Whittaker horseboxes...

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susannita

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Had a quick look at a whittaker horsebox today (7.5tonne) and couldn't work out how to get at the engine properly! Does anyone know if they have hatches in the floor of the cab (ie take the seats out) or is the bonnet of the engine the only access?! Don't think my mechanic would be very helpful if thats the case - he will only do mine if I tilt it for him!!!!
 
If it is a true 7.5 Ton it will not have a bonnet. Only up to 6.5 ton will have a bonnet. There may be an inspection hatch in the cab or it may have a tilt cab or nothing at all. An inspection hatch will allow your mechanic to do basic servicing to the vehicle where as a tilt cab makes it easier to service but allows major work to be easily carried out. A tilt cab makes the vehicle heavier and reduces the payload.

Check what the payload is by checking the last MOT certificate as many are very heavy.
 
I couldn't see anyway it could tilt as the cab seemed to be sealed to the box! By bonnet i mean the bit that opens on the front under the windscreen wipers!!

It will be weighed etc beforehand if i were to buy it (and be inspected by a FTA person) I am just trying to work out if i can afford to keep it on the road in the extra labour i would have to pay a midget/limbo dancer to do anything to it should it need!

Its less than 10 years old so find it hard to believe it would have been built without anything...... however!!!!
 
I think the older ones were fixed cab on euro cargos ive worked on a couple 1998 s reg and they just had a tiny hatch behind the seats you had to lie on your belly and reach in from the living or you could get some parts from under the wheel arch absulutly crap and anything other than basic mainternance would be next to imposible
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also we weighed one as it was up for sale it was very heavy more than 6000KGs
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so I would also get it across a weighbridge before you commit
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... hope this helps
 
10 years old so find it hard to believe it would have been built without anything...... however!!!!

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Ummm sadly people are still "building" or should that be bodging horseboxes without a tilt caparbility this isnt a problem for the first owners oftern only keep the lorry a few years then get a new one..and its a cheaper option to not have the cab to tilt and sadly its when they get older and things start to go wrong that you need that tilt or a fat wallet
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I looked at a MAN and they had had an area cut out in the cab under the seats for access to the engine??
Out of interest Peternatt, why would a tilt cab weigh more??
 
I think it is going to come down to price - the inspection will show up what needs doing....I will then just have to a) price the parts b) think of a number and double it for labour!! perfectly prepared to walk away though, think the £200 for the inspection will be money well spent! its on a 2000 chasis and think it has been a horsebox from new..... hmmmm!!
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I looked at a MAN and they had had an area cut out in the cab under the seats for access to the engine??
Out of interest Peternatt, why would a tilt cab weigh more??

[/ QUOTE ] I would guess it would be what someone who has or is building with non tilt cabs would try as an excuse
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I can't add anything regarding Whittaker boxes but I know my mechanic won't entertain working on a horsebox that hasn't got a tilt cab. He says they're awful to work on & he doesn't need the hassle or the work that badly.
 
Tilt cab is heavier because of the two steel frame works which lock together behind the cab which then are unbolted to allow the cab to be jacked forward away from the main body.

You will probably find that there has been an inspection panel and bonnet type lid beneath the passenger seat. The passenger seats will have to be removed for access. When the lorry is weighed make sure it has PARTITIONS on ! as many are weighed without.
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Sometimes inspection panels, are in living area on bulkhead between living and driving area.

There is a good point in making horsebox without tilting cab, as you be surprised with the amount of tilting cab trucks that have leaks in sleeping area in luton (i speak from experience!!).

It just makes sure your mechanic has a big enough hole to work on engine, plus most 'truck' mechanic do have engine pits can work from bottom up........

My chap wasn't bother at ALL and defo didn't make any diiference to my service bill between tilting cab or non tilting cab - urban myth..........
 
couldn't see anything on the bulkhead either! I am presuming that there must be something unders hte seats as the were open underneath (wheras mine in my tilt aresolid underneath.) It seemed to have some sort of liner in the cab but i wasn't really dressedfor pulling that out to see what was under!

I have had to have quite a lot of work done to my current truck on the fuel injectors etc which are all on the top of the engine - not a clue how they could have got at them if the same positioning and not tilted. I also had one of the pipes to my radiator corrode which was able to be fixed roadside as i could tilt it. Ideal world i would have a tilt no question, i know how much longer everything took time wise when we couldn't tilt my cab when i first bought it as the mechanisms needed replacing! never thought to tilt the thing before i bought it....!
 
I would ask buyer..........., but really unless your going to do work on engine yourself why worry. But if you're going to get engineer report and that's on of the questions you can ask...............

Only things you really need to find is screen wash, water and oil levels
 
the seller is not around anymore unfortunately ....
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If I had a brill mechanic that i knew would be fine whatever and wouldn't rip me off i wouldn't be as concerned, unfortunately, between main dealers trying to kill me with incorrectly fitted brakes and private mechanics forgetting to put wheels on properly I really have to take this stuff into consideration! I freely admit i know waaaaay too much about my truck engine, but funnily enough my lorry bills have gone down since i started to ask to see the old parts and the work that had been done! At around £50 an hour in labour every hour counts!!!
 
but someone is selling vehicle tho!!!!!!!. THEY must know. If not i would look at service bills and phone garage and then ask more questions

That's pain not having good mechanic............. You need to find one by word of mouth in your local area. I use chaps which are based in huge hulage yard and not horsey at ALL!!!!!!!
 
its the lawyers/executors unfortunatly and they don't have a scooby! They can't find anything for it (all legal though!)- i knew more about it than them! Hence why the request for help here!! (and the definite decison to pay a few hundred quid getting it checked by a pro!)

I use one based at a haulage yard just now - not perfect but better than the dealers. Its fine so long as one of their vehicles doesn't need doing as you end up at the back of the queue! But don't think he would even entertain looking at something that didn't tilt!
 
Called whittaker but the girl who answered the phone paniced as soon as I started asking a vaguely technical question! Said someone would call me back but still waiting....
 
Avenger, i'd check the electrics out very carefully, Whittaker boxes are a bit notorious in this department!
my last two 7.5 tonners haven't had tilt cab, they can be accessed from underneath as well as from behind the seats... not ideal, but actually the tilt cab one i had before that was a bit of a nightmare!
 
do you mean the eletrics for the living etc or the actual truck?! Not ideal that all the batteries are flat so can't tell at all!! (it just gets better doesn't it!!!)
 
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Sometimes inspection panels, are in living area on bulkhead between living and driving area.

There is a good point in making horsebox without tilting cab, as you be surprised with the amount of tilting cab trucks that have leaks in sleeping area in luton (i speak from experience!!).

It just makes sure your mechanic has a big enough hole to work on engine, plus most 'truck' mechanic do have engine pits can work from bottom up........

My chap wasn't bother at ALL and defo didn't make any diiference to my service bill between tilting cab or non tilting cab - urban myth..........

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why do truck makers make the cabs tilt then ???? I hope you dont have a engine problem to find out why
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mind we could all have a laugh at the bill for dropping the axle and the extra hours for what would normaly be a simple repair
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do you mean the eletrics for the living etc or the actual truck?! Not ideal that all the batteries are flat so can't tell at all!! (it just gets better doesn't it!!!)

[/ QUOTE ] If its a bargain price ?? if so its worth putting in some work and paying your mecanic to jump start it and to try a good batery on the living to check all that stuff works too
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the one I worked on had been standing and been frozen (pipes and pump for the living) it also had a on board generator, fuel was stale so that woudnt start non of this is serious but will cost to fix so if they want market value I would look elsewhere
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The reason why a horsebox with a properly made tilt cab is heavier is because they have to make a bulkhead so that there is a watertight seal between the container and the cab.

Regarding 'Kick-On's comment I am afraid I can not agree. If a part needs replacing on the engine and the cab does not tilt then the only way to do it is to drop the engine and this is very time consuming as everything has to be taken apart to get the engine out.

Under no circumstances purchase a horsebox without a tilt cab as you run the risk of very large bills if there is a problem with the engine/radiator or linkage cables.
 
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