Trailer recommendations

[Serephin]

Having newly acquired a Disco the OH has agreed that I can have a trailer (wooo hoooo!) - so I have been perusing ebay etc but was wondering which brand of trailer is generally the most popular.

Are there any makes I should avoid? There seem to be a lot of Ifor Williams trailers about - I have only seen one Bateson advertised and another brand which I have never heard of before (name escapes me at the moment) but the back ramp can be opened out to the side as well as the normal way.

I am after a 2 horse trailer so I can take someone else out with me for hacks etc.

So, HHO, which trailers do you recommend?

A generous slice of jam roll for all that reply!

 

[TicTac]

Well...........I currently have an Ifor 510, the old shape but it's only 4 years old. I bought it because I wanted a big trailer with plenty of head room to take 2 big horses out in, However I do find it an incredibly heavy trailer to manouvre in the awkward space I have to park it in and due to my mare being out of action this summer haven't used it that much ( only bought it in may)

Previously I had a Bateson Deauville. Loved it. Light weight to manouvre, light and airy inside and smooth ride for the horses. Did find though, that with 2 large horses in, it was a bit cramped, hense buying the Ifor this time round.

Depends on your budget really and size of horse/horses you will be travelling but out of the 2 I've owned. I like the Bateson the best.

 

[Vodkagirly]

I've got an Ifor 505. Had been borrowing one for a while and loved it. Tows well and easy to handle but I'm having massive issues getting parts from them and the trailer has been off the road for 2 months so frankly I wouldn't get another.

 

[ROG]

With the Disco having a 3500 towing capacity you have the choice of the lot


Caveat - as long as you have a B+E licence

 

[Serephin]

With the Disco having a 3500 towing capacity you have the choice of the lot


Caveat - as long as you have a B+E licence

yes, I have the old license so can tow with impunity

Thanks for the replies - thats interesting about the Ifor Williams Trailers - I will see if I can track down a Bateson.

 

[smellsofhorse]

Ifor Williams seems the most popular.
I've had a 505 but for currently have a 510, slightly bigger.
Very nice trailer, easy to gets parts if needed.
I am thinking of selling mine if interested!

 

[perfect11s]

With the Disco having a 3500 towing capacity you have the choice of the lot


Caveat - as long as you have a B+E licence

Ive got my eye on this
www.horsetrailerworld.com/home/trailerdetail.asp?ID=348703

 

[muffinmunsh]

Ifors seem the most popular.
My gelding doesn't like the Bateson ... I think it is the long window and view of the roads he is not happy with.
I bought a Ruchardson Supreme Ultra. Travels 2 large horses comfortably and is easy to manoeuvre and tow. Front ramp can be put on whatever side you want if you buy new. Also have tack box which is fab. Only thing I'd improve is the quality of finish ... Some of the nuts are a bit rusty and could be dome-type nuts ... That kind of thing. Otherwise very happy with it. Weight about 1100kg so easy peasy within Disco capacity even with two WB and tack and haynets (I tow with disco 3)

 

[Serephin]

I am thinking of selling mine if interested!

I am miles away from you though, south lincs, otherwise I would have come and had a look!

 

[helencharlie]

I have a cheval liberties. Have had this for 2 years and I love it. It is light and easy to tow, has an aluminium floor as standard. The best feature is that you unload on the passenger side rather than other the other side and the back ramp and front ramps can also swing out like doors. It is spacious and quite airy as well.

 

[becca1305]

I loved my Ifor 510 its now 7 years old and will soon be looking for a new home as Ive had a lorry built . My mum who is a relatively nervous driver - wont drive the lorry -was happy towing it and reverse parking it. Its got a couple of things to fix before we sell it but they are cosmetic for example one strip of door rubber is off. Whilst its not been in particularly heavy use over the years its still done us proud and has held up really well .
The interior seems to be relatively inviting to the horse as its large and airy and they have plenty of head room rather than being squidged as seems to be the way with some other makes. My other advice would be to get a trailer you can fit a tackpack in or that has tack storage, I had a burgundy one to match the trailer and it was smart and very practical made life a lot easier and freed up room in the car!

 

[Serephin]

Has anyone ever had one of these? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HENRA-CAYENNE-2-HORSE-TRAILER-/370555888605?pt=UK_WSJL_Wholesale_GL&hash=item5646da23dd#ht_670wt_860

Haven't seen one before...

 

[Cluny]

Another vote for Cheval Liberte. Although avoid the old ones with wooden floors like the plague!

I've had an Ifor 510 in the past and found it noisy and clunky. My horses seem to travel much better in my CL and it seems to give a much smoother ride. We chose the Gold model which comes with the back ramp that either opens as normal or opens to the side so your horse can step up into the trailer.

 

[Serephin]

I have a cheval liberties. Have had this for 2 years and I love it. It is light and easy to tow, has an aluminium floor as standard. The best feature is that you unload on the passenger side rather than other the other side and the back ramp and front ramps can also swing out like doors. It is spacious and quite airy as well.

They look good, hadn't thought of those - haven't seen any second hand yet.

 

[Serephin]

I loved my Ifor 510 its now 7 years old and will soon be looking for a new home as Ive had a lorry built . My mum who is a relatively nervous driver - wont drive the lorry -was happy towing it and reverse parking it. Its got a couple of things to fix before we sell it but they are cosmetic for example one strip of door rubber is off. Whilst its not been in particularly heavy use over the years its still done us proud and has held up really well .
The interior seems to be relatively inviting to the horse as its large and airy and they have plenty of head room rather than being squidged as seems to be the way with some other makes. My other advice would be to get a trailer you can fit a tackpack in or that has tack storage, I had a burgundy one to match the trailer and it was smart and very practical made life a lot easier and freed up room in the car!

There does seem to be a lot of Ifors about, they are everywhere! I was leaning towards one of them due to nearly everyone else having one at my yard - but now I am not so sure. I am a total towing noob, so something light and easy to use would be ideal.

 

[helencharlie]

I dont think that you will see many CLs second hand. They are like gold dust to get second hand. The retail price I think is around the £3k mark. My 16.2hh tb loves travelling in it.

 

[Cluny]

You definitely get more for your money with CL's compared to many other brands. I had to pay for many extras on my 510 which came as standard on my CL.

 

[Serephin]

I bought a Ruchardson Supreme Ultra. Travels 2 large horses comfortably and is easy to manoeuvre and tow. Front ramp can be put on whatever side you want if you buy new. Also have tack box which is fab. Only thing I'd improve is the quality of finish ... Some of the nuts are a bit rusty and could be dome-type nuts ... That kind of thing. Otherwise very happy with it. Weight about 1100kg so easy peasy within Disco capacity even with two WB and tack and haynets (I tow with disco 3)

Oooh, they look good too. This is going to be trickier than I thought! It does depend what I can find second hand and distance as well - OH isn't going to want to traipse up and down the country to find one.

 

[Serephin]

I dont think that you will see many CLs second hand. They are like gold dust to get second hand. The retail price I think is around the £3k mark. My 16.2hh tb loves travelling in it.

Thats not a bad retail price for new - so they are cheaper than the Ifors seemingly, second hand Ifors can be nearly 3 grand, but most I have seen are between £1,500 to £2000 or there abouts.

 

[becca1305]

serephin- just thought id say as I always thought smaller and lighter would be easier when towing until I tried...

mum finds the ifor easy to use and shes a definite panicker when reversing and driving when she panicks she goes slower and slower but she soon got the hang of it. But the main thing is daft as it may sound the smaller and lighter a trailer gets the harder it is to tow IMO! Probably would make no difference with a horse in - although doubles are more stable than singles generally. But empty it might well do! For example hardest thing to tow and reverse for me is a small general purpose trailer - you cant see the dratted thing in your mirrors and it bounces around the road when empty in particular. You also cant reverse it as it jackknifes. Next thing an ifor 510- pretty easy to tow, little road bouncing when empty, easy enough to reverse. Next thing- huge jumps trailer for PC heavier and bigger to tow than ifor - least road bounce, most solid feeling when towing and very very easy to reverse! . So IMO generally speaking bigger and in particular heavier is easier to tow! . Im sure there are many good trailers on the market just something to consider .

 

[helencharlie]

The main dealer for a CL is based in North Wales. If you google Cl you should find their website.

 

[Serephin]

serephin- just thought id say as I always thought smaller and lighter would be easier when towing until I tried...

mum finds the ifor easy to use and shes a definite panicker when reversing and driving when she panicks she goes slower and slower but she soon got the hang of it. But the main thing is daft as it may sound the smaller and lighter a trailer gets the harder it is to tow IMO! Probably would make no difference with a horse in - although doubles are more stable than singles generally. But empty it might well do! For example hardest thing to tow and reverse for me is a small general purpose trailer - you cant see the dratted thing in your mirrors and it bounces around the road when empty in particular. You also cant reverse it as it jackknifes. Next thing an ifor 510- pretty easy to tow, little road bouncing when empty, easy enough to reverse. Next thing- huge jumps trailer for PC heavier and bigger to tow than ifor - least road bounce, most solid feeling when towing and very very easy to reverse! . So IMO generally speaking bigger and in particular heavier is easier to tow! . Im sure there are many good trailers on the market just something to consider .

Thank you, that is interesting, I shall bear it in mind. The Disco is like a tank, so would pull an Ifor without breaking a sweat.

 

[perfect11s]

Thank you, that is interesting, I shall bear it in mind. The Disco is like a tank, so would pull an Ifor without breaking a sweat.

Yes it will tow a 510 however I had a bateson ascot and it was nice to tow empty or loaded
I also had the use of a friends then new 510 and to be honest it was a pig rattled and bumped all the way to cambridge and back, and I was towing it with the same ford truck so i feel it was a fair comparison so its not one I would go for, however they are strong and safe and seem to hold there value ,I find it strange but non of the horse mags seem to have done a proper real world tow test and comparison of the avaliable trailers??? if the do a transport feature its just a load of manufactures PR bull **** or have I missed something ??

 

[lannerch]

My ifor does not rattle along with many others I love it , quality built to last very roomy and easy to tow (510).
That said I had a Richardson before i bought a horse too tl to fit in it and that was a quality trailer too.

 

[silverghost]

I also have a LR Disco and tow an Equitrek spacetreka, I love it as does my horse. I used to have a local manufactured trailer similar to Richardsons, I then had two lorries and now downsized to the equitrek, it's 1100kg empty.

I'm in the minority but I dislike Ifors and would never have one. The front ramp is on the o/s so if you ever breakdown on a road and have to unload the horse is unloading towards traffic. Also the top door over the front ramp is rectangle and not cut back into the roof like a Richardson, meaning if you have a horse who is sharp, young, whatever and goes to come off and lifts their head up on seeing something they can easily bang it. My cob, 15.1hh also won't travel well in them as too narrow at the front. He loves the equitrek as does my 2yr old Sec A.

I know Equitreks can be expensive so if you go for a forward facing one I would recommend a Richardson over other makes as wider at the front.

 

[Serephin]

I also have a LR Disco and tow an Equitrek spacetreka, I love it as does my horse. I used to have a local manufactured trailer similar to Richardsons, I then had two lorries and now downsized to the equitrek, it's 1100kg empty.

I'm in the minority but I dislike Ifors and would never have one. The front ramp is on the o/s so if you ever breakdown on a road and have to unload the horse is unloading towards traffic. Also the top door over the front ramp is rectangle and not cut back into the roof like a Richardson, meaning if you have a horse who is sharp, young, whatever and goes to come off and lifts their head up on seeing something they can easily bang it. My cob, 15.1hh also won't travel well in them as too narrow at the front. He loves the equitrek as does my 2yr old Sec A.

I know Equitreks can be expensive so if you go for a forward facing one I would recommend a Richardson over other makes as wider at the front.

That is interesting as my boy is a cob and he does seem a bit tight in my friends Ifor.

 

[FayeFriesian]

Im also not keen on Ifors. My friend has one and it was so loud an rattled all the time, shes had to have the pannels stuck down. Its been in as a recall too for numerous things doing to it.

I have a wessex clubman, I got it as a really good deal from a friend who needed a quick sale. I love it, ok, it could have better snap clips, and a window perhaps (can get them with them in) but the ones ive had in love it. Ive had a 16h Friesian and a 16.2 friesian in there, both wide.

If i had enough money i'd get the wessex olympia, its slightly bigger.

You unload on the n/s, its a smooth as you can get and it feels very sturdy and they dont cost the earth.

 

[mon]

Love my IW 506 no problem with my two 16 hh plus in it.

 

[CeeBee]

I have the Wessex Olympian and my discovery pulls it easily with 2 large horses. More luxurious inside for the horses IMO, light and airy and plenty big enough for a big Irish Draught. I preferred it to the Ifor 510/511.

 

[scribble]

I have a new (this year new model) IW 506 and my 16.2 and friends 16.3 fit in it fine and travel very well, i pull it with a 3 litre trooper and it pulls it lovely. plenty of room for both, smooth ride and doesnt rattle etc. easy to wash out and keep clean and tidy too.