Lorry advertisements

M

mushroom

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 August 2010
Messages
333
Visit site
I've never bought a lorry before and am looking for something solid but small to carry just my own horse weighing max 600 kg (569 kg on weighbridge).

The prices seem to vary enormously, and some seem too good to be true like the following in italics which I have copied but not the picture as I might be breaking rules in doing so. It is 53 registration, looks totally immaculate and is only £4,000 for a quick sale:

Stalled for:
2
Total Length:
17.2 h Horses fit easily!
Features:
Backward Facing, Horse Area Camera, Living, Luton, Seat Belts, Side Ramp, Tack Locker
Unladen Weight:
2250kg

I know that there must be something wrong with the above lorry for it to be so cheap but have no idea what it could be. There are a few out there like this one when most of the older shabbier lorries are way more expensive!

ETA: I've just seen that the lorry in the photograph has a 57 plate whereas the advert says 53
 
Last edited:
I would say this is a scam, I replied to one similar last year, it was a sob story of a woman whose husband had died and it was no longer needed.
Sadly you would not get a 57 plate with cameras etc for that price.
Be careful there are dodgy people out there. If you email them they have no phone number.
 
Here's another at £4,000. This doesn't give the licence plate but is immaculate.

Luton, Side Ramp
Unladen Weight 2200
Mileage:
51000
Height in Horse Area 7`9"

There are lots of them and all on a well known website reduced for a quick sale.
 
I can guarantee those listed above are scams. Horsemart & horse quest are absolutely awash with them at the moment.
You cannot get an immaculate, 3.5 ton for £4000. Not a chance.

The story is usually the same, they need a quick sale because of a death/divorce/moving abroad.
They will ask you to pay the money into a 'holding account' & will promise to get the Horsebox delivered to you, claiming that only if you are happy with the Horsebox will the funds be released to them.
Obviously what happens is you pay the money & never receive a Horsebox or hear from the seller again. You have lost your money & there is no way if getting it back.
 
Thank you glamourpuss. There are an amazing number of seemingly affordable lorries out there - it's a minefield :(
 
Do not hand over a penny wihtout seeing the horsebox in person, and checking you're hapoy with the log book, and everything seems genuine.
If you're still worried, walk away.
 
By all means contact the seller....but just be aware of scams.
1) Do not transfer ANY money directly into any bank account (well until you have the vehicle & a receipt of sale)
2) Do not pay ANYTHING for a Horsebox until you have been able to view it. IMO this viewing should include being looked over by a mechanic you trust & the ability to see all paperwork so you can be sure the vehicle isn't stolen.
3) Get a check done to see if there is any outstanding finance on the vehicle.
This is the very least you should do, I'm sure others will think of more :)
 
Make sure you see a weighbridge ticket for the lorry. VOSA are targeting overweight 3.5 ton lorries, they told me so. A lot out there are overweight without a horse in them.
 
I am also looking for exactly the same as the original poster. And contacted a couple of people advertising good lorries cheap. The responses i got were almost identical, someone had died, quick sale needed, ebay link would be sent so i could pay as they had been given fake notes before and lorry delivered. All fairly obviously scams or so i thought.

What i am finding hard is that everything is either cheap, a scam and or not light enough/reliable or way way over budget....and i would have thought that with a 10-12k budget i would be able to find something that matched my needs. Its harder than it seems
 
Scams abound! But 7.5tonners offer way better value...I think you would be able to cover the cost of lessons and test in the first year...and you get a far more useful wagon.
 
Definitely scam! I contacted one I thought was a reasonable price £14k for 3.5t and was told horsebox is in Belgium, not Brighton as advertised, and I would need to pay money into a holding account to prove I was serious. Reported the ad and it was pulled!

I'm now going to go with someone reputable who makes horseboxes, it will cost me a bit more but saves the hassle of checking, double checking any potential dodgy sellers!
 
This definitely sounds like a scam. You'd be lucky to get anything decent for under about £8k in my opinion.

People love to slag off the small boxes on here, but as long as you know their limits they suit a lot of people's needs very well if you only travel ponies or 1 horse.

Make sure you get one that was made by a reputable company, especially if you go for the van conversion type. There are lots of cowboy jobs on eBay that have no reinforcement between the horse area and the cab!

Advantages: cheap to tax, insure and run. Like driving a car. Rarely get stuck on muddy showgrounds. Horses travel very well in them. No extra test required. Easy to park and don't take up much more room than a trailer. Only need an MOT not plating.

Disadvantages: the weight capacity. Remember, the more extras you have in them the less horse you can carry! I'd be very doubtful that any of them could legally carry 2 reasonable sized equines.

It's horses for courses and they don't suit everyone but I've had mine for 5 years and I love it!
 
lauraandjack said:
People love to slag off the small boxes on here, but as long as you know their limits they suit a lot of people's needs very well if you only travel ponies or 1 horse.

Make sure you get one that was made by a reputable company, especially if you go for the van conversion type. There are lots of cowboy jobs on eBay that have no reinforcement between the horse area and the cab!

Advantages: cheap to tax, insure and run. Like driving a car. Rarely get stuck on muddy showgrounds. Horses travel very well in them. No extra test required. Easy to park and don't take up much more room than a trailer. Only need an MOT not plating.

Disadvantages: the weight capacity. Remember, the more extras you have in them the less horse you can carry! I'd be very doubtful that any of them could legally carry 2 reasonable sized equines.

It's horses for courses and they don't suit everyone but I've had mine for 5 years and I love it!
Click to expand...

"People love to slag off small boxes on here" - I'm not sure what you mean by this? I am looking for a small box which can carry a 600 kg horse plus tack, water etc.

Are you referring to the "white van" lookalike conversions? I'll consider anything so long as it is safe and powerful enough for the weight it has to carry. However they never do look hefty enough (flooring/brakes etc) to carry more than a pony. Please correct me if I am wrong :)
 
Mushroom, I meant that there are always lots of negative threads and comments about 3.5t boxes on here! Some people just seem hell bent on slating them!

I have a Vauxhall Movano van conversion type which I use at least weekly to transport my 525kg 15.2 section D. It's a professional conversion with a reinforced floor and safety cage around the horse. It's definitely robust enough to take all but the worst hooligan and I have travelled much bigger horses in it than mine with plenty of room to spare - it's like the Tardis inside!

Just beware to eBay special cowboy conversion that only has stock boarding between the horse's backside and the back of your head!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top