Trailer Reviews

[charliedales]

Hi
am looking into buying a trailer and am interested in what people think of the different makes, seem to be so many models if you don't know where to start.
won't be anything flash, just a budget one, not sure yet, prob max 2000 but want to get something good for the money obviously!
would be towed with 4x4, wouldn't have to be big height wise but molly's as broad as they come , would i need a bigger trailer to accomodate her bulk if she was sharing lol?
thanks, nicola

[harleydales]

Hunter 505 and 510's are fab, and you can get them reasonably cheap. The 510 really needs a 4x4 to tow it.
If I could find the money and justify it, I would go for a 505.

I have an elderly Sinclair Clansman. It's brown and rectangular (not aerodynamic) and has a paler roof so from a distance it looks like a loaf of bread!!! I love it though, it is light and bright and has a full height grooms door and front ramp with a full quarter door so if you open them all, it's really inviting for a youngster or nervous horse. It would take 2 average horses, up to 15.3 ish, but the gap between the breast bar and the front isn't very big for long necks.

Rice's are solid and sturdy but heavy.

[charliedales]

thanks jane
your trailer sounds nice, i wouldn't mind and older one as long as it's sound, got very handy dad so that helps! mine don't have long anything lol but i wouldn't have thought of that so thtnks!
so the 505, is that just a smaller version of the 510? the farm used to have a rice trailer years ago, all wood, boy was it heavy!!
nicola

[JoM]

I have a Ifor 505. It is a couple of years old now I think. It weighs just under a tonne, so quite light compared to others. You are right a 505 is just a shorter and less tall version of the 510. The 505 will take up to a 16.2hh (I think). We get my sisters 16hh TB in there with room to spare anyway!

Now I have powerwashed the moss off the roof it is also quite light and airy inside! ;D

The newer style ifors have the aluminium floor, so if you are looking at an older one just check the flooring under the rubber. They do hold their value though, so any ifor you buy, I think is an investment and you wont lose too much money (personal opinion mind!)

My only gripe with it is the front off load is on the wrong side! It off loads into the road, rather than the verge! But hey, so does everyone elses ifor!! LOL

[suew]

I've got a Rice Beaufort, its my second Rice and I love them. Front ramp is on the correct side IMO. They last for ever and are easy to get spares for and repair, I know of a few around which are about 30 years old and still going. Apparently the ride is better than some others too but I have never travelled in it. It has a solid partition which I prefer, even with that it only weights 914 Kg

I also had a Richardson which was terrible. Axles were not up to the job and it rusted.

I have to admit that the 505 and 510 look nicer.

[JoM]

Sue - that is my gripe! The Rice's dont seem to have modernised do they! I do like the look of the Ifors. However, I never realised the Rice's have a solid partition. That I do like the idea of.

Alas - too late now!!! LOL ;D

[akehurstannabel]

I have just bought my first ever trailer! It is a Cheval Liberte. Takes two 16.2hh and only weighs 730Kg. It is french but the front unload ramp falls to the kerbside. I was going to get an ifor 505 but the weight put me off. I have a 5 series bmw estate 4.4L automatic not a 4 x 4 so i wanted to keep it as light as possible. It was £2873 new inc VAT which I thought was pretty good.

[suziesioux]

We have just bought our first trailer too, it is an OLD rice, wasnt in particularly good condition on the body but the underneath and the floor were sound, so my hubby and his friend have just replaced all the wood around the sides and we have painted it inside and out and we are soooo pleased with the results.

I agree that it is quite heavy but my brother has a discovery and he has towed it with and without the horses in (and our horses are heavy irish cobs) and he recons that it is fab.

We paid £500 for it and have spent probably £200 on doing it up, so for the price we have paid we are very happy ;D.

The reason we went for a cheapie was because i have never towed livestock before so didnt want to spend loads of money on something that i may find i cant cope with, i'm hopefully having my first lesson on sunday ;D

[The Moo]

The arguement for the ifors having the ramp on the off side is that... if you park down a narrow lane with no or little verge you would have to park the trailer in the middle of the road to get the ramp down to get the horses out, then what do you do with your horse while you have to move your trailer from blocking the road.
By having the ramp on the off side you can wait for a gap in the traffic, lower the ramp, get horse out, put ramp back up, and go for your hack/hunt/ride etc. It has been a godsend many a time when I have boxed up to go out hacking. (not that i own an ifor, my friend does)
Also if you drove into a ditch, which is easier than it sounds, you still have access to the horses and the possibility of getting them out.

I have an old Bahill that has been rebuilt so many times I can't remember so is really due for replacement next time round.

For your budget you should be able to get something quite nice with a 'name', if not avoid anything that somebody else has done up as you don't know what they have or haven't done, it would be better to buy below your budget and use the rest of the money to have the work done (or do yourself)

[akehurstannabel]

Oh I see. I'll have to keep an eye out for those ditches then! The only places I will be going are showgrounds and car parks so hopefully it will be ok. It was dead handy the other day though. I parked it along the esplanade, dropped the ramp down straight onto it, took them out, rode up and down the beach (getting chased by the beach cleaner!) then chucked them back in again without having to wait for the traffic!

[charliedales]

thnaks every one, great advice, i like the look of the rice trailers (know that's not exactly top of the list of priorities though lol), some people say they're heavy but all the ones i've seen advertised have been as lightwweight, and sue, yours doesn't exactly sound heavy! also like the ifors, seen to be very reliable and we have a good dealer nearby.
am getting quite excited thinking about all the things we'll be able to do but dreading the thought of driving it lol

[harleydales]

Driving them isn't a problem - just take your time and keep your speed down until you're used to it.
PLEASE practise reversing at home though - there's nothing more annoying than someone failing to reverse a trailer at a show/venue and getting in a mess.

Another tip is do your maneouvring (sp) BEFORE you put the horse in - I watched soemeone load 2 horses in a muddy field and then try to do a three point turn. It sank!!

[jay]

I have one of the old rice's too. Its my first trailer and I'm really pleased with it. I wanted to get an old Ifor 505, but I just couldn't stretch it...most of the ones i saw needed the side panels replacing because they were rotting. The rice seems to pull really well and its plenty big enough for wide boy jay who's about 15.1-15.2. I've also had my friend's 16.2 TB in there with no problems.

My only gripe about it is that its not autoreverse, so I have to get out and stick the ****** pin in every time we reverse. But other than that I'm very happy with it. Going to give it a fresh lick of paint this summer to spruce it up a bit. The chap I got it from also put the Ifor breech bars in it for me to replace the worn straps. I think I'll probably get him to replace the breast bars with Ifor ones too because they're a lot less fiddley!

[rebeccajane]

What is the Cheval Liberte made of? Is it fiber glass?

[JoM]

www.cheval-liberte.co.uk/products_trailers.htm

That one that you can plonk the carriage on the front of is a good idea!!