Lorry ULW....... owners have no idea!

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Toby_Zaphod

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As you will be aware I'm trying to get a decent lorry...my god there's loads of junk out there
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Anyway I saw an advert, sounded & looked a lovely box. I thought with all it had fitted to it it would be a fairly heavy ulw. It was advertised as stalled for 3 & with another stall could carry 4 ponies.

I emailed & had a reply......... it's ULW was 6.7 tons repeat 6.7 tons leaving only 800kg payload This seller has been driving around massively overloaded for years
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No wonder the Police are pulling over horseboxes!!!

I don't think I could carry 1 horse, tack, fuel me driving, wife (she's slim) & daughter rider (also slim) & stay within weight
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DO THEY NOT KNOW THE DANGERS .... this box was £26,000!!
Basically it was a motorhome, not a horsebox
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It's scary isn't it!! You have to be soo careful, I've stopped filling up the water tank if I'm taking two out. Not sure if the following would be of use to you. I don't know the box, just saw it advertised on the local hunt market place. Good luck with your search and I hope you find something decent

Ford IvecoP Reg, 3 years new, non HGVPlated March 09 and Taxed Feb 09Two immobilizers2 Horses or three Ponies, rear ramp.Day living with cooker and sinkFantastically reliable, perfect ladies hunting/PC lorry.Genuine reason for selling.£11,000 onoTel: 01858 525 133 or 07710 582121
 
Whoops ....sorry HHO just realised this could be deemed as advertising, that wasn't my intention just trying to help someone out. Please excuse my ignorance I'm new to the forum!!
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so your quest to find the right lorry is still proving fruitless. oh dear im sorry. The right lorry will probably come up for sale just after HOYS, and if in the meantime i hear of anything suitable i will let you know.
 
Hi. Nope, still having not a lot of joy
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I travelled 330 miles round trip at the weekend to see a lorry.....I asked loads of questions before I went so as not to waste my time. When I got there I was on the yard for about 3 minutes
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It was a skip on wheels, & this place was a so called respectable dealership who advertise extensively on the various sites.
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There's a guy I'm going to chat to at the weekend & I think he'll be able to help....... I am really losing the will to live!!!
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I estimate that 80% of lorries at any event are over weight and have been since the fashion for having living grew. It is simply not possible to carry 3 horses and all the kit in a lorry with living and stay below 7.5 tons. If it is so dangerous why have there not been loads of accidents reported? As long as the lorry is well maintained it is perfectly safe, good tyres and brakes are more important than weight. It is not a safety issue, it is a way of raising revenue in fines, as with speed cameras in areas where safety has never been an issue.
How many people have actually been stopped and weighed or prosecuted?
Anyone who wants to move 2 or 3 horses in a nice box really does need an HGV.
 
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As long as the lorry is well maintained it is perfectly safe, good tyres and brakes are more important than weight. It is not a safety issue, it is a way of raising revenue in fines

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What a load of bunkum!!
So a lorry that is built to travel along at 7.5 ton & has the brakes, steering & suspension for that weight is perfectly safe to drive when it is way over weight?..... Sorry, what cloud did you just fly in on?
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The lorry I posted about, with 3 horses on would be at least 1.5 tons over weight! & that's safe????
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Yes if its 7.5 tons thats what you should be, your insurance is invalild if overweight for a start and yes you can have a lorry which will carry 3 horses and have nice living quarters its just most of the so called horsebox builders are crap and or use the wrong materials & have little knowledge of enginering
Ie non tilting cabs so even simple repairs are hard work and bigger ones cost a fortune to fix ... a 7.5 ton chassis cab weighs about 3.5 to 4 tons so a properly built body should leave you with at least a 2 ton payload....
 
what always gets me is you havr these people who are prepared to pay silly amounts of money to cart there horse about on a weekend to unaffliated stuff and are willing to risk loss of there licence for it.

would it not be better to use a grand of that small frotune set aside for a truck and do the the rigid truck test giving you a licence of up to 18t(iirc)

that way you will probably have a much larger choice of vehicles to chosse from as eveyrone wants 7.5t ones
 
There are also a lot of 3.5 ton lorries that are over weight with 2 horses on and how many times do you see a trailer being illegally towed by a car that just isn't heavy or powerful enough.
 
i have a fabulous MAN 7.5T.......


it is often the topic of dsbelief when we mention that he has a 3.2T Payload.....
 
whats the problem with using a tacho?

4 1/2 hours driving and you have to a take a 45min break. You cant drive more than 9 hours or 10 hours twice a week.

for the average recreational driver this is hardly a major issue is it?

As for resale value? surely that fact means it will be cheaper in the first place to buy?
 
I'm also looking, so feel your pain Toby
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But I'm after a box without living pref 10t or over (so an HGV
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) but it seems everything has a fitted kitchen !!

Would have a livestock box, but all those I've seen so far in my budget range have been a bit "well used" and basic.
 
Alex, if you are after one without living then have a look at Tristar. They do a great range of boxes without living & as they're aluminium they are pretty light.
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How many people have actually been stopped and weighed or prosecuted?


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I have been, well stopped and weighed, luckily the lorry was underweight as we only had 2 horses in a 3 horse box. There was a spare 350kg. They also checked the horses passports.

I live near a VOSA weigh station and it is always busy with them pulling lorries in. They even drive down the M4 and make lorries follow them off the motorway and to the weigh station. We've been caught there twice, the first time they did a full MOT on the lorry to check it was roadworthy.
 
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Alex, if you are after one without living then have a look at Tristar. They do a great range of boxes without living & as they're aluminium they are pretty light.
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Agreed.

Mine's a Tristar!!!!
 
Useful stuff - I have a lightweight but ancient 7.5 tonne lorry (she's 30 now!) and was wondering where to get another one when the time comes - now I know. Thank you!
 
FYI if you ask to see the brake test sheet that you get when you have a lorry tested it has the measured axle weights on it and will give you guide to how much they will carry... the other thing thats important to consider is the axle loadings some lorrys are tail heavy beause the wheel base is too short(back wheels to far forward) and an as a result most of the horse area is behind the back axle, this seems to be a problem with some converted box vans as there designed to carry a even load and not just all at the back like a horse box ,
 
Hmmmm...this is the reason I went for a 4.5t lorry instead of 3.5t - I didn't have room to park a 7.5t but i was worried about the weight on a 3.5t box as most of them seem to be overweight with two horses in.
So many people advertise 3.5t lorries as 'carries 2 large horses' when they would be hugely overweight
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FYI if you ask to see the brake test sheet that you get when you have a lorry tested it has the measured axle weights on it and will give you guide to how much they will carry... the other thing thats important to consider is the axle loadings some lorrys are tail heavy beause the wheel base is too short(back wheels to far forward) and an as a result most of the horse area is behind the back axle, this seems to be a problem with some converted box vans as there designed to carry a even load and not just all at the back like a horse box ,

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Doesn't work. I had my lorry retested 3 days after the first test and it was 300kg heavier on the second test even though I had driven it for 2 hours and not put in any extra fuel. It should have been lighter.

I would no longer trust the brake certificate.
 
Exactly, the brake test at MOT is no where near a guide line for ULW it is not there to give weights for payload is does what it says on the tin!!

To get a true reading the lorry has to go on a ministry calibrated weigh bridge. When we weigh our vehicles we give a kerb weight reading to our customers and not a ULW there is a difference. We put 3/4 a tank of fuel on, fill the water tanks up and keep the partitions ON the box. This gives the customer more of a true idea of payload. You will be suprised how many give a weight cert without the above.

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thats odd, we went around at least 6 top horsebox manufacturers and they all said Iveco were the lightest then DAF. MAN and Mercedes the heaviest.
 
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people who are prepared to pay silly amounts of money to cart there horse about on a weekend to unaffliated stuff

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People may enjoy the use of a fitted living just as much at a local show, sometimes even more! as County and National shows have a choice of refreshments on site , other thigns to do between clases, some local and club events don't. I use out living facilties more at a club day out than when at a national or county show.

Our 7.5 has 2 tonnes payload, but we had it built without shower, water heater etc to keep its unladen weight down.
BUtmany of uorroads are 7,5 tonne wieght limit, so apart from our set out and arrival( 'Access, so could use them) a lot of our regualr trips would mean taking a much much longer route.
 
it is indeed...

this lorry was bought for commercial use in horse transporting....it needed to be as light as possible to get maximum useage...

up until summer of this year it has been checked every 6 weeks...each time weighing just under 4.5T unleaden..

it has no living, no lockers, no water tanks, and everything is Aluminium.......


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Memo - You are right - Iveco (new shape - eurocargo) are the without doubt the lightest followed closely by DAF.

M.A.N although a great chassis / engine they are at least 300 kilos heavier. Mercedes and volvo are the heaviest of chassis.
 
Um I said it would give a guide as to the weight, no it isnt deadly accurate like a weighbridge but has to be quite accurate to perform a brake test, and close enough to find out if you want to buy it if the seller hasnt a certificate ...mine was 5650 kg on the test and 5495KG on the local weighbridge !! OH and its a 1997 MAN L2000 with 6 cylinder engine 20ft box 10 ft LQs with shower, toilet sleeps 4 stalled for 3 horses... MAN TGL is 200kg more than Iveco cargo .. Lightest chassis is Isuzu or mitsubisi canter ..........
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