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New User
Posts: 4
Location: Virginia | My car is on its last legs, and I will in all likelihood be replacing it soon. I'm tired of begging rides from friends, or paying to have my horse hauled, so I want my next vehicle to be capable of towing a horse trailer. I have a 15.3 hand horse, and will be looking at a 2 horse bumper pull, nothing too heavy. I am on a limited budget and will be looking for a used truck. This will be my only vehicle, so a giant dually is out of the question! I know that a huge truck for towing and a separate fuel efficient commuting vehicle is the best way to go, but that's not in my budget. So, I need to find the best compromise- the smallest and most fuel efficient vehicle that can tow safely. I prefer to drive an SUV rather than a pickup truck, but I have been advised that all the SUVs that can tow a horse trailer are wicked expensive and a pickup is cheaper. I don't know if this is true. What type of truck and trailer combo do you think is best for me? I don't want to have to pull a Brenderup. I want a vehicle that can tow a normal trailer, but not necessarily a big heavy one with dressing room. How much does your typical 2 horse trailer weigh? My horse weighs about 1150 lbs and I want to be able to haul 2 horses on occasion. I would be towing locally, at most once a week, and rarely more than 100 miles from home. Suggestions? |
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 Expert
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Location: Northern Utah | Most of the 1/2 ton pickup trucks will pull a 2H bumper pull trailer. A Ford F150, Chevy 1500 or Dodge 1500 with the v-8 engines will do great. The new F150 with the ecoboost engines are doing Great. But that may be moe than your budget will stand. The Ford Expedition is the same platform as the F150 pickup. It's a 1/2 ton truck frame, engine and driveline, So that SUV I'm sure would also pull a 2H bumper pull. Same for the Chevy Tahoe. If you live in the flat lands, any of those will do an excellent job for you. But they will be 13-14 mpg fuel mileage for a daily driver and mayb 17 mpg for hiway. Empty 2H bumper pulls will be around 3500 lbs. |
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Expert
Posts: 3853
 
Location: Vermont | Minimum rig for towing...CLASS 8 Road Tractor... Great MPG Numbers as well...
Edited by PaulChristenson 2012-10-29 11:27 PM
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Extreme Veteran
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Location: northeast Texas | Painted Horse is right. At least a half ton truck, and a smaller bumper pull. Just always remember, your towing LIVE weight, that shifts around. Its not like towing a 4 wheeler, golf cart or boat.
And for the record, I have never understood what towing locally, less than XXX miles, or only once a week or XXX a month had to do with towing safely. You can either handle the rig safely, control it and stop it in emergency driving conditions, or you cant. My wreck and my friend's wreck that totaled our rigs was a few miles from home. |
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New User
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Location: Virginia | Of course I want a safe rig, whether I'm towing 10 miles or 1000 miles. My point is that a smaller vehicle that may be safe for towing is probably not going to hold up if I'm towing all up and down the east coast, at least not without a ton of extra maintenance. But it may hold up just fine for occasional short trips. I was thinking in terms of wear and tear on the tow vehicle. If it's not safe, then I would never drive it even for 1 mile. |
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New User
Posts: 4
Location: Virginia | Have been considering Ford Expedition, Chevy Tahoe, Dodge Durango, Toyota Tundra. Any advice about these vehicles? |
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Expert
Posts: 3853
Location: Vermont | Originally written by arary on 2012-10-30 3:12 PM
Have been considering Ford Expedition, Chevy Tahoe, Dodge Durango, Toyota Tundra. Any advice about these vehicles? Any of the mentioned units will work...The Chevy Tahoe if you are towing a bumper pull with a dressing room will need some rear suspension assistance...but other than that the Tahow is good to go...:)
Edited by PaulChristenson 2012-10-30 7:00 PM
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Seeking advice on selecting tow vehicle
