The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Smallholding => Equipment => Topic started by: mab on August 03, 2013, 10:11:02 pm

Title: what size livestock trailer do I need if I want to fit a cow or two in?
Post by: mab on August 03, 2013, 10:11:02 pm

Hello all,


I was planning on sheep as ,my primary 'business, but would like a house cow and was wondering what size of trailer I could get away with for transporting the odd calf to market and/or collecting a cow & calf when I'm ready.


they seem to come in all sizes; 8'x4', 8'x5', 10'x4', 10'x5', etc  but for someone who want a 'cow & 1/2' size I've no real idea what's a sensible size, and don't want to get wan that's just too small.


Thx

Title: Re: what size livestock trailer do I need if I want to fit a cow or two in?
Post by: JEP on August 04, 2013, 08:18:58 am

hi I would recommend the 10x4 as it will have more room for the animals to move in and it is that bit bigger in case you need to use it for anything else
john

Title: Re: what size livestock trailer do I need if I want to fit a cow or two in?
Post by: SallyintNorth on August 04, 2013, 09:04:40 am

Not wanting granny to suck eggs... but if you're planning on transporting a cow, best to check the combined weight of trailer and load wrt towing capacity of the vehicle, and rules and regs too. 

A Jersey will weigh 400-500kgs-ish, an Angus could be 800kgs or more.  Which, added to the weight of a trailer large enough to carry her, could take you over the legal / safe unbraked weight; a braked trailer weighs quite a bit more than an unbraked one.  Check the safe-to-tow weight for your vehicle, it can be surprisingly low for some 4x4s.

It's not the same as towing a horse, btw - horses in horseboxes can't move around the way a loose cow can and will.  Having been in a large 4x4 that was being swung about by the beasts in the trailer moving about, I now prefer to find out on paper that the load is not safe for my vehicle, rather than when the driver says, "I have no control of this" as the vehicle moves from lane to lane...  :o

Title: Re: what size livestock trailer do I need if I want to fit a cow or two in?
Post by: mab on August 04, 2013, 02:56:38 pm

Don't worry - I recently acquired a 110 defender 200TDi project - I plan to have this vehicle on the road before I try moving a cow.


my astra estate will tow 1400kg braked, on paper, which should allow me to tow an empty trailer, and probably a few sheep too, depending on trailer weight.


But that's one reason I don't want to get a trailer any bigger than I need, as the bigger (and heavier) the trailer the less I can get in to it and still have the option of using the astra.

Title: Re: what size livestock trailer do I need if I want to fit a cow or two in?
Post by: mab on August 05, 2013, 01:14:32 pm

I guess everyone who's read this agrees that 10x4 is the practical minimum then.


Good answer JEP.  :)