Increasing Payload of 7.5t Horsebox

[woody1221]

Hi All,

I have a 7.5t with a low payload of just over 1t and I am looking at ways to increase the payload, it has a full living with heating, boiler, shower, toilet etc. Has anybody successfully increased the payload by around 500kg without ripping out all of the nice living features? I am thinking of replacing the rubber matting on the ramp with carpet as I think this could save about 100kg, but not sure where to go next?

Getting it uprated is also not an option as I have explored this with a reputable uprating specialist and it can't be done.

I'd like to try and get it to around 1500kg if possible.

Thanks

 

[humblepie]

No suggestions I am afraid but just in case you don't know (you probably do, in which case apologies) you have to make sure that neither the front or back axle are overweight not just the overall weight. That I am afraid is the end of my knowledge on it. I am sure others will be far more knowledgeable.

 

[milliepops]

decent ramp carpet is fairly heavy btw as it has a rubberised backing.
unless you have massively heavy rubber on the ramp i would think it unlikely to make a big difference other than becoming more annoying to sweep

 

[Leandy]

I'd speak to a good horsebox specialist. Certainly at least one has told me it is relatively easy to "put a [lorry] on a diet", especially older models, but it will depend on what sort of fittings etc yours has. Certainly taking out solid wood items such as panelling, doors, cupboard doors etc and replacing with lighter weight more modern materials may be effective. Does it have a generator, water tanks for shower etc? These are heavy and you may be able to remove or replace. Partitions also may be replacable with lighter ones. What is the floor? If heavy wooden, replacing with ally planks may help.

 

[jenni999]

I did just this with my MAN 7.5t. I had 1.5t but I needed 1.8t. I got the rubber matting replaced in the horse area (the original mats weighed 144kg when they took them out!), changed the partitions from solid to half rubber and replaced the wood behind the stockboard walls. All done by the coachbuilder I bought from so I know it's been done properly (they originally said I had 1.8t hence it going back to them). I also took the old fridge out and they converted that to a cupboard (I never used it anyway). Got me an extra 300kg Carpet on the ramp is a good shout. Rubber one piece on the ramp is very, very heavy.

 

[ycbm]

If you have a marine ply ramp, you can junk all the ramp coverings and use non-slip yacht deck paint (or throw sand in heavy duty floor paint) with aluminium bars screwed to it.

 

[EventingMum]

Kraiburg (sp?) type rubber on the ramps is extremely heavy so you might save a bit there using carpet. Often domestic kitchen units are used and they are also heavy, caravan type units are much lighter or what we did was cut out a big piece of the side panel where two cupboards joined each other so there was only one solid end panel. Check what thickness any worktops are, when we did ours we opted for the thinnest we could get. Also, check what the seat bases are made of, sometimes very heavy timber is used where lighter plywood would be fine. Replace heavy curtains with blinds. Go through lockers etc and remove non-essential items you have gathered.

 

[woody1221]

Thanks all, sounds like the ramp is a good place to start as it’s a solid one piece of rubber with top hats built in so I suspect very heavy. The horse area floor looks like it is a thick phenolic ply with a plastic non skid on top so will get a quote on an aluminium floor with some lightweight rubber matting. The cupboards in the living look like domestic chipboard types so I suspect there is some weight to save there by putting in some lightweight caravan type cupboards.
Will take it JSW in NorthAllerton and see what they reckon could be done and for how many £££s