Lorry advice needed

[dressage_diva]

I'm hoping to shortly purchase my first ever lorry (never had any form of transport before)....but I know very little about all of this, so need your advice!

Don't mind what weight the box is as my OH's going to take his HGV licence (doing a special horsebox training course) and my parents meanwhile can both drive up to 7.5tonnes and have also offered to drive the box for me. So a 3.5-7.5tonne lorry would be great, but we'd consider HGV as well as my OH will be able to drive that shortly.

Budget: £15k (+VAT - ideally want to get it before the new year!)

Only requirements is that there is a small living area and that the stalls are sideways (my horse hates travelling backwards but is always perfect travelling sideways). Ideally it needs to be able to carry 2 decent-sized horses - I currently have a 15.1hh but see this lorry as a long-term investment and am looking at having another horse (16.1-16.3hh) in the near future.

Can anyone tell me what brands/makes to avoid? What to look for when buying a lorry? Where's a good place to buy one (e.g. commercial sellers)?

As I said, I'm looking for a long-term investment (if that means stretching my budget a little bit to maybe £20k, that's understandable). I would rather something relatively new because I'm hoping that will last longer. Does anything like this exist? I've had a look around online but all the commercial sellers seem to sell much larger boxes and all the private sellers seem to sell older boxes!

 

[tiger_feet]

Just make sure that you have sufficient unladen weight available to carry two horses and all their tack and equipment. VOSA are cracking down on over-weight lorries and as it's a long term investment you need to get this right at the start.

There are lots of horseboxes out there but you'll pay a premium if buying from a commercial seller. I bought a lovely T reg MAN horsebox this year which I'm delighted with and I paid under what your initial budget is. I've had a Merc, DAF and MAN lorries and much prefer the MAN to drive. Make sure that you get it all checked over by a reputable company who know about horseboxes as it's important that the horse area is safe as well as the chassis being reliable.

 

[dressage_diva]

Just make sure that you have sufficient unladen weight available to carry two horses and all their tack and equipment. VOSA are cracking down on over-weight lorries and as it's a long term investment you need to get this right at the start.

Thanks, I thought if my OH had his HGV licence weight wouldn't really be a problem?

There are lots of horseboxes out there but you'll pay a premium if buying from a commercial seller. I bought a lovely T reg MAN horsebox this year which I'm delighted with and I paid under what your initial budget is. I've had a Merc, DAF and MAN lorries and much prefer the MAN to drive. Make sure that you get it all checked over by a reputable company who know about horseboxes as it's important that the horse area is safe as well as the chassis being reliable.

Thanks - would definitely get someone to check it for me (how do you find such a mechanic?) and good to know that it is possible to get a lorry for my budget. Thanks

 

[humblepie]

Echo getting the weight checked and the lorry looked at by someone you trust and that it has a tilt cab (unless it is a smaller lorry where the engine is accessed through the normal bonnet).

I used to have a 5 tonne lorry which had a good weight, easily carried a 15'3 and a 16'2 sideways but only had a groom's/tack area with a bench seat etc (which I could sleep in as I didn't mind "roughing" it). That was cheap on fuel and easy to drive. I used to find quite a lot of people asking about it as it was quite unusual to have a "smallish" lorry which carried the horses sideways.

You will get lots of different answers on type I expect from people who have their own preferences.

Have fun looking.

 

[tiger_feet]

Thanks, I thought if my OH had his HGV licence weight wouldn't really be a problem?


Thanks - would definitely get someone to check it for me (how do you find such a mechanic?) and good to know that it is possible to get a lorry for my budget. Thanks

If you buy a 7.5t then it doesn't matter if you have an HGV license - you still have to be under 7.5t with all horses, tack, dogs and people. If you buy an HGV over 7.5t then you still have to be within weight - it all depends on what the HGV's gross vehicle weight is.

I've used www.ohto.co.uk to check out a horsebox that I was wanting to buy - the not only look at the mechanics of it all they check out the safety of the horse box itself. Well worth spending the money.

 

[MiaBella]

Thanks, I thought if my OH had his HGV licence weight wouldn't really be a problem?

Yes it would. A lorry can only carry what its registered to carry, so if its weight limitation is 7.5 tonne, then anything over will be breaking the law (if pulled over by VOSA you will not be allowed to continue until you are under the weight limit, which may mean calling someone else to take a horse/gear/stuff seperately for you). Just because its stalled for 3/4/5 horses does not mean it can carry that amount legally.

Some are also have weight limits according to axle.

 

[figbat]

Think carefully before going for an HGV too - if you only have one person at your disposal to drive it then this can cause issues if, for example, they are unavailable, get sick, disappear etc or if you want to travel a long way you can't share the driving.

I'd go for a good 7.5T - £15k ought to get you something reasonable that would carry 2 horses easily. Don't forget to think about where you will park this thing when not in use too - they take up a bit more room than even the largest family car!

 

[dressage_diva]

Thanks everyone for the advice regarding weight - I'd presumed that a 7.5tonne lorry stalled for two would definitely be no-where near the maximum laden weight, but will make sure I get it checked on a weighbridge etc. Thanks for the link to OHTO too.

Think carefully before going for an HGV too - if you only have one person at your disposal to drive it then this can cause issues if, for example, they are unavailable, get sick, disappear etc or if you want to travel a long way you can't share the driving.

Thanks, the problem is that I wouldn't legally be able to drive anything more than 3.5t anyways (passed my licence too late) and we can't afford for both of us to take the test at the moment, so we would only have one driver at the moment (unless it's under 7.5t in which case either of my parents could drive it). We would only be travelling short distances and I do know of a couple of other people with HGV licences I could call on if an emergancy.

I'd go for a good 7.5T - £15k ought to get you something reasonable that would carry 2 horses easily. Don't forget to think about where you will park this thing when not in use too - they take up a bit more room than even the largest family car!

Hehe, thanks - luckily there's loads of space at my yard for a lorry, so that wouldn't be a problem!

 

[tiger_feet]

Thanks everyone for the advice regarding weight - I'd presumed that a 7.5tonne lorry stalled for two would definitely be no-where near the maximum laden weight, but will make sure I get it checked on a weighbridge etc. Thanks for the link to OHTO too.

Definately get a weighbridge certificate - don't take someone's word of the weight of the vehicle. I know someone who bought a lorry that is stalled for 3 horses but had an unladen weight of 6.5t - so if you take a large horse could weigh around the 600kg mark there's no way that it could carry two legally.