Towing/3.5 tonne pros and cons...?? very basic questions!!

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Morgan123

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Hello, i am planning to get transport for my horse pretty soon but am unsure on the pros and cons of getting a big car and trailer (I dont mind doing the extra test), or getting a 3.5tonne lorry. Can anyone help wiht the following?!

1) do you have to have been driving for a certian amount of time before you take your trailer test?

2) some people at yard say it's cheaper to get a lorry than to have a bigger car and trailer, in terms of insurance and total cost. this seems weird to me - is that true??!

3) what size engine would you need to comfortably tow a standard trailer with 1 15hh W cob (fat) approx 450/500 kg and another say about the same weight in case i want to take friends?

thank you!!
 
Hi,
I did have 3.5 lorry but sold it for 4x4 and trailer for a few reasons 1, lorrys need alot more maintenance and 2, with 3.5t its very easy to overload most i think can only take 2 14.2 with ppl, tack etc..

Im taking my test friday!!!!! its really not that bad (just hope i pass lol)

for me cost of insuring car and lorry was more than 4x4 ,plus only 1 mot for 4x4, tax for lorry and car was = to 4x4 fuel maybe a bit more but for me it was better to get 4x4 and trailer
 
1) Not certain, it doesn't apply to me as I passed my test before 1997. DVLA website will tell you.

2) I bought my first 7.5 tonne lorry for £1K, less than the price of a trailer, so I could keep my 50+ mpg car and just drive the lorry when necesssary. Far cheaper for me.

3) It's not the engine size that counts. You need to find out the total weight including trailer and kit and then find a suitable car, it will be BIG.
 
Some 4x4s are quite thirsty and they cost more to tax and insure than small cars. Our Disco costs nearly £400 a year to insure, fully comp, despite the fact that both OH and I are over thirty, have clean licences and have never made a claim (it is covered for business use though, that may put the price up a bit). When I had an IW, that cost another £45 on top to insure (have an old Sinclair now so don't bother with trailer ins ATM). Add to that the cost of the trailer test and training (AFAIA costs about £400 altogether), which you would have to fork out again if you were to fail.

Small lorries don't cost a lot to insure due to that fact that most don't do many miles each year, when I had one, it cost only around £130 a year to insure third party F&T (but it was not a valueable lorry). It cost no more in diesel to run than a large car and the tax and MOT fee is the same as a large car.

So, my thoughts are that if you do lots of miles during the week, to and from work/the yard, etc, you are probably better off with a small car and a small lorry.
 
If you are wanting to transport 2 horses (as in not little ponies) you will struggle to do so with a 3.5 tonne lorry.... As far as I'm aware there is only one (a Marlborough?) that has enough payload to do that.... and they're quite pricey.....
 
the other thing i would say when i looked into it was that if you have breakdown for car they will normally pick up whatever you are towing, however they wont touch horses uneless a specialist horse breakdown company so we ended up having the AA for car and then NFU i think it was for trailer and horse breakdown. All adds to the expense. as well as car service, tyres etc you will also need trailer service tyres etc. To me it jsut seemed that you doubled eveything and still had to get changed in a trailer and all stuff in back of car etc and nowhere to sit and have a cuppa.
 
I have a 3.5t box and I love it! Very very easy to manage if you are alone.

For me it worked out far better to buy a box than a trailer. My car is provided by work and is not suitable for towing, so I would have had to buy a 4x4 for towing, which would basically only be used for that. Plus buying a trailer, insurance, tax and getting trailer test I think it was more cost effective for me to get the box.

However, I only really plan to transport one horse. Weight is an issue with these smaller boxes, especially the Transit ones. Also the more extras you have in them (living etc) the less horse you can carry. Mine has only the bare minimum in the back, it's like a self-propelled trailer really!

Insurance cost me £250 fully comp for any driver over 25 (05 plate vehicle so quite new), tax £185, it's pretty kind on diesel too.

I checked with the AA re breakdown, as I am already a member. They are happy to deal with the vehicle, but not the horse. As I am unlikely to be going vast distances and have a number of people I could ask for help in a sticky situation, I don't have separate horsebox recovery.

I think you need to do the maths carefully and work out what is best for you. I couldn't really see the point of buying a 4x4 just to tow with.
 
I have a 3.5 ton van and its great. Easier to drive, I didn't have to take a separate test and its not expensive in terms of running costs compared to a 4x4.

The only thing you won't find it easy to do is take two 15hh horses and be within the weight limit. If you go for a van you probably won't be able to take friends unless they ride shetlands!

If you do decide to go for a 3.5ton I'm selling mine, a lovely little van but unfortunately not enough headroom for my giant of a new horse.
 
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