Tell me about LT35 and Ford transit horse boxes

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Vodkagirly

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I'm browsing 3.5 tonners at the moment. The ones that appeal are the LT35 by VW and Ford Transits. I like the large luton as I want a place to sleep and a mini living. I will only ever travel one so while pay load is still an issue it isn't as extreme as some. I won't have the budget for a new one so will be looking for secondhand. One thing had struck me, why are they no new builds of these makes?
Just concerned that there may be something I am overlooking.
Appreciate any advise.
 
I was at a show a while back & I saw a transit van with an Ifor back on it. It turned into the carpark & the centre of gravity must have been so high I honestly thought it was going to topple over. :( I've never seen anything as top heavy & unstable in my life. There was only one horse in the box as well.

Can't say anthing about the currect 3.5 ton builds though.
 
LT 35 s are underpowered and very clunky. The gearchange is a disaster engineeringly speaking. Fords are much better. The thing to remember about ALL VAN conversions ,is that the design life for a van is about 7 years. They were not designed to be horse boxes.They rust ,within the expected timeframe of their lives ,7 years. If you want your box to last ,you MUST get it waxoiled regularly .
 
Tr0uble said:
I love my LT35
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Me too! He's called Dave :D I had him fitted out to travel 1 so lots of room left for decent size (in 3.5t terms) living.
Had a couple of big things go wrong (he is H reg) but reliable and passes MOT each year..
I love him because it means my independence, I don't have grandfather rights on my licence so I wouldn't have done half the things I've done without him.
 
I had a ford transit with Ifor back, horse had travelled well b4 in trailers walked straight in transit, went ten miles v v carefully but heard thump in back going downhill when braked v v gently for tractor coming other way, checked on horse in back looked fine, unloaded ok, did lesson. Horse refused to load back in tried next day after stsbling there, eventually gave up and rode home, he would rather have died than go back in, now travels perfectly in equitrek and loads in 3 mins. High centre of gravity to blame in transit
 
In answer to your question why are there no new builds on these makes, both of them are now obsolete. Iveco is the big brother of the transit and i think vw replaced the lt range a good few years ago.
 
I have a ford transit cab with lorry body it's the first lorry I've driven and I love it, but I'm using it to transport daughters 13hh which it's perfect for. She loads herself so obviously not stressed in the slightest. She's called betsy and had a makeover last week and looks lovely now!!!
 
Hi I have an lt35 and she is called Twix !
i agree underpowered though we do get where we are going with few probs so far she is P reg so not young. We only travel ponies and although stalled for three would only carry two as i think she would be overweight. We have a small living area with fridge cooker and sink, bench seating and luton for sleeping. She took us years to find as the ponies travel sideways leaving more living area, good old ebay !!
 
I have an LT35 which is now for sale because I need to carry two horses.

I love it. Very easy to drive and although I can appreciate why it may be underpowered I have never found this a problem and get up hills slowly, but with no trouble. Mine has a good sized living and large luton
 
I have an LT35 which is now for sale because I need to carry two horses.

I love it. Very easy to drive and although I can appreciate it may be underpowered, I have never found this a problem and get up hills slowly, but with no trouble. Mine has a good sized living and large luton. Had to spend quite a bit on 'upkeep' of ours- new engine (eeeeek!) but it is low mileage and very easy in all ways! Will be sad to see it go! Horses have always loaded very well into it- very light and airy!
 
I had a Ford Transit with a luton box body, (not an ifor) and my ponies travelled really well in it and i loved driving it, it was just like a car. Unfortunately rust got the better of it so it's now going for scrap. it's 24 years old so did well. I've just replaced it with a 23 year old LT35 which has no rust at all and no mechanical problems, drives differently, so am getting used to that, but wouldnt change it. Its a great lorry, yes a bit slow, but to be honest i wont drive faster then 45mph with ponies onboard anyway...
 
Mike007 said:
There really is no substitute for taking your HgV test. For heaven sakes :eek:even I passed it:eek:
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Why? I only want to carry 1 horse. I can drive up to 7.5 tonne on my license but one of the big draws of a 3.5 tonne is that if I had a accident plenty of my friends could drive home. With the trailer I am very limited.

The transists with an Ifor on the back are a definite no, the weight distribution looks horrid.

mutley75, thats exactkly what I needed to know, thanks
 
Vodkagirly said:
Why? I only want to carry 1 horse. I can drive up to 7.5 tonne on my license but one of the big draws of a 3.5 tonne is that if I had a accident plenty of my friends could drive home. With the trailer I am very limited.
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Good point

BTW - bit of legal trivia - you can tow a 750 kgs MPTLM (MAM) caravan with that 3.5 tonner and it would still be a B licence set up
 
I have a VW Lt50 so a bigger version 5.5Tonnes and i bloody love it, its no speed machine but hey does it need to be? its a G reg, no rust, starts first time every time, even if sat for months on end.
I have never had a horse travel badly in it as it is sturdy and well balanced and very reliable.

I have borrowed Ford Flatbed truck with Ifor williams back on it from a friend before, it was wobbly and top heavy, awful to load into as steep ramp and the front unload required a really tight turn for a large horse to get out, also the front ramp was only about 1 metre wide maximum with no edges, horses were practically walking the plank! I also felt this is was massively underpowered but cannot quote what engine size it was as i dont know.

I also often borrow from a friend her nissan 'select' horsebox 3.5tonnes, much newer on a 53 plate, drives well, reliable all mod cons, well put together, only thing i would bear in mind is on a rear facing lorry its worth adapting to the removable partition that i believe they now have in the newer models.
When using this lorry i had a horse jump the fixed partition into the jockey area at the rear, luckily i was at hickstead and the security team/vet/ stewards and fire brigade where amazing and had him cut out quickly, seems as if they didnt consider this eventuality when designing these boxes, its more common then you may think.

Sorry for my ramble but i hope i helped.
 
Ive got the VWLT 4.6. The same as the LT35 but more payload. its a 2002 reg and I love it. It's a real ladies van and drives like a car.

I used to have a ford cargo called 'The Beast'. It used to scare the life out of me.
 
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