Please tell me about RENAULT MASTER 3.5 horseboxes

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Patchworkpony

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Please tell me about RENAULT MASTER 3.5 horseboxes. Are they comfortable, reliable, safe to drive etc. Just want a fairly cheap box for two small ponies that is easy to drive. Any downsides?
 
They are the same van as the Vauxhall Movano, and there are lots of both of these around. The parts are cheap, you only MOT as you would a car, and they are economical on fuel. They can be driven on a car license and are easy to drive. They hold their value well. No real downsides except the payload, which is always too low for two large horses, but would be fine for your ponies.

They are not normally very cheap though - I doubt you will get anything relatively new or reliable for much less than £10k. The van shaped versions are cheaper but feel less roomy. Again, may not be an issue with your ponies.

I would not buy one from an unknown manufacturer as there are too many budget conversions about which have economised on quality and strength. There are lots of good ones including bloomfields, boss, equimark, and many of the larger box makers also make these.

There was a thread earlier about whether horses prefer to travel forwards, backwards, sideways. There was some research that showed they prefer backwards. Might be worth testing your ponies in a hired van first to make sure they like it.
 
I have a Vauxhall Movano and it's so lovely to drive. It's also very economical fuel wise. Every horse I've travelled in it has travelled quietly and calmly. It gives them a very stable ride and very rarely do they even move a hoof.

I have one with the full height partition separating the tack area.

I did pay £14K for a 2007 with under 100,000 miles on the clock from a very reputable seller. Payload isn't an issue for me as I only have the one horse :)
 
I love mine, as above, easy to drive, parts easily available and not silly prices, MOT is cheaper and easier than plating and good on fuel. Just be really really careful on payload though. On a good conversion it varies between 1000 and 1200kg, its surprising how fuel, passengers, water and stuff add up and might not leave enough weight for 2 ponies, unless they are very fine sec a types. I travel 1 x 14.2 highland pony in mine, he weigh tapes at 570kg and with all our stuff on board I have about 50kg spare, they would mean 2 small ponies would have to come in at around 310kg each, that not much pony really :)
 
I have a renault master van conversion, owned for 7 years, it now has about 80K on the clock. I travel a full up 16.2 and he travels really well. i've travelled smaller horses and they all travel extremely well. It's been cheap to run, very cheap to maintain and basically I'm very pleased with it. I've had a new Ifor trailer and a couple of 7.5 s, one quite basic and another quite upmarket. The Renault wins hands over every time now I don't need to have living. I took a lot of persuading to move to a 3.5 but gosh, I'm glad I did.
 
I have a 2007 Renault Master van conversion, not the coachbuilt type.
I've had it since December and I LOVE it!
I'm 25 myself and I happily drive it, it's the biggest thing I've ever driven but it's so easy to drive, you don't really notice how much bigger than a car it actually is!
Mine has a payload of 1200kg, but I only regularly take my 15.2 mare out, and on the odd occasion I will take another, but you have to be very careful with the payload, I don't like to travel 2 horses often at all, as even though it can do it if it's within the payload, I'd rather not put that strain on it.
Insurance is cheap if you're over 25, tax and breakdown are relatively cheap too.
The only thing that isn't cheap is actually buying the horsebox.
I initially thought I could get one for £7k but I ended up spending £10k on mine, as it's a brand new conversion, but worth every penny in my eyes! I had to wait about 3 and a half months for mine to be completed, but they're worth the wait and I wouldn't want it to have been a rushed job.
Make sure you go to a reputable conversion company or ensure it is checked over by a professional if you buy second hand. Make sure it definitely has a reinforced bulk head, as the horses travel backwards they can kick, which mine did the other week with impressive force and it didn't move as it's been reinforced.
Also I'd definitely invest and get an emergency exit installed in case you can't access the ramp in an accident etc.

Good luck in your search if you do decide to buy one :)
 
I have a 2008 Vauxhall Movano van conversion, had it built in June 2014 to my very specific ideals, because i have a bad traveler.
I would NEVER buy a 3.5t with out either a full front partition, or an emergency exit. I went with the emergency exit to keep the van open and airy. I had an extra vent put in and i made sure the partition was deeper than standard.

I have literally taken it all over the country with no issues, it drives like a car and when i only travel my 13.2hh New Forest, it feels empty! I can really feel my big 15hh Welsh cob though, mostly because he is a fidget (not just in my box, any box!)

My NF has traveled all over the Country with me, always happy to get back on, stands on it at shows no issues etc.

Very glad i bought it, i went up North to get mine, as the more local companies to me were what i would class as poorer build quality when i went & viewed them.
 
I have a 20 year old Renault Master - converted a few years ago by 3 Counties. It is fab, starts every time, cheap to run, I love driving it. The only problem I had was when current horse tried to get over breastbar - very scary. But since then we've filled in the back and made some modifications.

Sadly, due to horse's ongoing health problems, we rarely use it and my OH is putting pressure on me to sell it. I'm gutted at the thought and I'm sure I'll regret it, but it does seem a waste having it standing around.
 
I upgraded from an old DAF 400 with an ifor williams box last summer to a Renault Master coachbuilt. The Renault Master is SO much easier to drive and feels a lot more stable. The down side to driving it is that it is so much like a car I REALLY have to remember that Pie is in the back and I need to slow down gently!
Mine has a full partition between the horse area and the grooms area - which is fine - but for a long horse with a low set neck it may be a bit cramped (Pie has low head carriage and he does have to stand differently).
There is no problem with height - he's 15.2 and has loads of clearance above his ears.
One thing I did find though is that although the horse area is the same size as it was in my old box, it feels smaller as it is darker and has the full partition. Pie had never travelled backwads so I took some time to get him used to just going in and standing - and then doing some short journeys. This has really paid off as at first he was not keen to go in - and as soon as he was in, he wanted to come back out. He now walks up behind me like a pro!
 
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I regularly hire a Renault Master 3.5, and it's fabulous. SO economical, spacious and easy to drive. I also hire a Peugeot of the same size (although a few years older and has done more miles) and the Renault would be my preference to drive.
 
The Renault Master provides a particularly good stable ride. Most 3.5 tonnes have a very low centre of gravity due to the floor behind below the rear wheel height. This allows for smooth cornering without the side sway that older types of boxes built on chassis cab's with the floor above the wheel height can deliver.

Consider the Peugeot Citroen range as well. Slightly roomier in the cab for those of us who are a little taller.
 
Just got one in Feb to replace older vehicle.
Very happy so far - super smooth ride. In fact when I hit a fencepost neither myself nor the horses noticed ahem - that's another story !!
The four horses I travel regularly are all loading and travelling very well by themselves or in pairs for the smaller ones. I don't notice a difference in the drive so I have to be careful not to overload as it would be tempting and I don't think I would notice until I needed the brakes in an emergency and killed everyone.
 
Mines an older R reg model (not quite sure what year that is!) I love it! We paid £9000 I think, quite possibly less a few years ago. Its never given us any trouble *touch wood* Is cheap to run and keep and has just given us so much independence.
Mine is a crew cab version so has less room in the back which I think makes jumping over less inviting. We have never had a problem but my tack area is a lot smaller than some.
 
I have a 2007 Renault master from Alexanders with 75,000 miles on, I paid £15,000 for it. it's very easy to drive and the horses travel backwards which they seem to like. Main downside is it's always broken! In two years I've spent £6,000 on repairs- clutch, new fuel jets and fuel system, ( 3k for this alone), power steering pump, alternator..etc etc . Someone nearby in 'the trade' has 2 X Renault masters and rents these out. He has similar issues. Most of the vans have been 'hammered' as delivery vans for 5 years before they're converted to Horseboxes...so that's the weakness. Hopefully mine is not typical!
 
I'd speak to Polly Xantos at TravelTwo horseboxes. She deals in secondhand 3.5 ton boxes (mainly Master/ Movano) and does also do new builds with Chapmans horseboxes (I think I've spelt that right). She is very choosy about what she will and won't buy and I believe sells with a warranty of sorts and gets any bits n bobs that need doing done before selling them on. I didn't buy from her in the end as she didn't have anything in my price range at the time I was looking sadly (well there was one but it sold before I could go and look at it) but she knows her stuff and gave me a lot of very good advice. I erm still managed to buy a box through a private sale that needed more work doing on it than I thought it did (inspector missed a few things like some faults in the lights, issues with handbrake cable, bits of suspension that needed work and that it wasn't starting as it should all of which has taken something approaching £2k to fix... probably going to end up back in the garage at some point as think it now needs a new fan belt as well). Mine's a 2003 Movano converted by Racemaster. Can't fault most of the actual build (could do with something to pin partition open with and the catch that holds the door back has broken but these are little things!) it's just the engine that likes to play up. Hoping it will settle down now it's in regular "work"! It's spending a short spell in the good books right now as it saved my bacon last night by going through floodwater that was too deep for my little car to manage which meant I didn't end up stranded at the yard / with no way of getting there in the morning!
 
Patchworkpony said:
Please tell me about RENAULT MASTER 3.5 horseboxes. Are they comfortable, reliable, safe to drive etc. Just want a fairly cheap box for two small ponies that is easy to drive. Any downsides?
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hi
I’m looking to sell my conversion van and am looking for a guide price for a 07 plate van with 180k miles
wonder if anyone could advise please
thanks
 
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