@soloudinhere That was my point. The conversation was veering into 3/4 ton territory, which is overlooking the considerable difference in the current 1/2 tons over the old ones. That being said, IMO you still need to get INTO at least 1/2 ton territory (aka a tundra, NOT a tacoma)
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Thank you to everyone for your informative responses! Sounds like I would more likely be looking into a F-150 or Tundra at least.
I would most likely be towing on very short trips (15 minutes max) once a month or so to get to lessons and cross country schooling, and then longer trips (2-4 hours) maybe three to four times a year for shows. I would be open to having someone else haul for shows if I only had enough truck to haul locally, but being able to do both is obviously preferred for independence sake. I live in a relatively flat area, we have some hills but nothing particularly steep.
I am not going to need anything larger than a 2 horse trailer for a while, and I have mostly looked into Brenderups. Any other lightweight/good braking system trailer recommendations?
I’ll agree with the masses that a modern half ton like an F-150 is probably fine for short local trip over easy terrain. In fact, that’s what I use to pull my 2H BP and it tows like a champ.
For the 40’ long gooseneck, we use an F-350 dually.
But, while I don’t want to hijack the thread, reading the above posts got me thinking:
A: Europe – even a half ton truck there is considered giant. Many Germans, for example, will pull a 2H Brenderup style trailer with a Volvo station wagon. There are hills and terrain, and yet people haul trailers all over the country with little tiny cars. It’s hard to believe those cars have the stopping power ratio above posters are stipulating, and yet that’s normal there. Are they all just unenlightened and unsafe? or is there another factor I’m not considering?
B: Big trailers in the US. Here I’m thinking about those 6+ horse goosenecks you see all over the highway (commercial shippers, big show stables, etc) Of course those big trailers are being pulled by an F-350 or RAM 3500. But again, if a 1/2 ton is barely suitable to haul just 2 horses, then with a similar truck-to-trailer-weight ratio, then wouldn’t those bigger trucks be equally unsuited for hauling 6 horses? Again, if it’s just the weight of the truck compared to the loaded weight of the trailer that must be considered, than what is that magic ratio that we should all stay under?
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In regard to Europe, important to remember a few things:
- Their speed limit when towing a trailer is lower than ours
- Their trailer regulations stipulate that the tongue weight must be much lower than is standard here. The tongue weight of my Bockmann was 211lbs fully loaded. My 2h Merhow was almost triple. Tow ratings are often driven by axle weight ratings since the modern engine can tow pretty much anything. A lighter tongue weight reduces load on the vehicle and the engine.
- Most people there who use these trailers use them occasionally and the ones traveling often have horseboxes.
as for here, trailer weights are nonlinear. In other words, a 6h head to head might be long, but in terms of actual net weight it is not 3x heavier than a loaded 2h. My 2+1 weighs 4800 empty, and a friend’s 2h hawk straight load weighs 3500 but is 8’ shorter on the deck than mine. With 2 up on mine I am only 1200lbs heavier. Adding the gooseneck is what adds the weight and then after that it’s mostly about your truck’s length in comparison to the trailer’s length. Where you get into weight trouble is with lq trailers and a fair number of those folks will admit to being over their weight rating but do it anyway.
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I think with a 2H BP you can probably do more than short local distances with a half ton. No I wouldn’t live on the road with it, and if I lived in the mountains it would suck it royally, but by definition that is not a person trying to get out of a hurricane’s path 
But I had a 2000 Expedition that did some hard miles up and down the southeastern seaboard with my Trail Et New Yorker and for almost 100,000 miles it gave me no issues going primarily from SFL-NGA. Before that it was a 98 F150 V8 and before that it was a 95 F150 I6 (and that was try the best pulling machine out there). They all handled that Trail Et like a boss.
The current F150 (and Tundra with a tow package, and I assume the Chevy/dodge versions as well, because they are all in the same race) is rated to pull 10K (under the new standards which are standardized IIRC) which is overhorsed for a 2H BP unless you favor lead based trailers. I think an abundance of caution should be involved when you tow a metal tin can with your most precious possession inside, but I wouldn’t want someone to walk away from this thread thinking they are putting that possession at risk by hitting the road for 300-400 miles in your average 2H BP+half ton rated to tow that weight unless they made a habit of doing it every weekend… in which case their cargo wasn’t at as much risk as their pocketbook when it came to vehicle wear and tear!
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A Tacoma is a pretty little truck and not really what I’d suggest.
OP, you don’t say where you live, but if it’s in the city in Southern California, you should think of that as a heavy duty towing situation even if you think today you’d only be going on “short” trips. If you are ever going across the Grapevine, that is a heavy duty towing situation. If you are hauling in any canyon, that is usually a heavy duty towing situation. Dealing with signals in the city, even if flat, is also a lot of acceleration and stopping. Even in “flats,” freeway off and on ramps can be fairly slopey. Often the most dangerous part of the trip is pulling out of the driveway, which is sometimes not flat and sometimes not with good visibility. Even if the barn you are at now is fairly easy egress, the one you move to may not be, and the one you need to evacuate to for your hypothetical fire may not be. During a fire evacuation you will not even have the presence of mind to baby your equipment.
Where I live now in California is rural and flat, and there are easy close trailer destinations, but again if I have to run, I have some hills to deal with. Still, even when the trips are longer, it’s not as challenging a drive as within the wilds of Los Angeles County.
I think a half ton is probably fine for what you need, again just make sure that your hitch is the biggest, beefiest hitch you can get and make sure it’s a weight distributing hitch. Your truck may not come with a class IV hitch without some specific upgrade from you.
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I tow a Boeckmann Big Champion with my Tacoma. Works great. It is a European-style trailer (like the Brenderups). It has a different tongue weight and balance than American trailers and has the inertial brakes. Only downside is the tack compartment is much smaller than a regular 2H BP dressing room. It works fine for me when I’m on my own, but if I take another horse, we have to put some tack in the truck.
I don’t know where you are located, but there are Boeckmann dealers in Texas, MD, and Ontario.
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The trailer braking systems on European style trailers are different than those on American style trailers.
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My comments were limited to standard, American type trailers not Euro types. I understand that they’re totally different creatures.
My friend towed her one horse Brenderup with her Tacoma and it did great in mountainous terrain (if you are looking, her trailer is for sale…). I think the Tacoma would be underpowered for a regular two horse. I am another Ford F-150 Eco boost owner and love it for towing, and the fuel economy is good for the size of truck. We got one with a towing package. I used to own an older Tundra (before they got huge) and although it was rated to pull the weight of our trailer, it felt underpowered and the transmission eventually blew. The newer full sized Tundras are terrible gas pigs and according to a couple of friends that owned them, feel underpowered when towing.
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I know someone who tows an older 2-horse bumper pull with a newer Tacoma. I don’t know the specs on the truck, but I do know I was TERRIFED riding with her, even pulling the trailer empty. The truck struggled to maintain 45mph, RPM’s pegged out, engine screaming. It only got worse with a single 800lb horse in the trailer…
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My 80 mile/day commuter is a 2011 F-150 5.0L V8 4x4 SuperCrew. I specifically sought out a model with 3.73 gear ratio to get the maximum available F-150 tow capacity of 9300 lbs. I pull a very basic CM Dakota 2h slant load with one 900lb horse and can definitely feel when I’m towing. This is north TX and most of my hauls are within an hour drive. I would NOT feel comfortable driving anywhere with many hills.
There is no way I’d pull anything other than a super light Brenderup with a Tacoma, unless it was an evacuation emergency.
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We have a Tundra… It was my husband’s daily and my tow vehicle. I am obsessed with it, and I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable hauling with anything smaller. If you can afford one, it’s definitely worth looking into!
My only observation on the brenderups is if you are in the southeast, I understand they are HOT, no good airflow, which is probably not that big of a deal in Europe where the design originated. But in the deep south it’s a real issue. (This was feedback based on a friend who owned and promptly sold one for that reason, but do your own research!)
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A 1/2 ton will do fine for you then. Something in the range of the F-150 or 1500 class.
As far as brake recommendations, try to get something new enough that it uses electric brakes if you can. It will require a little extra wiring but it will give you much more control over the brakes. Some older trailers use hydraulic brakes that basically come on when the trailer starts to “push” against the vehicle that is towing it. You have no actual control over when these brakes come on or release.
Just be aware that electric brakes may heat up faster if used improperly. And that can cause brake fade. (Hot brakes don’t work as effectively, and may stop working completely in some cases.)
For evacuations, also consider how much those Santa Ana 60mph wind gusts are going to blow a lightweight trailer around. We have a Brenderup and Tundra and love both dearly, but chose to have friends evacuate us during this latest event because of the windy conditions.
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I am a 2015 Ford Eco-Boost owner and have a maxed out tow package at a whopping 12k pounds. I haul a #3500 trailer with a 1000# horse and you’d never know that trailer was back there. Trailers equipped with brakes though and does most of that braking I had to slam the breaks at one intersection and the rig stopped on a dime. Make sure not only is your truck rated, but your hitch, your pins, and your ball are all rated to haul that weight.
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We live in the mountains at 7K ft–serious mountain pass Rocky Mountains. There are two of us with Trail-et bumper pulls with dressing rooms, so steel frame with aluminum walls and fiberglass roofs, at my barn. I tow with a Nissan Titan XD, my buddy tows with a gas Tundra.
For both of us, these are our daily drivers–though neither of us do that many miles. I suspect her MPG is far superior to mine…
There’s another similar trailer, it’s owner tows with her husband’s daily driver F-150 Eco-boost, which gets enviable gas mileage.
We are all pretty experienced towers, do quite a few very steep miles, and are entirely comfortable towing with what we have. My maximum load was two large horses and a pony evacuating from a wildfire. It was fine–the tow vehicle was the least of my problems!
I wouldn’t tow anything larger than a Brenderup or equivalent with a Tacoma. if you are set on Toyota, the Tundra is a nice vehicle.
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Tundras are gas pigs, so I would guess you actually probably get much better mileage. Heck, my F250 gets better mileage than my inlaw’s tundra, and we aren’t at altitude.
My current set up is my double cab Tacoma and a lightweight, small two horse trailer. I have a friend who has nearly the same set up. We both have brake controllers. I have hauled my trailer all over San Diego and Orange County, as well as cross country to Missouri. I only haul one horse but have had no issues. My friend hauls his all over California and Arizona. Would I like a larger truck? Of course, but I feel comfortable with what I have, even in crazy Midwest winters. The only thing I don’t like is my gas mileage, I went from 21mpg to 13mpg while hauling cross country. I’ve hauled in rush hour SoCal traffic and have had other drivers cut me off and had to slam on the brakes without any issues stopping.
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