The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Twotwo on July 29, 2017, 12:42:41 pm
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I am looking at buying a smallish (10ft ish) sheep trailer either new or 2nd hand, i will be moving between 1 or 2 for shows, rams etc and up to 11 plus lambs but only 1 mile down the road.
So my question is- is it worth going for sheep decks, do people use them much? Is the ifor Williams easy-load system really easy to set up by one person.
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From your description of your needs an Ifor Williams TD5 4FT HIGH no decks would easily do the job . 10ft with decks would easily carry 36 prime lambs ,32 ewes or 50 weaned lambs , so do you have this requirement ? A p6e would cope with the showing and just about 11 weaned lambs depending on size , p8 a bit longer and would maybe do your job
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It's maybe worth adding that our P7e canopy has some plastic cone type things on the inside walls, which I assume are for adding internal tup / ewe dividers. 11 plus lambs might be pushing it a bit on one trip though.
One thing we found is that the moment you get into braked trailers, the price increases quite significantly. They're also heavier for shunting about by hand (if you ever do that), and there's more to maintain.
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I wouldn't call10 feet a small trailer. What are you going to be using it for most? If showing for one or 2 sheep then go smaller and take 2loads when transporting just down road?
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Thank you, I suppose I'm comparing the size with our old pony trailer. Which I would happily keep but it doesn't have ramp gates and no way of closing the ramp without the risk of escaping sheep or trapping toes! Impossible by myself ! Neither can a division be put across, the structure of the trailer is to weak without constructing an arch, that and made to fit ramp gates quoted at more than a 2nd hand livestock trailer.
Also we occasionally transport a ride-on tractor mower, so it needs to be at least 8x4.
While I'm here, there is a view that Ifor Williams trailers are not that well made , your thoughts
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I have a second hand 10 ft Ifor for sale with decks, PM me if you like
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Don't know where you got that idea of Ifor Williams trailers .... most people got one round here
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We have the old type decks, nothing to go wrong, simple.
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I would say buy what you can afford even if it is a bit too big for your current needs. We use our trailer all sorts of things - collecting hay, straw, moving furniture.....................
You may get more stock. You may want to stay over at a show and sleep in it.
Most trailers you see are Ifor Williams so they can't be that bad. Some people prefer wheels on the outside, some underneath etc. We have solid petitions but now there are mesh ones. I guess you can always improve something.
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Thanks
We are too far for 'me 's' trailer......but I loved the furry flock
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We have a graham Edwards trailer, with removable canopy. Really well made and such a useful size. We don't really move more than 5 or 6 sheep at a time so don't really need a bigger trailer, but if we did need a larger one we still wouldn't sell the little one we have... it's so useful and easy to move around (I can push it around on my own no problem at all).
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Thanks
We are too far for 'me 's' trailer......but I loved the furry flock
That's a shame as it seems very reasonable to me. Secondhand trailers hold their value. I suspect you will need to travel to find a bargain.
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We get most use out of our 8 x 5 Ifor Williams with an internal vertical divider. We can put an infill panel across the divider and use the front section for taking turkeys to market and also use it for fetching straw and logs. It's useful to be able to stand up inside the trailer, especially if pigs fall asleep on the journey and don't want to get up at the abattoir or market or lambs don't want to go down the ramp.