Do you need a 4x4 to tow a horsebox?

Bobobelle

Hi,
I'm looking into buying a horsebox and somebody told me that the new law is that you have to have a 4x4 to tow it. Does anybody know if this is true?

Bigus

You need a towing licence and when you get this you'll know how to work out what you can tow with, it's down to vehicle specification and towing weights .

Bobobelle

My hubbie has the towing license from the time that you could just fill in what you want on your license. the good old 80s. But we're not sure what the vehicle requirements are.

Bigus

Good for him , however it would be no harm to brush up on the regulations and dangers involved because ignorance will not be a defence in the the of event of a road fatality due to negligence.
Bone up on the regs and current laws and get some training , things have moved on from the 80's.
An answer from an Internet forum is not good enough when it comes to road safety.

fits

Its not necessarily the 4X4 element that you need. But you do need a big heavy vehicle which is capable of towing the design gross vehicle weight of the horsebox, which is usually around 2.5 tonnes.

You can check the maximum towing capacity of your vehicle in the technical specs on parkers.co.uk.

convert

The OP came posted looking for advice, not a lecture in the legalities of towing, so can we keep replies helpful. Thanks.

OP, it would be a good idea if you took a look at some of the road safety books or take a look at the RSA website. Here's a link specific to towing trailers: http://www.rsa.ie/en/RSA/Your-Vehicle/About-your-Vehicle/Example-of-non-Dup/Trailers-/Technical-Trailer-Requirements-/

granturismo

Bobobelle wrote: »

Hi,
I'm looking into buying a horsebox and somebody told me that the new law is that you have to have a 4x4 to tow it. Does anybody know if this is true?

4x4 is not a legal requirement.

I cant find the treads - but there are a few in this forum explaining the legal requirements and best practice.

later12

My first car was a (fairly clapped out) Volvo Estate and it would pull an Ifor Williams horsebox no problem. Only ever took one horse in it though.

Got stopped by the Gardai a few times coming back from hunt meetings or events around the country, and they never said anything. Well not about the car anyway, tax was a different story !:o

So it definitely is possible depending on what kind of car you have OP, just make sure you satisfy the legal requirements alluded to as well.

Imhof Tank

There are no legal requirements relating to type of towing vehicle. You could try pulling a box with a mini if you want.

All vehicles are designed to haul certain maximum weights, check the technical specs in the manuals - so just confirm the gross unladen weight of your trailer and add approx half a tonne per full horse, less for ponies - thats the minimum towing capcaity you need, or else you will end up fairly quickly pulling the guts out of something unsuitable.

mothoin

The legal requirement is actually that a 4x4 vehicle is required to tow any double or more axle trailer, will find the information and link it

fits

mothoin wrote: »

The legal requirement is actually that a 4x4 vehicle is required to tow any double or more axle trailer, will find the information and link it

I really dont believe this is correct.

IF that were true then builders etc wouldnt be able to tow their flat bed trailers with a van.

helibelly

This old chesnut comes up again and a again, have a look in the motor forums, but ask yourself this very important question, how much do you care about your horse? Yes you could use a mini to tow a horse box, and never have a bad day towing, however the day a cross-wind catches the box, you jack-knife across the road and you box turns over killing your horse you'd have no one to blame but yourself! The actual answer is out there in google land, but it comes down to the max kerb weight of your car/jeep. The amount you can tow is part of this, so a small car will have a lower max kerb weight than a bloody big 4x4. The max you can expect to tow with any car/jeep is 3500kgs. Go to http://www.towinghorsetrailers.co.uk/index.htm for a good guide, the Irish regulations are almost the same as they are based on the european rules. Lastly, when was the last time you went to competition and the ground wasn't soft, a 4x4 will get you out of the field at the end of the day!:)

Imhof Tank

helibelly wrote: »

This old chesnut comes up again and a again, have a look in the motor forums, but ask yourself this very important question, how much do you care about your horse? Yes you could use a mini to tow a horse box, and never have a bad day towing, however the day a cross-wind catches the box, you jack-knife across the road and you box turns over killing your horse you'd have no one to blame but yourself! The actual answer is out there in google land, but it comes down to the max kerb weight of your car/jeep. The amount you can tow is part of this, so a small car will have a lower max kerb weight than a bloody big 4x4. The max you can expect to tow with any car/jeep is 3500kgs. Go to http://www.towinghorsetrailers.co.uk/index.htm for a good guide, the Irish regulations are almost the same as they are based on the european rules. Lastly, when was the last time you went to competition and the ground wasn't soft, a 4x4 will get you out of the field at the end of the day!:)

Yes all that is common sense and agreed, only a head the ball would tow with a mini.

The OP was asking about whether a new law had been introduced however - I dont think so, and nobody has been able to post a link to anything reliable, so.........

fits

OP hasnt been back but I'll just say this.

If you're towing one pony in a small box, no bigger than an IW505 or equivalent, you should be alright with a big diesel car. (check towing specs)

An Ifor 505 weighs 900 kg and a pony about 500 kg.

I wouldnt tow anything with a vehicle that has max towing capacity of 1500kg or less. Should be 2000kg at least.

jayroyal

Would a ford transit van 2l or 2.5l pull a horse box and two 14.2 hands pony's .

talullah

I know someone who pulls two 14hh ponies with an opel vectra 1.9 diesel. He never has any probs towing or stopping.

Bobobelle

Thank you everybody for your sound advise.
After reading all this and researching a bit more, we have decided to shop around for a 4x4. And a horsebox of course.