Another truck/trailer match up thread - Toyota Tundra or 3/4 ton truck?

[LittleMare]

Looking for opinions (and facts!) on my truck search.

I have gone about setting up my rig in a somewhat backwards order. I found a great deal on a 2013 Merhow Equistar XL 2 horse gooseneck about a month ago, so went ahead and bought the trailer in spite of not having a truck to haul it with. I thought I had done the math sufficiently, but I am realizing now that I will not be able to haul this trailer safely with a 1/2 ton pickup. I will primarily be hauling my light (900-1000#) mare around Florida (read that as pretty darn flat), but do want to be able to pick up a friend + horse sometimes. Hauling every other week or so. We’re about to buy said truck. We cannot afford a truck just for hauling so it will likely be my husband’s daily driver as he’s the one with a 5 mile commute to work. The options I’m considering:

1) Sell trailer and buy a two horse bumper pull that can be pulled with a 1/2 ton truck- I looooove the Hawk trailers and looking at a 2 horse bumper pull with dressing room with a listed weight of #3200 it looks like I would be safe with that.

I’m considering the Toyota Tundra because of its excellent reliability ratings, but the payload would be close in that case if fully loaded truck and trailer
Another option is the Silverado 1500 that has a higher payload. I am steering clear of F150s since I have watched my dad have soo many electrical problems with his current one. And every truck before that has had to have the transmission rebuilt.

2) Buy a 3/4 ton pickup and keep current trailer. This is the more expensive option even if I sell the used trailer to buy brand new. However, from reading on here it is much better to be over-trucked that under-trucked, so this has that benefit. Plus I could keep the gooseneck to have that to sleep in if we go camping or to far away shows. I don’t have big plans to do this though, we are fortunate to live within 1-2 hours of a TON of great shows.
What are the best/most reliable 3/4 tons? Is diesel best for hauling?

So which option? And for either option, which truck? I’m going to go drive the Toyota Tundra, Silverado 1500 and 2500, and F250 and see if I love or hate any of them in particular that might help me make a decision.

[goodhors]

I would get the 3/4 ton, so I know I can haul the gooseneck trailer with two horses in it. You will have control of the trailer, not worry you are “under trucked” in situations. A 10 mile round-trip commute is not much. Expenses on truck should not be big for daily commuting.

I have been under trucked on one trip. It was awful, no speed uphill, could not keep up with traffic at all. We started looking for another towing vehicle the day I got home!

Gooseneck is wonderful to pull and park, so easy to position! You will have extra room for stuff on overnight trips. I would not have a bumper pull again, after having pulled a gooseneck. You mention trailers listed weight as 3200, but that is empty weight. Add in a couple 1000# horses, plus water, hay, saddles, which makes trailer a LOT heavier. Truck has to be able to STOP that load, should the brakes go out on you. Little truck will have problems doing that. Even well maintained trailer brakes can fail on you, so truck has to be able to control that whole load you are pulling.

I loved my Fords, had several, all hard workers. They were manuals, which we feel are better when you need to “finesse” something in situations. Never had to replace any transmissions on any the Fords. Hundreds of thousands of miles driven. I would take another look at how your Dad drives the trucks, if so many " transmissions went bad" on his vehicles. He is the common denominator.

Right now we pull with a commercial sized Nissan truck, 2 ton UD model. Horses are big, trailer is heavy. We go to some very interesting places! However it is a road truck with dual wheels, not the best in mud. No 4WD. This truck manages the loaded trailer weight just fine, plus has a 12ft flatbed to carry a carriage ahead of the gooseneck hitch. I would buy another Nissan or Ford if we needed a truck.

[js]

I’d get the 3/4 ton, better to have more truck than needed than not enough pulling a GN is better than a bumper pull; however, I started out with a 2 horse bumper pull, hauled my horse to plenty of shows in the deep South with no issues. I would love to have one for short hauls like to the vet, I have a 4 horse GN with weekender size dressing room, it’s a lot for a quick hook up and run to the vet.

I had a friend hook up his new Toyota Tundra to see if it would pull my big GN (he was interested in getting a GN camper), the truck was maxed out and then some, not safe and just about took out the corner of his cab and my GN when he made a tight turn; granted I have a large and heavy GN but the bed was too short to safely pull a GN if lots of turns were needed or in case of an emergency stop.

[Calvincrowe]

More is better with trucks, trailers and horses (or anything you are hauling). I am way over-trucked with a 1 ton Chevy, but we use it for many other things besides hauling. When you’ve got 6 tons of hay on a big flatbed going down the road, that long bed, crew cab with exhaust brakes is a lovely thing. I’ve see far too many SUVs and 1/2 ton trucks squatting down with a squirrelly trailer wiggling behind them as they go down the highway. I watched a 1/2 ton Ford hauling a travel trailer–like a 20 footer, not huge-- nearly roll as the trailer began side-to-side wobbling at 55mph.

If you do go smaller, like the Tundra or 1/2 ton, get sway bars! They help you avoid that wiggle if the horses begin shifting. In the end, you never regret the bigger truck. And with a 5 mile commute, gas consumption isn’t really a big deal!

[Libby2563]

Caveat: I have never owned a gooseneck so maybe I don’t know what I’m missing. But if it were me I would sell the gooseneck and buy a smaller trailer and 1/2 ton truck. It doesn’t sound like you really need that much trailer (nor do I, and I would find it a hassle). But if you’re in love with the gooseneck—what is the difference in purchase price and fuel economy between the 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton trucks you’re considering?

I have a 2015 Tundra and a Gore 2-horse bumper pull with dressing room. The Tundra tows it wonderfully and has never felt underpowered, even on a couple of trips across the mountains to KY and back. In Florida I can’t imagine it struggling. I don’t have sway bars and have never felt I needed them. I honestly feel that my Tundra tows better than the diesel F350 I used to have (when I had a large travel trailer).

A Tundra was my first choice because I love Toyotas for their reliability, but I did a lot of research and I also test drove a Silverado, which did not impress me in any way (this was in 2015 though). In that model year Tundras had a higher towing capacity than 1/2 ton Fords or Chevys, and were less expensive too.

The only bad thing about my Tundra is the gas mileage. I’m fine with it since I only use it for towing but for your circumstances obviously that will be slightly more important. I don’t know how the current models compare though.

[NaturallyHappy]

@goodhors

I would get the 3/4 ton, so I know I can haul the gooseneck trailer with two horses in it. You will have control of the trailer, not worry you are “under trucked” in situations. A 10 mile round-trip commute is not much. Expenses on truck should not be big for daily commuting.

I have been under trucked on one trip. It was awful, no speed uphill, could not keep up with traffic at all. We started looking for another towing vehicle the day I got home!

Gooseneck is wonderful to pull and park, so easy to position! You will have extra room for stuff on overnight trips. I would not have a bumper pull again, after having pulled a gooseneck. You mention trailers listed weight as 3200, but that is empty weight. Add in a couple 1000# horses, plus water, hay, saddles, which makes trailer a LOT heavier. Truck has to be able to STOP that load, should the brakes go out on you. Little truck will have problems doing that. Even well maintained trailer brakes can fail on you, so truck has to be able to control that whole load you are pulling.

I loved my Fords, had several, all hard workers. They were manuals, which we feel are better when you need to “finesse” something in situations. Never had to replace any transmissions on any the Fords. Hundreds of thousands of miles driven. I would take another look at how your Dad drives the trucks, if so many " transmissions went bad" on his vehicles. He is the common denominator.

Right now we pull with a commercial sized Nissan truck, 2 ton UD model. Horses are big, trailer is heavy. We go to some very interesting places! However it is a road truck with dual wheels, not the best in mud. No 4WD. This truck manages the loaded trailer weight just fine, plus has a 12ft flatbed to carry a carriage ahead of the gooseneck hitch. I would buy another Nissan or Ford if we needed a truck.

I have great luck w a 250 heavy duty Ford diesel and. 4 Star trI’ve always had Fords w no problems. I’ve also been told Toyota Tundras have a plastic bed and you do not want to use them for a gooseneck…