Is 3/4 ton truck "enough" for a 2+1 trailer?

[IPEsq]

I found a great deal on a Silverado 3500HD dually not too long ago, but I missed out because it snowed a bunch, dealer was over an hour away, and my horse started racking up a lot of vet bills. Insurance helped out with the horse, stuff falling from the sky turned to liquid, but truck is gone.

I’m under contract on a townhome, and I just got the HOA covenants today, which basically say I can’t park anything over 3/4 ton anywhere in the neighborhood, not even in my own garage, except on a temporary and/or emergent basis.

Truck purchase isn’t going to happen until after closing, but I’ve been keeping my eye on the used market in the meantime and had pretty much convinced myself to go with 1 ton.

Most likely, I would not haul 3 horses ever–would be 1 or 2 but maybe a lot of equipment and stuff since I’m a DIYer these days, and my horse eats a boatload of hay per day. Because I’m a DIYer, I’m pretty wedded to the idea of having a trailer with a side ramp, and would prefer a true 2+1. Horses hauled would tend to be big WB types and trailer would be appropriately sized.

I don’t want to be limited to having truck live at the barn, which I’m not even 100% sure barn will allow long-term. I only know they will allow a trailer to be parked for free.

Would 3/4 ton be enough truck for this? Assuming I’d go diesel for sure if I had to have this size.

On that note, does anyone have a preference between Sundowner and 4Star for a 2+1? Those are the brands most readily available close to me that I can find in the sub-30K range (a few Cimarron and Featherlites are around but more expensive). Sundowner has a more tapered nose than the 4Star, which seems like a good idea if the truck is smaller?

[Jim_in_PA]

I would think that the 3/4 ton would be just fine for that…lots of folks pull 4h h-h with 3/4 ton trucks and your 2+1 is likely much lighter than that.

[vineyridge]

4Star used to be on of the best build trailers in North America. Don’t know if it still is. Sundowner has a much poorer reputation; they spend huge amounts on advertising that has come from somewhere, and the quality of the trailer for the money spent is most likely where. These are aluminum trailers, so pulling with a 3/4 ton ought not to be a problem.

Question: would you mind defining what you mean by “emergent basis”? I have no idea what that means.

[IPEsq]

The HOA allows exceptions for temporary parking (loading, delivery) or emergency. It covers all types of recreational, otherwise prohibited vehicles, like trailers, boats, campers, etc. Where I am, I would think things like fire or flood would be an emergency where you could move your other vehicle to the neighborhood to get it out of wherever it was.

[tangledweb]

The trailer is going to weigh about 5000 lbs? So loaded it will weigh about 8000 lbs?

That’s well within the limits of a modern 3/4 ton.

On the other hand, HOAs magical rules, and anybody who thinks emergent is the adjective form of emergency annoy me, so if it were me I’d buy a SRW 350 and before bringing it home I’d pry off the 350 badges and put 250 ones in their place. Knowing that I was fooling the suburban Stasi wannabes that fill HOA committees would bring a smile to my face every day.

[Blume_Farm]

I have a steel framed Hawk 2+1 and an aluminum 4Star 2 horse LQ trailer. I pull both with my Dodge 2500 Diesel without issue. The 2+1 I also pulled with my old Ford 250 Diesel without issues, even in the mountains. I have a few times had 2 horses + 1 pony in there without issues.

[gumtree]

I have have towed what you have described with a Silverado 2500 4W gas. Ran and towed like a champ. 4 H, head to head also. I have several friends that tow 4-H head to head with a 1500 and have no complaints. Both have the tow package. Of all the rigs I have driven I like the Chevy trucks the best, gas and diesel.

[IPEsq]

[QUOTE=tangledweb;8156380]
The trailer is going to weigh about 5000 lbs? So loaded it will weigh about 8000 lbs?

That’s well within the limits of a modern 3/4 ton.

On the other hand, HOAs magical rules, and anybody who thinks emergent is the adjective form of emergency annoy me, so if it were me I’d buy a SRW 350 and before bringing it home I’d pry off the 350 badges and put 250 ones in their place. Knowing that I was fooling the suburban Stasi wannabes that fill HOA committees would bring a smile to my face every day.[/QUOTE]

:lol: Look out, the grammar police is moving into the neighborhood!

[RedmondDressage]

[QUOTE=tangledweb;8156380]

On the other hand, HOAs magical rules, and anybody who thinks emergent is the adjective form of emergency annoy me, so if it were me I’d buy a SRW 350 and before bringing it home I’d pry off the 350 badges and put 250 ones in their place. Knowing that I was fooling the suburban Stasi wannabes that fill HOA committees would bring a smile to my face every day.[/QUOTE]

:lol::lol::lol:

This was exactly what I was thinking when I read OP’s post! You and I clearly aren’t cut out for HOA life.

[Hinderella]

I don’t have a 2 + 1, but I do have a 2 horse gooseneck with a roomy dressing room and my ancient gas 3/4 ton does fine. Mine is all aluminum, if you were getting an older steel trailer that would make a difference.
I think “emergent” is probably a typo of emergency

[SouthernYankee]

Yes a 3/4 ton truck is enough.

I’ve got a 2008 2500 Chevy with the Duramax and it handles the alum. 4 horse living quarters just fine. We typically only haul 2 horses with our gear but it does fine with 4 also.

Now that one time we hauled 210 alfalfa bales from Illinois to Alabama (550+ mile trip)… It pulled it but I wouldn’t want to make that run every week. Just as an FYI- the load was approx. 12,500 lbs in hay plus trailer weight of approx. 4,500 lbs = 17,000 lbs.

[Hinderella]

Yes, Southern Yankee, hay is heavy! When I used my trailer to haul hay I only had about 80 bales in it but I sure noticed that I needed more room to stop!

[crosscreeksh]

[QUOTE=tangledweb;8156380]
The trailer is going to weigh about 5000 lbs? So loaded it will weigh about 8000 lbs?

That’s well within the limits of a modern 3/4 ton.

On the other hand, HOAs magical rules, and anybody who thinks emergent is the adjective form of emergency annoy me, so if it were me I’d buy a SRW 350 and before bringing it home I’d pry off the 350 badges and put 250 ones in their place. Knowing that I was fooling the suburban Stasi wannabes that fill HOA committees would bring a smile to my face every day.[/QUOTE]

I LOVE this idea!!! Who can tell at a glance a 350 from a 250!!!

[Gloria]

I’d think 3/4 ton should be sufficient for your 2+1. And I wouldn’t buy a sundowner. 4star is waaaayyyy better. Not even in the same league.

tangledweb’s idea sound intriguing. I may just go that route to tickle the finicky HOA if I were you. What kind of moronic rule is that, you cannot park anything bigger than 3/4?

[IPEsq]

All the comments on the Sundowner are interesting…what is so bad about them? I ask because there’s a lot more local inventory of those than the 4Star, so who knows if I’d still be able to get my paws on a 4Star by the time this all shakes out…

[besttwtbever]

Yes, a 3/4 ton diesel truck should be plenty to haul a 2+1 trailer. I have a steel frame aluminum 2+1 Sundowner and I pull it with a 2008 3/4 ton Ram with the 6.7 liter diesel engine. I have hauled the trailer with as many as 4 horses and gear and have also gone over the Cascade mountains with 3 tons of hay in it with absolutely no issues. The truck didn’t even blink going through the pass and was actually accelerating up it. Slowing the trailer and stopping coming down was not an issue either. I also hauled 3 horses and lots of gear from Connecticut to Washington with no issues.

I can’t speak for other makes/models/years but for 2008, the only difference between the 2500 6.7 liter Ram and the 3500 6.7 liter Ram (not the dually) was the addition of one leaf spring in the suspension and quite a bit of cash (if you bought it new). So if you went with that make, model, and year and added the additional leaf spring, you would actually have a 1 ton truck that would look like a 3/4 ton truck.

ETA: About the Sundowner trailer. I have only heard bad things about them, HOWEVER, I bought mine after all those bad things had already happened to it. It was basically completely rebuilt. The floor corroded so bad before it was even 6 years old that they completely replaced all of it. The frame also went through a thorough inspection when that happened. I have not had any issues besides the roof leaking but I am told that’s pretty standard for trailers as they age. I just need to get up on top of it and seal it myself.

[reubenT]

First of all. I couldn’t put up with someone telling me what I could and couldn’t park on my property. Guess I’m too used to living way out where no one cares who does what on their own land. Second; a 3/4 ton can pull a whole lot more than most people try to pull, but the more they pull the carefuller ya gotta be. I’ve pulled so much with my old 3/4 ton dodge I popped the U joint numerous times. And the U joint never lasted very long, it would start squeaking and I’d change it to find the roller pins breaking from the strain. I knew I should of had a one ton all the time. The u joint finally loosened a bit in it’s holes and made it real easy to change. That truck is semi retired now, relegated to farm and woods work once I get around to repairing it a bit. I fixed up an old F350 to use for awhile, but it’s too old and is having several problems. So last year I found a nice chevy crew dully 4x4 with dead engine that I got cheap. It sat for months but I’m finally putting an engine in it. I think I’m gonna like it. I’m puttin a 366 big block truck engine in it now just to get it going, but I have a 454 I got from a neighbor for it, completely disassembled. I’ll get it put together and running in my shop, then put it in along with changing the transmission over to strait shift, which I prefer over the auto that’s in it. I’m rushin on gettin it fixed to go on a trail ride campout next weekend with a paso fino group.

[Badger]

I’ve happily pulled an Equispirit 2+1 with a Dodge diesel 3/4 ton for years. Before this trailer, I’ve had a sundowner and a four star. The Four Star is much better made than Sundowner. But I’m happiest having steel around my horses and went with the combo trailer design after seeing aluminum sheer in an accident. I’m happiest with the Equispirit of the three. Therefore, before you buy, you might want to check out what you can get from Hawk in a 2+1 (my Equispirit was made at the Hawk factory, so very similar trailer construction). A friend of mine bought her Hawk from Resa at Happy Trails and had it delivered to CO and was very happy with the experience. You can get a new custom Hawk delivered to CO well under the $30K price range you mentioned. The basic one is starting around $20K and you can add on options (things like a walk-through door from dressing room to horse area, which I use all the time in mine):

http://www.happytrailstrailers.com/product.php?pid=8

I absolutely LOVE the suggestion above to switch out the exterior badges from 1-ton to 3/4 ton and drive what you want!!!

[ladymcts]

[QUOTE=IPEsq;8156602]
All the comments on the Sundowner are interesting…what is so bad about them? [/QUOTE]

Google Sundowner floor problem and you’ll find out. Supposedly that was in the 90’s early 2000’s and they should be all past that. I’ve been trailer shopping and what I’ve seen in showrooms has looked good quality to me, but I haven’t had that many trailers so I might be easily fooled.

[ponygirl]

I also have a 2010 2+1 Balanced Ride (made by Hawk) Max that I tow with our 3/4 ton sans issues. My only issue is that I no longer need a 2+1 as I’m not hauling mares and foals anymore , nor do I have more than 1 show horse so it’s up for sale. The best trailer I’ve had hands down. You should have no problems with your truck towing one. Best of luck.