Horsebox vs Trailer - more questions

Bobbin

Bobbin

Back in the saddle yeehaa
Feb 16, 2006
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I currently own a 3.5tonne pony box called Betty.

Due to increased insurance costs I am seriously having to look at getting rid (booooohoooooo) (anyone with a small hossy want her ey?) but I cannot be left without transport, not when we are on the cusp of world domination with our stressage:p

So question is for those who took a trailer test

A) What did it cost
B) Are you required to have 'proper' lessons or could my husband who has all his licenses teach me and I have like one or two lessons just to buff my skills up
C) What realistically type of vehicle could I get away with towing a 14h med weight coblet with
D) How much do trailers cost then?

Just thinking at the moment..........
 
Oh I might be interested! Can you tell me more about Betty! :) I promise to give her a good home!

Sorry I havn't done a trailer test so can't help u there!
 
errrrrrrr.......I read in your post that you'd still need to buy a towing car as well as a trailer as well as fund a trailer test and poss lessons....... Think you might be cheaper keeping Bessy! Chances are you'll spend money just on the change of vehicles and you still have to insure your new tow vehicle........
 
Lucy_Angel said:
Oh I might be interested! Can you tell me more about Betty! :) I promise to give her a good home!

Sorry I havn't done a trailer test so can't help u there!
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Betty is a 3.5 tonne Leyland Daf ex postal van. Takes 2 x 14h or one bigger on a diagonal. Full living. MOT untill Jan 09, Tax nearly out. Power steering.
 
sorry but how is a car and trailer going to be cheaper? my insurance for our 3.5t box is certainly cheaper than a 4x4
 
You could tow Bryony only with a Mondeo, Volkswagon, Audi or Volvo. At least a 2ltr engine. I certainly wouldnt want to be towing 2 natives with a car though. Hence the reason why I bought a 4x4 runner. Because I wanted to pull Captain and Jimmy. I dont fancy being over the weight limit.

How hilly is it round your way?? You know its as flat as a pancake round here so we dont necessarily need the 4 wheeled drive action but you may need it your way. :confused:
 
I have just sold my trailer and 4x4 and got a 7.5 tonne horsebox.

The main reason that I changed is to save money!

My insurance for the box isn't that much more than it was for the trailer and the petrol costs for the lorry are a fraction of what I was spending in the Range Rover. PLUS I find it much nicer to drive, manoevere, reverse and park.

Just as important - I can have a cup of tea in the warm when it's raining!!

Really do your sums first if you are selling Betty to save money.

Sorry but can't help with trailer lessons etc as I'm an oldie who didn't need take the towing test!!
 
Thanks

My main issue is that I am under 25 so the insurance on the box is £450 and i had two accidents this year, silly little knocks, one of which I wasn't even in the car for and my car insurance has shot up to £800. I used to pay off the insurane for both the lorry and car when it was due but I can't afford to do that this year so I would have to pay it monthly which means paying £80 plus a month just on insurance. Also both the tax on my car and lorry are due this month, so thats another £360 to pay out all at once.

See my problem:mad:

Maybe I'll just have to go without transport...........

Have put Betty on ebay now anyway
 
Could u not just go with out no transport for a while? Take Betty 'off the road' SORN i think its called, then when u have more money put her back on the road?
 
i have recently ordered a new trailer (ifor). and did loads of research into weights and prices - My advice would be to go into a trailer centre and ask for advice. The one I went into were fantastic; they gave me a 'witter tow bar' book which has a list of all vehicles and their maximum allowed towing weights, and of course they can give you the trailer weights too.


To be honest you need a vehicle that can tow up to at least 2 tonnes in my opinion - and even then , you would only be sorted for towing a single, or mare&foal (HB403) which is what Ive ordered. They are plated at something like 1600kg.

Do you have 2 horses to tow?

Well, you are looking at minimum of about £2500 for a box , and double or sinlge doesnt make much price difference ive found, and thats 2nd hand. That is, if you want something reasnobly new, with an aluminium floor.
You are then looking at spending probably at leat another £3000 on a vehicle that can tow up to 2 tonnes (if you went for the single) - eg a Volvo or transit type van. I tow with a Renault Trafic, and its fab, but as I said - only up to 2 tonnes, and no 4 wheel drive:rolleyes: if you need to go for the double option, you can get a 4x4 along the lines of an old Toyota Hilux - and Im talking 'L' reg old;), for £1500. These vehicles are the most reliable you can buy if you are going that old, there are a lot still on the go towing horseboxes about.The Surf is the import I think - again just check carefully the towing weights.

If you Do find a vehicle that say has a towing capacity of 2 tonnes (you go by the maximum plated weight) and wanted to tow a box that was plated at say 2300kg, most trailer centres will downgrade the plate on the trailer for you.But you would still only be legal Im guessing if you only had 1 horse in the box (assuming its a double).

As regards the towing test; in some circumstances you could tow a single box with a car like a volvo, as long as the combo isnt over 3.5tonnes. Most of the time you would have to do the test, or have someone sitting with you who has category E and put on L plates:rolleyes:

My hubby did his and it cost us a lot :( but I dont think we did it the best way........ and Im thinking of doing mine, so here's where I hand over to someone else to advise the best and cheapest way please:D
 
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My pony weighs about 450kg MAX and the majority of the time it would be just her, on ocassion I may want to put in a 16h type which would take it up to 'normal' weight.

I am hoping our budget for both a trailer and vehicle will be around £7k, I was not planning on spending more than £2k on a trailer. Basically the proceeds from Betty and my current car.

My husband holds all his licenses so I would drive on L plates with him for a while, have a few proper lessons then do the tests.
 
You should maybe get an insurance quote on a larger engined car first too.
Also really do sums now fuel has hiked. My car used to cost £35/week and now is £50 - thats an extra £780 / annum (scary) I used to have a Landy/trailer. The Landy was costing £70/week to do my job, so it would now be £140 /week. That would be £3640 extra/annum in fuel - so for me it is CERTAINLY cheaper to run car and lorry.
 
I got an old Ifor for £1700. It was in good condition but did have a wooden floor that although was ok at the time I knew would need replacing by the following summer. It didn't cost that much to replace and also lightens the trailer too although I don't know by how much. But it may give you more options as to tow cars? :confused: Don't know.

Now we have the floor we have replaced the back tyres as they were a bit fatigued. They are about £40 inc vat.

But yeah, we are really struggling with fuel. :(
 
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prices of ifors will drop like a brick soon enough with the lovely new one out now,you should be able to get one only a couple of years old for your budget,a friend has just bought a 3yr old one from a dealership and it only cost her £2300.;)
so by the time you are ready to buy both trailer and vehicle, they should be very reasonable:D
 
I am planning on getting a 4 x 4 with an engine that can be run on a diesel / vegetable oil mix. I have just started doing it with my Pug 106, which will reduce my fuel costs. We are toying with getting an older one and a nicer smaller new car so we can leave the bigger one at home alot of the time. My husband generally cycles to work.
 
Why don't you get Dan to insure Betty in his name and you as second driver?

We did that with our new truck as OH has always been the named driver.

There was a difference of £300 between him being the named and me!!:eek:
 
Whatanejit said:
Why don't you get Dan to insure Betty in his name and you as second driver?

We did that with our new truck as OH has always been the named driver.

There was a difference of £300 between him being the named and me!!:eek:
Click to expand...

It is cheaper but we still can't afford the insurance every month....and you know we are saving at the moment;), if she doesn't sell on ebay then I may get him to do that.
I just put my wedding dress on ebay aswell, so if that sells we can use the money to pay off her insurance:eek:
 
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