Buying a Used Trailer

Ah_Yeah

Has anyone bought one from Peter Hosey in Offaly before? Seems to have reasonably priced trailers, and the warranty and service is reassuring for someone who has little to no experience of horseboxes.

If anyone can give me a some tips for viewing a horsebox, it would be much appreciated.

mothoin

It is a minefield!

for whatever anyone says, stick with ifor williams, they last forever, and hold their value, make sure it has aluminium planks in the floor underneath the rubber and not checker plate, if you are going to hosey or want to look at one around the kildare area, I'll give you a hand, drop me a pm

tommy090

Made the trip down to Peter Hosey during the summer. Waste of time, and not the friendliest, doesn't answer his phone & SO hard to find! His ads state he has over 30 horseboxes down there - there was about 10, and only about 1 or 2 nice trailers Try M.R trailers, they're based in Navan, Co.Meath. I'd also check done deal too for places.. The place in Kildare seems v. expensive compared to everywhere else.

fits

Try giving these guys a ring. In Ashford. They don't seem to have a website. http://m.yelp.ie/biz/east-coast-trailers-ashford

aonb

We were in your position a few years back
Buying a cheap trailer is a total money-pit
We bought from PHosey - as someone said earlier, not a great selection, very unfriendly man in the yard, we had pressure on us to get a box asap as the horse was bought and waiting to be brought home, so we bought from him anyway
Expensive for what we bought in hindsight

Make sure that there is an aluminium floor all the way through the box - i.e. check the entire floor
Look UNDER the box too for rust/damage
The lock is very important - should be spare key too - make sure the hitch is in good working order - easy to lift etc
Check the brake lights and indicators are working
Check the lights in the box itself work
Check the hinges on all of the doors, and check the ramps front and rear and smoothly operating, check the jockey door. Look at the rims underneath all the doors for rust
The brakes need to be checked
Have a look at the spare tire(s)
Check the roof (fibreglass - for cracks/damage)

If buying an older box, they dont have the 'windows' in the front - we considered that a disadvantage. The older boxes Ifor Williams 505 are very heavy/cumbersome to put on the towbar in comparison with new models.

Oh yes, the partition! Check that it moves smoothly - the old models have a rotten catch to hold it in place. The breast bar (front) and rear bar (?) can be two or just one single bar. If you are carrying two horses, that might be a consideration.

If you know nothing about horses, go through a drill of opening jockey door, dropping the rear ramp, moving the partition to load a horse, taking down the bar, and replacing it, then out the jockey door, then open the front ramp - see if you can find any glitches!

good luck in your search

granturismo

I bought my first trailer from Peter Hosey about 2 years ago. His website does overstate the amount of trailers on the premises but he was perfectly honest about what he had for sale when I rang him.

I found him perfectly reasonable, slightly cheaper than Westwood. I bought a 19 year old Ifor Williams, cheaper and in better condition than elsewhere. The brake started to stick within the warranty and he sorted it out no problem.

He did give me directions to his yard - it is rural and rustic, if you're expecting Westwood premises then expect to pay more. I also used google maps to get there, stopped and rang him when I thought I was lost but was only 500m from his yard. I have nothing against Weswood - they just didnt have anything in my price range that was in as good condition. I'll try both and othersagain in a few years when I need another trailer.