Which trailer?

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Spudpud

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Many reviews, mixed opinions but not much up to date given the changes in design and materials used in the last few years.
Ifor Williams, Bateson or Equitrek? For ride comfort for the horse, quality of build, value for money? Experiences good and bad appreciated. Many thanks.
 
One horse 16.1 who has current claustrophobia but working through it, just want to optimise her experience whilst travelling, (had no troubles before but recent development and now questioning choice of trailer) B+E licence, hilux to tow with.
 
I have always had Ifor Williams trailers. I have a 511 at the moment.

They can be a bit rattly, but they hold their money, good stability on the road and I have never had a problem with any of mine.

ETA I have towed all over the UK in mine.
 
Bateson ascot. Good build quality and a lot of detail has been made in the design down to small things like individual mats in each stall which means you can lift them effortlessly and clean underneath frequently. The built in tack locker is also a huge bonus. Light and airy.mNever had a horse travel badly in one.
 
Thank you.
Does the Bateson tow nicely, is there much noise-road noise/rattle through the box?
I've been told various things about the spring vs other suspensions making a difference to the horse & towing & also the material the floor is made from so interested in views on that if possible.
 
Bockmann or fautras, no rattles, great design, light and bright inside

Also great braking and suspension systems
 
No not at all. Bate sons are much quieter than IW.

Newer bate sons have metal on the outer part of the floor and then a plastic middle section. One reason they are quieter imo.
 
Another vote for Bateson. Even the older ones towed much nicer/quieter than Ifors but the newer ones even more so. I had an old Deauville and now have a newer (but not that new) Ascot with Barn doors. I love it. They are so light and welcoming and give such a good ride. I have never known a horse travel badly in one and my poor loader loved it. The floor I the newer one is metal on the outside and composite inside that. As mentioned before mats are easy to lift and check floor/clean. The barn doors are great for if you want to load pallets/hay etc on and it has a little pull out ramp but we don't use it as horse prefers to step up even though she had stumpy legs (I gather this is the same with most horses)!
I also previously had an Equi-trek 5* (the big one with living) which I loved. It came with a few minor teething problems but once sorted was trouble free. I don't think much of their dealerships though in terms of customer service.
 
Thank you! The batesons do seem to stand out, I think you get more for your money by the looks of it too. I like the different style that the equi trek provides but have read poor reviews on quality and longevity although that obviously isn't everyone's experience! Thanks again for commenting!
 
Bateson for me too. My sister and I share one and her sticky to load old boy bounces onto our Ascot now and travels like a dream. My youngster who is a big girl and can be a bit claustrophobic likes it too.

Interestingly we had to borrow a friend's IW505 last year when we had a last minute bulb failure. It was very apparent towing that my sister's boy who I was towing was far more stompy in the Ifor even though I was driving the same and am a very slow careful driver. I never feel or hear him in the Ascot. I believe the floors on IW have nowhere near the suspension/ride of the Bateson.

Our Bateson is an older one but we changed the wooden floor to the new Bateson plastic composite.
 
I changed from a Bateson which rattled like mad to a brand new Ifor and my horse travels much happier in it as it is lovely and quiet. I suppose it depends if you are planning to buy new or second hand? I did price up a new Bateson but the Ifor was cheaper and I knew parts are easier to get plus they hold their price really well (in fact I was looking for a 2 or 3 year old trailer and then realised that I could buy one brand new for not much more)
 
asmp said:
I changed from a Bateson which rattled like mad to a brand new Ifor and my horse travels much happier in it as it is lovely and quiet. I suppose it depends if you are planning to buy new or second hand? I did price up a new Bateson but the Ifor was cheaper and I knew parts are easier to get plus they hold their price really well (in fact I was looking for a 2 or 3 year old trailer and then realised that I could buy one brand new for not much more)
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Parts for Bateson are simple to get. Ring them direct and I have always received them the next day.
 
I have an Indespension. Really quiet, no rattles and he travels really well in it. Have had Ifor and Rice and this is by far the best.

Unfortunately, these are no longer made.
 
After much umming and arring, we bought a 2nd hand Show treka L. Love it for travelling, we've found that horses who dislike rear loading trailers just waltz on, tows beautifully too. I also like the fact that if you are only travelling one horse, you can slide the partition across and have loads of room inside for tacking up and whatever other things you want to do, and the horse still travels well with the extra space.
 
galaxy said:
Parts for Bateson are simple to get. Ring them direct and I have always received them the next day.
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Not when you need a new ramp as it has rotted! As it was a big item I had to wait quite a while for my Bateson dealer to get it in
 
Asmp- should have gone direct not through dealer! Love my bateson the reason you dont see so many of them for sale is we hang on to them
, no reason not to x
 
Happy with my IW 511 so far. They hold their value so well that was the main reason I went for that. Plenty of room to swing a Shetland in it ;) Have various makes of other trailers and they all have their pros and cons.
 
I have a Fautras which I absolutely adore. Don't have a bad word to say about it. However, if I had the budget for an Equitrek I would definately get one! My friend's have one and it's superb.
 
asmp said:
Not when you need a new ramp as it has rotted! As it was a big item I had to wait quite a while for my Bateson dealer to get it in
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I replaced the old wood composite floor in mine with the new plastic one and it arrived the next day. I did ring them direct, I suspect the dealer you went through slowed it down. I've also ordered lots of little things like a new breast bar, light fittings as I knocked one off, and they have always arrived the next day.
 
I have an Ifor 510, this is the trailer of choice for my horse who can be a pain to load. Have tried her in other makes but has always resulted in lots and lots of problems. I have also never been able to get her in an Equitrek. Loading then turning just doesn't compute in her mind! She loads perfectly 99.9% of the time since getting the 510. Shes only 15.3hh but def think the extra space really helps.
 
Another vote for the Bateson Ascot. I'm on my second.

They tow lovely, stay cool inside and everything I've ever put in it has traveled beautifully.

I have the Boston doors rather than a ramp, which makes it far safer to load alone.
Also handy for opening to pop studs in with the horse still in the trailer, the extra 8" of height really helps.

Only downside is that the tack locker is a little too small to be really useful. I keep the 'poo bag' and shovel in mine :).
 
Thank you for more replies! I'm looking into a new Bateson ascot but can you maybe explain why the Boston doors seem to be so good shazzababs? Also re the tack locker, is it just not big enough for saddles in reality of particular saddle sizes that it struggles with? Is it worth going for the ascot over the deauville if it's not that useful? Thank you!
 
I have a Cheval Liberte and it's fab, pulls like a dream behind anything - my friend borrowed it recently to take a pony somewhere and it was great even when empty. It's got Pullman suspension so doesnt rattle or bounce. Nice and airy inside too for a pleasant ride. :) very lightweight too, it's a double trailer and weighs in at 700kg!
 
Spudpud said:
Thank you for more replies! I'm looking into a new Bateson ascot but can you maybe explain why the Boston doors seem to be so good shazzababs? Also re the tack locker, is it just not big enough for saddles in reality of particular saddle sizes that it struggles with? Is it worth going for the ascot over the deauville if it's not that useful? Thank you!
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I've got the ascot with doors too. It's just so much easier than bothering with a ramp. You can open them with one hand and hold you horse with the other and mine only needs a couple of feet room and then climbs in!! (Much to the amusement of many people, especially at BD!) the doors opening block off the sides of the trailer and there isn't the ramp for horses to "fall" off when being awkward loaders!!

I've never had an issue fitting saddles in the tack locker. I have a 17" wow dressage saddle and it fits in just fine.
 
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