Single trailer

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POLLDARK

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Thanks to everyone who gave advice re single trailers. I have sold my double & bought an Ifor Williams 401 at the weekend, a few years old but still very smart & sound. I'm going to use it today with the young lad so I will see if he approves too. Thanks again.
 
What on earth would posess anybody to want one of these? They look hugely unstable. Traveling back from a tournament in the truck on Monday we followed one of these and all I could think of was how terrified I'd be to travel one of my precious animals in one :/
 
I have a single trailer and I love it. It doesn't feel at all unstable and I've driven along behind someone else towing it and it didn't look unstable. I bought it for G because he's a bit of a funny sod to load and its much wider than a single partition in a double trailer.

I would have thought it would actually be more stable as your horse stands in the middle rather than over to one side.
 
They're just so damn narrow!!! As a result they look as though they have zero stability. When I used to have to trailer it (much to my terror, the damn things are horrible) I used a full width breast bar in the double trailer and x-tied
 
Super_Kat - have you actually seen an ifor 401??? They are only 50 cm narrower than a double, therefore much MUCH more room than a horse has in one half of a standard double - better for horses that need to balance themselves...why are you being so derrogatory...seriously, I do wonder about people on here!!
 
I followed a 401 last weekend - first time I've seen one actually - and it certainly didn't look that narrow at all!

I think in the 'old days' the single trailers were very narrow (coffin on wheels springs to mind) and I certainly wouldn't have used one of those, but the 401 looked perfectly ok to me :)

Fairy
 
I remember about 15 years ago there was a lady who used to come for lessons in her single trailer - we called it 'the pencil case' Ifor 401's aren't narrow at all - I can tack up, get changed and do a merry dance with room to spare in mine :D
 
Well everything went well, he strolled on, no banging about while travelling, no instability problems, just great. The proof of the pudding was that he strolled on as easily to come home so he found it an OK experience. The 401 looks narrower from a distance than it is when you open it up, I love it but then I'm not narrow minded ! Joke.
 
Hiya iv got a 403 and love it, it cost a fortune, its very very stable, some people make them out as if they are rubbish...i think more people these days are buying singles.

I can tack up in mine with plenty of room and space.
 
V interested in this post cos am seriously thinking about a single trailer. Could any of you who tow one please let me know what you tow it with. I will be travelling a 16hd TB, short distances only and currently have a FreelanderTDi on a 55 plate. Keep hearing such conflicting opinions on these it would be good to get some first hand opinions.
 
Loved the wee one we borrowed. We towed with a rav 4. I know folk that tow them with estates. Not sure they'd be any good in a show field though!
 
Love my 401... it tows beautifully, horses load and travel very well. Can not fault it. It is really spacious, and as for being unstable - what a load of old tosh! We tow with a mondeo estate (perfectly legal with a 401). We have only got stuck in the mud once at a show, in 6 years - and that was a few weeks ago. The lorries chewing up the grass didn't help!!
I am so glad that more people are being 'converted' to its brilliantness! We need to get the 'unstable' people to actually see sense. lol

BTW, I am perfectly aware that any trailer being towed badly can be lethal, so a good driver is always very important regardless of the type of trailer you are towing. I also am aware that towing a double trailer using a mondeo is illegal - we would never do that.
 
MyBoyChe said:
V interested in this post cos am seriously thinking about a single trailer. Could any of you who tow one please let me know what you tow it with. I will be travelling a 16hd TB, short distances only and currently have a FreelanderTDi on a 55 plate. Keep hearing such conflicting opinions on these it would be good to get some first hand opinions.
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Well I'm impressed so far & am towing with a Freelander V6 Sport at the moment but , when my husband retires, we plan do go down to one car, a decent estate type that will be for everything including towing. It carried my near 16hh youngster with no problems, is nice & roomy & seemed stable but then I tow with consideration for the horse, which is a must for anyone.
Also with fuel prices being what they are a single makes sense as there is less wind resistance & weight to gobble up your fuel. I'm a convert.
 
Super_Kat said:
What on earth would posess anybody to want one of these? They look hugely unstable. Traveling back from a tournament in the truck on Monday we followed one of these and all I could think of was how terrified I'd be to travel one of my precious animals in one :/
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Spoken by someone who's never tried one;)

I used to think the same too (well - ALL trailers really) until I got one. Tows my 16.1hh, draft nicely and he has plenty of room.
 
Super_Kat said:
What on earth would posess anybody to want one of these? They look hugely unstable. Traveling back from a tournament in the truck on Monday we followed one of these and all I could think of was how terrified I'd be to travel one of my precious animals in one :/
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What a horrible thing to say!
You total snob!

If we could am sure we would all have huge lorries with 5* living for human and horse.
But as it it we dont and have to make do with what our life allows us to have.

I dont know the full story, weather its the horse or the owners license issues.
Good on the owner for getting one, being able to get out and about with their horse.
If they were at all unsafe they would be allowed on the road!
 
blucanoo1990 said:
What a horrible thing to say!
You total snob!

If we could am sure we would all have huge lorries with 5* living for human and horse.
But as it it we dont and have to make do with what our life allows us to have.

I dont know the full story, weather its the horse or the owners license issues.
Good on the owner for getting one, being able to get out and about with their horse.
If they were at all unsafe they would be allowed on the road!
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Well said!
 
MyBoyChe said:
V interested in this post cos am seriously thinking about a single trailer. Could any of you who tow one please let me know what you tow it with. I will be travelling a 16hd TB, short distances only and currently have a FreelanderTDi on a 55 plate. Keep hearing such conflicting opinions on these it would be good to get some first hand opinions.
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I have an Xtrai, l so got a IW401 to match that safely. I was concerned about the Xtrail struggling with my horse (Ardennes x ID!) but I could barely feel anything behind me.

I had to actively keep slowing down on the M6 as my speed was creeping up and I was determined to do no more than 45mph.

I know there are 'better' towing vehicles out there according to the rest of the horse world - but I needed something I could afford to run. And my goodness - is she ever economical!

We towed from Blackpool to Cheshire and back last time for £30!
 
blucanoo1990 said:
What a horrible thing to say!
You total snob!

If we could am sure we would all have huge lorries with 5* living for human and horse.
But as it it we dont and have to make do with what our life allows us to have.
QUOTE]

Oh **** right off!
I flog myself working 95 hours per week across 3 jobs to provide my horses with the safest mode of transport I can. I pass these trailers while traveling around and they just look frightening.
I'm merely expressing my opinion as everybody is entitled to do.
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I tow mine with a 52 plade TD4 Freelander - tows like a DREAM - no drag, you barely feel you have it attached (I tow either a 500kg tb or 600kg wb). It also is no wider than the car. I had mine replated to make it legal to tow with a car license...YES, this is legal before everyone jumps on me - only in certain conditions, depending on the weights of the car and the trailer. That's the main reason I got mine, plus a Freelander hasn't got a massive towing capacity so I decided to go for the 401 :)
 
Oberon said:
I had to actively keep slowing down on the M6 as my speed was creeping up and I was determined to do no more than 45mph.
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In good conditions (eg no high winds/wet/poor visibility), you are actually better to keep a better speed than that on a dual carriageway/motorway. You will have less traffic having to overtake you and so suffer less drag/less worries of numpties cutting up in front of you etc. I drive just over 55mph on dual carriageways/motorways in good conditions and so have less lorries/HGVs passing.

I have an Ifor Williams 401, have towed with it for about 3 years now and never had a problem with horse travelling badly or it feeling unstable. As others have said, there's actually a very small width difference between it and a 505 (about 30cm I think) and the horse gets much more room than in half a double trailer.

They are so easy to drive (follow the same line as the car so less chance of you clipping kerbs, easier to gauge it missing potholes etc) and manouvere and you are able to see traffic behind you fully in your wing mirrors without needing extensions on like you would with a double.

Modern single trailers (although they are really "one and a half" trailers!) are miles better than the older ones and just as safe a form of transport as a double. In fact... safer as the weight ratio between tow car and tow load will be closer than the same car towing a double.
 
I can see both sides here, I think the older type single trailers were very narrow, whereas some of the newer ones - possibly the Ifor Williams ones mentions, are much wider. I saw one at a show recently on display and was quite impressed, they do have more room than half a double trailer.
 
FigJam said:
In good conditions (eg no high winds/wet/poor visibility), you are actually better to keep a better speed than that on a dual carriageway/motorway. You will have less traffic having to overtake you and so suffer less drag/less worries of numpties cutting up in front of you etc. I drive just over 55mph on dual carriageways/motorways in good conditions and so have less lorries/HGVs passing.

I have an Ifor Williams 401, have towed with it for about 3 years now and never had a problem with horse travelling badly or it feeling unstable. As others have said, there's actually a very small width difference between it and a 505 (about 30cm I think) and the horse gets much more room than in half a double trailer.

They are so easy to drive (follow the same line as the car so less chance of you clipping kerbs, easier to gauge it missing potholes etc) and manouvere and you are able to see traffic behind you fully in your wing mirrors without needing extensions on like you would with a double.

Modern single trailers (although they are really "one and a half" trailers!) are miles better than the older ones and just as safe a form of transport as a double. In fact... safer as the weight ratio between tow car and tow load will be closer than the same car towing a double.
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Thanks for the info. I did find myself doing 55mph and it was completely comfortable - but it was my first time towing with the horse so I tried to keep real steady.....
 
Super_Kat said:
Everyone has an opinion and is entitled to it, but I would listen to the opinions of the people who had experience of the matter in hand rather than the scaremongerers.

I get similar opinions asking about tyres on a car forum. Some say that anything less than £500 race tyres are just dangerous at anything over 40mph.

I'm sure that the 35cm difference between an ifor williams 505 and a 401 are a HUGE difference and that internet keyboard experts know so much better than the engineers at ifor williams on terms of stability. <rolleyes>

If you work 95 hours a week, when do you get to see your horses? If you work 7 days a week then that's over 13.5 hours a day which after sleeping, eating and travelling doesn't leave you any time at all!!! :o I would rather work less hours, get rid of the lorry, get an IW401 ;) and spend more time with these wonderful animals.
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