Carting your horses’ around Australia is something that is as common as popping down to the dairy. And getting the right horse truck for you is crucial. You want to arrive at your destination with both you and your horse(s) sane, sound, safe and healthy. At Osborne Equine we want to help you in getting the right horse truck!
Just recently I have had a number of people ask me about what size truck they should look at getting so in this short post we are looking at the basic needs.
Where to start in getting the right horse truck?
- We suggest making a list of requirements: for example
- 2/4/6/+ horses with generous space esp if you are planning on long journeys
- Independent water and power supply, and greywater management
- Sleeping for up to 3 maybe 4 people
- Storage for yards, tack and feed
- Cooking and kitchen, shower and bathroom
- Pop-outs, crawl throughs and Lutons (over cab space) all need to be planned for
- Flooring such as Corbro if you are planning interstate is a great investment.
- Do you have any special requirements, i.e. wheelchair access or a need to tow a trailer
What type of truck?
New: As with any large capital expense, you want to make sure you are getting something that is fit for your purpose. There are many online resources for example this list by Hino Aust
Buying a secondhand truck can be a great start, it pays to check the service history and if you are unsure of the mechanical soundness of the truck, it would pay to have it checked over by a qualified mechanic. And doing refurbs on an existing truck, be sure that someone has had a look through first, as it may end up costing a lot of extra money to turn the pumpkin into a state of the art palace on wheels!
GVM vs Tare vs GCM and all those letters!
GVM is Gross Vehicle Mass i.e. how much weight the fully laden truck can legally carry.
Tare, or unladen weight is the bare weight of the truck, and this can be done with either bare chassis or with a body, but with no cargo or horses.
GCM, is the Gross combination mass, i.e. if the truck is laden and is towing a trailer.
How to work out the right Tare for your horse truck
An example is a Hino 500 1126 link here
- GVM (Max weight allowed) 11,000Kgs
- Tare weight (cab/chassis and wet weight) 3635KGs
- Gives 7365KGs to work with
- 4 horses 700 Kgs x 4 = 2800Kgs
- Box+ Living, Plus water/feed etc 3500Kgs
- Gross laden weight 6300
- The truck is under the GVM limit with 1,065 Kgs to spare
- If you are wanting more than 4 horses and living you are going to have to go a higher GVM category
Main points
So before rusing out and buying allow Osborne Equine help you in getting the right horse truck!
Plan out what you want before committing to the build. Have a look at other people’s horse trucks that you like and ask questions if they would change anything.
Talk to us, at Osborne Equine we have built several trucks from a 2 horse fully contained through to a 6 horse nose to nose racehorse transporter. Check our builds here
If you haven’t already followed our Facebook page is where we update builds and news
