2000 Brenderup TC with a 2003 Land Rover Discovery (V8, 4WD). Brenderup weighs 1700 pounds unloaded.
2015 F150 3.5L twin turbo V6 ecoboost. Loaded with the max tow package and heavy payload package. Two horse steel straight load, no tack.
Weāve hauled 1 in a 2H with both a Nissan Titan and an F150. Definitely doable but we have an older 7.3 L f250 to use now and Iām sure looking forward to more power!
I tow my 2 horse, would have to check on brand, but is aluminium, with a 2009 GMC Sierra with the 5.3L V8. Itās totally fine for short trips or when the weather is cooler, but I struggle to keep the transmission temperature down in hot weather on longer, hilly trips when I have two horses and all their stuff and the hay in the truck.
The 2002 F350 turbo diesel (itās the coveted 7.3L) is a better puller than the 2002 2500HD gas was. The Chevy handled more like a SUV when you werenāt pulling but when you were it knew the trailer was there. The F350 is pretty sure the trailer is just decoration off the super hitch.
That said, the F350 is a work horse and neither of us wants to use it as a daily driver - it doesnāt have independent front suspension, itās REALLY long, itās loud, and you have to get out to lock/unlock the hubs. But it only has 155,000 miles on it and itās been paid for forever and I adore it for hauling hay and horses and doing other farm-y stuff around here. Plus itās black and looks tough. 
Iām beginning to look for a towing vehicle and trailer and would be interested in knowing what would be a reasonable towing capacity with a decent safety margin.
Assuming a get a Hawk 2 horse with dressing room, the trailer itself would be 2500 to 3500 lbs. Iād have two horses in it at around 1200 lb each or lower, then misc gear.
What towing capacity in a truck or SUV would work for that kind of setup with enough extra that it wouldnāt be up against the limit?
Originally a 1996 7.3L F-250 and two horse slant steel with dressing room. Barely knew anything was back there. 20mpg no trailer, about 16 towing. Dodge 1500 gasā¦sadā¦ Dodge 2500 mega cab 5.9L disielā¦nice job, good mpg.
Just got new to us 2014 Dodge 2500 mega cab 6.7L engine and expect good things. Also have F150 but havenāt really towed with it. We had one with an 2.7 ecoboost but hubby wanted more toys on truck so we got a newer one but a 5.0 engine. Itāll be the back up tow vehicle.
Looking forward to using the back up cameras on each to hitch up. The F150 has a back up trailer assist feature but havenāt tried it out yet.
An Expedition (5.4 engine) was a back up vehicle. Had the power but trailer swayed over 55 mph so needed some type of sway bars.
2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. V8 Full tow package etc. Hardly know itād back there when I put it in tow mode. Large steel trailer with no dressing room. Tows great have never felt unsafe. Towed the same and other 2 horse trailers with a 2001 Jeep GC V8 with full tow package. Not just local either.
I have a similar trailer, and about 2500 lb of horses. I tow with a 3/4 ton (2006 Ram 2500 gas 4WD). I wouldnāt be comfortable with a 1/2 ton. (I wouldnāt recommend a Ram either lol!).
What about Rams do you not like?
What does 3/4 ton mean relative to what it can tow?
Does that refer to what you can carry in the truck itself not what it is towing?
F250 with the 6.2L V8 and a WD hitch. Trailer empty is 3600 lbs. With water, equipment and two horses it is about 7000 lbs. The truck is rated at 14,400 towing capacity.
2004 GMC Sierra 2500HD with an 8.1 liter engine and the tow package. I sometimes want to get a newer one thatās not such a gas hog but this truck is such a beast for hauling.
An F250 6.2L V8 towing a fairly large sundowner 2H BP. As towing goes, it would be overkill but it makes me happy, and if I move to a BP with space to store my carriage.
Before this vehicle/trailer, I had an older 2H BP Trail-ET New Yorker which was pretty big for its year (1994) but was a MUCH lighter trailer. I pulled that one all up and down the southeast with one horse and stuffed to the gills with show crap (scooter, feed, tack, tack trunk, etc.).
That one was pulled over the years with an F150 (I6), F150 V8 and mostly an 2000 Eddie Bauer Expedition 5.4 w/a tow package. No sway bars, and I honestly never had an issue with sway, even when semis blew past me on I75. I wouldnāt particularly care for that vehicle towing the new trailer, but I think the old trailer was only 2200lbs and I got along fine for 200,000 miles with no issues.
3/4 ton refers to the size of the truck (F250 and 2500s are 3/4 ton; F150 and 1500s are smaller half-ton pickups).
My Ram has needed a lot of repairs and is not wearing well, considering it only has about 130K miles on it. Itās had an electrical issue for years that no one has been able to diagnose. But I think it was used hard before I bought it.
ETA: The towing capacity will vary by model, even within a class. So a particular Ram 2500 might tow more than a Chevy 2500, for example (and I just made that up Chevy fans!)
Snicklefritz, I towed an xl equispirit 2h bp with dressing room for 15 years with a max configured chevy Silverado 1500hd. 9k tow capacity. Hauled well. Now we have a 2017 f150 with a 12k capacity. You donāt need a 250 - but you do need a properly configured 150. Some will not be sufficient. Each specific truck will have a tow capacity listed in the manual. You want one with the tow package, a lower rear axle ratio, longer wheelbase, etc.
and the best thing about the new truck is the ZOOM feature on the backup cameraā¦you can hitch the truck up in 2 minutes without ever getting out. Itās awesome. The back up assist thing I have never used. The dealer told me it was for people who had no experience driving a trailer - when I said Iād donāt it for 16 years they saidā¦yeah, donāt even try that thing, you donāt need itā¦
