Hauling distance for a 2 horse

[appendix100]

How long will you haul a horse in a 2 horse bumper pull?

I have a very nice 2 horse Logan slant bumper pull. Have on order a 3 horse gooseneck. The estimated 12wk production time had turned into 6m w/ covid delays & current demand. There are a couple of shows that I want to go to that I would have had my trainer haul to, but I am not there anymore.

One is a 5hour drive up into the mountains, the roads are major highways, but still curvy.
The second is a 10 hour drive but flat & again on major highways the whole way.

I have been hesitant to haul to those, the trailer pulls well, & the truck has more than enough capacity to do the haul, is a bumper pull stable enough for those kind of hauls if the new trailer doesn’t come in time?

[trubandloki]

If your truck is sized that the trailer is stable and stops well (not the trailer pulling the truck all over the road) then I do not see why either of those trips would be an issue.

Why do you think it would be a problem?

[candyappy]

I used my 2 horse bumper pull to haul my 2 horses 2000 miles east when I got married in 1991. We had every kind of terrain imaginable on that 5 day trip and both the horses and trailer did fine.

As long as the trailer is road worthy and in good repair the only issue I see is that it isn’t as " roomy" for them as a stock type trailer is. My horses have a stock trailer now and to be honest once they get in a certain spot they never move again until we unload. That was for a 14 hour trip.

Done it multiple times and never an issue.

[exvet]

I agree with the others in terms of as long as the trailer is road worthy, your towing vehicle is adequate to do the job and you’re experienced with hauling, the distances discussed should be no problem. I would recommend stopping periodically particularly on the longer haul to water and allow a brief rest for yourself and your horse; but, otherwise I wouldn’t consider it any different than hauling a 3 or 4 horse slant fully loaded (ie, no way to provide box stalls). I’ve done similar and longer hauls with 2, 3, 4 horse trailers and stock trailers.

The only hauls I had concern regarding fatigue of my horses was a cross country move where the weather was unseasonably hot and it seemed there was an extraordinary amount of delays due to road construction. I had a stock trailer with two box stalls and one horse in each. This was of course pre-dating GPS and cell phones. Horses were a bit road weary (stir crazy) when we finally reached or destination; but, otherwise fine since we stopped and watered regularly (they were all good drinking away from home - especially if I carried water with me) and unloaded at rest stops (barns) over night.

[appendix100]

Just always felt like a bumper pull was less stable than a gooseneck…

[joiedevie99]

I personally don’t think there is much difference for the horse between a bumper pull and a gooseneck. I personally will haul up to 4 hours or so in a 2-horse. After that, I prefer to ship professionally on an air-ride semi for the horse’s comfort. I want them to arrive ready to compete, not tired.

[Texarkana]

I have hauled my horses further in my 2H bumper pull.

My only slight concern would be the fact that it is for a show-- how much time will the horse have to decompress before showing, then hitting the road again?

[Feathered_Feet]

That tends to be true, but the easy fix is to add a weight distribution hitch with anti-sway bars. Tremendous increase in handling for a bumper pull. I don’t understand why I don’t see them more frequently, honestly.

[trubandloki]

@appendix100

Just always felt like a bumper pull was less stable than a gooseneck…

I think that depends on your trailer and your whole set-up. Some trailers pull in a way that never even know they are back there (until you look in your review mirror and see it following you - ha ha). Others fish tail around and are a jerk if the horse so much as shifts its weight.

[clanter]

check the dates of the tires, it is on the sidewall… replace if needed

We have hauled horses in a two horse bumper pull tens of thousands of miles, mostly when we were doing competitive trail. Nothing is close here nearly everything is/was at least six hours away. Some competitions were 700/800 miles out… haul in the day before, do the 50/60 mile ride in two days then come back at the end of the second day or maybe the next day. The horses used were middle aged, never ever had an issue with fatigue. (None of this was down in the heat of summer)

We hauled a young horse in from North Dakota in the winter between blizzards… it is a 1,100 mile trip…did break that into two days with an overnight rest stop for the lad who enjoyed the trip eating hay and looking out the windows.

A prudent driver using normal caution should not have an issue. Just do not make sudden moves with the trailer.

But just check the tires (including the spare) /trailer before the outset.

[Xanthoria]

@Texarkana

My only slight concern would be the fact that it is for a show-- how much time will the horse have to decompress before showing, then hitting the road again?

We used to say 30 mins of rest at destination per hour of travel, minimum, IIRC? Plus a stop every 3 hours for water and rest. Of course weather, trailer type, road conditions and other factors play in.

[Texarkana]

@Xanthoria Oh, I totally agree, I duration of the show would be a big determining factor for me.

Some shows are a week or more long, some shows are a single day. I wouldn’t want to drive 10 hours Friday, show all day Saturday, then head out Saturday night when the show is over, even if it met the 30 min rule. I’d at least want to stay at the show a few days.

[outerbanks77]

I did about a 12 hour haul with a 2 horse Featherlite bumper pull with no issues. I would be more concerned about temperature, horse’s condition (old creaky horse or horse that gets really stressed trailering). Also, trailers with mangers where the horse can’t put it’s head down to clear the wind pipe can also be an issue.

[CindyCRNA]

Where is the date on the sidewall and when do you replace?

[clanter]

Tires built from 2000 to the present use the last four-digits of the DOT number to identify the week and year of manufacture. For example, a DOT number with 4116 at the end of the sequence would mean that the tire was manufactured in the 41st week of 2016, or sometime in the mid-October.

How Do You Determine The Age Of Your Tires? | Newsome Melton

be sure to also check the spare(s) …ours look OK until I flipped it over to see cracks then noticed it was original to the trailer

[CindyCRNA]

When should you replace them?

[clanter]

The common recommendation is that trailer tires should be replaced at 6-7 years of age regardless of if the tread of the tire is still good.

regarding the spare, since it is rarely used at times people swap them around… the spare with our trailer was on an incompatible wheel for trailer… had to replace wheel and tire.

[appendix100]

new tires, & the first one would be a 5 hour haul for a 3d show. That one the biggest concern is that it is over the mountains on curvy wurvy roads, w/ semi traffic as well.