Thoughts on this 3.5 t box?

Beware of being attracted to the rotten horsebox that has had a bit of flashy upgrade (respray) but is in reality a heap of rusting metal . The one you are not attracted to is the better box - aluminium sides do not rot/rust etc etc
 
sport horse said:
Beware of being attracted to the rotten horsebox that has had a bit of flashy upgrade (respray) but is in reality a heap of rusting metal . The one you are not attracted to is the better box - aluminium sides do not rot/rust etc etc
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I don’t particularly like the purple one either to be honest hahahahaha, that’s a good point though
 
If you are still interested in a van type conversion then take a look at the one below. It has passed it's MOT every time since 2018 & currently has a full MOT. The cost is around £5k cheaper that the one at Warwickshire Horseboxes. It has a payload of 1000kg, which is about all the payload you can expect with one of these conversions. It's certainly worth a look.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27543802...a/mLDdtKomFp/e/KFdKvtscKA=|tkp:Bk9SR8iN0tPcYA
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
If you are still interested in a van type conversion then take a look at the one below. It has passed it's MOT every time since 2018 & currently has a full MOT. The cost is around £5k cheaper that the one at Warwickshire Horseboxes. It has a payload of 1000kg, which is about all the payload you can expect with one of these conversions. It's certainly worth a look.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27543802...a/mLDdtKomFp/e/KFdKvtscKA=|tkp:Bk9SR8iN0tPcYA
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There is still bidding on it it will go for at least 12k probably more
 
Slightly thread stealing but thoughts on this? https://www.facebook.com/groups/147...98069407115039/?sale_post_id=3198069407115039

I know it's in need of an extra window & / or roof vent for better ventilation (& I'd also like to know if there's a reason for the lack of Luton storage). Would also like to know who did the conversion & how bad the windscreen damage that's been an advisory on last 3 MOTs is (looks like some scratching on passenger side from what I can see in photos / wording of first advisory) but at a guess it's probably about 20-30 mins drive away & everything else that I vaguely like (that I can also afford) seems to be about 4 hours away!
 
Boulty said:
Slightly thread stealing but thoughts on this? https://www.facebook.com/groups/147...98069407115039/?sale_post_id=3198069407115039

I know it's in need of an extra window & / or roof vent for better ventilation (& I'd also like to know if there's a reason for the lack of Luton storage). Would also like to know who did the conversion & how bad the windscreen damage that's been an advisory on last 3 MOTs is (looks like some scratching on passenger side from what I can see in photos / wording of first advisory) but at a guess it's probably about 20-30 mins drive away & everything else that I vaguely like (that I can also afford) seems to be about 4 hours away!
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Looks pretty good to me but there are areas of concern.. As you have said, nothing horrendous on the MOT but the fact it's failed on silly things every year pretty much since 2014 would make me think it hasn't been that well looked after, I would want to know when it was last fully serviced - make sure you take the radiator cap off and look for milky residue, I would also swipe the oil dipstick and see what the oil looks like. Another good test it to put it in 5th or 6th gear and then lift your foot slowly off the clutch, if it doesn't stall then the clutch is on it's way out.

The two sides of the back bumper are different colours, so I would want to know if it's ever been rear ended or whether that is just a coincidence or whether it's needed repair, the left panel of the bumper on the rear door hasn't been re-fitted very well either as it has a gap on the left side. The metal lip on the bottom of the entry is all mashed up so I would want to make sure that that isn't due to some sort of panel damage or the ramp not sitting correctly - I would want to know how that has occured, it's not on the top of the lip but the part that would face out so I wouldn't have thought it was caused by a horse. Looks to me also in the side on view where the van is facing left that there is rust on the bottom of the cab just behind the front wheel, which would be quite normal in a box of this age and not a huge issue as relatively easy to weld and not structural, however it also looks like it's starting to rust on the bottom left and right corners of the ramp, which would be a bit more of a concern and would end up being a ramp replacement.

This section of the van also looks warped and thus the panel doesn't fit correctly, and this could also explain why the metal lip on the bottom of the ramp I have mentioned above looks as though it's buckled. I think they have driven into something here, but if the ramp doesn't fit correctly it wouldn't be water tight and thus it might be rusty elsewhere. I would also want to get under the van and make sure nothing on the bottom has been warped/crushed and would need sorting out. ETA: This might just be the shape of the van looking at the other side, but to me it looks more pronounced on this side, I would still want to have a look as it defintely looks to be affecting the ramp, but the curve upwards might just be the bodywork shape.

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A bit further down that link there is a much nicer looking Marlborough box for 11k. Lower mileage and a reputable builder.
 
Thanks, think I need to look at images on a bigger screen as hadn't noticed the warping or the bumper until it was pointed out! Think I'll probably not bother going to look as there's other work I'd want doing & if the ramp's already needing work in something that was only converted in 2019 then I'm guessing the rest of it may not be to a great standard either.

I have seen the Marlborough. It is both older than I'm ideally wanting & several thousand over budget. With it being a decent name I doubt they'd shift enough on price to make it within reach as it is fairly priced, it's just more than I've got to spend. It's also over 4 hrs drive away which complicates things logistically. (There was a similar age Marlborough sport whose advert was literally live for a few hours earlier in the week. Would probably have travelled for that if I'd got a reply as was probably a bit underpriced & so well within budget with some to spare)
 
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AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
Looks pretty good to me but there are areas of concern.. As you have said, nothing horrendous on the MOT but the fact it's failed on silly things every year pretty much since 2014 would make me think it hasn't been that well looked after, I would want to know when it was last fully serviced - make sure you take the radiator cap off and look for milky residue, I would also swipe the oil dipstick and see what the oil looks like. Another good test it to put it in 5th or 6th gear and then lift your foot slowly off the clutch, if it doesn't stall then the clutch is on it's way out.

The two sides of the back bumper are different colours, so I would want to know if it's ever been rear ended or whether that is just a coincidence or whether it's needed repair, the left panel of the bumper on the rear door hasn't been re-fitted very well either as it has a gap on the left side. The metal lip on the bottom of the entry is all mashed up so I would want to make sure that that isn't due to some sort of panel damage or the ramp not sitting correctly - I would want to know how that has occured, it's not on the top of the lip but the part that would face out so I wouldn't have thought it was caused by a horse. Looks to me also in the side on view where the van is facing left that there is rust on the bottom of the cab just behind the front wheel, which would be quite normal in a box of this age and not a huge issue as relatively easy to weld and not structural, however it also looks like it's starting to rust on the bottom left and right corners of the ramp, which would be a bit more of a concern and would end up being a ramp replacement.

This section of the van also looks warped and thus the panel doesn't fit correctly, and this could also explain why the metal lip on the bottom of the ramp I have mentioned above looks as though it's buckled. I think they have driven into something here, but if the ramp doesn't fit correctly it wouldn't be water tight and thus it might be rusty elsewhere. I would also want to get under the van and make sure nothing on the bottom has been warped/crushed and would need sorting out. ETA: This might just be the shape of the van looking at the other side, but to me it looks more pronounced on this side, I would still want to have a look as it defintely looks to be affecting the ramp, but the curve upwards might just be the bodywork shape.

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Do you think they’ll get cheaper in winter since people are using them less and there’s probably less demand for them? I was thinking of waiting a few months as I’ll have more money saved up then too so the combination of them being cheaper and my higher budget means I could potentially get a much better one if I wait
 
Boulty said:
Thanks, think I need to look at images on a bigger screen as hadn't noticed the warping or the bumper until it was pointed out! Think I'll probably not bother going to look as there's other work I'd want doing & if the ramp's already needing work in something that was only converted in 2019 then I'm guessing the rest of it may not be to a great standard either.

I have seen the Marlborough. It is both older than I'm ideally wanting & several thousand over budget. With it being a decent name I doubt they'd shift enough on price to make it within reach as it is fairly priced, it's just more than I've got to spend. It's also over 4 hrs drive away which complicates things logistically. (There was a similar age Marlborough sport whose advert was literally live for a few hours earlier in the week. Would probably have travelled for that if I'd got a reply as was probably a bit underpriced & so well within budget with some to spare)
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I’ve seen some decent looking ones quite far away too but I’m already sick of doing long drives to find out the box isn’t as described or they’re no good so I’m just looking at local ones (within an hour or so) unless I see something really decent
 
Iloveeverycat said:
Do you think they’ll get cheaper in winter since people are using them less and there’s probably less demand for them? I was thinking of waiting a few months as I’ll have more money saved up then too so the combination of them being cheaper and my higher budget means I could potentially get a much better one if I wait
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I don't think they'll get any cheaper, I just think that you will be able to build a better budget. People don't use them less in the winter I find, they just go to indoor school hires, or school hires full stop as they can't ride in the fields. They have wniter dressage series etc etc.

You could always hire a mechanic close to the horsebox you have seen to go and do an inspection.. Not the least risky way but if you find a diamond that's cheap as it's in the @ss end of nowhere it might be worth it.
 
To be fair my previous box came from Kent & I'm in Yorkshire so I could travel again for the right one (mind you she was trouble from the word go... I do have a weird desire to know where she is now though & probably would be mad enough to buy her if for sale!)
 
Just to jump on this thread as I am seeking a 3.5t to mainly carry one small horse but occasionally may need to take both to farrier/vet etc. I have a similar budget to OP and others on here, and have indeed found a couple of the boxes linked in this thread, but for various reasons have discounted them with input from my ‘tame mechanic’.
My current thoughts are now to try to source a reasonably priced, well maintained secondhand equi-sport conversion with the slightly bigger payload - although these seem to selling well at the moment and I’ve just missed out on one that sounded ideal.
The search continues!
 
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