First Truck and Trailer Purchase, Advice please?

[joiedevie99]

I've been borrowing a large SUV from family to pull a fiberglass trailer with 1 horse in it for a while now. It is a great set-up, but both vehicles need $$ this year in repairs, and it probably adds up to more than they are worth- so I'm planning to start over.

I drive 30 miles per day, plus 100 or so two-three times per month to see my retiree. I trailer back and forth to maybe 10 shows in a good year, plus a few clinics and trail rides. If I buy a new truck, it will have to be my only vehicle- so gas mileage matters- to the extent the trucks really vary.

Now- I know anything will pull the current fiberglass trailer- but I am going to replace it as well. I want an aluminum two-horse with a small dressing room, but would consider aluminum with a steel frame too. Chances are I will have two horses in it at least half of the time.

So... I turn myself over to you... what do I need? I would love the new F150 with the trailer sway control which is rated at 8000 lbs. I believe, but I wonder if that is enough. The trailers I've looked so far at have all been in the 7000 GVWR range. Is that cutting it too close? Should I go up to the 250? Any brands to stay away from, truck or trailer? The only one I know to stay away from is the Sundowner Valuelite's that had powder coated steel frames. Anyone have a trailer like I'm looking at and know its GVWR? Is it worth the 6k extra for the Dodge diesel? I've never pulled a gooseneck because we've always had SUV's- is it worth considering for a 2 horse?

Sorry for the number of questions, any help is appreciated. The truck dealers don't seem to have a clue, and the trailer dealer was only concerned with getting me to buy something immediately.

[grinanride]

Hi joiedevie99,
That 7000 you are seeing on bumper pulls is the weight the trailer can carry including itself / horses / gear - the weight of a hybrid bumper hitch dress will vary depending on the manufacturer but will be in the 3000 lb range +/-. So, the F150 would be perfectly adequate for what you want to do
Risa
HappyTrailsTrailers
BalancedRideTrailers

[clint]

Everyone always has very strong opinions on truck/trailers, and there are some great threads here to search, which I highly recommend. These are a few of my thoughts: I would get a 3/4 ton rather than 1/2 ton. I started my hauling life a couple of decades ago with a 1/2 ton truck and a two horse bumper pull trailer. I would never again haul with a 1/2 ton; power for going uphill and stopping is a very, very good thing. After switching up to a gooseneck, I wouldn't ever do a bumper pull again, even a two horse. Further, a year ago we got a Dodge diesel, as our Ford F250 was very old and utility-like. It worked, but it wasn't very pleasant. I like driving a diesel so much that the next time we get a car, that will be a diesel too. The mileage is better, by quite a bit compared to our gas truck, and the Dodge is a very nice ride. FWIW, we bought used and got a very good price on a Cummins 3/4 ton with 60k miles.

[joiedevie99]

Thanks. Thats really helpful. Is the tow lbs. rating the same if you switch to a gooseneck, or can you typically pull more? I have the info from the Ford dealership and there is only the lbs. you can tow and payload- nothing regarding a gooseneck. I will definitely go over to Dodge and check out the diesel.

Since this may be the only time I can really start from scratch- I want to make good decisions.

[Inuktik]

Hi Joie,

My husband and I just went through this. As we live in the city, and need a vehicle that he could drive to work, as well as make the trips to see our warmblood fella, we also needed one that would fit in the garage and be good on gas. We looked at many trucks, even up to the F-450 as we were also considering purchasing a double slide camper (way too big & not practical). We ended up purchasing a 2009 F-150 platinum with maximum tow package, 5.4 L gas engine (320 hp), went with the 8 ft box and essentially we have the capacity of other makes 3/4 ton truck in the 1/2 ton. The is the first year that the Ford 150's have this capability. Gas mileage has been great. We also went with the supercrew, as we have 2 siberian huskies, and the 4 x 4. Our pulling capacity is 11k lbs and 1150 for tongue weight. We are currently pricing out 2 horse trailers - Jamco and 4 star, which can be pulled by our truck. We would like to go gooseneck, but there is a 8k price difference with Jamco vs bumperpull. We also used car cost quote in deciding our on price offer, as well as did some searching via internet requesting quotes for the vehicle we wanted. Ended up saving close to 10k off the sticker price as we had all the papers and other offers from dealers when we were negotiating. Good luck in your search!!

[Lucassb]

You can get very good deals these days on used trucks... I didn't want to spring for a brand new one (although I *drooled* over some of the fancy new Fords when I was shopping!) so that is what I did, and as long as you get one that is inspected by a good mechanic, you can save a ton of $$$.

I got an F250 super duty diesel with an extended cab & long bed and it has been terrific. It's not my everyday driver, though, and I might have gotten something a bit smaller if I had to do much city driving with it.

I have a 2 horse GN that I absolutely love, and will never go back to a BP again. Actually what I have is called a 2+1 which means there is extra room between my two straight stalls in the back and my dressing room, which allows me to easily carry extra stuff - like trunks, scooter, extra hay, etc. It's a super layout and with the side ramp, it is very convenient to load and to work off of if we are just shipping in somewhere for the day.

[shakeytails]

For occasional hauling, I'd buy a used 3/4 ton truck and a gooseneck trailer, and keep your car for commuting. There are some incredible deals on used trucks out there right now, I wish I had the money to upgrade. I prefer diesel, but ours is a working farm/construction truck so there's times that we need the extra torque. For occasional hauling, gas vs. diesel really doesn't matter much, especially if you have a fuel-efficient car for running around in.

Since I bought the gooseneck trailer, I'll never go back to a bumper pull. Besides having the extra storage room over the gooseneck, they haul like a dream, are easier to hook up, back up, maneuver and seem to be so much more stable on the road when tractor trailers go flying past!

[joiedevie99]

Thanks guys. I did some looking online this morning and there seem to be some well priced slightly used goosenecks floating around- so I'm going to try to borrow one at the barn for a spin around the block this weekend and check it out.

As for keeping the car, I wish it could work. Unfortunately I live in an apartment building and we only have two parking spots. Purchasing a third parking space to keep two vehicles for myself is cost prohibitive. My car is also less than a year old- and far from paid off - so it just doesn't work financially to keep two vehicles even if I buy an older used truck.

I'm going to look into the F-150 platinum. Inuktik - did you find that it came out cheaper for you to turn your F-150 into F-250 capacity, than just going up to the F-250 would have been?

[equineartworks]

Basically I would say get as much truck as you can afford. You will NOT be sorry if you go bigger.

[wildlifer]

I would also go for the 3/4 ton. I started with a half ton for my 2H BP too (well full size old HEAVY SUV) but the trannies will not survive the workload. I recently traded in for a 3/4 ton diesel because I got tired of getting crappy mileage when towing and I am in MAD LOVE and will never trade back even though I usually only haul one horse.

Another thing to keep in mind, although diesel does the job best, all diesels are not created equal. The new Ford 6.4L diesel has absolute crap mileage because of the new mandated emissions system. The 6.0L (03-07) was a problem laden monster. The 7.3L was the best truck Ford ever built, but it takes some hunting to find one under 200K mileage -- but these trucks typically run 300-400K miles if cared for, so don't be shy, a diesel at 100K is just broken in! And you can still find them out there, don't rush.

I would go Chevy and Ford personally -- the Dodge Cummins engine is awesome, but the rest of the truck is cheaply built. I was a dedicated Chevy girl, but the newer Chevys have cut some serious corners on suspension, axles and parts if you are going to work it hard.

Another thing to keep in mind if you decide to go with the F-150 is that if you get the 4x4, it does have the 3/4 ton axles on the rear so that adds to its strength.

ALSO, don't get too hung up on model names: the F250 and F350 are basically the exact same truck except for a few small details and it is sometimes easier to find lower mileage on the diesel F350s (and they do come with single rear wheels, don't have to be a dually).