stringer

My fiance and I recently leased a 2016 SCrew 2.7 Eco (See attached window sticker for the details).




Currently we have 1 quarter horse and are contemplating purchasing our 1st trailer so we don't have to rely on others to trailer out anymore. Here is what she wants:

-bumper pull
-2 horse
-slant load

I already know I need to have the ITBC added to the truck which is not an issue. My biggest concern is the weight... I am young and new to the towing world so I'm asking for your assistance:

-What trailers out there would those of you who are experienced in this recommend?
-Anything to stay away from?
-Lastly, can I legally pull a loaded horse trailer with my truck or did I screw myself by going with the 2.7 eco due weight?

Thanks in advance!

acdii

Well a Horse trailer is not like a cargo box, or a travel trailer. On a horse trailer, the weight of the horses is directly over the axles, so your tongue weight remains virtually unchanged loaded or empty. If you get one with a tack room up front, then you have to consider payload, as that can add quite a bit to the tongue weight. You will need to use a WDH no matter what you get as the TW will be over 500#.

Most horse trailers that are in the 2 horse BP with tack average 7000# GVWR for standard bred, up to 7500# for draft breeds. Since Quarter horses are around 1000# average weight, your truck will have no problem with a 2 horse slant with 2 QH in it.

I have a 2 horse straight load with ramp and tack room that I pulled all over the place with a 97 Explorer. It's GVWR is 7000#, TW 600# with a full tack. With two Thoroughbreds, the Explorer pulled it just fine. I haven't pulled it with an F150, haven't had a horse in it in 14 years, it sits inside the barn. I did pull it with a Ford Flex a few years back to pick up some stuff I had in storage, and it pulled fine with that one too.

The hard part wont be what you have now, its going to be finding a decent trailer unless you are buying new. Sundowner makes some good ones(if they are still around). I have a Trail-Et, they made really good trailers, but went belly up. If looking used, Trail-Et is a good brand, along with Sundowner, and a few others. Just make sure the floor is solid, they tend to rot from underneath if not taken care of after each trip.

Oh and look for one with Torsion axles, not springs, they handle better and are more comfortable for the horses.

stringer

Thanks! This is pretty much the help I was looking for lol. Like I said, I am young and inexperienced in the towing world but I do have a decent understanding of it. I knew I needed a WDH so I should have said that in my original post. I guess what really confuses me is the whole GVWR deal. I always thought that you can't pull something that has a GVWR over what your truck has. On my window sticker it shows I have a 6500# GVWR package - which I don't really know if that is a good thing or not lol. Looking at Ford.com at the towing specs on my truck, It says I can tow 7,500# with the 2.7 eco & 3.55s. That puts me right on the limit towing a 2 horse trailer if I am looking at the right thing...

Also, we would be looking at used for the price aspect unless we found a smoking deal on a new one somewhere. We would also be looking for one with a tack room in front.

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Edit:

I just looked on Ford's website regarding the Class IV Trailer Hitch that I have and it notes that I can tow up to 5,000# - anything more and I would have needed the Trailer Tow Package... it looks like that package included:
-Aux Trans Cooler
-Smart Trailer Tow Connector
-Upgraded Front Stabilizer Bar

I wish I would have paid more attention to that aspect when I was trying to find a leftover '16

stringer

Ok I think I answered some of my questions with some more research but I could still be completely wrong lol. I need to pay attention to the unladen weight of the trailer, add the weight of the horse, and add the weight of the tack. If that comes in under 5,000#, I can tow it with my truck. Based off what I found, I should be fine with an old 2 horse trailer hauling 1 horse or I can be really good with a Featherlite Livestock trailer. I found this new livestock trailer and the price isn't too far off what we were looking at for a used 2 horse:

https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/trb/6004972891.html

I looked up the unladen weight and it shows 2,050#.


If im going about my calculations wrong, feel free to set me straight lol.

smokeywren

Be sure the trailer tongue is designed so that you can install a weight-distributing (WD) hitch with good sway control. Hitch weight is going to be well over 500 pounds, so a WD hitch is required. A 2-horse trailer can weigh 7,000 to 7,500 pounds with hitch weight over 900 pounds. Plus you want the sway control properties of a good WD hitch with built-in sway control. If you buy a U-Nose or V-nose trailer because they have additional room in the tack room, make the seller guarantee that you can install a Reese Strait-Line or Blue Ox SwayPro or Equal-I-Zer ot Husky CenterLine HD hitch. Or better yet, have the dealer install the hitch as part of the deal for buying the trailer. And don't settle for a cheap WD hitch. Be sure it's one of the above mentioned WD hitches.

GrandDaughter bought a nice two-horse U-nose trailer with GVWR of 7,000 pounds, but her hitch store could not install a good WD hitch without major surgery to the U-nose.

Abn150

All good advice above. Here's a link to a company local to our area, Equispirit Trailers that has a lot of good horse trailer towing info.


http://www.equispirit.com/info/towing.htm


They make excellent and very safe trailers, we have had ours for 20 years and it is in excellent shape. They are on the expensive side, but they are made by the Hawk trailer company, so the Hawk brand is basically the same trailer without some of the extras, so a little cheaper.

acdii

My Trail-Et has a plate covering the A frame and I had to cut it open to insert the tip ups. If it's an A frame trailer, chances are you wont have an issue with the WDH, some cutting may be required if it has a plate like mine does. It's an extension of the floor under the tack room.

Also if you look at aluminum body trailers, inspect it very closely where the frame joins the box since the frame is steel, and you can get bi-metal corrosion.

The Flex has a 4500# tow limit, it pulled and stopped my trailer just fine, without a horse though, and the Explorer was rated very similar to your F150, I was pulling it all over with 2 horses and not once had an issue towing. Due to it's short wheel base though, push-pull from passing semis was noticeable, but nothing too extreme like white knuckle sway.

Horse trailers are probably the most stable trailer you can pull due to its weight distribution. When a horse is loaded, about 60% of the horses weight sits on the front axle, not forward of it, but right on top of it. The other 40% sits slightly behind the axles. This tends to take a bit of the weight off the hitch. This is for straight load trailers, I never had a slant load, could not see the advantage of it other than fitting a larger horse in a smaller trailer.

On my trailer the chest par is right in front of the front axle, this places the horses feet on top of the axle. You would think because the trailer is high and horses are top heavy that the trailer would tow top heavy, but they sit so low to the ground that they actually pull very nice and stable, probably one of the nicest pulling trailers I have pulled.

An example of weight of something like mine, a two horse straight load with tack has an empty weight of 3320# which puts about 431# on the tongue. Loaded with tack and 2 horses the TW will be under 800#. Mine uses a Husky WDH setup without sway, never needed it, and it has 800# round bars.

Here is an example of a decent trailer to invest in that your truck will haul around without issues. Unless you are going to shove two 2000# draft horses in it, you will never see it hit its GVWR of 8030#, Even a fat QH wouldn't weight more than 1200#, so with one fat QH you would be about 4500# plus tack, and with one saddle, bridles and misc, maybe add another 200# to it, you will still meet your 5000# limit.

http://www.equinenow.com/trailer-ad-31189

5.0GN tow

We pulled a Hart 2 Horse slant with dressing/tack room up front. It was about 2500 empty and maxed gvwr was 7k if I recall correctly. I did not weigh the hitch weight, but if it was over 500lbs I would be surprised. It kept all the horse weight at or behind the tandems. We did not use a WDH the few times we towed it. It was perfectly stable and did not squat the rear of my 13 F150 at all.

acdii

Nice trailer. Very much like the Trail-Et. Here is what mine is like, only I have black stripes on mine. http://www.equinenow.com/trailer-ad-2852

From what I can find, my trailer is still has a high resale value. I paid $12K for it in 2000, and could easily get $9500 for it still. If you find a good one, keep it in good shape and it will last a long time and retain its value.

stringer

Thanks for all the helpful info everyone! I think I am getting a good grasp on how this works. The good news is I can legally tow a horse with my truck - had a slight heart attack thinking I couldn't after just getting this truck lol. I didn't want to have to look for a second truck dedicated to towing....then again I could always give my fiancé my truck and look for a bigger truck for me. Maybe a year or two down the road I can look at that avenue. For now I have enough stuff to buy lol.

I think we're leaning towards a small stock trailer that can hold 2 horses to keep the weight down just so I'm not flirting with my 5k# max too much. There is a lot of useful info from you guys that I'll be using in the near future so thanks again for that.