lorry vs trailer - whats the best cheapest option?

[kombikids]

as above really - will start looking for own transport next year but scared of rising tax costs with a car etc. want something to pull one 16.3h and not sure whether to trade in my soft top golf and get a 4x4 (any ideas?) and a trailer or buy a small box (have passed my test since the cut off date so dont need to do a test)

does anyone have any advice?

thanks

 

[Vicki_Krystal]

AJ travels on both!

I would say a trailer would be cheaper - but not if you intend on using gas guzzler 4x4 as your main vehicle also.

I personally prefer lorries - i feel they are safer and a lot easier to work with if you go to a lot of shows.
If you only wanted to do a few local shows a trailer would still prorbably be the best option.

 

[Carys]

A lot depends on how often you would be using them - I think the normal consensus is that if you only use less than 1 x fortnight a box works out dearer as you'll have double tax/insurance/maintenance (although there will be some with a trailer but minimal compared to a box). But this was from years ago when I had a LWB Landrover & wooden Rice trailer.

Try getting a guide idea of costs and dividing by expected number of trips !!
Don't know if this is of any help !!

 

[ihatework]

Depends on how much day to day mileage you do and how often you would use horse transport.

 

[cazmoreton]

We went for a trailer
We got a 2nd hand Ifor williams that takes our big 17hh IDxTB
and we got a subaru forester. Which JUST tows him.
We did have a Isusu but with the cost of fuel had to trade it in to something less gas guzzeling.

x

 

[horseygirl28]

The tax on lorries is suprisingly not that expensive - think paid £165 for tax on lorry this year. However the draw back with lorry is the MOT, its acutually quite hard on vehicles and many fail and you could have huge costs to remedy problems and then put it back through the test.

I would get a trailer and 4x4 personally, more cost effective if you just have one horse really.

 

[kombikids]

yes lucky horsey is good in a trailer-he squeezes his fat bum in and is fine! altho would love a box but not sure if 10 - 15 shows a year justifies it? i do a lot of local miles - lots of school trips and yard trips of 3 miles each so what car could i get away with? OH is talking about a defender but not sure what they are like to keep or run or the tax issues????

 

[Mrs_Wishkabibble]

I was looking at a lorry but couldnt really warrant the cost of running one so ended up getting a 5* Equitrek which has the living bit at the front with sink hob, seating etc and also has tack lockers and a horse shower. We already had the Range Rover so had a towing vehicle and I am really impressed with the whole thing. I can park the Equitrek up and not have to worry about it and can also use the Range Rover for other journeys unlike a lorry which would have only gone out once a fortnight.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

At the moment I believe it is cheaper to have a 4X4 & Trailer & use it as you would a lorry, i.e. use just for transporting horse about & not for running around in. The 4x4 market is supressed at the moment & they can be bought relatively cheaply & trailers normally hold their value well. You will get a newer 4x4 & trailer combination for your money than you'll get a lorry.

Plating of lorries & mechanical repairs etc are normally more expensive with lorries than 4x4s as well.

I use a 4x4 & trailer however a recent purchase of a 2nd show jumper is making me consider a lorry as 2 x 16.2hh + all tack etc would fit better in a lorry..... & keep us dry at shows.

If you have just the one horse then I'd go for 4x4 & trailer & have another car as a run around.

 

[conniegirl]

Toby_Zaphod, 4x4's are cheap now because next year the tax on them will be going up to around £400 a year or more depending on emmsions and it is going to be enforced on older 4x4's as well as the new ones.

We went from a trailer and new 4x4 to a small lorry and now we have a large lorry, wouldnt go back to the trailer now.
This year it has actualy cost us less with the lorry then it ever did with the car and trailer. Lorry although older flew through its test, all it has had done to it this year is some more oil added. it costs us about £30 in fuel average per show. as opposed to the £60 average we had with the car, it costs less to tax and we have made a massive saving because we sold the gas guzzleing 4x4 and got an efficient little car so have saved on day to day milage as well because we do alot of milage getting to and from work shopping etc, Mum does an average of 45,000 miles a year in her car, papa can do anything up to about 100,000miles a year.

 

[flyingfeet]

Well £400 for road tax is a drop in the ocean compared to maintaining and filling up a lorry!

I did the stupidest route and got a new 4x4 which has lost £10k in value in 2 years. Deffo wouldn't recommend that!

If you are doing a lot of competing and travelling on motorways, I would get a lorry. However if just pootling to local comps, then a trailer and 4x4 are going to serve you better.

Stories of oh my lorry only cost me £100 this year are utter rubbish. This generally means thay went through their plating and passed. However they did not get serviced - no oil was changed, no oil filters not even the basic servicing we give our tractors!

So in reality as lorry is probably going to cost £1k per year all in and more if something major breaks.

Not to say that an older 4x4 cannot manage a hefty repair bill too!

 

[kit279]

4x4 and trailer every time. To get your running costs down, try getting an older 4x4 with a relatively low mileage. I tow with a 4.0L 14 year old Jeep Cherokee with a mileage of 100 000. It is in fabulous nick and is just as good as some of the newer models plus the tax will stay the same next year. I also run mine on LPG which is half the price of petrol and costs me 20 pounds to fill up and I do about 140 miles for that. I would also get the lightest trailer you can find (I have a Bateson which is basically the same as an Ifor but 200kg lighter) as the heavier the trailer the more fuel you'll use.

 

[jnb]

I have a Renault Master (cob travels better in it than trailer). Tax £180 a year, fully comp insurance with horsebox rescue/breakdown cover about £400 a year.

We did 520 miles to the last tank of fuel = just under 40mpg! It has plenty of power, comfy to drive, easy to turn around/reverse/park - I wouldn't go back to a 4 x 4 and trailer, my Shogun would be costing me £90 a week to put fuel in at today's prices!

 

[LCobby]

Yes. allow a thousand a year to keep a lorry on the road, legal and serviced
Road tax and insurance can take up half that, then add on a couple of nomral services, MOt and normal wear and tear replacement of battery, tyres, clutch, exhaust, brakes etc - Hopefully not all in one year!
.

 

[kombikids]

did you have yours converted to lpg and howmuch did it cost?

 

[trundle]

[ QUOTE ]
Yes. allow a thousand a year to keep a lorry on the road, legal and serviced.

[/ QUOTE ]

Given it costs me nearly £100 to hire a box for the weekend, £1k for a year's worth of work (plus diesel of course) seems reasonable. i could go to regular lessons, blag that lesson at Moulton with TimeFaulter that I've been after, get out to a comp every other week, box over to the woods for a nice hack....I want a lorry !

 

[kit279]

No, I bought my Jeep ready converted for 1900 pounds. If you can get one ready converted that's by far the easiest and most hassle free option. I have however also had my other car converted (Volvo) and that was 1200 pounds to convert. The website is here if you're thinking of having it done:-

http://www.lpg-vehicles.co.uk/lpg_conversions/lpg_vehicle_conversion.htm

I calculated that it would take me 18 months to save in fuel costs what I spent on conversion but it's actually more like 12 months since the price of fuel went up. NB. you can't convert a diesel engine, petrol only.