Thinking of changing from trailer to lorry

[Austen123]

Hi all,

For anyone who has made the move, how have you found it?

a bit of a back story to me..

i currently have a nissan pathfinder and tow a 511, i took my test 2 years ago and am confident at towing and reversing. i only have one horse who is 17hh. I compete/clinics/visit friends near enough every weekend. i do not have a second car, but do get to drive my partner's golf when he is not using it for town journeys. The pathfinder is amazing at towing, but im looking at 20MPG (GULP!!). The reason i took the trailer test is because my previous horse and i were mainly doing local unaff events and she sadly passed away suddenly in January and i bought my new boy in Feb who is a lot more competitive.

Im going to do be doing BE next year (after a summer of being competitive at unaff ODES) and will be travelling further afield and am thinking that having some sort of living/more spare will be really useful, plus if i get something newer the MPG will be a lot better and my horse will have a more comfortable journey.

In the main, it will only be him travelling but i do, on occasion, give friends' lift if we are going to the same place. Therefore, ideally, i would like a 4.5tonne or similar. If i can get a 3.5 that can carry two, then great . but i doubt i cant with Podge's size, plus a small living with the correct payload...

PROS of Trailer set up
set up already in place
low maintenance trailer
know horse travels fine
already have license

CONS of trailer set up
expensive car to run
tax and insurance in highest bracket (just turned 25)
not as good for long journeys
not a lot of space for tack and changing etc
having to keep all my show stuff in the back of the car which drives my oh insane

PROS of lorry
more space for all my competition stuff
better MPG
better journey for horse
can have smaller car at home (better MPG lower cost tax/insurance)

CONS of lorry
have to take c1 test (around £1000?)
another vehicle to tax and insure and plate
depending on make. parts are expensive (although parts are expensive on the pathfinder!)

 

[ihatework]

When I started competing around the country I upgraded from a trailer to a 7.5T.

I was fantastic, a completely luxury. Having somewhere to store show kit without having to pack/unpack. Somewhere nice to change. A bed to sleep on when away training and competing. Life changing.

But definitely significantly more expensive to run than a car & trailer.
When I took a step back from competing I went back to a trailer.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss my lorry, but it’s a far more pragmatic choice for the short local trips I have been doing up until recently. Did do a couple of BE events and it was a bit of a PITA packing a car & trailer with all the kit needed I have to say.

Horse has just moved from DIY to comp livery so will just go on the yard wagon now

 

[Austen123]

ah , thats another point. My pathfinder is like my walking tackroom. i keep all my show stuff (comp hat, jacket, air jacket, boots, his boots, studs etcs) in the boot.
drives my OH INSANE!!!!

 

[Laura2408]

I swapped from a trailer to a 3.5t.

It’s much easier to use, no hitching or reversing which was the main pro for me. I keep almost everything in it and don’t have to unpack it after each time.

I also have a much smaller car which I prefer to drive and is tax free and has halved my petrol bill.

The only con I’ve found is the maintenance of the lorry. Mine is older but has cost in various bits and pieces over the year and when things go wrong it’s generally very expensive! My friend has just spend £1500 getting her 7.5t through its MOT and mine costs about £500 each time a mechanic touches it. Maybe I’m just unlucky!

 

[Spottyappy]

I hate, loathe, detest towing! Had a disco and equitrek for a while. Nothing wrong with either, bar the cost of the disco every time something went wrong. Was thousands. As I hated towing so much, decided if was costing so much to keep the disco on the road (think every conceivable electronic issue imaginable, plus clutch, gear box etc) I may as well go back to a lorry.
Have now had a 7.5t for 2 years. It’s a 2008 plate, so everything on it is also electronic! The first year it literally cost nothing bar the service (£500 ) and plate but this year has made up for it with electronics going, sensors in particular relating to emissions. £3500 later....
But, I am far happier with a lorry, I feel safer and for me it was absolutely the right thing to do.
Maybe consider an older lorry which doesn’t have as many electronics to go wrong, but I would say go for it.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

do not underestimate the expense of running a lorry-particularly a 7.5t (I've no experience of running a 3.5t). I have a great lorry, everyone tells me its a great lorry but it costs way too much for me to justify sadly and will sell it in the spring. Its generally £1K to get it through its plating-£800 is the magic number, doesnt seem to matter what needs doing or who does it-it always costs £800 (and we've spent 2 x £800 this year and am looking at another 1x £800 to refurb the ramp) and thats not including tax, insurance, fuel etc etc . I love it, its a dream come true to have it but it has to go.

 

[Ambers Echo]

I've moved from a trailer to a 7.5 tonne lorry.
I love having the living and storage space and I really enjoy going away in it. I struggled to drive it at first - it scared the living daylights out of me - but 4-5 months on and I am feeling more relaxed in it.

Mine is ancient so the costs may spiral but so far so good. I was amazed at how cheap it was to insure! I guess trailers are more nickable.

 

[little_critter]

do not underestimate the expense of running a lorry-particularly a 7.5t (I've no experience of running a 3.5t). I have a great lorry, everyone tells me its a great lorry but it costs way too much for me to justify sadly and will sell it in the spring. Its generally £1K to get it through its plating-£800 is the magic number, doesnt seem to matter what needs doing or who does it-it always costs £800 (and we've spent 2 x £800 this year and am looking at another 1x £800 to refurb the ramp) and thats not including tax, insurance, fuel etc etc . I love it, its a dream come true to have it but it has to go.

Yup - we estimate it costs us around £1000 a year to maintain the lorry most of that is the annual service and plating.
Mine is a small 7.5t lorry and I much prefer it to towing.

 

[dixie]

Have you considered a trailer that has a bit of living or storage capacity?
Maybe upgrade your trailer and car. I used to travel miles in my trailer for eventing and it was fine. I wouldn't necessarily say the horse had a smoother ride in a lorry and its definitely easier on those muddy days when lorries are being pulled out of the fields!

 

[Louby]

Ive had all 3 and much prefer the 7.5t. I started off with a Ifor, then went to a newish 7.5t but it broke my heart seeing it basically stood there not doing much so I sold it and got an older 7.5t which I felt owed me nothing, fast forward a few years to downsizing to a 3.5 t. Fab little horsebox but I really hated driving it as it felt like the mad mouse ride on Blackpool Pleasure Beach compared to my sturdy 7.5t. I was warned by a friend had done the same but thought Id be fine, so then went to an Equitrek trailer as wanted somewhere to get changed but the sheer length when attached to the Shogun Warrior gave me the eeeby jeebies, so back to an older 7.5t and Im happy now lol.
As for cost, Im one of lifes unlucky people lol but we have been very lucky with our wagons. My latest cost £250 plus plaiting costs to get passed but the others flew through each year. My mechanic at the time advised not getting any newer that a 2000 plate due to the electronics as theres so much more to go wrong with them. That was a few years ago now so to follow his rule you are looking at an old vehicle now.
3,5t's are silly money to buy, 4.5t like hens teeth or very expensive but you can get a lot for your money in a 7.5t. Mine is really compact, shorter than a car and trailer and prob not much longer than a 3.5t, its a fab little size but is stalled for 3 large horses.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Yup - we estimate it costs us around £1000 a year to maintain the lorry most of that is the annual service and plating.
Mine is a small 7.5t lorry and I much prefer it to towing.

I dislike towing as well. I looked to hire locally but there was only a van conversion-decent payload tbf but rear-facing with no guard into the rear. having recently seen a horse stuck in such I am reluctant to go there!

 

[Tiddlypom]

its definitely easier on those muddy days when lorries are being pulled out of the fields!

Trailers plus a 4x4 definitely rock when it comes to parking on soggy fields or verges, it's nice to be smug sometimes over those in their lorries .

 

[Wheels]

I'm thinking of doing the same as you OP.

When I competed a lot I was out in the lorry twice a week on average at lessons, clinics and shows and I had a 7.5t at that point and often took my two horses out. I needed that size of lorry for that reason.

I currently have a 4x4 and trailer but want to change for various reasons. I don't think I will go back to competing every week but am planning a few stay away shows and to go away for a week's training at a time in 2019.

4.5t would be my ideal if I can find one that feels stable enough. I would go up to 7.5 if it was very compact.

I am thinking I might hire a couple of different ones for a weekend at a time and then decide what suits best

 

[frostie652]

If you're confident towing why don't you get a trailer with living like an equitrek? Your pathfinder should be able to tow it and you're tack would fit in it too..

 

[Bernster]

I’ve only ever had lorries so can’t comment on trailer set up but do have friends who much prefer the ease and set up of a trailer. Just sold a basic 3.5t which was pretty cheap to run for a lorry, but they are expensive to buy generally. Now have a 4.5t and am liking the extra whistles and bells in the living bit again these are even more expensive to buy.

I’d think about whether you do want the payload for two, as a 3.5t is great for one and you’d be paying quite a lot extra for the option of taking someone else.

 

[EventingMum]

A lot depends on how regularly you are competing. There's nothing to beat having full living with hot water, heating, good cooking facilities etc but it comes at a price and maintaining it and plating it can be expensive. That said there is no way we'd have travelled and done bigger events without it. Now we're not competing we have sold the lorry and just have a trailer and it's nice not to have the dread of the garage bill each year.