Single or double trailer

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Gazen

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I am looking for some advice on the pros and cons of single and double trailers.
My vehicle is capable of towing 2000kg. My horse is 15hh and about 400kg.

I will only ever want to transport my own horse due to the towing weight restriction on my vehicle.

So do I go for a single trailer like an Ifor Williams 401/403 or a double trailer like a 505/506?

What are the pros and cons of each? The sort of things I am thinking about are:
What are they like to tow?
Will a horse 'rattle' around in a single trailer and make it unstable?
Will a horse be more comfortable in a single or double trailer?

I already know that second hand single trailers are hard to come by and have a premium attached to the price.

Thanks for your help
 
Gazen said:
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Loads of choices as you only have 400 kg horse

I would go for a double which would then give you loading space for other stuff or another horse in the future if the need arises

Most doubles are 1000 kg max empty so with a 400 kg horse that leaves 600 spare with a 2000 towing capacity vehicle

I wonder if anyone has ever kitted out one side of a double as living space ?
 
I have a single bockmann trailer and I love it. Ok so I initially bought it because I couldn't afford the double version and I really only wanted a bockmann but now I have it I'm really pleased with it. Plenty of room to move around the horse, tack up etc as its only 12inches narrower inside than a double, but not so much room that the horse moves around all over the place. I also love that the trailer is slightly narrower than the car, makes it very easy to manouvre around our small lanes :)
 
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We wouldn't buy or take singles in as PX.
They are narrow with a small footprint on the floor. The footprint on the floor is narrower than the height and the centre of gravity is therefore higher than than that in a double so less stable.
To our knowledge only IFW now makes them in the UK and we would disagree with the comment that they have a premium.
Majority of second hand singles in the UK are old Rice Beaufort singles that you can no longer get body panels for.
 
Just interested - if someone kits out the 'spare' side of an IW trailer as living, mightn'tthat bring you very close to weight limits?
 
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I asked a similar question to this a few months ago as I have the same weight limit on my vehicle so could only tow one horse.

Someone made the good point that good second hand trailers are quite thin on the ground and singles seem to be really hard to find. So I ended up with a double and I'm really happy with it.

I think the extra width in the single stall would actually have made it harder for my boy to travel, although I know some horses prefer it. But the car has no problem at all with the double (HB510 and 1 big horse).

With a 2000kg limit you could tow 2 ponies at 400kg in an HB505 which would give you more flexibility than a single.
 
I have never felt as completely 'at home' with towing the double as I did with the old Rice single, because with the single there were no bits sticking out wider than my towing vehicle,so I knew the width to a T. But our roads are very narrow and winding, and busy with tourists in the summer. :)
 
I had a Ifor 505 and just sold it and bought a single 401. Surprised at how much room the single does have. Haven actually put our lad in it yet, as have to practice boxing, he hasn't been out for 2 years! - But, it was really hard to find a single, i.e. on Ebay there would only be two for sale and they were either in Scotland or Wales. Was really easy to push and turn in the yard when we un hitched.
 
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