More problems with 511-should I get Equitrek?

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sonjafoers

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My Ifor Williams 511 is 18 months old and has had a new roof & ramps due to well documented issues. However today it has had the towing hitch replaced due to a major safety issue and I have lost all faith in it. Every time I have hitched it up in the last few weeks it has actually come away from the car as I have pulled away (luckily after hitching up I have to move it before I can load so luckily it has never had a horse in it when this has happened). The first time it happened the handbrake came on but on subsequent occasions the handbrake hasn't even come on when it parts company with my vehicle which is even more of a worry. Initially I thought I hadn't hitched it up correctly but after it happened a couple of times I realised it wasn't me!

I took it back to the dealer today who confirmed there was s fault in the hitching mechanism and has replaced the whole hitch. They rang Ifor Williams to ask if it could be done under warranty but they refused because there is only a years warranty and the trailer is 18 months old so I had to pay for the work and parts. When I reported the mould issue to Ifor Williams it took over 6 months for them to do anything about it so if they had taken that time into account it would still fall within the warranty period.

Anyway......I have now decided I should have got an Equi-Trek and am thinking of getting one asap before my 511 goes wrong again & causes some serious damage to my horses. Obviously this is going to be an expensive exercise as I have probably lost a fortune on a useless 511 that no-one wants after all the bad press so I want to make sure it's the right decision. Does anyone have any info they can share with me to help me make this decision?!!

Thank you
 
A dealer should give you a reasonable trade-in price for your trailer against an EquiTrek.
There is also the Fautra trailer to consider.
 
I have a 511 which has already been back to have mould treatment and other bits and pieces done under warranty and is about to go back to be done AGAIN under warranty (and it's 18 months old!) And anymore trouble after this lot of work and the bloody thing will be going back as 'not fit for purpose'!

Your problem is FAR more serious and I would be talking to your dealer again and telling him to talk to IW again and tell THEM that you are very well known and 'connected' in the horse world and that if they DON'T see you right on this failure, then you will be making a formal complaint to Trading Standards, publicising the problems you have had AND IW's unhelpful attitude to everyone who OWNS a bloody horse, and THEN you will be taking them to court! (That should get some action! :rolleyes:)

The 506/511 have been a disaster - full of problems from the start - and if IW DON'T see buyers right and sort these issues, they may as well close down as far as the horse trailer side of their business is concerned. It's all very well saying you can take them back to the dealer and get things fixed under warranty! For me, that's a one hour round trip to drop it off - another one hour round trip to pick it up - and don't talk about the diesel cost. But the WORST thing is they keep it for at least 4 days - if you have an emergency during that time and have to rush a horse to horse-pital - you're screwed!

DON'T take this sh*t from them! Get nasty! (They may as well get the prctice in before I go after them!:D )
 
have you thought about ringing trading standards about this? that shouldn't be happening on an 18 month old trailer :eek:

i wouldn't however, recommend an Equitrek. i have one and have had heaps of problems with it....most seriously my wheel axle snapped when i was driving along a 50 mph road. fortunately myself and my horse survived the wheel falling off...am amazed the trailer didn't fall over :eek: the trailer was about 5 months old and had just had a service at ET headquarters. their response was "oh you must have hit a kerb"...WTF!!! how fast would i have to drive for that to happen. many months later (after threatening to take them to court and lots of **** customer service from ET) they admitted faulty axle. so what i am saying is that it will cost you aaprox 10k for one and you won't necessarily get a better product. have had lots of other things break too...including my interior lights which went back 5x to be mended. in the end an independent trailer company fixed them for me in 10 minutes. but obviusly it cost me....:eek::mad:
 
I know some people have had bad experiences with Equitrek, but I am very happy with mine, I really love it, horses travel well & no problems so far (touches some wood)
 
Thanks everyone - your replies have seriously made me think about going to Trading Standards as this is a serious safety issue. Luckily my dealer is excellent and fitted me in as priority today, however it is a 3 hour round trip and quite a lot of diesel.

I now have doubts as to whether the Equi-Trek is any better, I had heard that some of the fixings are of poor quality but a wheel coming off is just as bad as my problems with the 511! What a dilemma.

Does anyone know how I should go about contacting Trading Standards please and whether it is worthwhile?
 
although there are bad points to the Equitreks, there are bad points to every trailer - just look at the bad press the Ifors got in last weeks HH (think it was last weeks) there are a lot of people on here that have had problems with the mould.

i personally have had no problems with either of my equitrek trailers - I upgraded on my 1st one (Show trekka L) for a larger on (Star Trekka L). I bought mine direct from the manufacturer and have nothing but high praise for Tom and his team of staff - eg. the gas went on the ramps (this is normal on any gas cylinder) i called them and asked if i could bring it in to be fixed, expecting to pay. They did it free of charge but instead of regassing it they took the mechanisms off and replaced them with new ones. They have also put extras in my trailer like air vents (one of my horses gets very hot when travelling so I wanted extra to be on the safe side) in the roof foc.
Go and speak to Equitrek or one of their dealers and try one out.
 
Not sure what the spec is on the 511 as i wont have an Ifor. I have a Rice B60 and it is fab. Not as pricey as the equitrek, no living, but very roomy.
 
Trading standards should be able to help you. Although the 'warranty' only runs for a year it is reasonable to expect the main mechanics of the trailer to last at least 3 years under basic trading standards (which is why new cars have a 3 year warranty, it's just trading standards!) The hitch lock should last for pretty much the lifetime of the trailer which is well over 3 years let alone 18 months :s if your dealer can't do anything I would be taking it up with TS, don't let them get away with it, what if the mechnism failed when there was a horse in the trailer :(
 
just ring them and ask (Trading standards :) ) thats what i did when Equitrek (head office btw, not a dealer..) were being 'difficult' with me and refusing to answer phone calls/ ignoring my letters etc and they said that a horse trailer axle should not snap under normal use and it was them who told me to pursue through the small claims court. they were extremely helpful and obviously know the ins and outs of the legal side of things on this. :) good luck, hope you get it sorted...trailers cost a lot of money at the end of the day and you have to put your horses' safety first. :)
 
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