Helios Horsebox Build Quality

For safety and strength we build in a galvanised steel cage around the horse area that fixes the steel center partition to the ramp frame. The horse partitions are also hung from this and this adds to the safety and in turn, the quality of the build.

Finish in the horse area is paramount and any horsebox must be able to withstand power washing and chemical disinfectants on a weekly basis. We now use COAT-X (www.coat-x.co.uk) to coat the horse area and ramps, there are no seams and no water ingress and it is chemical resistant. Each horsebox looks like new after each wash. We even fit long drain tubes also covered with COAT-X to take any water out of the horse area and past any chassis parts underneath the horsebox. These are not just holes drilled in the floor. COAT-X on our ramps has removed the need for capping's, ramps are often left down and water gets behind edges rotting and swelling up. This is not the case with COAT-X, because it is sprayed at a high temperature it completely seals all edges for the life of the horsebox.COAT-X has been one of our best leaps forwards.

Our horsebox floors have bearer spaces of 10" TO 12" for maximum strength and clever use of materials means our horseboxes are very low for better stability.
Ramps are perfectly balanced and we pride ourselves with making light ramps anyone can close easily.

Rust is our worst enemy and we go to great lengths to prevent it. Having our own spray shop is of great benefit in this area. We do not have to complete a build and drive it to off site to a spray shop for painting. Would anybody buy a car that was fully built and then painted afterwards?
After we service and prepare each chassis it goes into our steel fabrication workshop and all the sub-frame and horse cage are fitted. Next it moves into our paint shop; the cab, engine, chassis and all steelwork is sprayed with 3 coats of oil resistant paint. After the box is finished it goes back into the spray shop and the underside is painted again before the outside of the box is sprayed.

Steel work and partitions are galvanised keeping a quality finish for the life of your horsebox.

On the same theme we use sealer glue on every part fitted to the horsebox, all rivets and screws are stainless steel and each hole is sealed before they are fitted. On the new Helios horseboxes we have removed all the outside fixings. Visit www.helioshorseboxes.co.uk.
The ramps are foam filled with large hinges with grease nipples and hard wood slip rails. They are smooth faced on the outside with no screws or rivets to spoil the lines.They are the full width of the horsebox to make the entrance as inviting as possible. Again our unique design allows us to have a floor to top of ramp height of 34". This makes loading the horses much easier.

We have always built tilt cabs and feel they are a must. With the new Helios design this is now a five minute job. It is just not possible to service a modern chassis when the cab is fixed down.

Soon all horseboxes will need vehicle type approval and you will need a certificate to get through an MOT test. This will ensure any vehicle alterations are done in a safe way and should remove some of the dangerous practices from the industry and thus give customers peace of mind. To this end in 2008 we became members of the VBRA (Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association).