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Member
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| I've got a 2008 GMC 2500HD diesel, and we've been looking at 4-Star LQ trailers in the 20'-24' range, no slide. Is this too much trailer for my truck? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 406
Location: Minneapolis, MN | You'll be fine. |
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Member
Posts: 11
| we have a 4 star 14ft lq and a elite 12 1/2 ft LQ
after pulling both i will tell you the four star is much heaver and you need a dually...
the elite could be pulled with a single wheel..
we're selling the elite and have had lots of people look at it BECAUSE it doesn't require a dually...
pulling is easy, its stopping or bad weather that makes the difference..
roy |
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Expert
Posts: 2957
 
Location: North Carolina | The correct answer is depends on the trailer hitch load. Your truck has a payload of about 4000 pounds as the base model. Subtract from 4000 the weight of any options, the weight of the hitch, the 1/2 cord of firewood, passengers, etc. Then compare the hitch weight of the loaded, tanked, trailer. If it's more, then your truck will be squat like a dog. It'll pull the trailer, the GCWR is about 22,000 pounds. |
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Veteran
Posts: 197
Location: MT | You should be fine. If anything all you'll need to do is just put some airbags on your truck. But you don't need a dually. |
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Member
Posts: 33
| Just to clarify - the trailers we're looking at are 8- to 10-foot shortwalls, not 20- to 24-foot shortwalls. It's the floor length I'm talking about that's 20 to 24 feet. |
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Member
Posts: 33
| Airbags? Could you tell me more?
I can see I have a lot to learn. |
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Expert
Posts: 3802
Location: Rocky Mount N.C. | Short bed or Long bed? You're probably OK... But what does GM have to say about a 2008 short bed pulling a fifth wheel...?? http://hubpages.com/hub/Should-Shortbed-Trucks-Tow-Fifth-Wheels It's always something...!! |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 447
Location: cedar rapids iowa | |
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Veteran
Posts: 229
| gaitedwasfated, I have the 2001 long bed version of your truck. I pull both a 17 foot on the deck, 7 foot SW LQ two horse Featherlite, and 24 foot on the deck, 10 foot SW LQ, 3 horse elite, both equally well. However, I have only two horses, and use the stud stall in the Elite as a mudroom. As an earlier poster suggested, get airbags, I wouldn't run my SRW without them. (Some people like the Timbrens instead of the airbags) And, like many of the regular posters say, "no matter what your rig, stopping is the issue". Get a good inertia type brake controller, like a Prodigy, keep your speed down and give yourself good distance between rigs to buy the best margin of comfort that you can. |
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Expert
Posts: 3802
Location: Rocky Mount N.C. | Originally written by laurie on 2009-10-26 3:43 PM OK... Do they not both mount to the frame of the truck inside the pickup bed in the same manner? Ever seen a vehicle manufacturer's recommendations on "gooseneck trailering"? Me either. They're all called fifthwheel by the vehicle mfg's. Gooseneck/Fifthwheel.... One in the same when talking about hitch pin weights, wheel base, long bed, short bed, no bed, etc...
Edited by retento 2009-10-26 3:21 PM
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Member
Posts: 33
| There are a lot of people out there who shouldn't be hauling their trailers then I guess.
Anyway, mine is a short bed. It has the heavy duty towing package with brakes installed from the factory.
So what would you guys recommend for the max length on a trailer for the tow vehicle I have then? Or apparently I have to consider both length and weight. Is there a tutorial on this site or somewhere else that tells you how to figure these things out? We're getting in to the realm of ratios and math, which was never my strong suit. |
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Expert
Posts: 3802
Location: Rocky Mount N.C. | Originally written by gaitedwasfated on 2009-10-26 4:30 PM
There are a lot of people out there who shouldn't be hauling their trailers then I guess. Anyway, mine is a short bed. It has the heavy duty towing package with brakes installed from the factory. So what would you guys recommend for the max length on a trailer for the tow vehicle I have then? Or apparently I have to consider both length and weight. Is there a tutorial on this site or somewhere else that tells you how to figure these things out? We're getting in to the realm of ratios and math, which was never my strong suit. Here's a couple pages that may help .... http://www.heartlandowners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10018 Chevy and GMC are identical, couldn't find the Chevrolet page.. Look at the lower left and click on "Spring & Axle Capacities" annd "Towing Capacity" http://www.gmc.com/sierra/2500HD/specsCapabilities.jsp I think what we are call a "short bed" is actually the "standard bed"..... The short bed is only six foot long.
Edited by retento 2009-10-26 4:06 PM
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Member
Posts: 33
| Thanks retento; this is perfect (I have a GMC so this is exactly the info I need). Now I just need to find my calculator (she said, as the sweat beads began to form on her brow). |
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 Veteran
Posts: 112
Location: ohio | I am no expert here but only from our experience . We have a 4Star, 3 horse with 14' LQ and we always haul two horses and it is pretty loaded with everything else we need including extra water and firewood. No slide-out. We pull it with a 1997 Dodge Cummins Diesel, 4x4, extended cab, long bed with no problems at all. It has been modified with gages and everything on it is heavy duty. We camp 2 or 3 times a month from March thru Nov. and we have had this combination for 6 years. |
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New User
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Location: Georgia | I'm looking for a new horse trailer.....you haul a 14'shortwall 3 horse, which I'm looking at.....we go to horse shows most of the time but...but still like to hit the horse camps on occasion.....how is it for trail riding and getting into horse camps???? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1069
Location: MI. | Personally, I wouldn't go any bigger because camping is all we do. We go into alot of different camps/areas and anything bigger could be a problem.
Edited by Gone 2009-11-01 11:16 AM
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Location: Northeast US | I was just looking at the GM site and am confused. Here is the page I'm talking about: http://www.gmc.com/sierra/2500HD/specsCapabilities.jsp I have a 3/4 ton GM HD 4WD long bed truck. When I looked at the towing capacity for a goose neck there were two different numbers for the Max Trailer/Towing Capacity: 9,800# and 12,300#. Which one should I be looking at?
Edited by Barbwire 2009-11-02 10:27 AM
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Member
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Location: pa | We have an Adam For Sale on Horsetrailerworld.com, search it by placing Adam in trailer company and just place the state of "pa". Our is a GREAT size..it is a three horse with 14 ft shortwall. We find the living area to be perfect! We are actually selling it to buy a 4 horse for my husband's motorcycle. We love the LQ size......not too large and not too small to step on each other. We pull with a F350- Dually Diesel. We did spend about $350.00 and added airbags to the truck so we can adjust as we please.Take a look at our trailer.......entire trailer interior is custom and solid wood. GORGEOUS. Empty weight is about 9100 pounds. |
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Member
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QUOTE: >> I was just looking at the GM site and am confused. Here is the page I'm talking about: http://www.gmc.com/sierra/2500HD/specsCapabilities.jsp
I have a 3/4 ton GM HD 4WD long bed truck. When I looked at the towing capacity for a goose neck there were two different numbers for the Max Trailer/Towing Capacity: 9,800# and 12,300#. Which one should I be looking at?"<<
Does the difference have something to do with axle ratio? Maybe someone can explain what that is, because I don't know either, and I couldn't find any information about it in my owner's manual.
Edited by gaitedwasfated 2009-11-02 10:44 AM
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Member
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Location: pa | P.S. Adam trailers are so well built (compare to 4-Star) that we will be buying our Third one!!!! Great company..........solid trailer built with lots of extra's that are standard for Adam to put on trailer but upgrades for other companies.Can you tell we love this trailer! |
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Member
Posts: 33
| Well a 14-ft. shortwall is too big for me, but maybe someone else in this thread is looking for one that size? |
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Member
Posts: 14
Location: pa | Usually the axle on a large trailer is 7000 or larger. The placement of the axles impact your turning ratio.The larger the trailer, the larger the turns you will have to take and less ratio.We have had so many diff. length trailers and found this size is very manageable in tight area.......anything larger will impact ratio.With the new trailer we are buying, we are going down to a 12ft shortwall and adding the extra length with a 4th stall. Keeping the size virtually the same.Your single wheel truck should do the job but seeing that it is a 2500 even with heavy towing package, invest in the airbags! You can do it yourself! You can apply them so you blow them up with a compressor at each wheel or you can buy the kit where you have the air pressure controls and the gauge inside your cab of the truck. You will have the piece of mind that there is not too much weight on the tires to squat. |
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Member
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Location: pa | 14 ft shortwall is a large trailer..........the shorter the trailer the easier to turn and maneuver. |
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Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
