Stumped!! Horse lorry wouldn't move

Lea1985

Lea1985

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:( Im stumped!! Brought a little 3.5 tonne horse lorry in June and have spent time and money getting an mot and getting everything ready for the horses!

So yesterday thought I would take a road trip, put the horses in Arab 14hh 325kg and 15hh cob 550kg. Loaded fab! (both usually a nightmare!) nice and roomy for them, off we went........wouldnt move!!!!!!!!!!!!

It inched forward but wouldnt pull off and kept stalling with the effort of trying to move. Took the horses out and went for a spin no problem.

Now am I being totally think or should this be able to pull with two ponys this size in it?????:mad:
 
Yes it should be able to move with them in it! I have no idea about loads etc, but even if massively overloaded it should still be able to move.
 
even if the horses were too heavy, your lorry should have pulled away. I suggest you get a mechanic to look at it - maybe your clutch is knackered. If the lorry had been standing a long time, it is possible the brakes had locked ? If you want to know whether it is legally overweight, you will need to drive it to your local weighbridge. Most council tips will have one.
 
Unless its already massively overweight then it should move - brakes could be seized or callipers needed but tbh if so it wouldn't have driven so well. If you are an AA member like me you can call the AA.
 
Thanks everyone :) Just cant understand why it moved just beautifully without them in it!! Went round the village lovely, but could the brakes still be stuck on? I just drove into the ground wouldnt budge, but it reveresed ok with them in it because I reversed out the space then tried to move forward
 
So, it wouldn't move with about a tonne of weight it but it was fine when empty?

I'm guessing it's not the clutch as that would slip and you'd hear/smell it. I take it you have an MOT so I'm guessing the springs/suspension etc are fine.

My guess is that the weight is somehow stopping drive getting to the wheels or causing the brakes to lock on. Can you get a mechanic to the yard so he can see what happens when you load? Does it behave consistently with both horses loaded? Could be a problem with the drive shaft or transfer box that only shows up when a load is on it.

Good luck!
 
BigRed said:
was it soft/deep ground that you were parked on?
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it was indoor in a barn, dry muddy area at the bottom of the barn. Had old bricks sticking out the mud by about 1 inch and it wouldnt go over them. So I had to keep reversing. One turned around the area through the stables in dry and fairly flat. I just inched forward then cut out straining so much trying to move.
 
Flashpaddler said:
So, it wouldn't move with about a tonne of weight it but it was fine when empty?

I'm guessing it's not the clutch as that would slip and you'd hear/smell it. I take it you have an MOT so I'm guessing the springs/suspension etc are fine.

My guess is that the weight is somehow stopping drive getting to the wheels or causing the brakes to lock on. Can you get a mechanic to the yard so he can see what happens when you load? Does it behave consistently with both horses loaded? Could be a problem with the drive shaft or transfer box that only shows up when a load is on it.

Good luck!
Click to expand...


Yes thats right fine with no horses in it. There was a smell but I think that was the effort of me reving so much :( yerh I'm going to call my mechanic. Thank you
 
If there's a smell then it could be the clutch slipping. Take the van to the nearest hill (without the horses!) and try doing a hill start. If it doesn't pull away smoothly then the clutch needs attention. However, if it was the clutch, it wouldn't go backwards with the horses in any more than it would go forward. If this is the case, then I think it is a worn drive shaft that is slipping when stress is applied to it in the form of weight. There are fudges that can be applied to get this sort of problem to get through an MOT/sale that only show up when stress is applied to said drive shaft - it may be something added to a transfer box etc that you can smell!! I suspect this is the case but only after a proper look-about could a mechanic be sure.

Good luck!

FP
 
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It's a mechanic job I'm afraid. It sounds like your brake adjuster has jumped the cam or if not that then the load adjuster is incorrectly set or even broken. The smell would have been your clutch burning as you were straining it to pull forward
 
Had you got it in 1st gear? The gears on some lorries are tricky. Maybe you were in 3 rd gear instead of 1st. If this were the case it would possibly move unladen but not with the horses
 
Flashpaddler said:
If there's a smell then it could be the clutch slipping. Take the van to the nearest hill (without the horses!) and try doing a hill start. If it doesn't pull away smoothly then the clutch needs attention. However, if it was the clutch, it wouldn't go backwards with the horses in any more than it would go forward. If this is the case, then I think it is a worn drive shaft that is slipping when stress is applied to it in the form of weight. There are fudges that can be applied to get this sort of problem to get through an MOT/sale that only show up when stress is applied to said drive shaft - it may be something added to a transfer box etc that you can smell!! I suspect this is the case but only after a proper look-about could a mechanic be sure.

Good luck!

FP
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^ This :(

As said - go try it up a hill for a hill start for the 1st test, then get mech to check over.
 
Too much weight in it and the base of the floor is hitting the wheels. 2 horses in it will probbly be making it overweight and illegal.
 
what make/model of 3.5 tonner is it?
Reason I ask is that Merc sprinters/Vw lt35's are notorious for the handbrake compensator arm underneath seizing in the on position if left for a while.
 
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