Tax and Insurance on Horsebox

[StarcatcherWilliam]

Currently I have a very nice Ifor Williams HB511 horsebox, but my towing vehicle is not really up to the job and I am too scared to tow as we live in a hilly area with very narrow roads, which means I rely on my OH or Dad to take me places, which is a ridiculous scenario!

Ideally, I would like to buy a little horsebox such as one of these:

http://www.horsedeals.co.uk/horseboxes-for-sale/ladies-box__10-6-12-771317

http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/used-v...58383b4add01383d3247c7379c/bodytype/livestock

Can anyone give me a vague idea of how much tax and insurance I would pay for this type of vehicle? What other costs should I be thinking about? Thanks!

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I imagine the tax would be £165 p.a, because you'd tax it as private. My 7.5 ton lorry is £165 as are most peoples.

As for insurance, it depends on many things, your age, driving experience even your post code. It would be better for you to telephone one of the insurance companies & they would be able to let you know.

Also be very careful what 3.5 ton box you buy. The second one on your list may look nice but there is quite a few cupboards etc in the living & all this is weight. You would need to know the weight of the vehicle before you put an offer in as you may find that there is very little weight left for your horse.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Check that the boxes are accepted by your insurance co - the iveco is described as livestock carrier - sometimes insurance cos can be funny (tho often fine) with it not being officiallly classed as horsebox

Some mechanics arent keen on the Iveco in terms of ease of access for doing stuff to it, so check with the garage you are planning to use.

At least one of the ads talks about 2 horses. Hardly any 3.5T lorries can legally carry 2 horses plus you, their kit and fuel. Unladen weight stamp is often done before fuel, partitions, all the living etc are added, so to get an accurate unladen figure it would need a weighbridge ticket. You might get two ponies under weight, but unlikely 2 horses.

If it is a conversion rather than a purpose built box, check that the bulkhead between the drivers compartment and the horses is strongly reinforced. Otherwise in a crash, you might survive the crash but would be highly likely to die due to half a ton of horse and metal crunching into you :-((

 

[StarcatcherWilliam]

Gosh! Some food for thought there, thanks guys! I was wondering whether my horse would even fit into a box likes these - she is 17.1hh and BIG! So the box would defo not cope with her and another horse/pony! Oh dear, back to the drawing board - on the plus side the tax is cheaper than I thought it would be lol!