EdF

I wouldn't give plod or the insurance company any reason to play up... How's this for nonsense. We bought the trailer at the Royal Show at Stoneleigh - when we left home we didn't anticipate buying, just looking.. Paid for the trailer and had to leave it until the following day to collect it as it was too late to travel. In the meantime we went to a Halfords and of course discovered that I couldn't get a rear number plate for the trailer made without the V5 for the Landy. I never thought it would be a problem to get a trailer numberplate, as it's not a problem here in Haggisland. Phoned W.Mids plod who advised trying to find a number plate maker who didn't want the V5 (in a strange area?) or making a temporary one - both against the law. Catch 22. He said it would be a hard-hearted plod who did me. Not about to risk it.. There was no getting around it. The trailer doesn't need a V5 of course, and the Landy was sitting outside Halfords.. In the end, as the trailer had the last owners plate on it, we just left it on.. Better a proper looking wrong one that a correct cardboard one. Today I walked into my local branch of 'Autosave' and walked out with a plate 5 minutes later, no paperwork needed. I suppose to comply with the law, I should have returned home for the V5, 1,000 miles and three days driving. Yeah, right...

Doh, didn't think about them, enquiry sent off, many thanks all.

I've got a 2002 90 TD5 with a tow plate on the back with 5 rows of holes, the top two rows being using for securing bolts. I've just bought a horse trailer and the bottom position for the towball is too high, the front of the Landy is somewhat elevated, so I need to drop the towball legally. Can this be done? I've seen the plain drop plates and the Witter & Towsure adjustable add-on sliding plates, but none are type approved for vehicles made after 1998. Do I really have to buy a new approved towbar? I'll be towing up to 2.2 tonnes so I have to be safe.

I'll check for oil, but it won't be water, haven't been off road or even out in the rain since winter. A short time later: Removed plug, no oil or water.. Got a quote for £400 inc vat, inc clutch.. I think it's worth it to me...

A couple of weeks back, the clutch on my 90 slipped slightly a couple of times after descending a long, steep hill after following two slow cars. It's a 2002 and has only done 38,000 miles. My previous 90, which I sold to a friend, was of a similar age and mileage and that started slipping, although an adjustment of the pedal linkage freeplay seemed to have cured it temporarily. Before anyone jumps in with both feet, I don't rest my foot on the clutch or do any other strange things and this is my 16th Landy and about my 200th vehicle in 44 years driving and I've never had a clutch go before! Just wondered if both motors were victims of previous rough driving owners or whether it's a fault that is more common than I realised. I always thought Defender clutches were pretty robust. As I'm getting on a bit, it's not a job that I'm looking forward to and I'm even getting quotes.. (sigh...)

Thanks for the latest replies. The horsebox we just sold was great, but before that we bought a dog. It was a Vauxhall Movano which had been made into a horsebox in Yorks. from a crashed panel van, not a truck cab. There are several outfits making these and their prices look appealing and they're advertised widely. They're tarted up with a flash paint job and decals down the sides. With a cursory inspection they look ideal. When I got ours home I discovered that the only thing holding the van together was about 150 small self tappers into Glasonite - plywood with a GRP laminate on top which many truck bodies are made from. If a horse had fallen against the side it would have gone out taking the van side with it. Looking underneath, there were no sills and the exposed bottom edges of the plywood body sides were exposed. Wonder how long that would have lasted with the spray from the wheels? As the integrity of the panel van had been lost - there was only the front and sides of the cab and the floor left of the original vehicle, having all been replaced with a plywood box, you can imagine how safe it was.. Another point to watch with trucks is the weight restriction. Very few 3500Kg trucks can carry two horses and be within the gross weight limit. The unladen weight of ours was 2700Kg. We have friends with a big 7.5 ton 'three horse' box and after a visit to a weighbridge our friends discovered they could only legally carry ONE horse! Once heard of a brand new box with full living stopped by the law being delivered to its new owner from the maker and it was overweight empty! The law is getting hot on this..

LOL. Si, you just did me no favours!! Why? because yesterday we sold our Vauxhall Movano horsebox/campervan and my wife did not want to see it go! We had it custom built 4 years ago and it was GREAT. BUT, it was £15,000 sitting there doing nothing as the nags health is questionable and it has only been used as a horsebox about 6 times in the last year, and not at all this year. As I already have a Landy, it seemed best to sell it and get another trailer. SWMBO just did a Google search for 'horse trailer accidents' and this thread came up.. I haven't seen recent replies, perhaps as it changed forums. So far, we have come up with two forward-facing trailers, the whole Equitrek range, the smallest of which we viewed two days ago, and the Rice/Richardson 'Supreme Excel', which we are going to view soon at the makers in York. After witnessing the accidents I mentioned above, the worst of which occurred on the old dual c'way between Glasgow and Kilmarnock, which had no central reservation AT ALL (now updated to a motorway), which was caused by the trailer snaking viciously and throwing its towing Disco I into the oncoming traffic, the trailer then turning over (right in front of me and it was doing dead on 50mph) I want whatever means I can get to prevent that happening to us. I think the lady driver twitched the wheel as she thought a small van was going to pull out of a layby in front of her. Last time I towed a caravan (after seeing photos in a police traffic dept. of a smallish caravan on a long hill on its wheels but its towing Rangey was on its side !) I had a 'Snakemaster' stabiliser (SAS Products - £200). The inventor claimed (then) that no trailer had ever snaked and turned over using one, and it certainly ironed out the bumps and the outfit felt 'tighter' when towing. I can't tell you how it works, but it does not use a simple 'friction' device to control the trailer, like most stabilisers, but actually forces a trailer back into line if it gets out of shape, yet does not affect cornering.. I've done an awful lot of towing and at one time had five different trailers, a caravan, horse trailer, twin axle flatbed and two smaller ones, and I've never got into trouble, and I don't want to, having seen the consequences. Have other readers ever noticed that some drivers of 4x4's towing big 4 wheeled trailers invariably drive too fast? Bravado? Showing off? Lets hope their trailers stays where they're supposed to.. Our last trailer 10 years ago was an Ifor Williams, so we know about them, what I wanted to know was whether anyone had any experience of Equitrek, but after seeing one I'd like one with more protection. This is my opinion and I don't want to detract from a trailer which has a great design. One of the main problems when towing any trailer is other drivers. We once had an artic driver come right up behind our horse trailer, deliberately trying to spook the horse. Another favourite is that many drivers will pull out in front of you trying to get in front quickly so that they don't get stuck behind you. Trouble is, you have to drive very steadily as you have one or two horses in the back trying to keep their feet, so invariably you have to brake hard to avoid the other vehicle, risking injury to the horses. Incidentally, I always pulled over to let traffic past..

We had an Ifor Williams Hunter a few years ago, before our three (count 'em) lorries.. Yes, okay, basic and probably the best forward facing, but SWMBO wants the nag to face backwards, same as our present lorry, which is being sold due to lack of use. Coincidentally, I viewed a new Equitrek trailer today at a dealer and my fears above seem justified, very high up, small wheels, and it didn't seem very robust.. Having seen three trailers overturn on main roads, one in front of me, which caused a major RTA with probable fatalities, I'm somewhat wary.. The only things which came away in one piece were the two ponies in the trailer, which scampered off. Last time I towed a horse trailer (borrowed) I had a very sophisticated anti-snaking stabiliser, which I'll buy again if still available (from SAS).

Can't really afford for others to do any work and the Landy is in the barn doing nothing anyway. Considering I totally rebuilt a 90 over 2½ years, respraying every bit of it individually then bolting it together, (my own version of The Long Way Round) it was a bit of a daft post.. I decided to have a go at the hard bits before the crossmember. Oh, well, I was feeling a bit off (minor viral thing) and ticked off about the pathetic way Landys are put together. After 16 think I'd know by now.. My idea of 'spiders' are the creeping bumps under the paint with 'legs'. Oxidisation or different metal reaction, I think. There's even one or two inside.. I'm naming mine 'Mud Trap' after the pile of poo I got from behind the rear panels. Many thanks for sending the paint. Hope you put your address in it so I can send moolah.. Once it gets back on the road I have to test for clutch slip as it smelled a bit off and slipped slightly after a long slow descent down Abriachan hill. Oh joy, a probable clutch job, I can barely contain my .. A bumper sticker I bought at Findhorn yesterday:- Do Not Meddle in the Affairs of Dragons For You Are Crunchy and Good With Ketchup. Ed

The back end of my 90 is littered with bubbles and spiders in the paintwork. I don't have time to take all the lights off, rub down the whole panels, respray, etc. Does anyone have a quick method? Just wondering how to tackle the oxidation behind the 'tabs' sticking up on the crossmember and the spiders on the panels next to the vertical corner pieces on the rear end.. It's all such a timeless (aka archaic & carp) design and wouldn't be tolerated elsewhere in the motor industry, my motors only done 38k miles. I told my neighbours, who have just bought a new 110, not to leave it out in the rain..

Hi Dave, thanks for that, we just had a look at the site and the 'Pullman' suspension looks great, must be the best you can get on a trailer, but there was no mention of a rear facing option. Eddie

Thanks for that. Further from SWMBO, as I asked her last night why she wants an Equitrek.. 'I't's not just open at the back with a fairly basic body, the horses travel backwards and are enclosed like our lorry...' This stems from when we had the IW trailer and on a dual carriageway an artic driver decided he would get as close to the trailer as he could, presumably to spook the horses, which he did. Obviously with rear-facing and the horse's looking out an open back, this would probably happen again. I'm not keen on an Equitrek as the workmanship wasn't too good, initially at any rate, and it won't go in the barn, and I suspect the trailer might be top-heavy with the floor over the wheels rather than 'between' the wheels, as on more conventional makes. I think I'd like to find someone with one first, though.. Doesn't prove they're bad by saying summat else is right... About £1200 difference..

Thanks for comments so far, we have a 90 manual, but I posted here as well as many Disco owners tow horse trailers. We used to have an Ifor Williams 505 about 10 years ago but SWMBO doesn't like the ride and the rattly leaf springs so we were opting for one with 'Indespension' type suspension. We were opting for an Equitrek as the horses travel backwards like in our present truck, which her nag prefers, but the bigger 3 axle trailers weigh an awful lot and you need a REALLY powerful and heavy 4X4 to tow one effectively. An owner we met some years back said his Disco wouldn't manage the colossal Equitrek he'd bought and he'd bought a Toymota Amazon instead, so we were looking at the 'Space Treka', the smallest and a twin axle. At 9'6" high it's too tall to go in the barn, though... The only other rear-facing trailer we know of is the Richardson Supreme Excel. (For those wondering why horses like travelling backwards, stand facing a wall, imagine you're standing, trying to keep your balance in a vehicle doing 50mph which suddently brakes hard (as many vehicles pull out in front of you so they don't get 'stuck' behind you). What's the first thing you'll feel? Yep, your mush hitting the wall. Now turn round with your arse against the wall, what will now absorb the impact? Seen the size of a horse's arse??!!) For those male readers of a younger age, don't get involved with a girl who likes horses, unless you're rich - and want to stay rich and want to do something other than go to horse events..

Lots of Landy owners tow horse trailers, and we're just about to buy one after several years with lorries. Has anyone experience of Equitrek trailers? Nags travel backwards but the trailers seem as if they'd have a high centre of gravity.. Thanks..

Lots of Landy owners tow horse trailers, and we're just about to buy one after several years with lorries. Has anyone experience of Equitrek trailers? Nags travel backwards but the trailers seem as if they'd have a high centre of gravity.. Thanks..

Well, smack my gob!

We have a Wickes in Inverness, but if only we had a Wilko's, the nearest is near Newcastle, I think. My wife buys picture frames there and every time we go to England we come back loaded with Wilko's stuff..

Ta for suggestions, should have added that I have spray equipment and a big compressor. My 90 is a 2002 with low miles.., Letsgetdirty, I live near to Foxhole on the 'back road' to Drumnadrochit, 7 miles from Beauly. Have never had good results with Hammerite stuff, even the smooth variety, it doesn't seem to last unless you put several coats on, then it tends to look less than smooth.. (IMHO). I used to use the 'old' Kurust when it was a thick grey paint, magic on trail bike exhausts as it was heatproof! Might get Loctite rust inhibitor (which I just found in my local Forty Thieves Garage) for the crossmember and then spray with standard black paint. There are many industrial rust proofing paints described on the web, but finding one I can buy is impossible. I used POR15 (from Frosts) on a chassis once but found some of it it came off in big flakes.. On bits that don't show but which need protection, such as wheelarches I have used a mixture of black Waxoyl and 'soft' underseal to good effect, sprayed on after heating it up in a bucket of hot water, using one of those sprayguns with a pick-up tube which screws on to the top of a litre can of underseal.. Which I must do again.. I end up looking like a liquorice allsort..

Can anyone suggest a spray-on paint for these parts, which are beginning to rust..? Is there anything which will inhibit the rust or should I just use a rust inhibitor first before spraying with ordinary black? I'm looking for a reasonable finish as the motor isn't that old.. The oil industry (which I used to be in) used some bulletproof paint for external steelwork, but I can't find any info on what it was.. Any help appreciated..

I agree, Neil, except once in France when I flashed my lights to let a car in front out to pass a lorry and the driver went nuts and tried to ram us! I think flashing headlights means something else in France, but it seems less stressful usually. Further to my last offering, I've now found the correct DFDS site and they DO go from Immingham to Gothenberg, it's a separate shipping line - DFDS Tor line http://www.dfdstorline.com/DfdsTorLine/EN/ and the fare is £700 plus any supplement for the motor being over 1.85m (my 90 is about 1.98m). Also, by getting the Newcastle - Ijmuiden (Amsterdam) ferry and then driving, it's 'only' 510 miles to Malmo in southern Sweden. So, maybe it's on..., one way or another...

Just spoke to 'Freight Ferries' about Immingham to Gothenberg.. Their website is out of date and they don't do any services to Scandinavia and they referred me to DFDS. I got two prices, Newcastle - Bergen was £650 return in early July and £820 in late July. In the Mail last Saturday was an offer for a 14 day Mediterranean cruise for £999 on the QE2. I think I know which I'd prefer to do, and I don't have to drive 2500 miles either.. Anyone want a nice 90....?

Thanks for the help and I'll have a look at those mentioned, (impressed with the Terras Nova's, with a lifetime guarantee but prices - wow!) but I think I may also have found a suitable tent.. On paper it's just the right size and has an 8000 hydrstatic head, the most I've seen. It's a German Tatonka Family Camp http://intranet.tatonka.com/infosys/infocgi/artinfoc.dll sold in the UK by Graham Tiso (who didn't reply to an email) and Tamarack http://www.tamarackoutdoors.co.uk/ and it costs £450. There are no dimensions on the Tamarack site but there are on the Tatonka one. We really need one that we can stand up in, especially to cook as self & wife have knee problems and can't crawl through a bivi, or kneel. Too much skiing! There's also a price issue, as I don't want to spend a fortune as SWMBO isn't keen on the 'C' word. There's no ensuite bathroom.. As for a bed, the local pub is going to loan me their bouncy castle..

Hi Claus, try posting in the Defender section, more technically minded people will see your post than in this one and you may get a sensible reply. I was going to suggest looking at wheels and tyres, but that wouldn't explain all the symptoms.. Are you sure the correct propshafts are fitted? You can get strange noises if the incorrect ones are fitted and they are over-stretched, or the wrong way around or out of balance - sometimes it helps to 'move them around', that is, undoing the bolts and moving them to a different position. Is the Landy standard, has it got a raised suspension which could affect the angles of the propshafts? There are several other forums where you may get more ideas, but do use the Defender sections. Best of Luck!

Thanks for your reply, Rizla, I did find the site under Immingham - Gothenberg (if still correct as DFDS stopped that route for their passenger ferry). I'll get a quote and post it tomorrow. Driving around involves a 1200 mile round trip to Dover from home before we get abroad. Too much driving, too old! For any driving trip abroad we have to add 4 days just to get to the south coast and back.

I've been looking in various camping shops in my area, Nevisport & Ellis Brigham (Fort William) and (gasp) Millets in Oban (not impressed, seem to sell cheapo 'festival tents' mainly, including a black one - how would you find it on a moonless night!), but I haven't really seen anything that suits. After a three person tent - there's only two of us, but we don't want to be cramped, with room to stand up and a vestibule big enough to stand up and cook in and with a good degree of weatherproofness.. Our knees are way past crawling around. Ease of putting up is fairly important, too. The OzTent was top of the list but it's too expensive -around £800 with the front screen accessories to make a second room and packed up it's too big (2m). Anyone any suggestions? Just got back from the west coast and got bitten to death by midges, at night and inside our motorhome. How do the little sods get in? Killed them all with spray before we turned in as well.. We've friends who camp from a motorbike and they couldn't manage on Thermarests. I think the ability to use them is age and fitness related! (And yes, I fully expect an 85 year old to answer and say how comfy they are...). I once slept on a 4 inch foam mattress out of our motorhome but instead of being on it's proper base with sprung wooden slats, it was on a bedroom floor in a house, and I couldn't move for terminal backache when I woke up, so a Thermarest would definitely be a no-no for me!