Looking for advice for first truck and trailer

[soloudinhere]

[QUOTE=SugarRush;8598827]
I’ve had an Exiss 2 horse straight load bumper pull with a large dressing room for about 4 years now, and my Silverado 1500 LTZ for about 6 years.

The number one thing I will say is: buy the trailer that fits YOUR needs, not your friends and their horses. Your friends with change, your friend’s horses will step into your trailer and destroy it (and then you won’t be taking your friends with you anymore), and your friends are not paying for your truck or your trailer (no, gas money “plus a little in the side” does not even begin to cover it).

Buy a gooseneck IF all your fellow horse people and friends have goosenecks and its common in your area. If your truck is out of commission and everyone else only has a bumper set up, no one will be able to help you out (that means potential camping after a trail ride and waiting a verrrrrrrrry long time for someone to show up with the right equipment). AAA is not right around the corner. If a friend ever had an emergency and needed to borrow your trailer (in a rare case this has happened to me) a bumper pull could be more useful. Resale on bumper pulls is also easier, FYI.

Always spring for the dressing room, I added an extra foot of room when I ordered my trailer. It acts like spare storage in the off season and is invaluable during show season. Another extra I love is actually extruded siding (those silver extra metal panels you see on trailers). They are attractive and make the tie area tougher and more scratch-resistant. Pad up everything you can in the horse area. NEVER do mangers. Bad for lungs and horses climb them.

Another extra I ordered but find completely useless is the window between the horse area and tack room. Totally pointless and non-functional. I don’t need to look at my horses while I’m standing in the tack room, it’s too hot to hang out in there and daydream for any length of time!

I have 7’6" ceilings with 6’8" or something (the minimum for Exiss) width in the horse area, trailer my brick ****house 16.1hh Paint with 17+hh TBs and WBs and they all fit with plenty of room to spare, never a problem with those dimensions.

Now for the truck. Lots of people here will say you need a SD/HD but I have amazing stopping power, great maneuvering, and plenty of acceleration with my 1500 Chevy. Put in a Tekonsha brake controller (heard not-so-fab things about factory controllers), upgraded to a class IV hitch receiver (so I’d never have to question whether or not I require weight distribution and minimized sway), took some lessons from my CDL brother, and was ready to go. I will always say go for the leather seats…heated leather after a long day riding is magic :yes: and it’s easier to clean! The bed is standard, can fit up to 40 bales without tying down and haven’t lost one yet.

Oh wait, one more thing. I made darn sure to put a giant decal on my rear windshield that says COWGIRL CADILLAC so people know who they’re dealing with. I suggest you do something similar.[/QUOTE]

The requirement for weight distribution has nothing to do with the class of your hitch.

It is required to receive the full factory tow rating of the vehicle. It is also required for safety in stopping as it loads the front wheels of the vehicle making it more stable in braking. Even some 2500 series pickups require it but I have never seen a 1500 that does not.

It’s my personal opinion that anyone hauling a bumper pull, regardless of the tow vehicle, should invest in multipoint sway control. It doesn’t matter how big your truck is, trailer sway is inherent to the design of a trailer pivoting on a fixed point behind the rear drive axle. And it certainly doesnt matter what class of hitch you have. It makes hauling much safer for the cost of a few hundred dollars.

[Tory]

Of course you have to stay within your budget, but I have never heard anyone ever say “my truck is just too darn powerful”! Don’t skimp on a truck to save money. It will cost you way more later down the road.

I purchased a Dodge RAM 2500 4x4 diesel new in 2000. It now has 190,000 miles and hauls just as well today as the day I bought it. I will be retiring it to “farm” truck this next year because I want a new one. Don’t tell DH;)

As far as the trailer goes, goosenecks just haul better in my opinion. They feel like they are part of the truck.

I prefer a straight load just for the feature of being able to unload whichever horse I want to, not which horse is closest to the exit.

[asterix]

Actually, I find the window (not the door) from the horse compartment to the dressing room useful when
A) horse s agitated and I am changing - can talk to him and
B) it’s really hot out. Driving with the front dressing room window open and the pass through window open helps keep them cool…

[SugarRush]

[QUOTE=soloudinhere;8599090]
The requirement for weight distribution has nothing to do with the class of your hitch.

It is required to receive the full factory tow rating of the vehicle. It is also required for safety in stopping as it loads the front wheels of the vehicle making it more stable in braking. Even some 2500 series pickups require it but I have never seen a 1500 that does not.

It’s my personal opinion that anyone hauling a bumper pull, regardless of the tow vehicle, should invest in multipoint sway control. It doesn’t matter how big your truck is, trailer sway is inherent to the design of a trailer pivoting on a fixed point behind the rear drive axle. And it certainly doesnt matter what class of hitch you have. It makes hauling much safer for the cost of a few hundred dollars.[/QUOTE]

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-hitchclasses.aspx

It increases your max tongue weight and max gross towing weight, and improves weight distribution over your truck’s frame just from the receiver alone. It improved my class III (the standard on half tons) from 500tw/5000gtw to something that could actually handle my trailer’s weight without requiring distribution, and from this set up on the highway in hilly country and in the wind I do not have any sway or any problems stopping. I’ve been using this set up for 4 years now with no problems and in a lot of heavy traffic (lots of emergent stops).

Editing to add: I upgraded my tow weight on the receiver but stayed under my truck’s tow capacity and GCWR. Never exceed those under any circumstances, you will have an accident.

[enjoytheride]

I have been told by three different places that I can’t use a WDH on my trailer due to the short and solid tongue, so it isn’t always an option for everyone sadly.

[soloudinhere]

[QUOTE=SugarRush;8599168]
https://www.etrailer.com/faq-hitchclasses.aspx

It increases your max tongue weight and max gross towing weight, and improves weight distribution over your truck’s frame just from the receiver alone. It improved my class III (the standard on half tons) from 500tw/5000gtw to something that could actually handle my trailer’s weight without requiring distribution, and from this set up on the highway in hilly country and in the wind I do not have any sway or any problems stopping. I’ve been using this set up for 4 years now with no problems and in a lot of heavy traffic (lots of emergent stops).

Editing to add: I upgraded my tow weight on the receiver but stayed under my truck’s tow capacity and GCWR. Never exceed those under any circumstances, you will have an accident.[/QUOTE]

You are misreading that.

Your max tongue weight is based on your vehicle’s frame. You can put a class V hitch on a Jeep and still be limited to 720lbs tongue weight because that’s what the vehicle frame can take. You can put a class V hitch on a Honda Civic and still be limited to 120lbs tongue weight. I’ve got 10,000lb draw bars on my hitch, doesn’t mean my truck can move 10,000 pounds.

That is the maximum tongue weight OF THE HITCH itself - has nothing to do with your vehicle. Great that you’re staying under your tow rating, but if you read your manual you will probably find that you need weight distribution and you are actually over your non distributed tow rating if you have a 1500 class pickup that is not one of the 2014-up behemoths. The non distributed tow rating on my 2002 GMC 1500 with the 6L vortec is 5200lbs with the HD tow package. That is a substantial difference than the fully distributed tow rating of 7800lbs.

I don’t specifically know your vehicle so I can’t give you exact numbers, but this is true of basically any light-duty half ton or related vehicle.

[SugarRush]

[QUOTE=soloudinhere;8599255]
You are misreading that.

Your max tongue weight is based on your vehicle’s frame. You can put a class V hitch on a Jeep and still be limited to 720lbs tongue weight because that’s what the vehicle frame can take. You can put a class V hitch on a Honda Civic and still be limited to 120lbs tongue weight. I’ve got 10,000lb draw bars on my hitch, doesn’t mean my truck can move 10,000 pounds.

That is the maximum tongue weight OF THE HITCH itself - has nothing to do with your vehicle. Great that you’re staying under your tow rating, but if you read your manual you will probably find that you need weight distribution and you are actually over your non distributed tow rating if you have a 1500 class pickup that is not one of the 2014-up behemoths. The non distributed tow rating on my 2002 GMC 1500 with the 6L vortec is 5200lbs with the HD tow package. That is a substantial difference than the fully distributed tow rating of 7800lbs.

I don’t specifically know your vehicle so I can’t give you exact numbers, but this is true of basically any light-duty half ton or related vehicle.[/QUOTE]

Just to clarify, are you talking about the hitch receiver (the giant hunk of metal that is screwed to to the frame of the truck) or the hitch (the ball)?

Tongue weight is supposed to be 10-15% of the trailer’s weight for a balanced and safe/appropriate load. Let me do some math (OP this is good math for you to learn, very important numbers) I have my manuals and calculator open:
Trailer: 3000 lbs
Tongue weight: 300-450 lbs
Trailer w/ horses and equipment: 5500 lbs (never exceeds this, usually under 4500)
Tongue weight loaded: 550-825 lbs (usually under 450-675)
My trailer tow capacity: 7500lbs (sales guy conned me on that one, definitely be careful with your truck research, OP! I was sold a tall axle ratio, not ideal for hauling but great on fuel)
Curb weight: 5280
GCWR: 11,500 (it gets uncomfortably close to the limit for me on the rare “fully loaded” short trips, a shorter axle/higher TC would’ve been better in hindsight, my total max weight fully loaded is 10,780)
Class IV TW/WC: 1,000 on tongue and 10,000 total weight carrying

I upgraded my “HD towing package” with a higher class receiver (giant bars under frame), hence more weight carrying capacity than the factory package. Always thought I would upgrade to a better tranny cooler too but I never needed to. And even with the upgrades (better trailer brake controller and better receiver) I am staying well below the factory tow ratings. Also forgot to mention my hitch/ball is rated at 7500lbs. So my Tow package is better than the factory, it has been inspected and approved by a CDL driver (as I said in my OP my brother is one) and the trailer dealership, and so far, so good.

Hope this was informative to someone, those numbers can be tricky for beginners to figure out

[alw-sea]

So sorry I didn’t respond sooner - thank you for that! I was just looking back to this thread to get these numbers and realized I hadn’t properly thanked you.

I ended up with a 2004 xl trail-et BP straight load. low miles, in great shape and didn’t break the bank. I love it! Now tackling the truck part of this project, so will be using your advice. Thanks again!