Going to see a cart

[harleydales]

I've had an advert in the local ads paper, and have had 2 calls back about carts.

Can you drivers give me some tips on buying a cart, such as:
what to look for
how to check if it's the right size!
how to put a good price on it
potential problems
danger signs

Any help gratefully received. I thought I might go and see the carts, take some photos and then put them on her for people to have a look at!

Thank you

[The Moo]

oo-er there is lots to check, here a few of the basic things.

Get Harley harnessed and measure the height of the tugs from the ground and measure his width.
When you see the cart lift the shafts till the floor is level then measure the height of the shafts from the ground at the tug stop position, there could be a bit of adjustment on the harness but you don't want it tipping back or tipping forwards on your pony, makes balancing it a nightmare and it can be un safe. With traditional carriages there are ways of blocking the body off the axle to get a better fit, depends what sort it is really.
Check the width of the tugs so you know if Harley will fit in between them!
Check all the welding is safe and sound, very important espec where the shafts meet the body if it is cab fronted, if it has recently had a coat of thick paint be suspisious, check for rust, check the wheels are round and not buckled, if it has wooden wheels make sure all the spokes are secure and not loose, some goes for metal spoked wheels, stand facing the cart and woggle the wheels inwards and outwards, if there is a knocking noise it is likely the bearing are b**gered, not the end of the world but a job that would need to be done.
On the shafts look for creases in the paint, this shows the shafts are flexing, wooden shafts are supposed to 'give' and give a confy ride but metal shafts can fatigue and break with too much flexing.
You will probably get an overall impression of the cart and its condition when you see it, some are really ugly but safe, some are quite nice looking but have basic design flaws.
You have to go with safety everytime, there was a terrible accident at a do a couple of years ago when a heavie had to be PTS because the weld on the shaft on a new carriage broke and caused mayhem and disaster.
It's not until you start to go on roughish tracks or across fields that you realise just how much stress and strain a carriage takes.

What sort of carts are you going to see?

[kaz]

What kind of carts are they, do you know any details of what kind of cart they are or who is selling them. Look forward to seeing some photos, good luck !!

[harleydales]

They're both replies to an ad I had in the local ad paper.

The first one sounds a bit iffy, the guy doesn't seem to have a clue. 'It's pucker' he said, '2 wheels, needs new tyres and a lick of paint.' He reckons it's very light and balanced.
I think it's a case of have a look at it and make a judgement on the day. He doesn't know what he wants for it either!
The other man is a driver, has a small pony that he drives. His cart is a homemade wooden one, refurbished, with 'large car wheels!' Sounds like it could be good, but might be heavy. It is adjustable.

I think I'll go to see them both, take some pics of them with someone beside them as a yardstick, and see what people think. I reckon the second one might let me take it ti try, he sounded really nice on the phone.

[The Moo]

A carriage will only be balanced with the right sized pony, it may have been fine for his but may not be with yours if harley is a different size.

[harleydales]

That is very true! He said he bought it for a 15 hh Highland mare, but I got the impression he never drove her.

[kaz]

Did you manage to go and see the carts this weekend, how were they ?

[harleydales]

Never got there yet, it was my friend's hen day on Saturday and I was too shattered to drive there and back on Sunday, 5 hour round trip!

Going tonight instead, after work. There's a really good chip shop on the way there!!!

The home made cart with the car wheels belongs to a keen driver, he does rallies and stuff, so he sounds like he knows what he's talking about. I'm armed with a camera, tape measure and pics of Harley.

[kaz]

Oh good luck, hope it is suitable and you and harley will be on the road soon !!

Look forward to pics and Good luck !

[harleydales]

Well I finally visited my carts last night!! Got home at half 11!

Haven't downloaded the pics yet, will do it later on a new thread.

The first one was too big. Home made, solid stell, very heavy, and the swingle tree would have been above Harley's haunches. The shafts were very narrow at the front, not much wider than my hips! He wants £120 for it.

The second one was a much lighter cart, the guy sat in it and I held the shafts on one finger. Needs a coat of paint and new tyres (has car wheels). It looked much more the sort of thing i'm looking for. Probably about £250. Not sure if it was homemade or not, but it didn't have any manufacturer's plate on it or anything.
It's shafts were tubular and had much more movement in them, and looked like they could be heated and bent to make them wider at the front.

I assume the shafts should fit easily round the horse, not have to be stretched?

[kaz]

The second one sounds much more suitable. The shafts should fit the horse but as you say if the shafts on this second one are a bit narrow for Harley then it may well be possible to have them bent out a bit so that they fit better. You wont really know untill you have got him in the cart if it needs widening. Did they look narrow or do you think they will be ok, also length of shafts, my first cart (very rubbish home made thing ! LOL I did not know any better then !) the shafts were really a bit too short for sherry and may have come out of the tugs if you were not carfull. So was the length of the shafts ok do you think

look forward to seeing some pics !

Have you told them that you will get back to them or have you said you are interested or how have you left it.

[harleydales]

The first one (the heavy one) I said I would let him know. The second one (the better one) I said I was interested and he was going to talk money with his wife and phone me back. Which he has done, but I was busy and couldn't answer. Basically he said he doesn't need it, and I do, so we will come to a deal.

The narrowest part of the shafts was 24 inches, and they were 78 inches long. When the cart was level, the highest bit of the shafts was 52 inches high.

My harness has a sliding back thingy, I *think* I read somewhere that this is a good thing as it allows a bit more variability in height.

I'm going to phone the second one back when I can get some privacy at work!!

[kaz]

With a two wheel cart you need a sliding back band to that as the pony moves this allows for the movement, and as you say this is where your adjustment for hight comes to get it balanced correctley, to high and it wont balance, to low and it wont balance. How do these measurements compare to the height of the tugs on Harleys harness when he is harnessed up and his width to fit in the shafts.

[harleydales]

There's a lot of adjustment on the tugs, they can go from the bottom of his ribs to the top of his ribs!!

From rough sight, wher ther shafts were level on me would be about the middle of Harley's barrel, so I think height-wose we're OK. It has car wheels on it, 13's, so they could always be changed to raise/lower if necessary.

Width wise, viewed from the front it looks OK, and when I measure the width between my knees if I sit as though I'm on him, it looks like it is not bad, a bit of stretching might be required but nothing major. I'll measure tonight when I have him caught.

[harleydales]

I forgot to send the pics to my home computer - and can't do photobucket at work.

The cart I've bought is a bit like this one, except the shafts are more shaped and it's just overall more elegant.



The seat isn't so high either,mine looks generally more secure than this one, but you get the idea!