Trailer verses box

[haffyfan]

Pros and cons please as i can't decide which is the better option. I can't tow, without taking a test, but regardless of this i doubt i'd be going off my own...


Does anyone have a Bateson Trailer too? Any opinions on them as i have found they do a model with barn style doors like the Fautras.

[pboy]

I've been through this a few times (in my head) too! I've done my trailer test so that wasn't a factor.

Pros of a trailer - cheaper to buy and maintain if you have a 4x4 anyway; can take two horses without having to worry about being over the weight limit; gives hubby an excuse to buy a 4x4
Cons of a trailer - cost of running a 4x4 is high if it's your only car and you do a lot of miles; having to hitch and unhitch each time; having to load the car every time (plus the associated mess / smell!); no living unless you pay out for an Equitrek or similar

Pros of a 3.5T - low hassle, just load up and go; can potentially have living; MPG is pretty good on the new ones
Cons of a 3.5T - unlikely to be able to take two horses if you have a living area; good, reliable ones are very expensive (more than a larger lorry); doubts about safety on some of the cheaper / lightweight models

I think I'd get an LGV licence and get a larger lorry if I had my time again. I still may do in a couple of years if finances allow. I was chatting with someone while we were hacking on Friday and she used to have an Equitrek (and loved it) but traded in for a 7.5T lorry, sold the 4x4 and got a small car. The road tax of the lorry is less than half that of her old 4x4 and her driving costs are lower for day to day driving.

In the meantime, I'm sticking with 4x4 and trailer. I'm currently borrowing YO's trailer (I have an awesome YO!) but I'd like to get an Equitrek next year.

Re: Batesons, a friend of mine used to have one with barn doors and she said it was awesome. Apparently everyone else at the yard was jealous and wished they'd got the same! She spent a couple of years abroad and sold it before she left but she said she'd get the same in an instant.

[haffyfan]

Thanks pboy, similar thoughts to mine!

Be interesting to hear other views, either way we have decided to wait until winter and see if prices drop. For the couple of times a month we're currently going out hiring hasn't been too bad to date. Your so lucky to have such a great yard owner/friend!

[racaille]

I love the idea of a lorry, just load and go .... but one of the main reasons against is that motors don't like to be left standing around, they can get temperamental about starting etc. So if you go for a lorry you need to use it regularly.

If I had a lorry I would still keep my 4x4 as it is so useful in so many other ways (harrowing, getting hay etc) so that's not part of the equation.

I suppose the main con of a trailer is the hitching/unhitching etc but you get used to it, I can do it in minutes all on my own. They involve more 'driving' but if an old bag like me can manage I'm sure a young thing like you can cope! One huge plus of a trailer is that, towed by a good 4x4, you can manage the mud at venues - so often I see lorries being towed out by tractors!

I guess it all comes down to budget. The trailer option would give you mobility for just a few grand.

PS I know there is a lot of resistance to Cheval Liberté trailers but I have been very happy indeed with mine. The lightweight aspect is a godsend and the Pullman suspension gives the horses a great, smooth ride.

[haffyfan]

Thanks Rac, i actually like the look/spec of Chevals too! I haven't ruled one out but like the batesons you don't seem to see that many for sale.

[pboy]

I've read a lot of good things about Cheval Libertes actually, the low weight and the suspension sounds good. I like the idea of some living space though...but may have changed my mind by next year of course!

***wanders off to look up the price of second hand CLs***

[brigadier]

Cheval do one with living and they have a barn door option. I would have one again in a blink but second hand they are like rocking horse poo. Ive done the full HGV driving, trailer, small box, large box and back to trailer thing. The small box was fab to drive and very handy but you really do have to drop on on a good one, avoid the ones where the horse looks over to the living area as you spend more time cleaning up and you never really sit there etc. Large boxes are expensive to run and maintain and like above need constant starting and ticking over to ensure reliability.
I actually love having the trailer again- for me it ticks all the boxes and nowadays most venues have toilet and tea and coffee facilities and good parking. The one thing I would say about towing- get a decent towing automatic 4 x 4. makes the journeys so much easier. Im much less stressed by driving horses than I ever was.

[racaille]

I didn't know you could tow with an automatic - how do you stop it changing up (and going too fast) when you are going down a steep hill? As you see, I know nothing about autos, I've never driven one in my life. Too frightened of being one of those grannies you read about in the papers - the ones that floor it by mistake and plough through a shop window or the back of the garage

[solomon]

I would so love to have my own transport. I am such a nervous driver though! I actually bought a half share of a lorry last year one week before Pete decided he needed another six months off!! Sold it now and still have the longing...

[haffyfan]

I'm too scared to drive with a horse in too Sol. I don't have a license to tow and have only driven the little lorry (under duress i might add) whilst empty! I'd be terribly nervous with a horse in and it's so easy to speed in the little modern boxes as you don't feel it.

I need to win the lottery so i can have a little theault

[brigadier]

Rac, never had that issue and all the autos Ive driven have a optional selection to change it up or down but never had to use it- perhaps 4x4 autos are different to rear wheel or front wheel drive only. The main benefit is if driving in a village or stuck in traffic- you can drive slowly and carefully without having to think about your gears so it gives the horse an incredibly smooth ride and you a less stressful drive, also there is no need to handbrake on hills which really daunts some drivers. Sadly Ive found automatic boxes can be a bit jerky so would view an automatic horsebox with caution.

Haff you really just have to get on and do it- its the practice that makes you confident. I was a jelly the first few times but so much worse when hubby drove so had to do it myself!! When a horse is on you just give yourself twice as much time to do things ie brake and corner etc- the rest is a doddle as you rarely go above 40 unless on a motorway. You just watch your road signs more for bad bends and go slow.

[racaille]

My OH has put me right too Brig, seems you can override the auto gears - down here, with so many big steep hills, you have to use engine braking as opposed to overheating the brakes and I was worried that an auto couldn't cope but apparently it is easy peasy.

As is towing Haff - it really is (as Brig says) a question of practice. The more you do, the better and more confident you become. At first I used to - literally - lose sleep about it, especially as the descent from my old house was horribly tricky, but you should see me now, three-point-turning all over the place!

I was told that if you can hear a horse moving around in the trailer/lorry (ie trying to balance) you are taking the corners/roundabouts too fast. Like Brig, I go slow round corners and anticipate stops by slowing down gradually. It pains me when French drivers scream up to a stop sign and you can see the lorry/trailer bobbing around as the horses struggle to balance.

[ernieburt]

Would love love to have any form of transport!!! But so enjoy the feeling of driving a 7.5 I love the respect you suddenly get off other drivers (especially being small, blonde and only just about able to see over the steering wheel) window down elbow out and so want a yorkie bar in the other hand to finish the picture...... Sorry no help what so ever other than after lots off thought over the years a 3.5 may be a bit lacking, a trailer too much hassle so I would upgrade (if I could afford it) to a 4-5 tonne.