i have an older F250. i am really going to have to start thinking about what to replace it with. When i bought it, i thought you had to have a 250 or 2500 model to have a big enough truck to pull with. Then i see all kinds of people towing with the F150 or 1500 series. So i started thinking, well maybe i do not need such a big truck.
I just bought a new all aluminum Kingston 2 horse trailer without a dressing room to keep it light. My horse is a 17.2 hand warmblood, so I would imagine he weighs about 1,400 pounds.
I do not understand the loaded weight things. I would think if truck is rated for 8,500 lbs towing capacity I should be totally fine. But then there is loaded weights you have to worry about, and sway bars which i never had to use, and I need to be able to brake when necessary!
I started looking at the F150’s last night and I am so disappointed that they now only seem to come in the V6 engines. So I would think i need to stick with a F250 because of this. Unless i get an older model.
I really want to buy a used truck because I have a car to drive around in because the gas WAS so expensive! Although lately I have not been driving my Nissan Sentra because the gas for my truck is so cheap even though i only get about 11 or 12 miles to the gallon! I don’t expect the gas to stay this cheap howerver. Or i could sell my 2012 Nissan and drive a truck full time.
My friend is pushing me to look at the Toyota Tundras. Are these big enough with an 8 cylinder engine?
Do you guys think Chevys’s are better and less expensive than Fords like my brother thinks?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I am not educated on all the whys and wherefores of truck ratings and all that stuff. That being said, when I was shopping for my (used) truck, I would not look at anything less than a 3/4 ton. Even if a truck (say a heavy half ton) has the weight rating to pull your trailer, that’s live weight back there - a whole different kettle of fish than pulling something that isn’t moving around.
Personally, I’d rather have too much truck (and I do. LOL) than not enough.
I’ll let people do their usual screeching, but if you are looking at F-150s they do definitely come in a V8
[QUOTE=tangledweb;7965387]
I’ll let people do their usual screeching, but if you are looking at F-150s they do definitely come in a V8[/QUOTE]
not the 2015 models. I was doing the build your truck and the only option was the V6 model. They are now all aluminum which i thought was cool. But V6 is not big enough!
OP, there are a zillion threads on tow vehicles. They will all include a majority of voices saying you need at least 3/4 ton, lots of people saying my 1/2ton is perfectly sufficient, and usually a european or two laughing at us because they pull their trailer with a subaru and that we americans are a bit nutso about this topic.
Your statement “I do not understand the loaded weight of things” is a problem, because unless you dig in and learn that, you will always be subject to these differing outside voices and hoping you picked the right one to listen to. Especially the hitch guy at the car dealer, who may or may not know what he’s talking about when it comes to horse trailers vs. boats and RVs.
So dig in, girl! Read every article you can on towing. This is a good one on hitches
Make a checklist of what you’d be bringing with you when you trailer. Hay, water, tack, everything. You should be able to confidently say: my rig will weigh xxxxlb when fully loaded.
i’ve pulled a two-horse trailer with a newer F-150. it may be fine if you never encounter challenging conditions–i.e. you don’t need to go over mountain passes, or brake/steer in emergency situations. if you are just driving a few miles around town you should be fine.
but i did not feel safe hauling with a 1/2 ton. it was a friend’s setup that i was borrowing, and it felt very unsafe. like, if i didn’t have my hands on the wheel just so, or happened to do the wrong thing in the wrong moment, i’d be in the ditch. not very forgiving.
plus EVERYONE whose opinion i respected, horsepeople i know, not wankers on internet boards whose credentials and experience are unknown to me, insisted that a 3/4 ton is an absolute requirement.
you have no control over what other people do on the road. if you have to do a quick safety maneuver because some idiot passes in a no-passing zone and is about to hit you head-on, you must have a vehicle that can control the movement of your trailer.
i personally went with the heavy duty model. the regular 3/4 ton may not have enough leaf springs in the rear and you end up having a shot suspension.
and make sure the towing package was installed at the factory. the add-ons are not as durable and you don’t get all the other equipment you really should have–like a transmission cooler.
I also have an older F250. For now, I am just repairing it. Is that an option?
I tow with a Ram 1500 with a Hemi and a tow package, and a 2H aluminum hawk. Would I tow through the mountains with it? No. For local hauling it’s more than enough. Truck is rated to about 8500lb; fully loaded we’re maybe 5000lb, and it’s not an issue.
I have a 2010 F150 - V8, and pull a 2 horse slant load, aluminum trailer, with a tack room. I can pull two horses well! I love my truck. I mean love it! The two horse I’ve pulled are both around 16.2 hands.
Apparently the new V6 engines are supposed to be substantial enough to pull 2-horse trailers, I would be skeptical though. However, I came across someone at a horse show last year who had a new F150 V6, and she says it pulls fine.
I will always buy a Ford, so I’ll have to do more research when I’m ready to buy my next truck.
Good luck to you.
My first personal tow vehicle was a Chevy Impala wagon, but that’s a whole 'nuther thread. My 1984 F-150 V8 was just fine for my two horse bumper pull back in Virginia. When I moved to the Rocky Mountains, it did get me where I wanted to go, if I wasn’t in a hurry on those long uphill grades. In fairness of course it got to be 25 years old with 150k miles on it. I traded it for a used '98 F-250 V-8, which is still going strong, knock wood, with 210k miles on it. When I finally wear it out, I will either get another F-250 or look into the Toyota Tundra, which my farrier swears by.
[QUOTE=TSWJB;7965340]
i have an older F250. i am really going to have to start thinking about what to replace it with. When i bought it, i thought you had to have a 250 or 2500 model to have a big enough truck to pull with. Then i see all kinds of people towing with the F150 or 1500 series. So i started thinking, well maybe i do not need such a big truck.
I just bought a new all aluminum Kingston 2 horse trailer without a dressing room to keep it light. My horse is a 17.2 hand warmblood, so I would imagine he weighs about 1,400 pounds.
I do not understand the loaded weight things. I would think if truck is rated for 8,500 lbs towing capacity I should be totally fine. But then there is loaded weights you have to worry about, and sway bars which i never had to use, and I need to be able to brake when necessary!
I started looking at the F150’s last night and I am so disappointed that they now only seem to come in the V6 engines. So I would think i need to stick with a F250 because of this. Unless i get an older model.
I really want to buy a used truck because I have a car to drive around in because the gas WAS so expensive! Although lately I have not been driving my Nissan Sentra because the gas for my truck is so cheap even though i only get about 11 or 12 miles to the gallon! I don’t expect the gas to stay this cheap howerver. Or i could sell my 2012 Nissan and drive a truck full time.
My friend is pushing me to look at the Toyota Tundras. Are these big enough with an 8 cylinder engine?
Do you guys think Chevys’s are better and less expensive than Fords like my brother thinks?
Any help would be greatly appreciated![/QUOTE]
I just bought the V8, 4x4 Toyota Tundra and it’s MORE than adequate for towing any bumper-pull 2 horse in existence. Just make sure you get it set up correctly with the correct height hitch receiver, “sway” bars and breakaway box for safety and good towing properties. You definitely NEED a full-size pickup truck or SUV equivalent (Suburban, Navigator) on a truck frame with a V8 for that size trailer and big horse.
Toyota has some FABULOUS finance deals and it’s just about the lowest maintenance truck on the road. I bought the 2-door “work” version and to me it feels like a land yacht. 
The backup camera rocks, too–you can catch the hitch ball on the first shot. DO look into this truck, can’t recommend highly enough! See Consumer Reports, too.
[QUOTE=HungarianHippo;7965479]
OP, there are a zillion threads on tow vehicles. They will all include a majority of voices saying you need at least 3/4 ton, lots of people saying my 1/2ton is perfectly sufficient, and usually a european or two laughing at us because they pull their trailer with a subaru and that we americans are a bit nutso about this topic…[/QUOTE]
Lol, or Americans who own Brenderups or other Euro-style trailers and haul with things like Explorers without any problems at all (an F-150 would be more than enough for a Brenderup.) But if you don’t really ‘get’ tow packages, weights, etc. you probably need someone who understands the mechanics behind them.
The V-6 Ecoboost is a turbo and quite capable when towing. Auto Trader’s testing showed the Ecoboost to be a second faster than the 5 liter in a 45-60 test while pulling 7,500 pounds.
http://www.autotrader.com/research/article/car-news/116388/f-150-with-ecoboost-can-tow-the-line.jsp
My husband and I just bought a truck. We test drove both a 2013 F-150 FX4 with the Ecoboost and a 2013 F-150 Raptor with a 6.2 liter. They were quite comparable as far as acceleration. The Ecoboost had a tiny bit of turbo lag, but it was most certainly full of get up and go. We wound up with the Raptor because it’s an off-road monster, but for everyday towing I wouldn’t have hesitated on the smaller engine.
I have never had any problems towing a smaller trailer (two horse steel stock) with a 1/2 ton, even in mountains.
[QUOTE=Ibex;7965584]
I tow with a Ram 1500 with a Hemi and a tow package, and a 2H aluminum hawk. Would I tow through the mountains with it? No. For local hauling it’s more than enough. Truck is rated to about 8500lb; fully loaded we’re maybe 5000lb, and it’s not an issue.[/QUOTE]
Yup location location location.
Va Beach to Charlottesville or Reno/Tahoe?
[QUOTE=Ibex;7965584]
I tow with a Ram 1500 with a Hemi and a tow package, and a 2H aluminum hawk. Would I tow through the mountains with it? No. For local hauling it’s more than enough. Truck is rated to about 8500lb; fully loaded we’re maybe 5000lb, and it’s not an issue.[/QUOTE]
Same here for the truck (Hemi with tow package rated to tow 8500 lbs) and my trailer is a Kingston BP. My 1/2 ton Ram hauls my trailer without a problem but like you I wouldn’t haul through mountains with it. Love the thing and when the time comes to get a new one I’ll go back to a 3/4 ton (though not anytime soon hopefully as my truck is paid off and has a lifetime warranty so I plan to keep it for a long time :D).
Remember wheel base. Very important for stability.
One thing I didn’t see anyone mention is your transmission ratio.
If you are going to haul anywhere near your vehicles rated max, you best have the right tranny gears. Most half tons come with a 3:15 rear end (Ford website says theirs is a 3:31), you need a 3:73 or a 4:10 (which you likely will only find in a full size), especially if you plan to haul more than one horse.
A few years back my F250 was in the shop so I borrowed my brother’s half ton. Both were Chevy’s (2 different occasions). Both times I hauled one horse over the mountain passes here in Oregon, using my 2H Trails West. I had absolutely no trouble with it. In the second instance, I was also following a friend in her diesel and I had no trouble keeping up.
But, my brother is pretty “up” on towing so both his rigs were equipped with top of the line trailer brakes as well as air bags that inflate the backend of the truck so the weight of the trailer tongue doesn’t make your pickup bed end up on the ground!
I never felt unsafe or even remotely out of control going up or down those windy mountain roads.
My 1/2 ton Ram is a 3:92 - I prefer to not go less than that (though my last 3/4 ton had a 3:73). Sure it affects gas mileage but it’s a truck and never once did I consider MPGs. 
[QUOTE=Obsidian Fire;7967981]
Most half tons come with a 3:15 rear end [/QUOTE]
No they don’t
No it doesn’t.
