Station wagon pulling a small horse trailer

[GoForAGallop]

[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;7560045]
Yes, don’t folks put extra brakes onto they system (not sure how, but) I thought there were extra trailer brakes, plus extra brakes on the truck when you did a hitch. I wouldn’t rely just on the regular car brakes when hauling. The other things which really help is a heavy duty transmission which can take the wear (besides the engine) and heavy duty fram/axels which can take the torque. That’s just off the top of mty head and I am not the expert at all, but its what I THOUGHT you were supposed to do to accomodate hauling live load up and down hills and distances.[/QUOTE]

In most states, any trailer over a certain weight need to have brakes. I could be wrong, but horse trailers should be over that weight in almost every single state.

There are not “extra” brakes anywhere, but the truck has brakes, and then the trailer has brakes. The trailer brakes are activated by a signal from the truck (through the brake controller). The truck should not be stopping the trailer, and the trailer should not be stopping the truck. There is an art to adjusting the brake controller correctly.

By “heavy duty transmission” I assume you are thinking of a “transmission cooler”. To upgrade a transmission for towing is about a $4k job. :lol: Most transmissions in any vehicle MEANT for towing (not that can tow, but MEANT for towing) should be adequate, and are helped out by the addition of a transmission cooler. Any legitimate “tow package” (some places will call a “tow package” the addition of a 7-pin plug on the back :lol:) should come with a transmission cooler.

[AmarachAcres]

I have an 03 Passat wagon and blinked more than once when while in Europe I saw the same car (types of) hauling two horse trailers.

It can be done but you would really need to do your home work, get the right wagon, a Brenderup or other fiberglass trailer, and avoid mountains.

[ParadoxFarm]

We pulled one horse (in a two-horse) with a Jeep Cherokee and even THAT was scary. I wouldn’t recommend hauling with anything other than a full-size pickup truck or equivalent. Other vehicles may be rated for it, but personally I would not do it again.

[soloudinhere]

[QUOTE=ParadoxFarm;7560271]
We pulled one horse (in a two-horse) with a Jeep Cherokee and even THAT was scary. I wouldn’t recommend hauling with anything other than a full-size pickup truck or equivalent. Other vehicles may be rated for it, but personally I would not do it again.[/QUOTE]

Why would this be not-scary? That’s a pretty small SUV.

[TrakHack]

I have a Fautras Provan Premium that I pull with a 3.0 litre 6 cylinder AWD SUV (I prefer to call it a “sport wagon”, since I don’t like term SUV) with an auxiliary transmission cooler. 6 cylinders pulls this trailer without a problem.

I had a Brenderup Baron before the Fautras, and I nearly bought a land-yacht 8 cylinder car to pull it - I had 88 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park (which was a wood-walled wagon) in college and I loved it. Gas was also $0.97 a gallon when I had that car, so it would be a bit different now.

I would not pull a North American designed trailer with anything less than an 8 cylinder vehicle designed for the job.

I love my Fautras almost as much as my horses. It cost a lot of money, but not as much as buying, maintaining, insuring, and fueling an additional vehicle for towing would have been.

[Tnavas]

My Toyota Corona station wagon regularly towed a two horse trailer with two horses in it. Went really well.

1800 engine. Manual.

[keepthelegend]

Is your trailer a Brenderup? You probably could do it then without an issue - the list of compatible cars is long and I have pulled one with a RAV4 (usually ponies, but have done two horses as well) very easily.

[fredsaid2]

[QUOTE=keepthelegend;7561268]
Is your trailer a Brenderup? You probably could do it then without an issue - the list of compatible cars is long and I have pulled one with a RAV4 (usually ponies, but have done two horses as well) very easily.[/QUOTE]

Yikes! The RAV4 only has a 1500lb towing capacity, didn’t you max that with the trailer alone? Regardless, glad all arrived safely.

[ellevt]

Brenderup solo only weighs 1300lb and has inertia brakes. No brake box required. The issue is finding one in good condition as they haven’t sold brenderups in the US for some time. Fautras is similar, but for as much as they cost, you could probably buy a decent truck

[soloudinhere]

[QUOTE=ellevt;7562688]
Brenderup solo only weighs 1300lb and has inertia brakes. No brake box required. The issue is finding one in good condition as they haven’t sold brenderups in the US for some time. Fautras is similar, but for as much as they cost, you could probably buy a decent truck[/QUOTE]

Don’t know where you’re shopping, but for the $8500 you would pay for a used brenderup in decent shape, I don’t think anyone is going to find a good truck that needs no work. Work is expensive. Registration is expensive. Gas is expensive.

Often works out to just spend $16k on a new trailer instead of $8k on a truck and $8k on a trailer and having to flush $2000 in work into both before you get on the road.

[CrowneDragon]

@cswoodlandfairy;7560006

I have an expedition that is rated to pull 14,000 lbs as it has a heavy duty towing package on it. I have a two horse trailer that weights about 3,600 lbs empty. Loaded with tack and two horses I can feel my car at time struggle to stop the weight, so I rarely pull extra horses or only short distances.

Your Expedition is not rated to tow 14,000 lbs. I think you are looking at the GCWR. And your car shouldn’t have to stop the weight; the trailer brakes are supposed to do that. You may need to adjust them.

[ellevt]

[QUOTE=soloudinhere;7562737]
Don’t know where you’re shopping, but for the $8500 you would pay for a used brenderup in decent shape, I don’t think anyone is going to find a good truck that needs no work. Work is expensive. Registration is expensive. Gas is expensive.

Often works out to just spend $16k on a new trailer instead of $8k on a truck and $8k on a trailer and having to flush $2000 in work into both before you get on the road.[/QUOTE]

No, I was saying the Fautras trailers are quite expensive. I have not even seen a used one for less than 17k. Around here, decent 2 horse trailers can be bought for $3 - 4k so I personally would choose to get a decent truck and not be “on the bubble” of towing capacity.

Yes, used brenderups can be bought for $8k or less, but it’s my experience (as I have been trying to buy one close by for awhile now) that they get snapped up pretty quick, or they need a significant amount of work. And it is also hard to find parts for them. The last one I tried to buy was sold in less than 48 hours!

[TrakHack]

[QUOTE=ellevt;7568251]
No, I was saying the Fautras trailers are quite expensive. I have not even seen a used one for less than 17k. Around here, decent 2 horse trailers can be bought for $3 - 4k so I personally would choose to get a decent truck and not be “on the bubble” of towing capacity. [/QUOTE]

I paid about 2/3 of that price for my Fautras, which is the smaller Provan Premium with all the bells and whistles. Finding them used is extremely difficult, though.

I could have gotten an old truck (probably not a decent truck, but something that would get the job done) and a steel bumper pull for what I paid for the Fautras, but I would then have two vehicles to register, maintain, insure, fuel, repair (as soloudinhere said, a truck in this price range is likely going to need work!), and store. I trailer maybe 4 days out of each month. For me, a dedicated tow vehicle that is going to need work just didn’t make sense.

Yes, used brenderups can be bought for $8k or less, but it’s my experience (as I have been trying to buy one close by for awhile now) that they get snapped up pretty quick, or they need a significant amount of work. And it is also hard to find parts for them. The last one I tried to buy was sold in less than 48 hours!

I think location plays a huge part in this. I listed my 1995 Baron for $6000 and sold for $5000 after about 45 days of it being listed. I’m in Nebraska, though - I don’t think twice about driving cross-country for horses or trailers, but I know other people do. The drive when I bought my Brenderup was 15 hours each way (and included going over the continental divide), and the Fautras was 9 hours each way. If you want to stay close, perhaps within a 4 hour drive, it really depends on the local market for both what is available and the possible pool of buyers you are competing against. I did buy mine quickly, though - I shopped for one for about 6 months, and I put a deposit down within 30 minutes of getting the Google alert for the Craigslist ad.

[Chaila]

I went to Canada to get a used Boeckmann. About a 7 or 8 hour trip plus the stop at customs.

[bt1]

as others ave said being able to stop the trailer is as important as being able to pull it…refer to basic grade school physics as well as manufacturer rating

[rothmpp]

Back in “The Day” station wagons were totally different creatures than what is classified as a station wagon today. A Ford Edge or a Cadillac SRX is a station wagon. I would never consider hauling with one of those vehicles. But in the 80s my parents took me to tons of shows in a Country Squire Woody station wagon. 2 horse trailers were also usually smaller (tho heavier since they were steel rather than aluminum). Also bear in mind that the manufacturer towing specs do not take into consideration the difference between a live, potentially moving, load and a static boat or camper.

Posters who said it is about more than just towing are right on the money. It is a wheelbase ratio for the vehicle vs. the trailer. It is the ability to stop the trailer, loaded. I think we often under-estimate the weight of all the crap we routinely take with us to lessons/shows/etc… You also need to be able to safely handle emergencies/other idiot drivers that are so determined to not be behind a trailer that they pull right out in front of you.

It makes me a little crazy when people want to justify their towing vehicle choices by saying it is “only” local towing. You can get in an accident just as easily right outside the barn as 1000 miles away. What is the anecdotal number? Most accidents happen within 5 miles of your home? Something like that. I also feel like you have a duty to the other drivers on the road to be safely hauling a load.

I don’t think everyone needs a 3500 truck to tow their 2 horse aluminum no dressing room trailer to lessons once a week, but I also don’t think you should be doing it with a Jeep Wrangler (I’ve seen it), or quite frankly even a Outback (though maybe I am picturing the wrong vehicle) as I would think the wheelbase would be awfully short to tow that big a load.