where to buy 3.5t lorry in the East Midlands-+ tell me all you know about 3.5t'ers!

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Prince33Sp4rkle

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as title,

tentatively looking at getting my own little 3.5tonner. fairly soon i will no longer have to pay rent on my house, so will have some *spare* money each month, and as my father is less than keen (read wont allow!)me to drive the 7.5t even if i do my test.....this seems a good option.
and something i will have to do sooner or later anyway!

will only be carrying a tall (16.2hh) but slim TB,never more than that, so im not restricted to those with the higher payload, but need one with sufficient headroom. i only do dressage so rarely stay overnight and dont take that much gear with me (IE only one set of tack, one container of water etc) so again doubt im going to very restricted by weight as wont have as much stuff as for eg an eventer, on board in addition to me and the horse.

i dont want to, and cant, spend a fortune, on a brand new all singing all dancing one. but it must be reliable,and decently smart paint etc- in the second hand market, whats the minimum im looking at price wise?

any reccomendations for dealers in the east mids?

any makesel/people to avoid?
 
I can highly recommend Marlborough horseboxes. They are very well built and designed, and not extortionate in price. One thing to look for is that the back door is big enough to get a horse out in an emergency. This is the case with the Marlboroughs. For a new build on a chassis with not too much on the clock you'd be looking at around £13,000; new chassis around £20. ish. I'd say avoid Equitreks - they are increasingly getting reputations for basically falling apart after a few years of use, and the back door is too small. If you have the money, Theaults are really top class but are exceptionally expensive (£30,000) for what is, at the end of the day, a van!
 
Theaults are lovely boxes but are expensive new and people don't seem to sell them once they have them(keep trying to persuade the owner of the one I borrow that he really doesn't want it any more :) ). You could try atacanter as they are the uk reps for them and I think they sell on their hire ones after a certain amount of time . http://www.centralenglandhorseboxes.co.uk/horseboxes-for-sale/ 3rd one down on this page - have also hired a simialr boxes and again was fab to drive
 
HS-ah thats the name! i knew there wa an "M" name that was meant to be very good.will investigate ,and will bear in mind back door size on othee models.

had already decided to avoid equitreks as have heard so many horror stories ref the trailers, and so thought the lorries cant be much better,seems i was right!

will have a good look on atacanter and central horseboxes,thanks :)
 
I think we have five Marlborough boxes of various vintages on my yard and everyone loves them. I had one of their older boxes until I sold it a few months ago and it was absolutely brilliant.

I've used the hire Theault from At A Canter. Yes, a lovely box. But not THAT different from the Marlborough except for better rubber in the horse area and a better partition - not nearly 20k extra!!!!

Major drawback of backwards facing 3.5t lorries is your stuff gets covered in hay in the horse area. Drives me nuts.
 
Another vote for the Malborough Hunter. I hire one from Wentworth Horseboxes for my 17hh gelding. It is solid, smart, drives really nicely, there is ample headroom & space and it is really well ventilated and light. It is also seriously economical- I was gobsmacked how little diesel it consumed! I didn't think I would like it the first time I hired it but was amazed and if I had the money I would buy one tomorrow!
 
Be careful of the rear facing 3.5t. There have been some horrific accidents recently where horses have half climbed in to the tack area from where even the Fire Service can't cut them out, and the horses have been PTS.

I have a coachbuilt LT35 forward facing with a side ramp. I can happily travel 2 ponies but travel my horse on his own, loads of room for him, loads of tack storage in the luton, lovely light ramp, cut through cab, very stable to drive (some of the 3.5tonners make you feel sea sick they sway so much!) very very pleased with it.
 
In fact the one on that link is exactly the design there has been problems with.

Poor poor horse was trapped for hours and suffered horrifically before it eventually died.
 
Mark Harris commercial vehicles do somekind of box (they were at Lincs Horse Trials advertising), but didnt pay much attention to the size of them. However, they are a very good commercial dealership, my dad has had the past two of his work vans from there. Van website is www.vantastic.co.uk (based near Lincoln)
 
I have a Marlborough Sport and it is great - rather than having a solid breast bar my opens as 2 doors and although it would be tight to get them out through the back you could in an emergency. With regards to horses going over the breast bar you can always fit the equivalent of an anti-weave grill.
 
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