Spinoff - Can an F150 pull a trailer?

[poltroon]

Especially since you do not have your license yet and will be a new driver, I recommend that you find yourself a trailering mentor who can help teach you to drive the truck and trailer and who will help you select an appropriate truck for what you will tow. I was very fortunate to have someone like this who was in the passenger seat the first time I was hauling, and it was very helpful.

An F-150 can pull a two horse, but you need to be paying attention to the weight of the trailer and the specific set up of the truck. Not all F-150s are set up for towing, and among all the pickups, they are very configurable, so the tow rating can vary considerably from truck to truck. A marginal truck is more likely to need expensive and inconvenient repairs.

Finally, the factory hitch on most vehicles is only rated to 5,000 lbs. Make sure you get a weight-distributing hitch which tremendously improves the rig stability and ups your limit to 10,000 lbs. The extra capacity is cheap insurance.

Finally, since you’re talking about a borrowed trailer and possibly a borrowed truck, be aware that the electrical connection to the brake controller isn’t necessarily the same for all trailers.

[bumknees]

These trucks used to haul everything. 2 horse bumper pulls 4 horse goosneck w/ dressing rooms. Course they were built to do this. What is with todays trucks to where you have to ask if a truck can pull this or that?
I have a 78 ( yeah you read that correct) F150 lariat ranger with a 400 engen can haul my house if I wanted it to… I also remember the station wagons hauling 2 horse bumper pulls noone thought a thing of it…

[MintHillFarm]

I have a 2006 F150 and it pulls my Hawk trailer, a 2 horse, with a dressing room fine. I only ship one horse as he is the only one that goes off property.
It is the 5.7 engine. The trailer is aluminum over steel. I also have the hitch set up with the sway bars, so the ride is very good. The newer 150’s are rated to tow much higher then the older ones.

[Everythingbutwings]

While it is good to be planning ahead, I wouldn’t recommend a new driver to try towing anything at all until you’ve had a bit of experience just driving a vehicle in traffic for a while.

Learning to read the traffic around you, judging the rate of speed and amount of room needed to change lanes, maneuvering at highway speeds, etc. Once you can consistently manage that, find someone to give you some practice with a trailer in a nice empty parking lot with some cones to get familiar with the additional length and turning radius of hauling.

And yes, an F150 can tow a two horse with a good weight distribution hitch, brake controller, and towing package. I’ve done it just fine but would never go back now that I’ve been using a heavier duty truck. The difference is noticeable. :yes:

[Evalee_Hunter]

[QUOTE=camohn;4087046]
My first truck and trailer : I had a 1/4 ton with the V8 . . . . [/QUOTE]

Could you fill us in as to EXACTLY what truck you had? I can’t think what a 1/4 ton would be, unless you are talking one of those “mini” trucks we used to see a lot of & I don’t know of any of those that had a V-8 engine.

[Trixie]

I’m inclined to say wait until you’re a more experienced driver. If you haven’t yet gotten your license, you likely shouldn’t be pulling a trailer until you’ve put in some serious hours behind the wheel. I’ve seen enough trailering near-incidents where the saving factor was in the driver’s experience, not the vehicle.

[Evalee_Hunter]

WHEELBASE Take a measuring tape when you look at trucks! Measure from the center of the front wheel to the center of the rear wheel on the same side - this is your wheelbase. Is the wheelbase at least 114" … better yet 120" OR MORE?

The longer your wheelbase the better control you will have during a hard braking or a quick change of lanes during an emergency or when you hit a deep pothole.

The difference between the “old” trucks & the new ones (at least one of the most significant differences) is wheelbase. All trucks used to have an 8’ bed so they had around a 133" wheelbase … which gave you a lot of sideways stability & a lot of resistance to rollover type accidents. Now, a “standard” bed is 6 ft., a long bed is 8 ft. & a “short” bed? I don’t know but it is way too short to give you enough wheelbase to tow a horse trailer.

A 150/1500 will haul one or two horses fine if it

(1) has the wheelbase
and
(2) is set up for it (already been explained).

[Evalee_Hunter]

Personally, I started my daughter driving the horse trailer when she was 13. When we were getting ready for events, she needed to go out & back up the truck & hitch the trailer & then she needed to back the trailer to where we could load it. She needed to check tire pressures & truck oil level & what have you. There’s a WHOLE LOT more to safe trailering than just driving.

Once she had her permit she started driving the trailer on the road with me with her. We did many, many hours that way on all kinds of road in all kinds of weather (she competed often). After a while (a year, maybe) she was on her own.

[Equibrit]

@Evalee Hunter;4087866

WHEELBASE Take a measuring tape when you look at trucks! Measure from the center of the front wheel to the center of the rear wheel on the same side - this is your wheelbase. Is the wheelbase at least 114" … better yet 120" OR MORE?

The longer your wheelbase the better control you will have during a hard braking or a quick change of lanes during an emergency or when you hit a deep pothole.

The difference between the “old” trucks & the new ones (at least one of the most significant differences) is wheelbase. All trucks used to have an 8’ bed so they had around a 133" wheelbase … which gave you a lot of sideways stability & a lot of resistance to rollover type accidents. Now, a “standard” bed is 6 ft., a long bed is 8 ft. & a “short” bed? I don’t know but it is way too short to give you enough wheelbase to tow a horse trailer.

A 150/1500 will haul one or two horses fine if it

(1) has the wheelbase
and
(2) is set up for it (already been explained).

HOGWASH !

[badawg]

Poltroon explained it nicely. I have what many refer to as a “Heavy 1/2 Ton” or an F-150 set up nearly to the specs of a lower end f-250. It is rated to tow 9500 lbs, or more than enough to haul my large 2H BP trailer with dressing room. It is equipped with a weight distributing hitch, larger brakes and Ford’s most powerful V8 engine. This is one beast of and F150, and I love it. That said, my next truck will be a 3/4 ton. I would like a gooseneck trailer, and it’s been tough to find one within my weight limits for my trucks capabilities. As for your skills, definitely have someone start teaching you how to drive with a trailer soon. It’s a whole new set of skills, on top of just driving. That said, I wouldn’t start driving a trailer any distance by yourself until you’ve spent a fair bit of time behind the wheel of a car without a trailer first!

[SonnysMom]

My first truck was a F-150 extended cab with a full sized bed. It towed an all steel 1974 xtra high/xtra wide trailer just fine. The next two trucks I had were K1500’s both extended cab short beds and I have a 2 horse WB sized Trailet w/dressing room. I always had the appropriate box hitch but have never had the weight distributing hitch. The F-150 had 175,000 miles on it and hubby did have to rebuilt the tranny at 150,000 miles.

I prefer the 2500 that I have now but the F-150/1500 was just fine.

It is interesting how attitudes about trailering change over time. One of my fellow boarders told me about when she was a teenager. She got her drivers license and the next weekend was hauling to foxhunting with the trailer and the family station wagon by herself. We are talking about 35 years ago. This would have been an all steel trailer so pretty heavy. Back then many people towed with the family station wagon. With no electric brake boxes etc…

I do prefer towing with a truck and I think an electric brake box that is properly adjusted is essential.

I would also suggest to the OP to take it out empty a few times to get used to it. I also suggest that the OP ride in the empty trailer while somebody else drives it around a parking lot. I think this provides a lot of insight into what the horse feels when you turn, start up and brake. I know riding in a trailer is not legal in most states - hence suggesting in the local mall parking lot.

[wizard]

I have always pulled with a chevrolet silverado (the equivalent of the F150.) It is my main car and the mpg on the 250 would be terrible. I have a 3200lb 4 star gooseneck and have not had trouble. I think you might have trouble with an old steel trailer or two horses going up a mountain.

[DLee]

Back in the day, I had on occasion to pull a two horse trailer with a Datsun pickup more than once. A friend told me it looked like an ant dragging a loaf of bread. :lol: I wouldn’t recommend it!
I did pull a two horse for quite awhile with an F150, but it really didn’t have the power to pull two horses up hills all that well. It could do it, but we were definitely in the slow lane. I love my F350. :yes:

[poltroon]

[QUOTE=bumknees;4087667]
These trucks used to haul everything. 2 horse bumper pulls 4 horse goosneck w/ dressing rooms. Course they were built to do this. What is with todays trucks to where you have to ask if a truck can pull this or that?
I have a 78 ( yeah you read that correct) F150 lariat ranger with a 400 engen can haul my house if I wanted it to… I also remember the station wagons hauling 2 horse bumper pulls noone thought a thing of it…[/QUOTE]

The difference is that the more recent vintages of trucks have been marketed as a more all-purpose vehicle… to be what the infamous Terry of rec.equestrian used to call “shrub-toting yuppiemobiles” . That happened in part because trucks did not have to meet the same safety and efficiency standards as passenger cars, and so Detroit could make a much larger profit on them. To make them more comfortable for everyday driving, they changed the suspension and the design in ways that make them less appropriate for towing, particularly on some versions of the F150.

The older station wagons were built more like trucks of today, with rigid steel frames. They were much heavier and they had larger engines. Today, passenger cars are built with crumple zones - which are intentional weak spots in the unibody frame - that make them much much safer in a crash, but also make them less appropriate for towing, because of the every day stress that adds to the frame of the vehicle.

[poltroon]

As far as whether a young driver should tow at all, I think it depends quite a bit upon the temperament of the person. I remember my friend denting her car the first week she had her license. I probably would have been safe to tow after the first year. Of course, more experience is better.

But, OP, a good way to practice would be to put a glass of water in your cupholder and fill it fairly close to the top. If you’re driving well enough for a horse trailer, the water won’t spill. Soft turns, quiet moves, etc.

[drmgncolor]

I haul a two horse perfectly fine with my 2001 F150 Lariat Edition 5.4 V8 Triton. I had new brakes put on and with the trailer brakes, stopping a full load… even in an emergency… is not a problem in the least. Of course is was built to tow right from the factory complete with transmission cooler. There is a a lot of good information in this thread, but I disagree with the people that say you need a 250 or higher. I wouldn’t tow an American trailer with anything less than a 150 or a Suburban/Tahoe (with tow packages) though.

Pick up this book: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Maintaining-Servicing-Trailer-reference/dp/0876056869/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242145115&sr=8-2

[Trixie]

Most 16 year olds have not been learning to pull a trailer since they were 13, since many parents don’t actually start teaching their children to drive until it’s acceptable under the law for them to do so.

It’s not just the ability of a 16-year old to drive smoothly, it’s the ability to predict and react safely to the movements of other drivers. The place to learn to do that is not with a horse trailer attached.

[Trakehner]

I’ve gotta’ smile…there sure has been “bracket creep” when it comes to towing.

When I was a kid, if we weren’t in the barn 10 horse van, we were in somebody’s station wagon pulling a steel 2-horse trailer…and without an equalizing hitch either.

Later, I towed with a full-sized Ford Bronco with a 5 liter engine and C-6 3-speed automatic transmission. Had a REESE equalizing hitch this time and towed a Featherlite extra-wide/tall trailer usually hauling an 18.2 hand Shire and sometimes with another horse along. I towed all over the eastern half of the country, up and down hills etc. and did great for over 100K miles. I always made sure the brake controller was adjusted very well and it worked great. It worked hard of course, so what, and was fun to drive.

More recently, towed with a half-ton Chevy Avalanche…big and not a lightweight vehicle. Used an Equalizer hitch this time. 5.7 liter engine, automatic transmission and a very fancy truck inside (ugly outside though). I towed a Corn-Pro 16’ steel stock trailer…usually with almost 18 hand Shire and a carriage. Went all over the east coast with this rig too…New Hampshire, Tennessee and everywhere in between. It worked hard on the looooong hills, but again, did wonderful for 100K miles.

Now, 2009 24’ Eby trailer, 2008 Dodge dually diesel…towing is absolutely effortless…the truck couldn’t care less what I have behind it. Love the big trailer and dressing room.

Do I prefer a 1 ton dually for towing? Oh heck yes! No comparison.

Would I tow with a half-ton? Oh heck yes! I use what I have and tow accordingly…maximizing safety with the best types of hitch and brake controllers…the same way I tow with the big truck.

[RedTahoe]

1. What year F-150?
2. How many miles?
3. What body style? Single cab? Extended Cab? Quad Cab?
4. Engine Size?
5. Transmission? Rebuilt? Same? New?
6. What type of material is the trailer constructed from? Steel? Aluminum?
7. Bumper pull or Gooseneck?
8. Slant load or straight load?
9. One horse at a time, or two horses?
10. Horses or ponies? Regular horses or drafts?

^ These are all questions that will help answer your question about the F-150 and trailers.

As I stated in the OC section, we haul with a '97 Chevy Tahoe 4WD 2DR, and it tows like a dream (built to tow). We’ve also towed with an '87 Silverado and an '04 Silverado. The '87 Silverado didn’t work too well, but the '04 (extended cab) did.

[rugbygirl]

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.

Nonsense. A lot of the F150s are specifically built to tow. Where did you come by this “fact” that only 250s or 2500s are tow vehicles? Any vehicle that tows will show a bit more wear and tear than one that doesn’t…it’s harder work for the truck. It is about stopping power, but trucks have TOW RATINGS based on what they can safely tow (and stop). It’s in the owner’s manual. If your loaded horse trailer weighs less than your truck’s towing capacity, you can pull it. End of story.

Now, sometimes trucks are modified after they leave the factory. The addition of heavy-duty springs and suspension, and a transmission upgrade (maybe even an engine upgrade) can bring up the towing capacity considerably. Make sure you know exactly which model truck you have and whether or not there are modified parts. Likewise, if someone modified your truck to be more of a speed machine, it might LOSE towing capacity (like gearing the transmission for less high-end torque but better acceleration and higher top-speed).

I have a Dodge 1500 (Dodge F150, basically) with a heavy-duty rating. It is the extended cab with a standard box, and it pulls my aluminum two-horse (loaded with two DRAFT horses) handily. The loaded trailer is less than the truck’s rated capacity (7500 lbs). We also towed the same trailer with an old full-size Bronco that had upgraded suspension and a major transmission re-work.

In terms of wheelbase, “trucks today” do not necessarily have shorter wheelbases OR narrower wheelbases. Some do, some don’t. The factory takes those into account when providing the tow rating though A shorter wheelbase on the tow vehicle can make for a tougher tow. Because horse trailers are comparatively tall and not very aerodynamic, they can have a tendency to act as a big sail. With a shorter wheelbase, you’ll do more correcting for that than on a longer wheelbased vehicle with a similar towing capacity. Experience here Then again, the shorter wheelbase tends to give a bit better maneuverability overall, and is easier to back up into the hitch. LOL. If you do find that a bumper-pull trailer seems to be pulling your truck a bit (you have to correct a lot with the steering wheel) you can install sway bars, which connect to the trailer and truck.

A “Rumble Bee” is a specific model of F-150 that is aimed at truck racing. It too will have a published towing capacity, but it probably isn’t as high and it definitely won’t perform as well as an F150 that is built for work (heavy duty models).