Ifor Williams trailers - do they still rattle?

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As per the header, we had an Ifor 510 years ago and it was very noisy when towed. We ended up putting rubber around the ramp catches etc to reduce the nose. Are the new ones as noisy? Or any other trailers that give the horse a nice ride without lots of rattles?
 
Can't say I noticed it rattle. There normally a bit more bouncier when unladen. I have the 403 with the plastic catches and pins. Is it the jockey wheel that rattles? You can wedge it under so that it doesn't move in transit.
 
I recently took a ride in the back of a new Ifor (naughty but was round the car park with an anxious horse) and I was SHOCKED at how loud and rattley all the panels were in motion! For the price of them I would expect much quieter ride!
 
ApolloStorm said:
I recently took a ride in the back of a new Ifor (naughty but was round the car park with an anxious horse) and I was SHOCKED at how loud and rattley all the panels were in motion! For the price of them I would expect much quieter ride!
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AppolloStorm thanks, much as I expected. Makes me wonder why trailer manufacturers get away with this. It seems that the rattles and bangs are a common occurrence. Lorries don’t seem to have the same noisy problems.
 
I bought my IW new in 2016 and the only thing that has rattled is the top doors when fixed open and the metal ring that the haynet is tied to. I put vet wrap around the metal ring and cut 1/2" lengths of pipe insulation and put them on the posts that the top doors are fixed to and no more rattles (I only had to put the tape and insulation on once, they have lasted 8yrs so far). It still looks like new and hasn't developed any more noises.

Fixed components shouldn't rattle but I'm not sure the manufacturers could avoid things like chains and tie rings making a noise. Older IWs I've used have definitely been noisy, but it always seems to be things that are designed to move or haven't been fastened properly by the owner; I've never used one that had noise coming from the panels or chassis (admittedly I've only used 5 or 6 so small sample size). Trailers are closer to the ground and have poorer suspension (and usually smaller tyres) than lorries so will always be more prone to noise than lorries.

When I had mine serviced last year I was offered more for it than I paid for it new. The dealership sells a variety of brands both new and second hand and according to them the IW trailers hold their value very well and are less likely to need large parts replaced after a few years than other makes (particularly Equitrek ramps and panels).
 
SilverLinings said:
I bought my IW new in 2016 and the only thing that has rattled is the top doors when fixed open and the metal ring that the haynet is tied to. I put vet wrap around the metal ring and cut 1/2" lengths of pipe insulation and put them on the posts that the top doors are fixed to and no more rattles (I only had to put the tape and insulation on once, they have lasted 8yrs so far). It still looks like new and hasn't developed any more noises.

Fixed components shouldn't rattle but I'm not sure the manufacturers could avoid things like chains and tie rings making a noise. Older IWs I've used have definitely been noisy, but it always seems to be things that are designed to move or haven't been fastened properly by the owner; I've never used one that had noise coming from the panels or chassis (admittedly I've only used 5 or 6 so small sample size). Trailers are closer to the ground and have poorer suspension (and usually smaller tyres) than lorries so will always be more prone to noise than lorries.

When I had mine serviced last year I was offered more for it than I paid for it new. The dealership sells a variety of brands both new and second hand and according to them the IW trailers hold their value very well and are less likely to need large parts replaced after a few years than other makes (particularly Equitrek ramps and panels).
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Thanks SilverLinings, always good to get other opinions. You are right about the low to the ground and smaller tyres. My OH is not a fan of indispension, the rubber used doesn’t absorb the shock sufficiently according to his mechanical mind and experience.
 
The cheval liberte trailers are much quieter! Obviously biased as I have one 😂 But they are very quiet and the sales guy we got it from said that a lot of people are coming away from ifors to these because of the rattle…nothing is silent of course but the cheval trailers have super suspension and give a fab ride! Definitely check them out, the new XL tourer takes up to 17.2. We have a smaller regular tourer and I love it, the tack room is so handy!
 
I had my trailer serviced yesterday by a new to me mobile trailer man and he adjusted various bits of my trailer and it no longer rattles or makes any noises at all. So maybe ask when you trailer is serviced about any rattles?
 
I think that all trailers have rattles of some sort.

As a child I travelled a lot in the back of a cattle wagon with the ponies and they were really rattly.
 
Bobthecob15 said:
The cheval liberte trailers are much quieter! Obviously biased as I have one 😂 But they are very quiet and the sales guy we got it from said that a lot of people are coming away from ifors to these because of the rattle…nothing is silent of course but the cheval trailers have super suspension and give a fab ride! Definitely check them out, the new XL tourer takes up to 17.2. We have a smaller regular tourer and I love it, the tack room is so handy!
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My OH doesn’t like the build quality of the Cheval trailers, but they have probably improved somewhat from when he last looked at one. Whereabouts in the country are you? Again the nearest dealership is about 2 hours away.
 
I have had a HB506 which was rattly, a Bockmann which was pretty near on silent & my HBX511 is pretty quiet bar an odd rattle - nothing that bothers my sensitive lad anyway! Agree my friends cheval is nice & tows well but the build quality for me is lacking and I'm not fond of all the plastic, same as the equitreks, but that's my opinion.
 
I have a cheval liberte now but have previously always travelled my horse in ifor's. Cheval even with no horse is so quiet (and we have a lot of bumpy roads around us), believe it is due to the fact it has suspension similar to a car making it a smoother ride overall for the horses. Can't comment on build quality of the older ones but I was really impressed with the build quality of the new ones (mine is 2021).
 
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