranger. Main difference as far as towing a trailer is concerned is that the Ranger is very long, and it'll be a huge outfit to drive. The Sorento has a brilliant turning circle and drives more like a car - I love mine!
 
Thank you soooo much everyone for your help !!

I had been wondering how to check it's age !!! It is a 2004

RE OH he had his own artic and used to do contract work with container companies + I dusted off his wallet and now have faith that he can pull my prized ponies about ( they pull him about enough lol )

I keep peeping in it when ther is no one else about teehee :-)

So cash draining news the dentist came today £50 + the vet too as colty has a bad bite and needs antibiotics £65 + gave the vet £200 last Tuesday for jabs/chip/passport etc + went to a show on Sunday £40 + Gelding for the little man on the 9th £500 + Trailer £1000 = a very expensive pony few weeks I'll have spent over 2k on them this month eeeek beans for tea !!!

Thanks again everyone
 
hmm, you've said it's had a replacement aluminium floor, which doesn't make sense if it's a 2004 model as it would've had an aluminium floor from new. It's possible the wheels have been changed at some point in that case.

You should register it with Ifor Williams - there's a form on their website that you fill in, and then they emailed me back asking me to scan a copy of my receipt for them so they could verify it's all above board. If you give them a call with the serial number they'll be able to tell you the age of it. You need to know the year of manufacture really for when you're ordering spares, as there was a few changes through the years.

Sounds like you got an absolute bargain for a grand!!
 
Kallibear said:
Sounds silly but your OH may not be able to pull the trailer! It depends how old he is and therefore what license he's got. The old HGV And LGV no longer exist. He's prob got the new C+E (articulated lorry) license but if he's only got his C license (over 7.5tonnes) then he can't pull a trailer even with a car (stupid rule, I know). Worth double checking
Click to expand...

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/CaravansTrailersCommercialVehicles/DG_10013073

This is useful for anyone who is interested....
 
Perhaps the wheels have been swapped as the floor is very clearly new - when you lift the rubber it gleams !! Even if it is older I still think it is a bargain, had a hunt and I couldn't find a single other one for that price ... keep thinking someone will call to say there is a mistake !

Will contact Ifor directly this week

Thanks for the tip re the fittings and parts I guess I will also need its age re the insurance too I guess :-)
 
Apart from marking it so the public can see, also mark it well in hidey places (and take pictures of the marks in place as proof) so if the worst came to the worst you have other identifiers for it too.

Always, always, no matter how tired you are, always clean it out the same day as you use it; it's so easy to forget then when you need to use it again, you have to muck it out before you start. Not so bad with an aliminum floor but essential with a wooden one.

I've found the tie rings a bit of a faff so I have used lead rope clips that the rope is on a ring at the bottom of the clip, clipped them onto the tie ring and put my ropes through the rings; makes them run much smoother.

Enjoy your new freedom!
 
Hello we live in a rural community we are dairy farmers we tow big heavy cattle in the back of the boxes the rangers are fantastic, they are also cheep 2 run , i would not have anything else,we have a 03 and 08 plate and have had no problems with either. We hammer ours they are work vehicles

Have u seen the vids of them on youtube in the snow ours are 2.5
 
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