Talk to me about lorries

squidsin

squidsin

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Feb 16, 2013
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Last week, I had a flat tyre on the car, was running really late to pick the kids up and left a venue in a hurry with the horse in the trailer and pranged the gate. It looked OK at the time but I've just been told it can't be fixed and will cost squillions to replace the entire gate and am feeling somewhat faint. Hopefully the insurance will cover it - if not, I will probably have to sell a kidney. Possibly both. Anyway, this is the second time I've had an incident with the trailer and maybe it's Fate telling me I need a lorry instead! How much would I need to spend to get something decent and reliable (a second hand 3.5 tonner as it would probably be parked in our drive) and how much is plating, insurance, running costs etc? I know there's loads on eBay but it would be useful to get some idea of costs beforehand to see if I can afford this! The upside to a trailer is that there are no running costs, other than annual service and any wear and tear. But Angel prefers loading and travelling in a lorry, and it would be nice to have somewhere with living for when we go away on camps.
 
If it's a 3.5 tonne they don't need plating just MOT, insurance and tax like a normal car. I've had a 3.5 tonne and went back to a trailer. Not because I didn't like the box but it made sense to sell and have a trailer for us at the moment. Regarding cost, I'd say around the 10k mark give or take a bit less or more for something decent and reliable. You will find some really cheap ones but age, wear and tear comes into it.

Things to consider:
3.5 tonne boxes you don't get as much for your money as you would a box over 3.5 as they are so popular due to not needing an extra driving test if you passed your car license after 1997.
Boxes generally don't like being stood for too long so really you'd ideally want to be moving at least once a week ideally more, a trailer will happily stand if you don't leave the handbrake on.
Maintenance costs are more, you don't just have the floor, breaks, electrics to think about it's the mechanics too
Another vehicle to tax and insure, worth bearing in mind that when you come to insure your years no claims can ONLY be used on ONE policy. So say if you had 8 years no claims on your car and you got a lorry, when you insured it unless you have had 2 policy's before you are basically starting again and have to put no years no claims, this can put the price up a bit, depends on who you insure with and worth calling insurers. Anthony Evans is a popular horse box insurer.
Payload - a lot of the 3.5 tonne boxes don't have much payload so restricted to carrying one horse legally. Taking in your recent posts this might not be a problem now, but may be in the future and often nice to have company for fun rides with others who may not have transport.
Nice to have a lorry as it's just throw tack, horse in and go, don't have to faff about hitching up. Can keep more things in the lorry ready to go rather than unpacking everything out the car each journey.
Easier to stay away in although I know many people that stay in their trailers
Easier to maneuverer and reverse

Swings and roundabout really :rolleyes:
 
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I love my little lorry. I have had it for 5 years now and it was a bargain at £4700. It does have a bit of a rust problem which may make it fail the MOT this year (will just be my luck!) but I had the floor reinforced so where Ben stands is nice and safe.

The big disadvantage is that you can only legally travel one horse in a 3.5 tonne. Most people I know completely ignore that rule, someone on my yard when all the way to Cornwall in a 3.5 tonne with 3 people and 2 16.2hh horses in it. However, I think that is really dangerous.

It took me a while to get used to driving as mine is really long and obviously you have to use your mirrors more, but on the whole I would take a lorry over a trailer any day. I use it at least once a week, often twice a week (or I did before Ben went lame!!) so it has been very cost effective for me. I insure with Anthony Evans and have breakdown cover with them as well.
 
I've looked into this recently and have decided to go for a 7.5 tonne lorry. The idea of driving something so huge is making me sweat a bit but it's a skill like any other and I hated towing the trailer at first too.
Going up because in looking to buy I could not find affordable 3.5 tonne vehicles. 7.5 seemed a lot cheaper and apparently stay on the road forever. Insurance was remarkably cheap - I have been quoted £150 - presumably because they are not very nickable! Unlike trailers. Plus plenty of payload but it's important for me to be able to carry 2 (if not 3) so that may apply less to you.
 
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I have a 7.5 ton on a short wheel base. It has no living unfortunately (OH won't let me have one with living as he says he'll never see me) but a big payload. It doesn't cost any more to tax or insure than the Pajero I used to have for towing the trailer and I don't think maintenance costs are any higher either, except for the time the cab tilt broke and they wanted to charge me £1500 to fix it (got it down to about half that price because it broke while it was in the garage and they fixed it without giving me a quote. Oh and I've just had to have 5 new tyres (the other one was replaced recently) and that cost me £600 - apparently the tyres don't like being stood either. Still cheap in comparison to some car tyres though.
 
Hmmm thanks, lots of food for thought! I would get a bigger lorry but I don't have anywhere to keep one (and I'd rather keep it at home than the yard anyway) and Angel travels alone 99% of the time anyway. The trailer is much lower maintenance, and does take two horses, but I don't love towing and it would definitely be handier to have a little lorry.
 
I'm a bit late arriving!

A couple of things I don't think have been mentioned:

The 3.5t boxes are basically split into 2 - van conversions and coach built. The van conversions are much cheaper and tend to have higher payloads (often up to 1.2t) - they are only suitable for up to 16.2hh though (and comfortably quite a bit smaller. The coachbuilt ones tend to have a payload around 1t (can be a lot less!)

My box is 6.5t and I think its easier to drive and maneuver than a trailer. Tax is cheaper than the 3.5t (£165), but MoT is more (£160?). My insurance and breakdown is just under £400pa

@KP nut have you considered a 6.5t, or a 5.5t? They are much smaller and tend to have higher payloads. Mine is 6.5t and has a payload of about 2.5t. Mine is stalled for 2 front facing, but I have seen them stalled for 3.

If I only wanted to transport one smaller horse I'd got for a 3.5t van over a trailer:
Easier to drive (subjective)
Don't need a big car for everyday use
Van can be left loaded and has somewhere to sit and to leave kit while out

Everyone is different though - I drive about 20k miles a year so a big car would cost a lot. If I only did very few miles I'd probably have a big car and trailer!

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I've agreed the sale on the 7.5 tonne. It is stalled for 3 and I have never seen a smaller one that can carry 3 - though I don''t doubt are available. I just never saw one when I was looking. We have agreed the sale, subject to a 12 month MOT which is booked for 20th June. Can't wait!
 
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KP nut said:
I've agreed the sale on the 7.5 tonne. It is stalled for 3 and I have never seen a smaller one that can carry 3 - though I don''t doubt are available. I just never saw one when I was looking. We have agreed the sale, subject to a 12 month MOT which is booked for 20th June. Can't wait!
Click to expand...

Excellent - looking forward to seeing the pics!
 
Some very good points @GaryB and you reminded me that one of the things I like best about my lorry (apart from how easy it is to drive) is that I can keep my gear on there. I don't put my tack on until the night before, but I keep spare coolers, exercise sheets, boots, first aid kit, water containers, buckets, washing things, spare everything, trug for picking up poo etc - it's really good to not have to think about all this stuff every time I go off. Plus of course it has a toilet on board - something I scoffed at when someone suggested getting one, but actually is really good to have!

That's a lovely pic too, but you do look like you're queuing up for a burger (sorry!) :D :D
 
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@KP nut I'd recommend getting an insurance quote from Shearwater Insurance - for the combined cost of recovery and insurance they were by far the cheapest for me (I also tried Anthony Evans and another broker - Jule someone)
 
GaryB said:
@KP nut I'd recommend getting an insurance quote from Shearwater Insurance - for the combined cost of recovery and insurance they were by far the cheapest for me (I also tried Anthony Evans and another broker - Jule someone)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip!
 
Talking of lorries - totally numpty question but what do yuo calll the stickers on the side of the lorry that says 'Joe Bloggs' Or 'Jane Smith Eventing Team' or whatever. The one I am buying has the name of the previous owner in 4 places. I want to remove and replace them.
 
@GaryB you are a star! Exactly what I wanted. I googled Lorry Transfers which did not get me very far!! Duh. Sometimes the ol' brain just freezes
 
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Has anyone bought a 3.5 van and had the conversion done for them? I would definitely want to go for a van conversion so was wondering whether it might be worth doing it myself. I'm thinking of around £10K budget once I've sold car and trailer, although could stretch to about £12K.
 
My friend is currently waiting on a conversion being done. She is halving in with someone. I’m not sure if it’s the box type of the van type.

I like my car and trailer combo at the moment. I’ve had the trailer since 2002 and all its had is new brakes, brake cable, new pigtail cables and an electrical box. It’s an ally floor with rubber matting and has even survived a stable roof landing on it.

I get it serviced and checked annually, it has been from one end of the country to the other and hasn’t cost me much at all.

I have considered getting a little 3.5t and if I was seriously competing then I would definitely think about it. Since I only have one horse I would probably go for a box type conversion, as payload wouldn’t be an issue for me :)
 
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