Are trailers safe?

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Libby12345

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Jun 5, 2015
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Hello,
I was looking into buying a little lorry, as I was always told trailers were "too dangerous" - but as the cost of lorries and then the tax and insurance is high it doesn't look likely that I will be getting one anytime soon!
So are trailers safe? I believe that they are if driven safely, I will be taking my trailer test beforehand.
I have been looking at the ifor Williams 506 as this looks like a much more sturdy and bigger box than all the others - however what are others recommendations?
Also what's the best vehicle to tow with? I currently have a land rover, freelander td4 but I would never tow with this as they're not heavy enough.

Thanks in advance :)
 
I have towed a trailer for the last 6 years with out problems. But I am a careful driver, My car is a heavy 4x4 santa fe it is well over the legal limit to tow my two boys. I would not tow with anything that did meet the min standard for what I was towing so for me the laden weight is about 2500 my car is 3200. It tows with ease and I feel safe when breaking. I never take any risks therefore I have not had any problems.

I also get my trailer serviced every year with out fail.
 
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It depends what you want to do with it, what sort of horses you are towing, for how far and on what sort of road and how often.

I personally don't like towing long distances on motorways but having said that towed a pony from the Midlands to the tip of Cornwall in a IW 510 towed by a Disco without any real issues. We have always had IW trailers and think they are the best to tow although they are not the lightest. If only towing locally and with one smallish horse your Freelander would cope with say a Bateson.

3.5 t lorries vary from the not quite converted van to a properly and safely set up small horse box. we hired a Theault to drive to Hickstead and back with a very fussy horse which we loved but were horrified at the potential purchase price. We then bought a 4.6t Chaigley which was equally well built.

We now have a 7.5 t but do go out at least once a week, normally travelling at least a couple of hours on a motorway with one or two horses on board. I would never advise anyone to have a 6 tonne or larger unless they are going to do a lot of mileage as these lorries are designed for regular use and need regular runs to avoid problems.
 
I have towed and used lorries for years. I prefer a lorry for long haul and the trailer is great for 3 hour and less trips.

If you are sensible there's nothing wrong with a trailer
 
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I have a trailer and 4x4. Been towing for the last 4 years every week with no issues at all.

I did a 700 mile trip whilst towing to collect a new horse for a friend last month, it was fine towing wise although I was nervous towing so far.
 
I had an Ifor 505 for years, I went out every weekend all over the country (4-5 hour trips a norm) and normally did 2 local trips during each week too and never felt unsafe, having said that we did get into scrapes a couple of times due to other road users doing stupid things and I was extremely glad of having an over-rated car in front to handle the situation, I would never tow with a vehicle under or just in limit because of this.

One example where I think with a lighter tow vehicle we would have been in serious trouble was travelling on the A120 to Braintree, we were coming down a hill in a stream of traffic doing a steady 50, suddenly the driver in front slammed on the brakes to make an illegal right turn into a layby, we had to really honk on the brakes to avoid rear ending him, the trailer brakes engaged and the whole rig came to a stop squarely and safely (and Bo was absolutely fine), however I really think if we had been towing with a smaller vehicle there was a real chance the trailer would have come sailing past us which is the beginnings of a major wreck. I had a long wheel base (7 seater) Mitsubishi Pajero (jap version of the trooper) which was rated for far more weight than my 505 + 1 horse and gear, the issue is rarely if a vehicle can can cope with pulling a loaded trailer, more about if it can stop it in a bad situation.

I also towed my 505 with an old range rover for a while, a jeep grand Cherokee and then a crew cab ford ranger, all of which felt solid and safe. I have towed lots of brands of trailer before I owned my own (I used to rent from a place with about a dozen different trailers each weekend) and some certainly felt more solid than others and the vehicle + trailer combo's could feel different too, the different wheel bases of vehicles and trailers seemed to play into that.
 
Thanks! So it looks like a trailer would be okay, I just wouldn't use my car as I know the engines are known to blow up.
I would only be towing one horse at a time, either my 15.3 lightweight Anglo Arab or my 14.3 heavy weight Irish sports horse - and only for short journeys an hour at the most! If we had to go any further I would hire a lorry!!
 
I am on my second Kia Sorento and barely notice the trailer on the back tbh. I'm very happy with it and would consider another one after this one.

I cringe when I see smaller vehicles towing horse trailers.
 
My Subaru manages 2X 13.2hh with the trailer no problem, or I use the Relay van for towing too
 
I'm actually now thinking of getting the same trailer, but in the single horse version? I wouldn't want to ever tow two horses, and if I had to I would hire a lorry. It also seems like the best option because it can carry the same amount of weight as the bigger one, yet it weighs a whole lot less! Therefore the car will not be pulling as much and defiantly over the limit!
 
I personally don't like single trailers, just as much height with a narrow wheel base worries me re lateral stability, I would rather have a double trailer with only 1 horse in it, Jess prefers travelling in a double with no partition for long journeys.
 
Oh really? I thought it would have been nicer to tow seeing as the weight is spread out more evenly! Both mine are pretty easy to travel :)
Jessey said:
I personally don't like single trailers, just as much height with a narrow wheel base worries me re lateral stability, I would rather have a double trailer with only 1 horse in it, Jess prefers travelling in a double with no partition for long journeys.
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My friend has an ifor single trailer. They are nowhere near as narrow as I'd imagined or seen in my pony club days (some 20 years ago :p). She opted for it as she only ever transports 1 horse and also with a lower weight there were more affordable tow cars in her price bracket.

This was a much debated and documented discussion on here 10 or so years ago. You must not tow a trailer (empty or otherwise) with a tow vehicle who's max tow weight is less than the laiden weight of the trailer. So towing a 506 with a freelander (off the top of my head, about a 2200kg mac tow weight obviously model dependant though!) is illegal. The 506 laiden weight is in excess of 3000kg, over the max tow capacity of the car. We are looking at the ford ranger as a third vehicle in our household. However because I want to tow we are very limited in choice as it must tow 3500 kg to cope with a 511 which is my personal choice.

Remember if you tow with an unsuitable vehicle you risk invalidating your insurance also.
 
I tow with an xtrail and you don't even feel Kia (480-490kgs) and my ifor 505 (905kgs) plus tack and water :)

I've towed long distance with this combo and not had any issues, my car can tow up to 2200kgs but in never anywhere near that :)
 
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I would never tow with a freelander! They're soooo light and completely unsuitable to pull anything with. In all fairness most landrovers aren't that great of towing! We're actually think of getting a VW transporter kombi which would be more than capable. Seems like the single trailer is a good idea then! :)
eventerbabe said:
My friend has an ifor single trailer. They are nowhere near as narrow as I'd imagined or seen in my pony club days (some 20 years ago :p). She opted for it as she only ever transports 1 horse and also with a lower weight there were more affordable tow cars in her price bracket.

This was a much debated and documented discussion on here 10 or so years ago. You must not tow a trailer (empty or otherwise) with a tow vehicle who's max tow weight is less than the laiden weight of the trailer. So towing a 506 with a freelander (off the top of my head, about a 2200kg mac tow weight obviously model dependant though!) is illegal. The 506 laiden weight is in excess of 3000kg, over the max tow capacity of the car. We are looking at the ford ranger as a third vehicle in our household. However because I want to tow we are very limited in choice as it must tow 3500 kg to cope with a 511 which is my personal choice.

Remember if you tow with an unsuitable vehicle you risk invalidating your insurance also.
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I towed with a freelander for years. Great towing car. 2ltr diesel great In all weathers :)

Lost count of how many times it pulled Kia and the trailer out of muddy fields that the heavier and bigger 4x4s were getting mired in ;)
 
I have a little 3.5 tonne lorry which I love. I thought about getting a 4 by 4 and a trailer, but the cost of that was far more than my lorry. x
 
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