Has anyone time to talk to me about lightweight horse trailers (not for horses)

[KatyMac]

As I am so confused!!

I want to convert one to a sort of travelling shop and I need a lightweight one as my car (that I haen't bought yet) will tow 1.8

So an Ifor Williams (505?) is too heavy - but so many adverts have no weight on them which is so confusing for me

Could anyone point me to a website that has them all or a list or something?

Many thanks

The Ifor Williams 403 (older versions is 401) is a single horse trailer which weighs around 760kg with nothing in it. There’s also the Cheval Liberte mare and foal trailer which is a similar weight. However the only conversions I’ve seen have been things like old Rice trailers - the single horse trailers are quite rare so hold their value extremely well which would make an expensive option (and obviously not a huge amount of space for a shop ...)

Horse trailers tend to be heavier than they look,mainly due to the weight they have to carry. The newer ifor Williams have aluminium floors which makes them lighter I think,but still pretty heavy due to the structure.

I 'thought' I could go up to about 900/950 for the trailer the have about the same for a lightweight bed and my rails of stock

I preferred the horse trailer idea to the caravan idea because it already has a ramp to roll the rails out into a gazebo

Am I in cloud cuckoo land?

Do you want a horse trailer to pretty and vintage and so part of your shop set up or do you just want a trailer to transport your goods? If it's the latter you would be better with a box trailer. If it's the former then only the heavy Rice horse trailers look the part in my opinion.

Pretty and vintage - for craft markets and festivals and maybe even reenactments/cosplay?

But everything have changed as I may not be able to afford the insurance on the car I had planned on so I need to do a re-think

i do find the buying of cars etc particularly hard!

So I dont know if it's more important to have an electric car (sustainable business) or a pretty trailer

I had an old Bahill trailer which is perfect for this type of conversion. Same design as Rice but aluminium walls/roof & was about 800kg. You find them sometimes on ebay. Nice vintage look, they stopped making them a long time ago! I sold mine for £700 a couple of years ago.

The Bahill has come up a few times in my search

Thanks for the recommendation

Have you considered a horse lorry maybe? There are some beautiful ones with wooden bodies out there.

I did, that was my first thought

But as my business is based around sustainability I felt running 2 vehicles (family car & work van/lorry) was not as sustainable as one vehicle that could do both

Struggling to find a hybrid or electric car with a low enough insurance group may make me re-visit this

I'm so confused by cars generally!!

I had a rice pony trailer at one point. It looked the part (when I sold it it nearly went to someone to convert to a vintage mobile afternoon tea shop).

I think it was about 650/700kg. I sold it several years ago for £650. Maybe a pony trailer would be an option altho I don’t know if maybe too small?

Is there a significant difference in weight between the Bahill & the rice?

Nobody puts the bloody weight on the adverts

Have a look out for one of these

www.batesontrailers.com/shop/horse-trailers/derby-lightweight-horse-pony/

Bateson trailers are v well made and it only weighs 675kgs empty

Looking at hybrid cars have u looked at outlander phev? That prob has the one of the biggest towing capacities.... (and if u get a 15 plate or older it's £0 road tax). Can't pull a trailer with horse in but would tow that trailer with not a lot in it.

Yes that's the one I'm looking at - the hybrid Outlander I think has 1.8 so that gives me loads at 75%? if I am working it all out right

Seen one that is perfect but it doesn't have a plate so I cant be sure of weight

This looks perfect but without a weight plate it's too much of a risk for me :(

That looks like an old rice/Richardson . It would be heavier than the Bateson,

Ask the seller to take a photo of the plate. It will be stamped on the A frame

You can get plates made up, ask the seller to take it empty to a weighbridge for you without the partitions and see what the empty weight is. You then stick that on the plate as the unladen weight and the max gross as whatever you want so long as it’s not higher than any of the trailer components will allow.

He says there isn't a plate & there is a lot of interest in it

I can afford to go to say 850.......is it fair to ask him to get it weighed?

I could say if no one else is interested I'd come if he gets it weighed (it's about 100 miles away)

🤨 if it has no plate it's ancient (and illegal to drive but that's beside the point. If u get stopped they check the plates and it has to be there)

Is it in good condition and is it cheap?

The old ones can be heavy. I wouldn't touch it if it has no plate and he won't weigh it and then u need to find out how much it will cost to get a plate for it.

That's what I'm thinking and the guy that is converting it for me won't drive to collect it without a weight

I didn't think it would be this hard - it isn't (for once) that it's too expensive, or that I can't find one close enough - it's that I can't find one!!

Little trailers like that aren't that popular.... they have never been made in great quantities.

I found a Wessex Clubman, at 895 which might work!

But it is the other side of the country!!

At that weight u could have nearly any trailer! Most double trailers weigh around the 900kg mark

The Ifor 505 has a gross of 2350 whereas the Wessex on the ad said 1.8 but actually on the specs it's 2600

Shouldn't believe what you read!!

Sorry