Lorries V Trailers !

C

C&C

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Just returned from taking my 3.5t lorry for its MOT this morning and guess what.....it failed! :(

After spending a serious amount of money on the damn thing last year for its MOT i, and the OH, was shocked that it did not go thru! The garage wanted a ridiculous price for doing the repair :eek: so have decided to take it off the road til after Christmas now as we can do the repair ourselves. Plus we want to do some other work to the box as well.

I love my little lorry to bits but am now contemplating selling it when its all done and getting a trailer..............gotta be the cheaper option........right :confused:
 
I had a lorry a few years ago which I loved but it cost me about £1000 to get through it's MOT which was a shock! The second MOT was just a break cable so pretty cheap.

I now have a trailer and wouldn't go back! I love it, my OH has checked it over and does anything I need done on it, much much easier and cheaper than the lorry and a lot less stressful as never know if the lorry was gona start on those cold winter days! Lol

But I guess it's what your happiest with... a car is probably cheaper to repair, she says!

Probably not much help but I much prefer trailers :)
 
If money wasn't a problem i'd chose lorry over a trailer, they are bigger so feel safer. It is a problem so I have trailer!!! Saying that, its an old equitrek & both me & my horses love it although another downside, I wouldn't carry both at same time - not because of theoretical weight limits but because of space/safety & if I needed extra 'oommpphh' to get out of a situation, in practice, my pajero might blow up :eek:
 
A trailer is fine provided you have a vehicle that can pull it. Otherwise you're in the same situation as you are with a lorry, infrequent use and expensive repairs. On the other hand if you use your towing vehicle all the time and do loads of miles you will likely get much worse mpg than using a car.

When I did the sums it was cheaper for me to buy and run a cheap 7.5 tonner and keep my economical car than it was to buy a tow car and decent trailer.
 
I think if you run a car that will pull a trailer already the trailer is loads cheaper but if you would have to buy a car and you do a lot of mileage then you need to do a careful work out of the extra fuel you will use on your day to day driving as it might be cheaper to run the lorry than have a less fuel efficient car for day to day running.
 
Other problem is storage of lorry whereas we can put trailer in a small area safe beside house lorry take up much more room.
 
if you cant see anything wrong with it take it to another test station
we had one which 1st place failed said need £100 to put right took it elsewhere and it only needed a bulb there wasnt any welding needed or the brakes overhauled which the 1st place claimed, and had all been done in the past year
they wanted to do the repairs so found extra work which wasnt there
I run a 3.t as my daily transport to and from work and to carry the horses and it costs me less to run than a small car as the insurance is a quater of the price
 
Those of us that passed our test after 1997 also have the added hassle of doing a trailer test as u can't tow on a standard lisence anymore. Can't drive over 3.5t either but that is ok for small boxes. I happen to have my c1 as I wanted to be a paramedic so did the test to drive up to 7.5t. For that reason I think I will be looking more down the box route as opposed to trailer! Plus as others have said, my car won't tow.
 
I dont do that much mileage, my workplace is only 8 miles away and the yard is 2 miles. We are planning on getting a 4x4 sometime in the New Year as we need one to tow our track car. Wont have any weight or towing issues as will prob get a Discovery TD5. I will have to take my trailer test but am not worried about that, i can tow and reverse with my eyes closed, i have to reverse park many of my mates trailers coz they cant do it ! :rolleyes:

I will be really sad to see my lorry go and i really cant make up my mind. We have spent so much money on refurbing it and its a fab little truck but i cant be doing with this expense every year when it comes to every MOT !! :(
 
Its personal preference .

I started with a trailer, it got nicked and another issue . I would never buy a trailer again.

I love driving my lorry I have jockey door open and can talk to them while I drive or have radio on.


yes lorries are expensive I should know. But you have somewhere to change ,, sit have coffee toilet etc (mine has).

More stable in wind
no risk of snaking
somewhere to sit
heat drinks
store stuff
less chance of being nicked ( tracker) etc


Have you thought of a mobile guy?? to service it. Share with some one so bills are halved or if you are prepare to have the extra license you could take people to shows and earn money to help pay for it
 
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We can do the repairs ourself, the whole point is i cant be arsed with the hassle every year! Mine is only 3.5t so doesnt have living or anything like that and im not spending £1500 for the priviledge of being able todrive anything bigger. Trailer test is pence compared and is something i need to do anyway to aid another hobby.

I wont share, too many arguments and i wouldnt trust anyone with it. Dont mind taking friends with me but i will always drive. Same if i had a trailer, would never lend it out! Call me selfish if u like but thats just the way i feel :)
 
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