Lorry vs trailer

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mystiandsunny

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Pros/cons? I have a lorry, and love it most of the time - but HATE the month a year it takes for parts to arrive to get anything fixed so we're then off the road for at least that long. Our lorry is 20 years old, and runs very sweetly, good on diesel etc - yet given its age, the parts have to pretty much be made when we order anything major, and every year something wears out.

We originally got a lorry rather than a trailer because it can take 3, is safer if something ploughs into the back, in high winds, on motorway etc. Currently feeling very miserable as haven't even been able to get to lessons for a month now (and part still not arrived), it's going to cost at least £400 in total (again - last year was £600 for various bits and bobs), and we're probably going to get a 4x4 in the near future anyway.

So - how bad are trailers really? OH has towed one before (for a friend), reversed, parked etc without trouble, but our main concerns are theft, stability and overall safety. I'm increasingly fed up of not being able to get out for weeks each year, and £££ to fix whatever is required for the very expensive plating, on top of insurance, tax etc. I do love my lorry though...:(.
 
mystiandsunny said:
Pros/cons? I have a lorry, and love it most of the time - but HATE the month a year it takes for parts to arrive to get anything fixed so we're then off the road for at least that long. Our lorry is 20 years old, and runs very sweetly, good on diesel etc - yet given its age, the parts have to pretty much be made when we order anything major, and every year something wears out.

We originally got a lorry rather than a trailer because it can take 3, is safer if something ploughs into the back, in high winds, on motorway etc. Currently feeling very miserable as haven't even been able to get to lessons for a month now (and part still not arrived), it's going to cost at least £400 in total (again - last year was £600 for various bits and bobs), and we're probably going to get a 4x4 in the near future anyway.

So - how bad are trailers really? OH has towed one before (for a friend), reversed, parked etc without trouble, but our main concerns are theft, stability and overall safety. I'm increasingly fed up of not being able to get out for weeks each year, and £££ to fix whatever is required for the very expensive plating, on top of insurance, tax etc. I do love my lorry though...:(.
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get a newer lorry.. seriously a 4x4 costs quite a lot newer ones the tax is over £400 !!! tyres are pricey and if you replace a small car and your lorry with one then do a few miles the bills realy mount up esp fuel and service /repairs
then you will hate having a arangement that isnt as safe or as conveiniant
as a lorry and costs about the same or more..
 
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Id get a trailer. If your 4x4 will be your normal car anyway, get a trailer.

The amount of trailers on the road is huge, but the accidents get more press. People travel for miles in trailers with no problems at all.
I hear of horror stories in lorries too, floors going, engines setting on fire, brakes on fire e.t.c

My friend has a new lorry and we went out in it this weekend and the handbrake got stuck on. We had to be recovered and the lorry low loaded. Cost her £800 for a new hose, new thing for the compressor and labour. This is on a very nice, new lorry.

Trailers will need servicing, but generally they wear better, wont need respraying, ally floors e.t.c. So wont rot when not being used.

The only time I would ever get a lorry now is if I start going to weekend shows where living is required or for one day/ 3 day events e.t.c. where you need lots of tack, rugs e.t.c. to travel.

I have had both lorries and trailers and although my preference would be a lorry, the maths just dont add up for maintaining it and plating e.t.c And I haven't got £20k for a new spanking lorry!
 
I had a year old Ifor 510 which I swapped for a 25 year old Ford Cargo. My normal car is a Discovery because I live out in the sticks on the side of a Welsh mountain!

I agree that a trailer and 4x4 is probably a better option finacially. However, I found that when driving it along the narrow welsh roads, I got tailgated on a regular basis. One lady (used in the loosest possible sense lol) was so keen to overtake me that she cut inside me on a roundabout, clipping the rear corner of my trailer, then made off at speed. I shudder to think how close she was to my horse's back legs, and the damage she would have caused if she had hit just a little harder.

In my lorry, people don't seem to tailgate me nearly so much. If they do, they can't see if it's clear ahead to overtake. And also, if they do, there is a good 6 foot of empty space between the back of the lorry and the bit where my horse stands, also, they are more likely to go under rather than through :)

So for me, the extra cost is well worth it for the improved safety of my horse. Although I appreciate that other people don't have the same set of circumstances as me :)
 
Lorry all the way. I refuse to use trailers after losing a horse in an accident in one. My horses travel beautifully in my lorry and are happy as larry.
 
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