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Member
Posts: 7
Location: Stockton, CA | Hi All,I looking to buy a new pickup to pull my 2005 4 star 4 horse NO living quarters trailer. I plan to haul around California and make trips to Reno, Tulsa, Louisville and Scottsdale. Some hills (Reno and going up and down the Grapevine) but mostly flat. I am looking at the new GMC 2500 HD to replace my old one ton. The trailer dealer says no problem! Wondering what this forums thinks of my combination. |
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Veteran
Posts: 233
 
Location: Pataskala, Ohio | A 2500HD should do fine, even the gas engine will pull a 4 horse without LQ. A dually will offer a little more stability in winds and unplanned maneuvers but the 2500 is a very good truck. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2453
Location: Northern Utah | I've been pulling 4h GN for years with my F350 thru the mountains of the west. The GM equvialant should does equally as well. |
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Veteran
Posts: 182
| A 3/4 ton pickup will pull it fine but I have found that if you are hauling 4 horses you are legally over wt for your truck.. If you have a lq trailer then 3 might pushing it on being legal.. I had an '98 titan steel trailer 18 ft long and 7 tall, 7 wide 3 horse slant which had room to comfortably haul a 4th horse with dividers still in because of no rear tack and after figuring the wts, I found that when I was hauling 4 with my f250 extended cab that I was legally over wt. I currently have a 28 ft long by 7 tall by 8 wide Elite with 11 ft lq shell not yet finished and pull it with the same pickup with no problems.. have hauled 4, 5 horses locally in it with no problem but again.. legally over wt for the pickup.. |
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Veteran
Posts: 182
| The Elite is aluminum.. and just wanted to say truck has a 450 gas engine in it.. hauled 3 horses out to Medora nd last summer.. pickup did fine until we got to the hills over by dickenson to medora.. didn't quite have a the power to keep up with speed up the hill.. started with 80 and by the time got to the top was going 40. Had to go 80 to get up the hill.. alot of the hauling I do is mostly flat... |
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Member
Posts: 15
| I pull a 4 horse with a 6ft. short wall with a 2002 Chevy 2500HD Duramax. It pulls great with no problems. The only issue I had was the trailer really made the back squat, so I installed a set of Timbren springs. Now everything is great. I also had beefed up break pads and rotors installed. |
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Member
Posts: 7
Location: Stockton, CA | My trailer 4 Star 4 horse has a 4 ft short wall with no living quarters. The trailer dealer said that I may need to air bags and compressor to automate inflation and deflation of the bags. I asked him about adding springs and he said that my ride would be stiff 100% of the time. Whereas with the bags they can be inflated when hooked up to the trailer. I have a question about bigger brakes and rotors. Where do you find out about putting larger brakes on a new truck 2500 HD? That is a big concern I have with stopping a loaded trailer. I truly appreciate everyone discussion on this! |
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Veteran
Posts: 264
Location: Sumas Washington | You really have to figure how often you are going to tow in the mountains. Is it worth trading to a diesel to pull faster in the hills? Is the slow pace a embarrassment or a safety issue? If your current truck feels safe as far as stopping and handling you may consider updating to a more powerful version of what you already have. I am a big fan of 1 ton Diesel dually trucks, typically they have larger brakes, springs and more tire on the road. This makes a huge difference as far as safety and handling. If you are going to use your truck as a dual purpose vehicle, that is maybe a daily driver not just a tow rig, then the dually may be uncomfortable in town parking situations. The Chevy Duramax, Dodge Cummins and Ford powerstroke are all fine tow rigs, If you stop at a knowledgeable dealer (hard to find) the truck sales specialist should be able to take your load weight and trailer size and fit a truck that will suit you really well. Try not to let them sell you a truck just because it is on the lot. Be willing to wait for the one that will last you through lots of happy towing miles. UNDERBUYING IS TO BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS!! That will wind up costing you much more in the long run. IMHO
Edited by gonzo1066 2011-03-27 12:41 PM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 430
Location: TN | I pulled a 4 horse 1997 Hart trailer with a 2 ft short wall with a 1997 Dodge Ram 2500 regular cab 4 X 4 with a 360 engine. I had no problems with the truck squatting and it pulled just fine even when loaded with 4 horses. I traded the truck with 60K miles on it and never had to do any work to the brakes. The only issue I had was fuel mileage- 5-7 miles per gallon if fully loaded! That made the decision to move up to a 1 ton diesel. I would agree with the previous post though about underbuying- avoid it if at all possible! |
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Veteran
Posts: 182
| The sales person may say that the pickup could handle it to make the sale.. keep note that if you are gonna be hauling 4 horses then you are gonna be legally overwt with a 3/4 ton pickup.. may not be a bad thing if you are hauling locally but if you are hauling a ways and get stopped, might get nailed for being over wt on the pick up's payload capacity with 4 horses.. |
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Expert
Posts: 1416
Location: sc | Originally written by nd deb on 2011-03-27 3:12 PM
The sales person may say that the pickup could handle it to make the sale.. keep note that if you are gonna be hauling 4 horses then you are gonna be legally overwt with a 3/4 ton pickup.. may not be a bad thing if you are hauling locally but if you are hauling a ways and get stopped, might get nailed for being over wt on the pick up's payload capacity with 4 horses.. Where exactly do you live that the pickup's 'payload' can be legally enforced? Vehicle manufacturers payload limits are not legal limits, generally speaking. My Dmax is legally registered for 25,000lbs, technically as long as I've got the axles/tires to hold it up there is no problem. Pretty much every state in lower 48 is the same way. |
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Expert
Posts: 1416
Location: sc | Originally written by chadsalt on 2011-03-27 3:58 PM Originally written by nd deb on 2011-03-27 3:12 PM
The sales person may say that the pickup could handle it to make the sale.. keep note that if you are gonna be hauling 4 horses then you are gonna be legally overwt with a 3/4 ton pickup.. may not be a bad thing if you are hauling locally but if you are hauling a ways and get stopped, might get nailed for being over wt on the pick up's payload capacity with 4 horses.. Where exactly do you live that the pickup's 'payload' can be legally enforced? Vehicle manufacturers payload limits are not legal limits, generally speaking. My Dmax is legally registered for 25,000lbs, technically as long as I've got the axles/tires to hold it up there is no problem. Pretty much every state in lower 48 is the same way. As for "hauling a ways", the driver license is of more importance. If the truck is registered for the weight and you're just passing through there is little they can do about it. If the driver's license is not 'enough' then you could find yourself waiting on the side of the road for a more qualified driver. |
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Expert
Posts: 3853
Location: Vermont | Originally written by 1fantom1 on 2011-03-27 11:38 AM
My trailer 4 Star 4 horse has a 4 ft short wall with no living quarters. The trailer dealer said that I may need to air bags and compressor to automate inflation and deflation of the bags. I asked him about adding springs and he said that my ride would be stiff 100% of the time. Whereas with the bags they can be inflated when hooked up to the trailer. I have a question about bigger brakes and rotors. Where do you find out about putting larger brakes on a new truck 2500 HD? That is a big concern I have with stopping a loaded trailer. I truly appreciate everyone discussion on this!
Brakes alone will NOT stop you in the mountains...especially on long downhill runs |
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Member
Posts: 7
Location: Stockton, CA | My wife wants to buy the new GMC 2500 HD Diesel Denali to pull our trailer. We would use it as a daily ranch truck and to pull the 4 horse trailer. The trailer salesman is the one who said " your will have no problem hooking to your 4 horse trailer and going where ever you want". He is also the one who said they may need to add air bags to smooth out the ride when hooked to the trailer. No new car dealer around here has anyone that could consult about what there truck can do except what it says in the brochure. |
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Truck Size for a 4 horse gooseneck
