Where are the good 7.5t horseboxes?

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fairyclare

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I’m in the market for a 7.5t Horsebox.
My horse has decided that the nice new equitrek trailer is offensive because of the tack locker - fair, he is a big lad.

Can I find a decent 7.5t WITHOUT tack lockers…… no, I can’t.
My budget is up to £15k but ideally more £10-£12k so I have some wedge for any repairs or updates needed in said wagon.

Also, where do people sell high end trailers? I’m not sure I’ve got Facebook marketplace idiots in me.
 
I honestly don't think there are any. The good ones don't get sold.

We bought a crappy one and pretty much rebuilt it (and painted it) for less than your budget. OH is handy which kept the price down. I see things advertised in far worse condition than ours was for upwards of £15k it's scary what people think they are worth.
 
There's an Iveco on Horsequest at 15k but says offers. It's older (2005) but an Oakley with living and no tack lockers shown in the interior pictures of the horse area, stalled for three but that must be ponies. It says it's regularly serviced. Seems cheap for an Oakley but no mention of payload.
 
dorsetladette said:
I honestly don't think there are any. The good ones don't get sold.

We bought a crappy one and pretty much rebuilt it (and painted it) for less than your budget. OH is handy which kept the price down. I see things advertised in far worse condition than ours was for upwards of £15k it's scary what people think they are worth.
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Well, I guess they are costly to buy new.
 
We did ours cracking on 20 years ago so the figures wouldn’t help but it was definitely cheaper than buying one and we could make sure it was strong enough but with weight kept down so caravan interior fittings for the living. We bought the lorry, a horse box conversion company put windows, side door, the division between the living and the horse area in and did the rear ramp and partitions and the basic electrics for interior lights. We then used it like that and did stay overnight in it basically camping indoors. My other half and his father then did all living and added some extra lighting to the horse area added to the partitions, etc. It was a mixture of new and secondhand stuff, but fortunately had somebody with the skills to do the work.
 
fairyclare said:
How much did you spend on a lorry and then on the build?

I’m on a bit of a time constraint as having no transport isn’t really an option but neither is putting him back in the trailer.
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We bought the lorry for 3k with no MOT - it was already a horsebox - although no tie rings in the horse area (odd). Hydraulic ramp (something we still need to adjust, but it does the job for now). And a large living, but it was very poorly done.

We've replaced the floor in the horse area with 2 layers of buffalo board. Ripped the living out and refitted including all the water and gas pipes. Installed solar panels and leisure batteries. Replaced 2 x lorry batteries, the exhaust and all 6 tyres. Replaced all the lights and rewired. Added reversing and internal cameras. Thus has roughly cost about £6,000 as we've been able to source most materials at cost price through my work contacts. The only thing we haven't changed is the bathroom.

So for £9k and a lot of work we have a safe and reliable lorry we're happy to put the horses in.

This doesn't include the servicing and mot cost.

ETA- we did this in 2021.
 
fairyclare said:
I’m in the market for a 7.5t Horsebox.
My horse has decided that the nice new equitrek trailer is offensive because of the tack locker - fair, he is a big lad.

Can I find a decent 7.5t WITHOUT tack lockers…… no, I can’t.
My budget is up to £15k but ideally more £10-£12k so I have some wedge for any repairs or updates needed in said wagon.

Also, where do people sell high end trailers? I’m not sure I’ve got Facebook marketplace idiots in me.
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Good ones go for considerably more than 15 k …
 
fairyclare said:
On a 2000 plate????
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I would be nervous of calling a truck that is 25 years old “a good box” the engine may well be fine but you need to be very careful about the chassis… there will be a few out there somewhere that have been kept under cover and dry and a few that for some reason haven’t corroded… but there will be many more that have… caveat emptor indeed
 
Some on e- bay in the -- horse boxes 7.5 ton for sale--- section. An Oakley at under 9k mot till late December so some spare money for any work needed it's in Kent, not been on sale long, item number 286396690297 there are quite a few to look at. Some others 146581104643---one with 13 months mot 7k 267250668844---356371985484---177014963339-----126949520802---297225523613
 
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blitznbobs said:
I would be nervous of calling a truck that is 25 years old “a good box” the engine may well be fine but you need to be very careful about the chassis… there will be a few out there somewhere that have been kept under cover and dry and a few that for some reason haven’t corroded… but there will be many more that have… caveat emptor inde
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Older more sturdy bodies are put on to newer chassis.
I have now found almost exactly what was looking for and it’s not £15k
 
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