Wessex Trailers

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Sue Wilson

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Re Wessex trailers approx 5-7 years old.
To anyone who has a Wessex trailer with a Plastitherm floor please check it carefully. I purchased this trailer new being told that the floor was rot proof and maintenance free. I went to Southern Trailers at Four Marks recently to find out the the floor has 'gone' and needs replacing. What scared me the most is that my horse's leg(s) could have gone through causing catastrophic injury.
The current 'Wessex' company do not want to know as Wessex ceased trading a few years ago and was then resurected. They are happy to carry on using the Wessex name but aren't interested in any previous trailers and any problems that might occur. This attitude is disgraceful as there may be thousands of owners out there who may not be aware of the potential problems with this tongue and groove type flooring. When this flooring was deemed to be a problem I think all purchasers should have been notified of recall (like cars do for safety issues). It appears that our horses are not that important to a company that builds equine trailers. Take on the brand but don't honour the product. Please pass this on to any sites that may reach trailer owners - I would hate to think that there may be a disaster about to happen that could have been prevented. I now have a huge bill to pay but at least my precious horse will be safe.
 
No, definite problem with floor. Tongue and groove slats starting to separate. Imagine putting tongue and groove slats onto saw horses and then standing on them - weight eventualyy pulls the slats apart.
 
I've heard someone else saying similar about the rot proof floor :( I bought a new one this year but it has an aluminium floor and I'm really happy with it. I think the big issue is that it's sold as rot proof and I think that quite rightly gives people the impression that it isn't wood and won't rot so they aren't checked.
 
This floor has not rotted at all. It is the strength and suitability of tongue and groove slatting that is the issue. This trailer takes 2 up to 17'2" horses but has only transported 1 x 15'2" so has never been overladen. If I had transported 2 x bigger beasties then the floor would have given way much earlier! This type of flooring was discontinued not long after it's introduction so my concern is for any other owners who must check their flooring is ok.
If they decided that the flooring wasn't suitable so soon after it's start they should have contacted owners for safety recall.
 
The flooring was actually called Permaplas not Plastitherm (my mistake) and it still appears in some adverts for Wessex Olympian trailers. They discontinued it's use soon after (within 2yrs I believe) and reverted back to aluminium. Why didn't they recall trailers when they knew the Permaplas slats weren't suitable for equine trailers?
 
Hi,
Sue, sorry for your problems and I don' doubt them but something doesn't stack up here.
I bought a Wessex Clubman 6 years ago. Please note: I HAVE IT CHECKED ANNUALLY and I suspect few others do this. No problems at all.

I also note that I have contacted Wessex from time to time over minor issues - lost keys, etc, and there has been no change of ownership during that time. Where does change of ownership info come from.

Just curious....
 
I think I have this floor, I'm phoning Wessex tomorrow. is it the one where it is two layers and looks like it has a bit of insulation/plastic vertical bits???
 
Thank you for alerting us to this potential problem. Has anyone else come across this issue before? I noticed aforementioned Southern Trailers are advertising the trailers with Permaplas floors - no mention of a problem but perhaps they don't update their website very often. I've just dug out all my notes/paperwork and read about the permaplas floor having extra reinforcement supports fitted, hence the unladen weight being more than the old style. Do you think the problem with the floor is with the wider Olympian model where there is more chance of the boards sagging or is it with all models (I have Clubman)? Needless to say I will be having it looked at asap, but no problems pointed out at last service, which was a couple of years ago (don't use it very regularly and for two 14hh ponies). Incidentally, the Wessex website is now operated by another company so it seems there is a different set-up in place but no mention on there about floor issues. Seems like later models are fitted with aluminium floors (which I personally don't like), so perhaps there is something to gather from that.
 
We had a Wessex trailer and our 17h horse put its foot through the floor! He never travelled well so we got used to him banging around but for some strange reason we decided to stop and check him. He had managed to put his foot through the floor and there was a hole about 8inches wide (don't know what it is called but it is a honeycomb plastic type of flooring). We were so lucky that he didn't actually touch the road or he would have lost his leg....and probably his life! He had managed to pull his foot back into the trailer but was in a total panic and his leg was all cut.
We called the people who now represent Wessex and surprise, surprise they weren't interested. My other half bought the aluminium floor and replaced it all at a cost of about £800. I liked the style of the Wessex but the original flooring is not suitable for purpose and the side panels of the trailer are not as sturdy as the Ifor Williams. If you have one with a dodgy floor, be very careful. If you have a quiet pony you may never have trouble but for larger or more lively horses I would get the floor changed to aluminium, just in case!
 
PS. Our floor wasn't tongue and groove, it was in one big sheet. It looked like two layers of fibre glass sandwiched together with a honeycomb bit in the middle (vertical bits). The trailer was the Olympian model.
 
Permaplas flooring but tongue and groove slats (not complete flat sheet).
If you have this type please get a reputable trailer repairer to check all is ok and that the slats haven't started to come apart as mine have.
I have only towed 1 x 15'2" horse (not 2 x 17'2" that the trailer can hold) and the flooring has still started to come apart. This to me means that the slats were not a suitable material for equine trailer flooring and when Wessex decided to revert back to ali they should have recalled trailers for fixing.
This should only apply to Wessex trailers that are approx 5-7yrs old.
Current company doesn't want to know, says thay are not Wessex!! So how come if you look at Wessex website it leads you to their email and 'phone no?
They also have all the Wessex adverts and home page says they have been around since 1980's. Roger told me that they had pnly been Wessex for 2 yrs approx so my trailer is not his problem. Happy to trade on the Wessex since 1980's brand though. He has failed to reply to my email - funny that.
 
Re Southern Trailers - I have advised them that they are using old Wessex advert that quotes Permaplas flooring. They were the ones that told me Wessex had discontinued Permaplas and reverted back to ali. He also said he thought Wessex shoud pay for the new floor on my trailer but Roger is a difficult man to deal with.
I am happy with Southern Trailers and have never had any reason to doubt or criticise them.
If Mark hadn't climbed into my trailer I would still not know that my flooring was potentially lethal. He showed me underneath and I could see for myself that the flooring wasn't safe and needs replacing.
As Wessex decided to revert back to ali I think they should have contacted all owners of Permaplas floored trailers to check and replace where appropriate.
None of us should have our horses injured by an unsutable product and any reputable company would fix their mess. To simply say that 'we are not Wessex' is not good enough. I accept that they didn't build my trailer but they have taken over the Wessex brand and are still building and selling on that reputation. Surely they should also accept any issues too?
 
Sporthorse123 said:
We had a Wessex trailer and our 17h horse put its foot through the floor! He never travelled well so we got used to him banging around but for some strange reason we decided to stop and check him. He had managed to put his foot through the floor and there was a hole about 8inches wide (don't know what it is called but it is a honeycomb plastic type of flooring). We were so lucky that he didn't actually touch the road or he would have lost his leg....and probably his life! He had managed to pull his foot back into the trailer but was in a total panic and his leg was all cut.
We called the people who now represent Wessex and surprise, surprise they weren't interested. My other half bought the aluminium floor and replaced it all at a cost of about £800. I liked the style of the Wessex but the original flooring is not suitable for purpose and the side panels of the trailer are not as sturdy as the Ifor Williams. If you have one with a dodgy floor, be very careful. If you have a quiet pony you may never have trouble but for larger or more lively horses I would get the floor changed to aluminium, just in case!
Click to expand...

Sounds as though you have been speaking to the same person that I did. Funny though, one of them said he had never heard of this problem. Liar, liar, pants on fire comes to mind. I am now having an ali floor fitted but huge bill to pay.
 
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