Questions to ask when looking at a horsebox...

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I am going looking at a few horse boxes this week, one of which is a private seller... So, as this will be the first box I have bought, I want to make sure I know the questions I should be asking.

Someone has said to check the walls are 18mm as opposed to 15mm, to ask the unladen weight...

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Rebecca
 
Age of lorry
Gross Weight
Unladen Weight
Length of Plate
Any advices on last plating
Length of Tax
Any recent work undertaken +proof of work (Bills)
Service history/ bills etc
Has floor in horse section been replaced/ what's it made of.
verified mileage
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Check the dimesions and measure width, height etc. Can't remember what they should be make sure it is big enough. Unladen weight is important try not to have anything over 6 tonnes if you intend on travelling 2 and even then you could go overweight.

Service history of the lorry including before it was a horse lorry. What was it used for then (has the guts been worked out of it?)

Make sure if you like it you have a mechanic check it out. For living bits make sure you see everything working.
 
From my point of view, once you have determined that the box is suitable for you, is service history, simply because I am investigating two instances at the moment where lorries have been stolen, then the box has been put on to another chassis. In both cases the box has been offered for sale from what you might consider to be a reputable dealer in boxes.
So if it hasn't been reregistered as a livestock carrier/horsebox, or there are gaps in the history, be very wary.
 
7ft 6in height in horsebox compartment should be fine for big horses (I have a 17.3 and he is fine in this size). As you are travelling 3 big horses, it is very important to check the unladen weight. You wouldn't want anything much over 5 tonnes unladen, as the gross weight (7.5 tonnes) is horses, people, tack, water, full tank of diesel - i.e. absolutely everything. Get underneath the box and check the floor - take a small screwdriver and any bits that look suspect, give a discreet prod with the screwdriver - if it goes straight in and the floor feel soft, it is rotten. Check the steels that support the floor - the shouldn't be rusty and should be no more than 1ft 6in apart. The floor should be a thick double floor. Ideally the ramps should have 4 or 5 hinges - the ones with 3 can be weak.
 
ask how long it's been a horsebox for. high mileage is good, believe it or not... it's very bad for engines to just sit around for months, so don't be put off if, say, the chassis was a Post Office lorry for 18 months from new, and did high mileage... that's what mine did, before conversion, and it's a great runner.
get the floor checked properly. i can't stress this enough... i'm sure you heard about the young event horse going through the floor of a lorry a couple of months ago.
frown.gif
(( if in any doubt at all, put down a new floor... costs a couple of hundred pounds.
make sure the partitions and ramp etc are good and solid. have a look at friends' horseboxes first, so you get an idea.
assume you are going to have a stupid youngster in there, chucking itself around... worst case scenario... would it hurt itself on anything? how tidily is everything finished off?
if it's got a living area, check for leaky roof, leaky floor from loo/shower area etc.
check service history... 12 months plating is ideal!
look down the side where the horses' tails would be - are there kick marks on the outer skin of the lorry? i had a kicker who managed to mark my old lorry, because the wood wasn't thick enough. horses have been known to kick through. i've seen a big lorry with a section kicked out by a horse.
make sure it's nice to drive... some are vile, have horrible gearboxes. my last one was like that!
can't think of anything else. good luck!
 
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