Single trailer for 16.3hh, do they exist?

M

MrsNorris

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 January 2006
Messages
1,301
Visit site
Am hoping to have a beauiful 16.3hh Wb X Ish on LWVTB. I have a friend who is going to transport me everywhere for the time being in her HB511 whilst I'm waiting for my new car and trailer. The car will be a volvo XC60, but as far as I can work out, it will ony be able to tow a single trailer. Most of the single trailers only seem to fit up to 16.2hh so I'm starting to get a bit worried now! I can't change the car as it's a company car, the GVW is 2505kg, max towing weight, braked, is 2000kg. I passed my test many years ago so licence not an issue. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks
 
A single trailer is very thin, and to carry a 16.2/3 it wouldnt really have much stability. I have seen them used but dont like the way they seem much less stable than a double one.
 
stormox said:
A single trailer is very thin, and to carry a 16.2/3 it wouldnt really have much stability. I have seen them used but dont like the way they seem much less stable than a double one.
Click to expand...

Sorry this is not true. Single trailers are not thin, they are wider than the normal "partition" side of a two horse trailer.

Also think, if your travelling one horse in a partitioned trailer, you've got half a tonne on one side of the trailer. In a single trailer the load is spread centrally over the middle.
 
How high does the horse carry its head? I wouldn't have thought 16.3 in a trailer designed for 16.2 would be a issue unless the horse has a very high set on neck and head, like a Friesian. Also, is it really 16.3? Many horses don't seem to be as tall the owner thinks they are :)
 
MrsNorris said:
.......... the GVW is 2505kg, max towing weight, braked, is 2000kg. I passed my test many years ago so licence not an issue. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks
Click to expand...
You could have a trailer with a MAM of 3500 which weighs 1000 empty and loaded with a 600 kg horse leaving 400 to spare with a 2000 towing capacity using a B+E licence so why do you need a single trailer ?
 
ROG said:
You could have a trailer with a MAM of 3500 which weighs 1000 empty and loaded with a 600 kg horse leaving 400 to spare with a 2000 towing capacity using a B+E licence so why do you need a single trailer ?
Click to expand...

Thanks ROG, that's very reassuring, I will have 2 horses, so a double would suit me better anyway, but I was speaking to someone about it who baffled me a bit and insisted that it would only tow a single.

So my 2 horses together will weigh about 1100kg, so if their weight combined with the trailer weight is less than 2000kg, will I be legal?

There is a double trailer by robinsons, suitable for up to 17.2hh, unladen weight 730kg, max gross weight 2000kg, would be about 1830kg with my 2 on board, leaving me a bit for equipment etc. Does that sound like a good option? Thanks
 
You could look at getting a old rice richardson or bateson trailer as they are lightweight.
I tow my 17.1hh 700 kg horse with my Vauxhall Vectra 1.9L, its got 150BHP so would be stuck without it, but have towed same horse with a Peugeot 406 and antoher horse of mine with a Sierra Sapphire 1.9L without being over the weight limit.

I have a two horse RIchardson trailer and have converted inside so the partition is fixed in a 3/4 1/4 formation, with the wider part for the horse and the other part for buckets, haynets, etc. I have about 350Kg to spare for tack and driver.

Here is my outfit complete with horse:
attachment.php
 
MrsNorris said:
Thanks ROG, that's very reassuring, I will have 2 horses, so a double would suit me better anyway, but I was speaking to someone about it who baffled me a bit and insisted that it would only tow a single.

So my 2 horses together will weigh about 1100kg, so if their weight combined with the trailer weight is less than 2000kg, will I be legal?

There is a double trailer by robinsons, suitable for up to 17.2hh, unladen weight 730kg, max gross weight 2000kg, would be about 1830kg with my 2 on board, leaving me a bit for equipment etc. Does that sound like a good option? Thanks
Click to expand...

There is a towing calculator website that you can use. Put your trailer and horse weight and it tells you what cars you can tow with! or put your car in and it gives your details of what you can tow

http://www.towinghorsetrailers.co.uk/towing_vehicles.htm
 
applecart14 said:
You could look at getting a old rice richardson or bateson trailer as they are lightweight.
I tow my 17.1hh 700 kg horse with my Vauxhall Vectra 1.9L, its got 150BHP so would be stuck without it, but have towed same horse with a Peugeot 406 and antoher horse of mine with a Sierra Sapphire 1.9L without being over the weight limit.

I have a two horse RIchardson trailer and have converted inside so the partition is fixed in a 3/4 1/4 formation, with the wider part for the horse and the other part for buckets, haynets, etc. I have about 350Kg to spare for tack and driver.
Click to expand...

How do you find towing with a car?

I bought mine last year, so I could tow with it in emergencies, getting mummy dear to sit with me, if dad wasn't around to take me with his truck but someone put me off towing with a car, saying that stopping would be more challenging, so I've not bothered fitting a tow bar to it yet! mine had the capacity to tow up to 1500kg, so should be fine with the nag and my trailer!
 
If you do decide to go for a single trailer my 16.3 ShireX is a good traveller and she was perfectly happy in an Ifor 401. As you can imagine, she's not exactly a dainty girl although she is shorter in the body than some, only taking 6'9 rugs.
 
Kezzabell2 said:
How do you find towing with a car?

I bought mine last year, so I could tow with it in emergencies, getting mummy dear to sit with me, if dad wasn't around to take me with his truck but someone put me off towing with a car, saying that stopping would be more challenging, so I've not bothered fitting a tow bar to it yet! mine had the capacity to tow up to 1500kg, so should be fine with the nag and my trailer!
Click to expand...

I've never towed with anything else, but I've only ever towed with a single horse anyway. To be honest as long as you have the BHP (brake horse power) its a doddle. I used to find with the Peugeot that long inclines up the motorway were a nightmare because I'd end up in third gear before long with the radiator starting to get hot, but day to day towing wasn't ever a problem. The Vectra has a lot more power so makes lightweight of it. As for towing normally with all three cars I never had a problem, only ever done one emergency stop and that was travelling at about 15mph when the car in front suddenly slammed on its brakes because it felt it couldn't go through a gap an articulated lorry could have gone through! Pulled up fine.

There is no difference in towing with a car or a 4 x 4. It seems like its the 'fashion' to tow with 4 x 4's now. In the 80's and 90's it was either tow with cars, or tow with an old Landrover but because they hold their value so much it was out of the question to get something that wasn't 'out of the ark' for the money we wanted to pay.

You certainly don't need a 4 x 4 to tow with. The Rice Richardson weighs 650KG, I think the Vectra can tow 1600KG from memory, certainly within the weight anyway.

The Ifor Williams way an absolute ton. From memory it was the Bateson, Rice Richardson and another one (yellow and white trailer) that were the lightest on the market at the time (1996).

There is nothing stopping you getting one of these trailers and putting a single breast bar along the width of the trailer. If I could get rid of my partition which is solid steel bar with wooden insert and change it for a lighter alloy metal with a rubber partition this would take a lot of weight away from the trailer.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
applecart14 said:
Here is my outfit complete with horse:
attachment.php
Click to expand...

Applecart I appreciate that you know your own horse and he is clearly happy in there, but in general, your horse excepted, I would not travel a horse that big in a trailer with a roof that low.

I'm struggling with this myself at the moment. I wanted to convert a van with seven feet of headroom, but I got on top of my five year old's EPSM and the darned horse has grown like a bloomin' weed and would now almost be touching his ears on the roof! Change of plans required :)
 
Last edited:
Thanks everyone for all those suggestions, seems I will have quite a few options after all, what a relief. Have been feeling quite worried about it as I really need to get to lessons etc with this new horse and didn't want to take advantage of my friends kind offer.
 
I have an old rice Richardson trailer the same as Applecarts but weighs a lot more than 700kgs! Only has single breastbar and breech bar, no partition and lightweight thick rubber flooring....I tow with Shogun LWB 2800 and it is the only thing I would feel happy towing such a solid trailer with. 4x4's don't have to be expensive, mine was £100 and needed minimal work, yes I was lucky but there are safer vehicles out there, would never tow with a car unless ponies, their brakes are not designed for that amount of weight, even if it's legal.....
 
unicornystar said:
I have an old rice Richardson trailer the same as Applecarts but weighs a lot more than 700kgs! Only has single breastbar and breech bar, no partition and lightweight thick rubber flooring....I tow with Shogun LWB 2800 and it is the only thing I would feel happy towing such a solid trailer with. 4x4's don't have to be expensive, mine was £100 and needed minimal work, yes I was lucky but there are safer vehicles out there, would never tow with a car unless ponies, their brakes are not designed for that amount of weight, even if it's legal.....
Click to expand...

The volvo XC60 is 4 wheel drive..
 
MrsNorris said:
Thanks ROG, that's very reassuring, I will have 2 horses, so a double would suit me better anyway, but I was speaking to someone about it who baffled me a bit and insisted that it would only tow a single.

So my 2 horses together will weigh about 1100kg, so if their weight combined with the trailer weight is less than 2000kg, will I be legal?

There is a double trailer by robinsons, suitable for up to 17.2hh, unladen weight 730kg, max gross weight 2000kg, would be about 1830kg with my 2 on board, leaving me a bit for equipment etc. Does that sound like a good option? Thanks
Click to expand...

As long as the total actual weight of the trailer and the load in it do not exceed the towing capacity of the vehicle or the trailer plated MAM then its legal on a B+E licence

A trailer can be plated more than the vehicle max towing capacity but in such cases the lower towing capacity is used as the max actual weight which can be towed - vice cersa if the trailer is plated lower than the towing capacity
 
unicornystar said:
I have an old rice Richardson trailer the same as Applecarts but weighs a lot more than 700kgs! Only has single breastbar and breech bar, no partition and lightweight thick rubber flooring....I tow with Shogun LWB 2800 and it is the only thing I would feel happy towing such a solid trailer with. 4x4's don't have to be expensive, mine was £100 and needed minimal work, yes I was lucky but there are safer vehicles out there, would never tow with a car unless ponies, their brakes are not designed for that amount of weight, even if it's legal.....
Click to expand...

Its 650kg unladen. Yours can't be much more than that surely?
I know there are some very light 4 x 4's which are totally unsuitable for towing with.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top