Tell me about horseboxes

[humph]

We've decided to sell our 7.5t hunting lorry as it's too big and bulky for what I need so I am investigating smaller lorries.

Please can you all tell me your experiences and important things to consider when buying a smaller lorry.

I will be transporting one horse, 16.1 about 530kg or one pony 11.3hh, negligible weight but I think he's about 300kg or less but unlikely to travel them both at the same time.

I have years on the clock so my licence allows me to drive up to 7.5t.

I found our 7.5t lorry too big and bulky and my legs ached from the clutch. I also never felt it offered a particularly nice ride.

If you were me, what would you look to buy? Living and sleeping accom is not important although tack storage is. Easy to drive is important. Any particular manufacturers you would recommend? We would like to keep the budget down as much as poss as would be getting finance to fund it. How much will we have to spend to get what we're after?

Thank you, I look forward to hearing your advice.

 

[soulfull]

You don't say how old your last one was. Did it have power steering etc
Personally I don't like the 3.5t. As to get a good one that can carry a good sized horse, 2 people, tack etc you really need £8k and some luck
I used to have a smallish 7.5t 2 horse daf 150 With good sized living God it was so easy to drive was like driving a van. Only 22ft long
I now have a 6t. Iveco daily. 2 horse smaller living. Power steering etc. it's great .
Oh gears take a little getting uses to but fine.
I love it!!

 

[humph]

Thanks Soulfull, It is an M reg Mercedes, space for 3/4 horses as well as a storage area where the living normally goes. It does have power steering and is actually a good lorry, started perfectly every time, etc etc but just feels too big for me, particularly since I never have any need to carry that many horses and more often than not I'm doing it on my own.

 

[ttt]

For one horse a 3.5t would be perfect for you. No weight issues, cheap to run, easy to drive.

 

[humph]

Thank you TTT, that's what I'm erring towards. Are there any particular ones to look out for - either because they're so good or because they're so bad?

 

[Abacus]

Another vote for 3.5 tonnes. My old one was fantastic - servicing and any repairs were so much cheaper, and so easy to drive. It was a Movano conversion - they and the Renault Masters are very similar. These are probably the more 'budget' end - you will find some people hate and others love them. There is a choice between the van shape and those that have a box put on the back, which makes them larger but generally a bit weightier. I had a van shape and my 16.2 ISH fitted fine height wise. You would have to go to a weigh bridge to check whether you could travel both the horse and pony at once.

Things to check: you must, must be sure that the bulkhead is reinforced as you want more than a bit of plywood between the driver and the horse's rear end. And I prefer a reinforced floor. It would be better to have something to discourage a horse from going over the breech bar into the groom's area - a V shape (like an anti-weave grille) is ideal. Some horses never think of it, others have a go. I prefer the van shape of conversion as they tend to keep the rear double doors - if a horse did end up in there they could be got out easily. The 'box' type tend to have a door too narrow for a horse -I have no idea why.

Alternatives are the likes of Equitrek which are much more expensive and rather nicer, although not sure how they compare on weight.

 

[humph]

Sorry, I've forgotten to check for replies. Thank you Abacus, that's interesting info. Because the van shaped ones were that much cheaper I presumed they were too tight a squeeze and less welcoming to the horse so it's interesting to hear such a positive side to them.

 

[fjordhorsefan]

You don't say how old your last one was. Did it have power steering etc
Personally I don't like the 3.5t. As to get a good one that can carry a good sized horse, 2 people, tack etc you really need £8k and some luck
I used to have a smallish 7.5t 2 horse daf 150 With good sized living God it was so easy to drive was like driving a van. Only 22ft long
I now have a 6t. Iveco daily. 2 horse smaller living. Power steering etc. it's great .
Oh gears take a little getting uses to but fine.
I love it!!

I have same, I love my little lorry! It's costing the same to run as trailer and 4x4 did, has more storage space, and is a far better ride for the horses.

I looked at 3.5t, but since I want to take 2 out quite often they were just too small. Also,the ones in my budget were not particularly safe either!