Spinoff - Can an F150 pull a trailer?

[huntergirl007]

The other thread got me thinking…

Can an F150 pull a horse trailer?! The trailer I’m using is a 2 horse…not sure what its called as it is not mine. But I am getting ready to move my boy and possibly trailer to lessons every week or so. I have access to trailer whenever, and access to F150 VERY easily. Or I have access to Dodge 3500 dually heavy duty super cab blah blah blah…its big! :lol: I don’t speak “truck”.

Also, I am getting my first truck when I get my liscence in July! I’m looking for something like an F150 and even though it is not MANDATORY, I would like to learn to trailer my own horses. Are these trucks okay?

Anyone ever heard of the “Rumble Bee”? Are they any better?

THANK YOU!

[Pirateer]

What is the engine on the F-150?

I wouldn’t tow with anything smaller than an F250.
That said, my teeny V6 Explorer has a hitch rated to pull about 4000lbs but ain’t no way I’d tow a trailer with it.

I see lots of people towing with F150s and they are fine, but again depends on hitch and engine also.

[enjoytheride]

Many 150s have v8s or v6s made for towing. It would depend on the setup on the truck and the size of the trailer. A smaller trailer perhaps without a dressing room or made of lighter material would work

[huntergirl007]

My apologies! This should have been in the Off Course forum - guess I thought that’s where I was! We’ll see what the H/J people have to say

Not sure what the engine is but the trailer is smaller…just a stock with no dressing room. I would THINK it is made of lighter material but I do not speak “trailer” either.

[SaturdayNightLive]

I wouldn’t do it if I were you. I had an F150 for a bit and I tried to pull my trailer (empty) with it exactly once.

I really don’t think an F150 is enough truck to stop a fully loaded horse trailer with any kind of ease.

[Come_Shine]

lol! Check out the Toyota Tundra thread in oc. It has lots of info on truck ‘language’. Good luck!

[eqrider1234]

Yes it can, depending on the engine it could do some wear and tear and have problems sooner than others. Almost anything can pull a trailer, ill never foget two years ago at hits ocala a mom and daughter pulled in with their two horse and a dressing room trailer being pulled by a ACURA of all things! I love acuras, i have one, but i would never pull a trailer with one :lol:

[grandprixjump]

[QUOTE=huntergirl007;4086957]
Anyone ever heard of the “Rumble Bee”? Are they any better?

THANK YOU![/QUOTE]

If the “Rumble Bee” is what I think it is, a sport tuned pickup, I would steer clear of it for towing. It is designed for speed, maneuverability, and looks, NOT FOR REAL WORK…

[Jaegermonster]

[QUOTE=eqrider1234;4087027]
Almost anything CAN pull a trailer, [/QUOTE]

(emphasis mine)
but the 6million$? is should it?
As someone else said, I wouldn’t pull anything with anything less than an F250 or 2500.
It’s not the pulling, it’s the stopping. and as Eqrider says, an F150 will show the wear and tear a lot sooner on the mechanical parts than a truck that is meant to be pulling.

[camohn]

[QUOTE=huntergirl007;4086957]
The other thread got me thinking…

Can an F150 pull a horse trailer?! The trailer I’m using is a 2 horse…not sure what its called as it is not mine. But I am getting ready to move my boy and possibly trailer to lessons every week or so. I have access to trailer whenever, and access to F150 VERY easily. Or I have access to Dodge 3500 dually heavy duty super cab blah blah blah…its big! :lol: I don’t speak “truck”.

Also, I am getting my first truck when I get my liscence in July! I’m looking for something like an F150 and even though it is not MANDATORY, I would like to learn to trailer my own horses. Are these trucks okay?

Anyone ever heard of the “Rumble Bee”? Are they any better?

THANK YOU![/QUOTE]
My first truck and trailer : I had a 1/4 ton with the V8 and a steel 2 horse. The power was fine but definitely got anti sway bars installed pronto or else the trailer started to walk the truck at around 55 to 60 MPH…not a fun thing…if I did it again I would want a lighter (aluminum) trailer. It also depends on how far and fast you will be going. If you are doing local shows and not much highway miles then you would be fine.

[Sparky_Boy]

An F150 with an 8’ bed or 4-door F150 with a V8 can safely pull a 2 horse non-dressing room trailer. Make sure the truck has a brake controller and you’ll be fine for local hauling.

I pulled this set-up for several years and never had a problem.

[dghunter]

We have an F150 that’s used to haul our trailer without any problems. We have a two horse gooseneck with a dressing room. It has no problems hauling our two horses (one is about 1200lbs and the other is about 1000lbs) together. I believe we did get some extras put in to make it more capable of hauling a trailer but am not positive. We’ve had it for four years and used it weekly to haul an hour to lessons and back and haven’t had one problem

[Equibrit]

Are you demented. Of course it can.

[Serah]

This thread literally made me laugh out loud… I have an F150 and I pull an oversized 2 horse bumper bull Merhow with a dressing room with trunks, tack and two BIG horses on it ALL THE TIME… I have no trouble stopping at all and honestly haven’t yet felt my truck struggle at all… That being said, I also have an F350 super duty that pulls a custom made 4star 5 horse gooseneck with an extra large dressing room… with that fully loaded, I can feel that truck sweat a little bit going uphill thru the smokey mountains, but thats about it…

Of course it can pull a horse trailer…

[appdream]

We haul a two horse gooseneck with a dressing room with our F150 with the Tritan 8. The only place it lags is our driveway, 90 degree turn and a steep incline.

We did have an extra leaf put into the rear springs. This means if we hook up a tag-a-long the bumper only drops a inch or two, rather then four or five. It was well worth the few hundred dollars it cost.

[Renae]

Yes, what engine is in the F150?

Does the F150 have a proper hitch? Is the ball the right size and does it have the same kind of wiring end as the trailer?

How much does the trailer weigh loaded and how much is the truck rated to pull?

We had someone buy a horse once and they pulled up with a 1/2 ton Chevy with a lift kit pulling a very small 2 horse bumper pull. The trailer was hooked to the ball on the bumper. Only the rear axle of the trailer was on the ground! We borrowed them a F150 with a proper hitch just so we could feel comfortable that the horse was getting home safe :eek:

[Savoy_8]

I pulled a 3 horse trailer from PA to NC, with 3 TB’s on it. AND HAD NO PROBLEMS!! the F150 pulled great!

[PNWjumper]

I pulled a 3H bumper pull for 5 years with a Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi. I hauled 3 large horses, all associated tack, and 1/4 ton of hay (in the bed of the truck) frequently to horseshows…and several times over mountain passes. I never had any problems with hauling and I never had any problems with stopping. I think the newer made-for-hauling F150s/Dodge 1500s/Chevy 1500s can all haul a lot more than older versions of the same trucks. I seriously loved that Dodge and never felt that I needed a bigger truck for a second while hauling with it.

Once I decided that I wanted to move up to a bigger trailer, though, we picked up a bigger truck…now we can’t afford the bigger trailer :lol:. So for now I haul the same 3H BP trailer with my F-350. I don’t feel a whole lot of a difference with the exception of hauling up big hills where the F350 obviously has a lot more ability to get a heavy trailer up a hill faster.

[Kementari]

I haul with a 17 year-old half-ton Chevy (with a real hitch :eek:). My trailer is small and light (selected specifically to go with the truck - and just as old :lol:), with no dressing room, and my horses aren’t huge, either. It hauls beautifully. Among other things, it hauled my horses from Idaho to New Hampshire - and for those not geographically inclined, there are just a few mountains in the middle, there.

On the other hand, when I had to borrow a trailer for a day, even though it was still within the specs for what the truck could haul, it was heavier than mine and I could definitely feel it. It wasn’t so bad as to be unsafe, but I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to go any heavier.

[Ibex]

For local towing it should be more than enough if it’s set up properly to tow… If you plan on towing greater distances or heavier loads a 3/4 may be in order.

FWIW, the new half tons seem to be rated at 8800lb to tow. Most smaller 2-horse trailers are only rated at 7,000 loaded.