Transport Running Costs

[Doug]

Are there any resources online that show a comparison of costs for the various methods of transport? I.e. 3.5 tonne vs 7.5 tonne

Wondering what each solution is like to live with day to day.

The cost of 3.5 tonne lorries seems to match the cost of a 7.5 tonne and the required training and certification tests to drive them!

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I have never found any comparison charts etc for this. I know people that have 3.5 ton vehicles & I have a 7.5 ton lorry & without a doubt the 7.5 ton lorry is more expensive to run. Obviously you have to take into account the age & the service history but everything is more expensive. They do less miles to the gallon. A MOT Test is more expensive, over twice as much, & as for parts & labour, well these go off the scale!

When you read the above you'd wonder why anyone has a 7.5 ton lorry but it's simple really. Most 7.5 ton lorrys have the payload to carry 2 or even 3 horses legally where most 3.5 ton vans can only carry 1 horse or possibly 2 ponies. I also believe the larger vehicle to be more stable on the road, also it can have a living area which is handy when staying away or for resting in between classes.

In the end it's a personal thing, younger drivers can drive a 3.5 ton on their licences without having to take other tests for the larger vehicles or for towing so they score highly for that factor. The downside, as previously mentioned is a far reduced payload. On a good one you may get 1200kg tops but more than likely less. It seems a good payload until you work out the weight of your horses, driver & passenger, fuel, water, tack etc etc & then suddenly they aren't as good a vehicle. For one horse they could work but I would question stability but for 2 horses they have too small a payload.