Best SUV for hauling?

[Tini_Sea_Soldier1]

I’ve towed with bumper pulls and goosenecks. I’ve always felt more comfortable driving and parking a gooseneck.
From what you’ve mentioned, the 2+1 options for trailers are great.
Trucks can go one forever and the hauling of what you’re looking to do doesn’t really have the wear and tear that 4-6+ horses will.

I think you need to determine what your climate looks like and where you’re taking the vehicle. Plenty of king cabs that have space for storage and kiddos. Some nice truck bed boxes that can work as additional storage. Doesn’t hurt to also have the room to throw in water buckets and or hay bales. Plus, you become everyone’s best friend when it comes to moving furniture around town, so great way to make some additional dollars when not hauling Fluffy out and about.

Just my $.02

[CBoylen]

Things that I have learned that I didn’t know I didn’t know (from growing up only hauling commercial and not having anyone around me with hauling experience):
-neither the truck dealer nor the trailer dealer necessarily have a clue
-the weight limit is not actually the weight limit with live weight, you want to be way under
-the hitch installed on the vehicle might have a lower weight limit than the actual vehicle
-even a 1500 suburban feels like not enough truck for a lightweight two horse with no tack room when hauling two horses going uphill

[dmveventer]

This really depends on what kind of trailer you’re looking to buy. You can get away with a smaller SUV if you’re open to a European trailer, but those are more expensive and harder to find. For a standard American trailer you’ll want a bigger SUV or a truck, but you have more trailer options.

I just went through this last fall and decided on the Euro trailer route since a smaller SUV made a lot more sense for my driving habits, but price-wise it was about the same to get a cheaper trailer and a truck. Whatever you go with you really don’t want to be anywhere close to maxing out your towing capacity, and that has to account for everything you’re carrying in the car too. When I was running the numbers I used the 80% rule that seems to be the common recommendation on the forum to figure out how much towing capacity I needed to feel safe and started car shopping from there.

[Dizzhorseanon]

How did you find a European trailer they seem impossible to find !! (In northeast us)

[imbassetma]

I tow a 2horse Hawk, no dressing room, with a 2022 GMC Yukon SLT (not the long body) around Maryland/Va/WV no problems. Usually just my 15.3 chonk of a mare, sometimes 2 horses and I stay under an hour. I wouldn’t want to do a long haul or big mountains with 2 horses I don’t think. But that’s not my use case.

[greysfordays]

@dmveventer

I just went through this last fall and decided on the Euro trailer route since a smaller SUV made a lot more sense for my driving habits, but price-wise it was about the same to get a cheaper trailer and a truck. Whatever you go with you really don’t want to be anywhere close to maxing out your towing capacity, and that has to account for everything you’re carrying in the car too. When I was running the numbers I used the 80% rule that seems to be the common recommendation on the forum to figure out how much towing capacity I needed to feel safe and started car shopping from there.

Exactly this. I used to haul a Boeckmann with a big SUV and it was great going up and down California and up and down hills. The trailers have inertia breaks. I practiced driving it a lot empty and it didn’t matter how hard I hit the breaks, the trailer doesn’t push the tow vehicle. They are great but they are also 1) expensive 2) hard to find 3) don’t have much room for gear, trunks etc, 4) can have space for large horses, but some horses prefer a more solid enclosure with more space in the stall.

Ultimately I sold it for a STX van, which I love but is the least economic choice I’ve made in my life, which is really saying something.

I would second or third that dealers absolutely have no idea what a truck can haul. And if you want to haul more than one horse, and don’t want to go Euro trailer, you are probably better served buying a truck and US trailer.

Also, this book is a little older but still a great resource as are many of the people on this board. You can search old threads for a ton of wonderful information like this one.

[greysfordays]

Traveled Lane Trailers sells Boeckmann’s:

http://traveledlanetrailers.com/bockmann/bockmann.html

[dmveventer]

I’m planning to order one new through a dealer. They’re almost impossible to find used so I just factored that into my plans and projected costs. From the northeast you can reach out to either Traveled Lane or Maple Lane Trailers if that’s the direction you decide to go. They both provide a lot of useful information on towing specs for those types of trailers.

You’re looking at pretty different vehicle specs though if you go that route vs an American trailer, so you do kind of need to narrow down what trailer you want before people can recommend specific cars. I personally didn’t think I’d be comfortable hauling a standard American trailer with a larger SUV (even though I know plenty of people do), so I was comparing between a smaller SUV or a truck. For the SUVs, I wanted at least 6000 lbs of towing capacity and semi-decent gas mileage, which is a pretty short list of options. If there are other features you’re particular about that’ll limit you even further.

If you have room to park an extra car you could also seriously consider buying a dedicated tow vehicle and a separate car for daily driving. With a used truck you could probably wind up spending around the same as just one of the larger SUVs you listed and have a lot more options for what you can tow. I only have one parking spot or would have done this myself.

[c0608524]

I am such a total worrywart when trailering.

I tow an older gooseneck two horse with a chev 1500 and all the time wish I had a bigger truck. I’ve never had problems pulling, but I have certainly been “pushed” by my trailer when I had to hit the breaks quickly. Has happened all of one time because I’m a very defensive driver - but once was enough. And yes, I had my trailer breaks calibrated correctly. When people comment on stopping power it’s a real thing!

I always wonder with the European trailers that they exaggerate what can safely tow it in order to make a sale. I’m a gooseneck girly for life so I’ll never know!

[NaturallyHappy]

I now have a gooseneck and a F250 and have had for 30 years. Like @CBoylen, I didn’t have much reference when I started hauling. I bought the biggest Jeep made at the time and 2 horse Trailet bumper pull. I was driving in the rain and wind (no horse on board) on a 3 lane highway. The wind caught that trailer and blew me across all 3 lanes like a sailboat. Pulling is one thing…managing the trailer in adverse circumstances is a whole different kettle of fish and something to keep in mind.

[LCDR]

My preference is for a body-on-frame SUV tow vehicle as opposed to one built with unibody construction.

Here’s a link to an article looking at all the body-on-frame SUVs in today’s new vehicle market.

I respect your quest for an SUV rather than a truck. I much prefer pulling my two horse BP with my Lexus SUV, which is body -on-frame, than with my 3/4 ton pickup. I towed for thirty-plus years with a string of SUVs before finally getting a truck (2500 HD GMC). I needed the truck to tow a new equipment trailer.

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g32670535/every-body-on-frame-suv-sold-today/

[ilovetheadd27]

This is all so accurate and great advice! In 99% of situations you’d rather have more power and stop than you need then not enough. Especially if you’re also hauling kids along with the horses. Having towed a camp trailer and a 3h bumper pull that were around the same weight around in all kinds of weather conditions, there’s just something different about having live animals on board!

[Mouse_amp_Bay]

Maple Lane Trailers in Canada (near Ottawa) sells Boeckmann. With the dollar exchange, essentially 30% off the price. Great customer service as well.

[Mouse_amp_Bay]

@c0608524

I always wonder with the European trailers that they exaggerate what can safely tow it in order to make a sale. I’m a gooseneck girly for life so I’ll never know!

There is no exaggeration. Totally different braking system; totally different design. European trailers are made with inertia breaking systems - essentially as soon as you stop pulling the trailer automatically and mechanically starts slowing.

I’ve towed giants up and down ski hills with zero push and zero issues.

[oldernewbie]

Man, how the prices have changed since 2020! I don’t think you can get a Yukon XL for less than 90K now, never mind the tariffs.

Anyhow, I hauled with a 1999 Suburban and then upgraded to a 2011 3/4 ton Yukon XL. There is no comparison - the 3/4 ton is a beast. I still use it although I rent a truck from Enterprise if I have to go any further than an hour.

To be honest, I would go the rental route if I were you. It’s about $90 a day for a nice 3/4 ton supercab truck set up for hauling. At the current cost for a SUV that’s a safe hauler, you’d be better off buying something that suits your family and renting a truck when you need it. The hubs and I gamed out what a new SUV would be vs renting and we just can’t make the numbers work to buy a new one. Plus you get a nearly new truck every time and if there’s something wrong with it, it’s someone else’s problem.

Just something else to consider.

[Dizzhorseanon]

Oh thanks so much will call them

[Dizzhorseanon]

Where do you rent from? I looked into this and every car company now does electric only

[oldernewbie]

Enterprise Truck Rental. At least where I live, it’s separate from the car rental biz. You use a different online reservation system and the physical office handles only trucks and vans. It’s a bit inconvenient but we make it work.

[cutter99]

@rhershock

Not a horse trailer but I haul my 20’ Airstream Bambi with our 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe and have had no issues. It’s capable and feels safe. We used to haul our trailer with a F150 which did a great job but I hated driving that thing when we weren’t hauling, hence trading in for the Jeep.

The problem here is a travel trailer is a very different situation than hauling a live load that shifts on its own.

[FitToBeTied]

I’ve learned a few things in the last six months.

When I bought my new F-250 back in 2021, I had to get a reducer for the truck receiver as my shank was a 2". I never really wondered why. so I looked it up one day. Ford, back in 2017, changed how they do receivers on trucks. If you have a F-150 then you get a 2" receiver. If you have a F-250 gas, you get a 2.5" receiver. An F-250 diesel or above gets a 3" receiver. Having the reducer in there created extra play and I hated it. I ended up replacing the shank with a 2.5" shank. So why did Ford do that? The trucks now have a lot more towing power. In theory my F-250 can tow around 14,000 lbs, which is significantly more than my previous 250. So they are attempting to match towing power with shank size.

My mechanic who has a 2021 F-150 told me that after working in my truck, he noticed the hitch was bolted into four places on my frame. He looked at his and saw that the hitch was on the F-150 was only bolted on in two places.

The torsion bars on the weight distributing hitch are a must. This past winter I was coming home from a trip. I had to hitch up in the dark. It turned out the trailer receiver was not fully down on the ball and I didn’t notice it. I kept hearing a funky sound when I turned. When I pulled into a gas station, I checked things out and notice the partially connected ball. The torsion bars on the hitch kept me from having a disconnect and a wreck.

I have, as anyone that trailers does, been severely cut off on highways. The torsion bars have really helped me keep control of the situation. I wouldn’t have a bumper pull without them.