# What is a sensible payload for a 7.5T horsebox?



## DorothyJ (1 April 2013)

Hi, I am currently horse-box shopping and looking for a 7.5T with good living. I have quickly learnt to ask the unladen weight before trekking across the country to view and discovered that some horse-boxes are very heavy indeed.

I will never need to take 3 horses and appreciate that only lightweight boxes will have sufficient payload to do that, but I do want to be able to take 2, and I think most people would expect a 7.5T to be able to. In terms of resale a 7.5T will be surely be pretty undesirable unless it can take 2 legally. 

So what do your 7.5T boxes weigh unladen and what is the minimum payload that you would say a 7.5T box should have?

Many thanks


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## becca1305 (1 April 2013)

well unless taking very big horses I'd work it out at horses 620 x 2 = 1240kg. Diesel -100kg. Water- 100kg. People averaging 90kg PP including their coats & handbags etc. so 3 people -270kg. Tack (inc all horses ridden wear) x 2 - 60kg. Rugs and other travel stuff (inc spare stuff in lockers) - 40kg. Bucket, lotions and potions etc - 10kg. Riding wear - 20kg. Plates, cutlery, kettle, pots & pans etc - 5kg (using plastic cutlery/plates etc). Other stuff that will end up in there on the day - 10kg. And weight of dog if you have one/ take one with you. I think thats about everything (weights approximate). 

So I would say you would be very comfortable with a 1.85tonne payload. Of course if you know you are only ever going to take lighter horses, no more than 2 passengers etc then you can lose a fair bit off the requirement. You can of course manage with a smaller payload and people do, but chances are you will have to be careful about what you put in. The idea of the above was to hopefully cover for anything you might want to put in  as if you don't have the payload there you can't do it! If it helps when we had our box built we agreed with the builder it would go to a weigh bridge and have a minimum payload of 1.7tonne before we would pay him for it, as I knew I couldn't manage with any less. As it happens the box has a 2 tonne payload and is fantastic as I can pop 2 horses in and all my junk and not worry about adding up to make sure we are in the payload, I have on occasion taken 2 horses and a pony, and then have had to add things up very carefully and only had a couple of buckets worth of water in the tank, half a tank of diesel etc, take the table and luton mattress and bedding out of the living etc, to make sure we were in weight. Hope that helps a bit .


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## Nicnac (1 April 2013)

Agree with Becca.  Mine is 5.4 t unladen so, for example, yesterday I had no qualms with 2 horses, all tack, a 70kg dog (yep, he has to be taken into consideration at that weight!), 4 adults, water.

I did remove my mattress in the week as it was getting skanky and will replace with a lightweight one as mine was an old fashioned one with springs and weighed a ton.

It's amazing how the weight adds up quickly - a cooler box for drinks and snacks can easily weigh a good 10-15 kgs if full of drink bottles.

A 2t payload is what you should be looking for. (2000kg)

Happy buying!


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## Vickijay (1 April 2013)

Mine is 5.2 unlaiden. Which makes me happy that I can comfortably carry 2, another person or 2, diesel, water and equipment etc. I think fuel talk size comes into it because mine has a big tank so I don't ever fill it up over half or I think it would eat up too much of my spare weight


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## ihatework (1 April 2013)

I have a 2 large horse, PRB built iveco, on a short wheel base. The living is reasonably big but only really kitted out as day living (no loo/shower etc).

Weighs in at 5.2T unladen

If I were doing overnighters with 2 horses I'd be wanting 2 T if at all possible


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## SpottedCat (1 April 2013)

Mine weighs in at 5.4T unladen, stalled for 2 large horses, has a full living with shower, oven, hob, sink, fridge etc. You really want 2T I think.


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## cundlegreen (1 April 2013)

Make sure when you are shopping that you actually see a copy of a weighbridge ticket, people will tell you anything you want to hear. Mind you, unless you are there, you don't know if all the partitions were taken out before weighing. That would make a big difference. I've made two horseboxes for myself. The first was GRP with two partitions, this was a 20ft long container. That weighed in at 5.5 tons, so the second one was made from alloy with more reinforcement box section inside. Same length, weighed in at 4.5 tons, so ask what the lorry is made of. Both mine had a substantial ramp as well, whereas the modern builds tend to use (I think) checkerplate or similar, not box section and 3/4 ply as I used.


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## DorothyJ (1 April 2013)

Thanks everyone, great advice. I will look for 2T payload as although I may not need that myself, it sounds as though that is what people look for in a 7.5T box to take 2 decent size horses. Anything with much less is going to impact on resale value at any point in time. 

There does seem to be quite a discrepancy with payloads. For example I have just been looking at an advert for a very nice looking Lehel with fabulous living but an unladen weight of 6.2T, so sadly no good.


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## morrismob (1 April 2013)

We have just been through this. I have owned my present 7.5 lorry for a good few years. Now we have 2 big horses to transport plus we stay away so all the stuff that goes with us. Present box only has 1.3 so went off to buy another one.

It is very hard to find a box with a 2 tonne payload that isn't expensive! If you only want simple day living it is much easier to find a slightly older box with this payload. I think I have emailed or rung about nearly every 7.5 in England. Even if I had 1 built the 2 tonne payload just wasn't there unless I had many thousands to spend. I have finally just bought 1 with a 2 tonne payload but it was expensive as I need the living. Good luck


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## Lisamd (1 April 2013)

Mine is a 7.5t with 2.5t payload, takes a 17.2hh, 16.3hh, 3 dogs, 2 people and enough stuff to go away for two days training/competing. When I was looking to sell it a few years ago I took it to a weigh bridge and it came in at 5.025t and have the print off in my lorry at all times...just in case!

Good luck searching!


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## flyingfeet (2 April 2013)

Unladen tickets are not as good as taking it to a weighbridge. I think mine is around 5.9t with a lot of kit on board (lives in it) a spare wheel that's at least 100kg and partitions. If I stripped it out including partitions I think I could get it below 5.5t


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## Luci07 (2 April 2013)

And when looking and wanting to check, look at things like the partitions and living. Friends bought a very big 7.5 which would carry 3 big horses comfortably, only to find that the lovely living etc meant they could actually only carry 2 safely.  Expensive mistake to make.


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## DorothyJ (2 April 2013)

If you only had 1 horse and might only need to travel 2 on the odd occasion, and then locally only without needing to take oodles of stuff with you to stay away, would you be mad to buy a heavier box with a more limited payload but really good living? Husband keen to have a 'motor home' as such for boys' weekends away so the living is quite attractive.


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## humblepie (2 April 2013)

You can have good living area and a good payload, really just depends on what materials have been used for the living.  We used a lot of lightweight things designed for caravans, the units are alumium framed rather than wood etc etc.   

You also need to bear in mind the weight over the individual axles as well as the total weight.


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## perfect11s (2 April 2013)

DorothyJ said:



			If you only had 1 horse and might only need to travel 2 on the odd occasion, and then locally only without needing to take oodles of stuff with you to stay away, would you be mad to buy a heavier box with a more limited payload but really good living? Husband keen to have a 'motor home' as such for boys' weekends away so the living is quite attractive.
		
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 I wouldent want anything heavier than 5.5 unladen  1 because it would be hard to sell on and 2 because the more weight you drag around the more fuel you will use..  the industy standard now  is about 5000kg unladen with full living and stalled for 3..


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## dieseldog (2 April 2013)

What is the definition of unladen?

Does it include fuel?

I weighed mine with a full tank, all my stuff on board, tack, water etc and it was exactly 6 tonnes.  The only thing missing was the horse - so I think 1.5 ton payload for 2 horses isn't bad.  I wanted to weigh it with all my stuff on so that I knew what it weighed when I was using it, but if I was selling it I would strip it I guess and have no fuel in it?


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## perfect11s (2 April 2013)

dieseldog said:



			What is the definition of unladen?

Does it include fuel?

I weighed mine with a full tank, all my stuff on board, tack, water etc and it was exactly 6 tonnes.  The only thing missing was the horse - so I think 1.5 ton payload for 2 horses isn't bad.  I wanted to weigh it with all my stuff on so that I knew what it weighed when I was using it, but if I was selling it I would strip it I guess and have no fuel in it?
		
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 To me unladen would be in ready to go condition with some fuel and in useable condition  partitions and mats but not personal stuff, tack , people, horses , food ,beer etc...


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## morrismob (3 April 2013)

perfect11s said:



			I wouldent want anything heavier than 5.5 unladen  1 because it would be hard to sell on and 2 because the more weight you drag around the more fuel you will use..  the industy standard now  is about 5000kg unladen with full living and stalled for 3..
		
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I do wish I had seen these industry standard at 5t unladen with full living and stalled for 3. I rang all the major builders and most of the smaller ones and found no-one who could build with that payload and full living and stalled for 3. The best brand new box came out at 5.4 and the worst 6.4 !!


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## vic07 (3 April 2013)

Ha ha! I agree Morris! I have had one built without kitchen and skirts to keep the weight down. Decided if I hadn't used it in 10 years with the old one  I didn't need it!


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## stencilface (3 April 2013)

I don't think its possible to have a 3 horse 7.5T with full living including shower and carry 3 horses ever.  Ours is 5.2 unladen with living (toilet no shower) and kitchen but no TV or anything glamorous.  We carry two (only stalled for two, they have lots of room) and Peggy the lorry can tank along, nowhere near her limit 

I would take 3 ponies in it though


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## RCP Equestrian (3 April 2013)

Ours is 5.2 without anything on but is quite small in the back so we only carry 2 horses anyway. Could carry 3 ponies or 2 horses and a pony no problem. Never had it to the weighbridge before but its pretty new and everything in it is lightweight. Wouldn't take 3 to an away show though as I think we would be close to the limit. Agree that I don't think a 3 horse with living 7.5t lorry exists tbh. HGV is the best option really in an ideal world


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## perfect11s (3 April 2013)

RCP Equestrian said:



			Ours is 5.2 without anything on but is quite small in the back so we only carry 2 horses anyway. Could carry 3 ponies or 2 horses and a pony no problem. Never had it to the weighbridge before but its pretty new and everything in it is lightweight. Wouldn't take 3 to an away show though as I think we would be close to the limit. Agree that I don't think a 3 horse with living 7.5t lorry exists tbh. HGV is the best option really in an ideal world  

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 Sadly if you want huge living and 3 plus horses yes HGV can be the answer, but more to run , tachographs and driver's hour regs make them impractical or at best a pain for a lot of people so as the  7.5 toners get lighter and better made as tecnoligy improves and the 2nd rate builders are forced out of the market by people wanting better quality and performance these newer  builds will filter though to the second hand market and the number of the old overly heavy coachbuilts  being scrapped will speed up..


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## DorothyJ (3 April 2013)

I have found and bought a horsebox this afternoon! 

A 2000 Ford Iveco 7.5T stalled for 2 big horses with good living. It has small bathroom with shower, heating, hot water, hob, microwave, fridge freezer, TV, DVD, horse hose, hook up, CCTV to horse area and has 1.7T payload. Best of all it has only done 60,000 km and has been barn stored. 

I am really pleased 

Thank you everyone for your advice.


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