Ifor Williams V’s Equi-Trek

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Small65

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I currently have an Ifor Williams 505 which my parents bought 10years ago when I had ponies. I know have a 16hh warmblood and my mum has a 16.1hh thoroughbred and let’s just say it is a little snug in there. So we have decided to upgrade!

We have looked at a few lorries but the additional cost of running it, tax, mot etc just isn’t realistic so we thought we would just upgrade to the next size Ifor Williams ( I think 510)………. Until yesterday anyway! I was talking to someone that has an Equi-Trek and they were saying how fantastic they are, horses travel better and with the little bit of living it is basically a lorry without the added expenses IDEAL!!!!

I did a little research last night and basically unless you have a MASSIVE towing vehicle this is a no no.

A) Does anyone have an Equi-Trek that they tow with a discovery?
B) Do horses travel better?
C) If you had the choice which would you go for?
D) Any other points………
 
I have an Equi-Trek Star trekka and would change to an Ifor.
we have the luxury of full iving (incl toilet, fridge, cooker etc) The horses travel like a dream in it - i had 2 bad travellers, 1 ho had an accident in an Ifor and woul never go in a trailer after it and 1 mare that is a stressy traveller after travelling in an Ifor (was far too noisy for her)
they both travel like a dream in the E-t - even so, they both run into it and position themselves ready for shutting up, no need for leading either of them.

I tow mine with a land rover Defender but before i bought that i towed it with a disco and it was absolutely fine -
the discovery has a towing capacity of 3.5t which is more than adequate for towing the heaviest of E-T trailers.


E-T will loan their trailers out if you want to try towing one with/without your horses in. Give the head office a ring - they are very helpful, i cant speak highly enough of them
 
I tow my Show Trekka with a swb 2.8 turbo diesel shogun, absolutely fine for weight as I only take a 14hh pony, so can't help you with the weight thing. Trailer is fab though, tows like a dream, pony travels great, & now I've done a few stay away shows I can't imagine using anything else. Agree with poster above, some dealers have one you can try first.
 
I used to have a space-treka L and loved it. we only sold it to buy a lorry because we stay away overnight. I towed it with a discovery and Merc ML both were ok
 
We are getting the 3.5t Multitrekka to replace our Ifor Williams. There are some problems with equitreks, mainly the build quality. However,we broached that with out local dealer, and they have promised to extend the manufacturers guarentee so that any bits falling off will be repaired or replaced. It seems its more things like trim etc thatn anything structural - just the finish isn't up to a brilliant standard.

As for towing, We use a defender which is rated to tow 3.5t. We also looked into fitting our Merc ML with a tow hitch as they are also rated to 3.5t. A discovery is able to tow 3.5t as well, so you will be completely fine towing with that.
 
I always wonder about this, I've read on the net that ideally you are only supposed to tow up to 85% of your vehicles kerb weight to be safe....

Now, I've got a disco ( weighs 2185kg) and tow a HB511 ( weighs 1000kg) and a horse which weighs 675kg, so total towing weight is 1675kg.

So according to the 85% rule then the max I can tow safely is 1857kg which doesn't leave much spare.

What do the equi trek trailers weigh? and is this 85% rule correct because some trailers I've seen look huge when they have living in them!
 
mine weighs approx 1750kg unladen and max capacity of 3.5t fully ladened.
the capacity of my defender (and i checked this when i bought it) is 3.5t and i was told by the land rover dealer that it could tow up to 4.5 (i think) with an idependant braked trailer.
 
I used to have a 4* towed by a diesel disco with a 15.3 and 16.1 regularly on board, it towed like a dream and sorted out one horse's travelling problems in the first journey. No weight or power problems with the disco. The living was such a bonus, but flimsy. We now have a small Equitrek lorry which we bought unfitted and got a local coachbuilder to fit out the living, its the best transport we have ever had! Your vehicle manual will tell you the max towing weight for the vehicle.
 
Just looked up a few things as quite interested in this.

Most towing vehicles we are talking about, LR's etc can tow max 3500kg... but it would seem that this is not always safe.

If the trailer weighs more than the towing vehicle then there are two main problems, firstly you may struggle with power and progress, secondly, and more important I feel, is snaking... this can happen in windy weather, down hills and if being overtaken by larger vehicle.... this would worry me!

And having looked at the space trekka, it weighs 1850kg unladen so if you were to add two horse at say 600kg each that would come in at 3050kg, not including any tack or water.

Wouldn't want to be towing that on a breezy day!
 
Your car has to be capable of towing the max ladden weight of the trailer - otherwise you have to get the trailer downgraded.

As others have said, horses do like travelling backwards but build quality is a bit iffy.
 
[ QUOTE ]

A) Does anyone have an Equi-Trek that they tow with a discovery?
B) Do horses travel better?
C) If you had the choice which would you go for?
D) Any other points………

[/ QUOTE ]

A. I tow my Equitrek Showtreka M with a Disco3 (2.7), usually with just one horse (15.3 Arab) but occasionally with two. It copes fine. I might have reservations about towing two bigger horses, though.

B. In my experience, my horses do travel better. I used to have a Richardson, and both horses load more easily into the Equitrek and they stand much more quietly.

C. I would love an Equitrek 5* but can't afford it!

D. They're so easy to tow, and you do get loads of storage space. Earlier models had a few glitches but they've mainly been ironed out now. I've spent quite a few nights in the living and it's OK, although the bunks are pretty narrow.
 
I do like the Equi-treks, but have to admit the build quality of the IW is far superior.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I do like the Equi-treks, but have to admit the build quality of the IW is far superior.

[/ QUOTE ]

in terms of the concept of the ET it is much better- the horses i've travelled in it travel much better than they ever have in an ifor (including a nutty TB who won't entertain an IW
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)
HOWEVER! the build quality on mine has been completely sh!te
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i've had lots of superficial stuff break but also had an axle snap and also problems with leisure battery that went back to ET 4/5 times and in the end i took it to an independent place that fixed it in 5 mins- at a cost of £160. the customer service that i have received from ET has been shocking- and i have the threatening letters they wrote me to prove it
smirk.gif
but this is my own personal experience, friends have been happy with their trailers.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I always wonder about this, I've read on the net that ideally you are only supposed to tow up to 85% of your vehicles kerb weight to be safe....

Now, I've got a disco ( weighs 2185kg) and tow a HB511 ( weighs 1000kg) and a horse which weighs 675kg, so total towing weight is 1675kg.

So according to the 85% rule then the max I can tow safely is 1857kg which doesn't leave much spare.

What do the equi trek trailers weigh? and is this 85% rule correct because some trailers I've seen look huge when they have living in them!

[/ QUOTE ]

The 85% "rule" is a caravan club guideline based on an ordinary family car towing a caravan - this rule has been taken out of context over the years. Any 4x4 with a 3.5 ton towing capacity will be fine with an equitrek.
 
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