austinthompson

Hello i am 22 years old and have been saving some money for awhile was looking into different styles of trucks to buy. i know in the future i will be towing a two and possibly a four horse trailer. i was wondering what kind of information i should look into as far as what kind of truck i should get. i was looking into weights of trailers and horses we have one thoroughbred and possibly getting a quarter horse for myself as far as trailers go i think they can weigh anywhere from 2000 to 6000 lbs.

if you could help me out that would be greatly appreciated.



Austin T.

willieboy

It is really going to depend on where you are in that range. 2 horse "bumper pull" no problem. A small gooseneck flat bed with a Stock Rack, you could probably do. A 4 horse Gooseneck with Quarters and Tack and you will need to look at SuperDutys. The real limiting factor will be payload (=tongue weight when towing). So you will need to be mindful of what the tongue weight will be. A good guesstimate is 12% of what the loaded trailer weighs.

What kind of truck are you looking for? Regular Cab, SuperCab, SuperCrew? 4WD or 2WD? Long Bed of Short Bed? Let us know what you think you need and what you truly expect to haul, and you will get all the opinions you can handle.

austinthompson

probably gonna go with a two horse bumper as far as a cab goes it is just me and my lady we are probably gonna use it as a farm/travel for shows and it also needs to be some kind of work truck also i was looking into chevy i know this is a ford forum. i am curious as to see why you would choose ford over chevy or visa versa. also we will probably use it for hunting and that sort of thing too but i would definitly prefer manuel 4wd over auto or 2wd. as for cab probably super crew for now or would i regret it in the future with kids?

austinthompson

also on the other side what if we had one more horse to trailer should i just go with the bigger truck or should i stay smaller and we may even have another person so we would probably end up getting the goose neck with the tack room.


also willie thank you for the quick reply how do you like your tundra and would that be a better pick than fords trucks?

willieboy

If you think you are going to get bigger (people and horses) you really need to think about the MaxTow and HD payload to make sure you do not run out of payload capacity. For the two of you, the 1/2 ton will probably do what you need easily. Even if you add a couple of kids to the mix, if you get the truck properly equipped you should be good. If you go to the Ford site, and check out the Towing and Payload Specs, and then compare that to Chevy, Toyota or the others, you will see that Ford has them all beat by quite a bit. Then you look at the engine choices, two Torque Monster (aka Tow Monster/Hard Working) engines in the Ford, the 6.2 and the 3.5 Turbo. From where I sit, the 3.5 seems like a great choice for the "weekend warrior" that needs to use the truck for everyday driving as well. The 6.2 is a good choice, but the fuel economy did not work for the 20K miles of unloaded highway I run yearly. For you it could be different. Your challenge will be finding a work truck with the capacity you need and still be able to get a manual tranny. They are pretty much extinct these days, unless you want a stripped down truck with the smallest engine.

As far as how it compares to the Tundra. I will let you know in four weeks. On paper the Ford should get better mpg when empty and be a better tow machine, especially with the excellent torque curve the 3.5 has. Time will tell. The Tundra is a good truck, but the payload capacity is too low, and all the power comes on at 3000+ rpm. It does tow our Travel trailer well, but it is in fifth gear on the flats, and immediately goes to fourth or third to climb even the smallest hill. Get a 10mph or more head wind, and the same deal. Empty is get ~17.5mpg on the highway, 14.5mpg in town.

austinthompson

heres a big thing i would like to know what are the weaknesses in the ford f150 and also i was looking at the max tow vs the heavy duty and what would i want there cause i am used to driving a lot of bigger vehicles with little to no mirrors from prior military experience and if the mirrors and bumper are the only things different or is there more benefit besides that cause if so i could just do it myself later on when i really needed it.


also thank you for working with me on this i greatly appreciate it

SkiSmuggs

The only reason not to get Max Tow (built-in brake controller with sway control) AND HD Payload is if you want a short bed. Max Tow adds 400 lbs to the payload so it is a good option for a working truck anyway.

brulaz

If you opt for the Ecoboost and HD Payload, you will get the MaxTow automatically. With the 5L and HD Payload you get Reg Tow automatically.

HD Payload is worth it if you're carrying heavy loads or towing regularly. It beefs up the regular soft suspension with xtra springs, HD shocks and LT-metric (truck) tires (instead of P-metric, passenger tires). That's in addition to the heavier axle and 7 lug wheels that boost your payload.

The truck might run rougher unloaded, I dunno, but if you're loaded most of the time anyway, that's not an issue. Too bad HD Payload is not available in all models and configurations (like mine).

austinthompson

hey i was also looking at f 250s could that possibly be a better option if so i might possibly do research into that seeing as my fiance already has a car and i could also ride my bike around too and also what are some good things to know about the 150 vs the 250

nickx86

If you are considering an F250 over an F150. There is a lot of variables in place. The only reason why I see getting an F250 over a Max Tow with HD package is if you were hauling a four horse gooseneck trailer and had four full size adults. The gas superduty will kill you on gas alone. Average will be about 10 city 15 tops on the highway empty. Towing will be around 10 or less. Plus the ride will be a lot harsher due to the bigger payload capacity. The diesel super duty is extremely expensive, about 10k more than a gas superduty. You should only get that if you were to be pulling that 4 horse trailer daily for a living. Also if you have little kids and try to squeeze them into the back of the superduty with an extended cab, good luck they are stupidly tight. At least the f150 extended cab is managable

Just do your research, figure out what you will be doing with the truck. Like everyone else is saying. the biggest factors will be payload and what type of trailer it is going to be