Ok, so i read this article last night and showed my husband. We ended up buying a new Tundra today. Should haul 8300.
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That sounds like a much better choice.
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Any 7 pin can do brakes. You can wire this onto a smart car if you want to.
I’m glad op got a beefier whip, especially with hauling two horses.
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“and made the front wheels come off the ground. There was no amount of redistribution that would have prevented it. The center of balance is between the weight of the front end and engine and the weight of the bed. Redistribution won’t lessen the weight in the bed.”
I had something similar happen with an S10 and bags of oats. I shifted part the load towards the cab so it was in front of the rear axle - that solved the problem.
The problem isn’t just what’s in the bed, it’s how the load is distributed in relation to the rear axle.
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You bought my dream truck!!! I salivate every time I see one in a parking lot!
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I added the brake controller to my ranger so I am a bit confused about that statement as it connects to the brakes on the trailer and works just like all the others I have had in the past.
Anyway I think the tundra is a lovely truck and Toyota amazingly durable.
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You have to understand how many bricks were in the bed of the truck my dad loaded. Lol, it was ridiculous. He loaded that thing to the gills. The entire bed was full so in that case, it wasn’t possible to redistribute the weight because the entire bed was full. I agree, where weight is placed will affect how the truck handles, etc. but a couple of feed bags shouldn’t bring the front tires off the ground. He loaded it so heavy the front tires were literally off the ground. Ha. With a gooseneck, the hitch can not be moved and weight distributed. all besides the point though since OP went with a different truck that I think will be much more capable.
Okey doke. I own a Ford Ranger. Admittedly the one built for the Australian market, so I am uncertain if the ones you guys get in the US are the same (I can’t imagine they’d bother with difference but hey who knows). They are THE most popular truck for towing here. Hands down. Everyone has them.
Mine has a towing limit of 7700lbs. I have a 1900lb trailer. Two horses who probably equal that much again (together). It’s well within it’s limits. We’re about the lightest setup I see here. Most people have bigger horses and bigger trailers. There’s not much on the market here with a higher towing limit.
It’s illegal here to tow more than 1600lbs without the trailer being fitted with electric or hydraulic brakes. I have a brake controller in the cab. The vehicle tows brilliantly.
I say all this with the caveat again, that the US Ranger might be slightly different (tow limit seems about the same according to Google). You don’t see the giant goosenecks y’all have here much either. However the OP’s numbers are pretty standard in terms of actual weight compared to what someone here would tow, and they aaallll do it with Ford Rangers. YMMV. I know you lot love your giant trucks lol.
Here’s my setup.
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YEP.
It’s this bizarro american phenomenon that you need a Mac truck to pull a utility trailer. It’s honest to god the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.
I’ve seen more stupidly unsafe rigs with big trucks than little ones because someone buys a 1 ton and thinks they can pull anything at 80mph. The truck is not the sole factor in a safe setup.
I think when people hear “Ranger” they imagine the old ones (which I LLOOVVEE, but not for hauling trailers). Those would be iffy to haul with - they’re narrow, they sit too low, and they have no power.
The NEW rangers are what the old F150s were. Many many models of F150s only have a 5k towing rating. Most have a 7.5K towing rating.
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Sure it can. Put all the weight behind the axle of the trailer and let me know how the rig handles. 
Yep, it’s someone who doesn’t understand how this all works.
You can put a 7 pin connector on ANY car. You can put a brake controller on ANY car.
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That’s a great article. I am going to bookmark it for future conversations.
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IMHO you are borrowing trouble any time you come close to the “limit” a truck can haul.
In early 2000s I was coming home from a BNT’s farm in VT. I was asked to bring another person’s horse home since it was on the way, and not knowing any better, we did. After all, the maximum tow capacity was 7,000lb, with a small horse and a pony how could we even come close to that?
I never was so fearful of theirs and my life as I was going up and down those hills on the Vermont highway. It wasn’t just the towing capacity – I felt like we couldn’t really stop even with the electric brakes, which seemed to be working absolute overtime just to stay ahead. There are a lot of sand run-off ramps on Route 89 for tractor trailers and I was genuinely wondering if we would have to use one. The transmission ended up blowing and it really sucked being stranded on 89 before the time of regular AAA or trailer assistance.
My next truck purchase, I deliberately bought more than I needed; a Ford 350 V6.8L. I have never regretted it once. I can barely feel my trailer even loaded with the two horses that push 1400lb each. What is even better is this truck’s stability and stopping power. What this truck has that a 150/1500 does not have is that it can stop in an emergent situation in full control even without trailer brakes equipped. I could not do that in a 150/1500 without the live weight of what is being towed pushing the truck forward.
So to answer your question, NO. I wouldn’t even tow with a 150 or a 1500 either, although there are plenty of people who do it. They just haven’t run into a bad situation yet.
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Of course when I was a kid we towed with a station wagon and a 4 door sedan-Yikes!
Thanks, i was glad i found it. it helped me so much. Many people just say, " Don’t Do it" but i need to know the reasons why or why not. It helped me find the right truck for the job.
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I’m talking about where the hitch of the gooseneck connects to the truck, not the weight in the actual trailer.
Also never said that a ranger can’t be hooked up to trailer brakes. One would need to buy the connector to make that happen otherwise in certain states it’s illegal to haul a trailer without it.
Don’t think the comments about being American are necessary.
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Americans are the only ones who subscribe to the giant truck theory, though. Literally, we are the ONLY ones who say this stuff. Other countries haul horses with smaller tow vehicles all the time, only in america is a full sized suburban with a V8 considered not enough truck for a 2 horse.
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Not enough truck and definitely not enough stopping power.
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Some Rangers come with V6s. Not sure what OP has.
Large pick ups aren’t available elsewhere like they are in the US, so not sure how you can really make that statement. Silverados aren’t manufactured in Europe or Japan. GM shut the door to continental operations years ago. Ford has very limited operations with most being commercial vehicles. The most common trucks available are much smaller in design such as Fiat, Toyota, Landrover, etc. They are smaller for a reason - you can’t even get around in large pick ups in Europe or similar areas because parking spaces and roads are significantly smaller. Horse trailers are significantly smaller as well - a lot of Aussies and Europeans aren’t happy about it. Have you seen a Brenderup? Europe also doesn’t have long stretches of interstate like the US. European semi truck drivers legally can not drive the long stints like US truckers can. US drivers need living space more than other countries, thus bigger semis. The fact that large pick ups aren’t available in other parts of the world has nothing to do with Americans being too stupid to know how to tow. In fact, many European floats are pulled with engines larger than the standard pick up truck in the US, the main difference in design is how compact their rigs are. This European trailer is designed for 9-10 horses:
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