Ifor williams trailers (and opinions on other makes)

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AutumnRose

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I'm in the process of buying a trailer at the moment and just doing a bit of research on new trailer prices and unladen weights etc etc.

Just been on Ifor Williams website and they have a new range out, can't find any info on the 505 anywhere. I'm guessing they have stopped making them but does this mean you can't get them new anywhere now? that sounds dumb, i realise if they've stopped making them new ones will run out but what i mean is has anyone seen any new ones advertised anywhere?
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I'm quite enjoying trailer shopping, i think the Bates Ascot is my favourite so far
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Opinions on peoples favourite welcome
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I think the new IW is a 506. Saw one at Badminton earlier this year, and it looked very smart. I've borrowed my friends IW505 and it was a lovely trailer to tow. I think the more modern ones with an aluminium floor are better and hold their price.

I've hired a Richardson Advance Supreme and that's a lovely trailer. Very sturdy, easy to tow and very stable on the road. I think they're a bit more expensive that IW but worth a look.

Good luck.
 
Be very very careful about the fibreglass trailers - my close friend was involved in a horrific accident last week on the M4. A van driver fell asleep and ran into the back of her Rice fibre glass trailer. Her horse came down on the breast bar and ripped it out - he was then thrown into the front of the trailer and came out the front. He passed the defender that she was towing with and galloped 2 miles down the fast lane of the M4. The horse was cross tied but the force of the impact broke the lead ropes. The car and trailer are a write off. The horse has stitches all over it - but it has survived.

I had a horse write off a metal richardson trailer when the breast bar gave way and ripped a 3 ft hole in the side of teh trailer.


I have another friend who wrote of a Bateson Deauville which just sort of fell apart over a couple of years with her bad traveller. We discovered her bad traveller was perfectly fine in my IW510R

I am now a total Ifor Williams fan. I would not buy any other make of trailer. They are solid, yes they are not as futuristic as some but they are far far safer in the event of an unforseen accident. And unfortunately I have seen far to many of those.
 
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I loved my bateson ascot bit more expensive than an ifor but worth it
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i really like the look of it, and there isnt a huge difference in price. I like the idea of the tack area and they just seem more spacious
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Also liking the 506 IWs though, they seem to be the new version of the 505. The right hand front ramp puts me off the older 505s but you can have a left ramp put on the new ones
 
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I don't like ifors because of the front unload ramp being on the right, stupid if you have to unload in an emergency on the road and can be difficult to get bigguns out. [ QUOTE ]


Agree with this, woud def get a left hand one put on if i got a 506
 
I have the new 511. It looks great, but so far the cover strips have fallen down and need replacing ( a friend who bought a 511 at the same time has had hers replaced twice) and they have had a safety recall re the central partition. Think the old 505 and 510 are better built!!!
 
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I have the new 511. It looks great, but so far the cover strips have fallen down and need replacing ( a friend who bought a 511 at the same time has had hers replaced twice) and they have had a safety recall re the central partition. Think the old 505 and 510 are better built!!!

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I have a 510 which is 4 years old and I have to agree it is in better condition than a couple of the newer models I have seen. I agree with the ramp at the front problem, but tbh how often do you have to unload on the road?
 
I don't buy the ramp side argument either in terms of unloading onto road.
a) I am pretty sure it is illegal to unload your horse onto a public highway, not to mention very dangerous. The only time you would do this is in a dire emergency, in which case rear unload is always an option.
b) what happens if you are in that dire emergency and find yourself on a narrow country lane with hedge/wall/banks on your left .... oh yes, no room to get ramp down so you have to back them out anyway!

The only benefit to a left ramp I can see is that when travelling a biggun in a 505, is that unloading on the right is quite tight for a big horse
 
Hmmmm good points, thanks guys. that is worrying about the new IWs, something to look into. Have to say i really am liking the bateson ascots....annoying they only come in white. Oh dear, getting too picky now i think!!
 
I've just sold my Bateson Derby (rear unload only - fine for travelling just one small horse) as I've been put off trailers for life, but I did love my trailer and had no complaints about it.

Re Ifor Williams I don't trust them at all as my last horse (before Genie) was killed in an accident in one. 2 year old IW 510 (not mine) came detached (yes, it was hitched correctly and had been service, we don't and won't know how) and went across three lanes of motorway and hit the central reservation. Mazzie (on page 14 of the 'in memory' picture gallery) was thrown over the back ramp and broke her back on impact. Somehow no cars were involved. I'm not the best person to ask about trailers really... However I do acknowledge that IW make good trailers that are safe and reliable, as do Bateson. Have had no experience with Rice trailers.
 
If you want a 505 rather than a 506, it would be worth calling your local IW dealer, there is bound to be some old model 'new' stock sitting around.
FWIW I think most makes of trailer are pretty good, only one I wouldn't travel my horse in is a wessex. IW505 are certainly a bit more agricultural than some but I have always found them to be tough, sound trailers that are cheap and easy to repair when needed and hold their resale value well.
 
I have just bought a 5 year old IW510 as my first trailer and I love it. The horses seem happy in it - a 17.hh and a 16hh - they travel happily together and my discovery will pull them both with no probs. The idea of having the front unload on the right is so the groom's door is on the left so you can check on the horses if necessary without going roadside.
I looked at lots of different trailers too - I like the Bateson Deauville as my instructor has one, they are very light and airy and they have good suspension but I needed the extra space the 510 gave.
I also liked the look of the Ricardson Ultra Supreme as that had he room I needed but I couldn't find one in my price range (they don't seem to come up for sale that often).
Good luck but as I said before, I love my IW and the fact they seem the sturdiest if the worst should happen.
 
fihunt, i'm so sorry to hear that. I think that is my absolute worst fear when i think about towing.

I think i am still airing on tha side of the bateson ascot but i'm going to go and look at a couple.

ben_and_jerrys why do you not like wessex trailers? Someone on my yard has one and seem nice to me? Maybe something i dont know?
 
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I don't like ifors because of the front unload ramp being on the right, stupid if you have to unload in an emergency on the road and can be difficult to get bigguns out.


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There's an option now so you can have the ramp on the other side like this

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i have owned over many years, ifors/rice/bateson....

fancied an Equitrek once...





always lured to a decent Rice/Richardson.
 
I've recently done a little project looking at trailers as I've got an ancient IW505 and the wood in both ramps will soon need replacing.

What I've discovered from word of mouth etc is that

Anyone who has a Sinclair says they wouldn't swap it for the world. The ones that are square at the front especially as there's more room for tying up/ storage. Suspension is great as all nervous horses seem to travel well in them. Don't think Sinclairs are made any more

Bateson Ascot/Deauville. Quite a few of my friends have these and again, they've got very good suspension and give a smooth ride. But, one friends horses' kicked her way out of it with ease, and another friend's wheels sheared off twice when the ball hitch on the car was set too high.
Maybe this would happen with all trailers? I don't know? But I was with said friend on the M3 when the wheel sheared off the first time and it rather put me off those trailers!

Just spoken to an IW dealer about repairing or replacing my current trailer. He said that the IW's that were made a few years before mine were, in his opinion were of the best quality and had a long shelf life.

Current ones he thinks are tinny, cheaply made and not well thought out.
He advised to mend my trailer rather than upgrade to newer as I'd be disappointed.

I wish my 505 had a bit more standing room at the front as with 2 large ponies in, there's not much room for me to tie them up and it's a bit awkward, but it is the smaller model so what can I expect?

One friends' IW510 got hit side on in the tow hitch area which rolled the car and the trailer. Trailer not too badly damaged and neither were the horses.

Same with friend who tipped her massive Rice trailer over with 2 ponies in it. Fire Brigade righted it and ponies walked out unscathed.

Guess it's a bit of luck as to whether horse /trailer is injured in a crash??

Personally though, if money were no object I'd like a Pegasus 2 horse with living as you have the choice of added extras and personalisation. Friend has one of those - it's massive, but great for taking 2 horses and sheltering 8 soggy people in the rain!!
 
Thanks for that madhossy, very interesting!! very scary story about the Bateson, tbh if i could afford it i'd have a box not a trailer because these stories of towing terrify me. Having said that i know people do it all the time with no probs at all so all i can do is get the best trailer i can and hope i never have such awful luck.
I have heard good and bad outcome stories for most types of trailer. I wonder if there's somewhere you can look at their safety records and compare?

The thig that puts me off rice is that new they are expensive and the older ones u have seen for sale seem very heavy. I have a 4x4 that ca pull a v good weight and will mostly only have one horse in but i would prefer to have a leighter weight on back as possible. They are one of the smartest to look at though.....so many things to think about!!
 
Take a look at Bockmann trailers. They are more expensive than IW's but they are built to a very high standard. They are available in the UK.

You see a lot of them in Germany and Holland and these guys really know about travelling with horses. We saw them at this years HOY's. They are fab if you can afford them. The onewe saw was about £6,000 but the lady said they make ones for £4,500'ish as well.
 
Another fan of the IW505 here. Mine is 18 months old, and earlier this year I considered upgrading to the new model. In spite of the £1500 it would have earnt him, my local dealer said to me, 'I wouldnt'. He explained that Ifor's manufacturing costs have stayed the same for the past 8-10 years or so; now they have suddenly realised that prices of everything have gone up, they've rocketed the sale tag of the 506/511....but at the expense of the materials. Apparently the aluminium they are using on the newer models is of a lower grade, because they are trying to up the profits and lower the cost of manufacture.

It might all be bollox, but I do trust my IW dealer - he said he wished they would still make the 505/510, as at least then people would have a choice! He reckons that in 10 years time, 2008 IW505s will be selling for more than 2008 IW506s
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Take a look at Bockmann trailers. They are more expensive than IW's but they are built to a very high standard. They are available in the UK.

You see a lot of them in Germany and Holland and these guys really know about travelling with horses. We saw them at this years HOY's. They are fab if you can afford them. The onewe saw was about £6,000 but the lady said they make ones for £4,500'ish as well.

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Bockmanns are sensational quality but expensive. When the pound was high against the euro they were just expensive, with the current exchange rate they are bonkers.

We bought a 510 rather than a 511 on the basis that they are the same underneath, but we felt there might be teething problems with the 511. Apparently this has been the case, but our 510 is not as well made as our 4 yo 505. Still fundamentally solid but a few rough edges.
 
I've spoken to 2 IW dealers in the last 6 months, and both told me that the oldest IW models (20yrs or older) are the best, and if you have one, to hang on to them. The new versions look lovely but are too lightweight in their opinion with news of horses panicking and smashing their way out of them quite easily.

My IW is about 15yrs old and I'm fed up with it because it leaks, but after what dealers said, I'm repairing it. We're putting a new back ramp in it this weekend, another floor on top of the existing one which was replaced 5yrs ago, so now will be double thickness and are going to seal the roof. It won't look pretty but it'll do the job.

Hopefully after this I won't have to lay a tarpaulin inside to catch all the drips from now on !!
 
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