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New User
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Location: Santa Rosa, CA | I was hopeing to get a Ford Bronco (not sure of a year yet) to pull my two horse trailer. I've seen horse trailers pulled by Broncos but I've heard recently that Broncos are uncapable of successfully pulling one. Would it be possible and safe to use one? And if you have other suggestions, keep this in mind: This vehicle would be my everyday-use vehicle and I wouldn't be trailing a horse a huge amount of time. I'm 16 (Don't worry, I'd have an experienced person in the vehicle with me while I would be trailering), so I don't want some big Dodge Ram or Ford F-250. Thanks for any help! |
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Expert
Posts: 1989
   
Location: South Central OK | OK, I had a Chevy blazer(full sized, like the Bronco)at 16 and I did pull a two horse trailer ONCE. The front end bounced and the whole rig road walked so bad I nearly hit vehicles as they passed. At 16 you won't be able to handle this rig and I'm saying that with all due respect, knowing as a high school teacher you won't listen because you are 10 feet tall and bullet-proof. As fun as that Bronco will be to drive it will be a nightmare to tow horses. My husband had a Bronco and towed his little Boy Scout trailer with it and had no problems. Totally different situations. Horses move and with that short wheelbase you really will have more than you can handle. Some background, I drove over 75,000 miles before turning 16...experienced in driving anything from sportscars to big six horse slants. This set-up scared me more than driving around on icy roads while kids in stolen cars high on crack pass you doing 70MPH. (I'm sure only adults understand this feeling.) Please reconsider for the safety of yourself, your horse and others on the roads. If anyone has a different experience please share...
Edited by huntseat 2007-01-22 1:53 AM
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Expert
Posts: 1719
Location: PA | I had a friend who owned a fullsized Chevy Blazer and pulled a small 2H with it. He had anti-sway bars on it but it pulled horribly. It would just sway back and forth down the road whenever it was passed by a tractor trailer. I towed with it one time. NEVER AGAIN!! And I had a ton of towing experience. Get a longer, heavier tow vehicle. You won't regret it! |
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Posts: 38
Location: Nebraska | I hauled a 2 horse trailer around for a year with a Bronco & listen to what these people are telling you! At highway, much less interstate, speeds this rig is downright scary! Hit a bridge at the same time a semi passes you and you'll need to pull over & clean out your shorts by the time you get that thing back under control. Buckin, rockin, rollen, swaying beast. Yeah the numbers all say you can do it, but don't. No, you don't need a 250 for a 2 horse, but get an extended cab, or long bed, something with a longer weel base than a bronco. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 736
Location: Western WA | I too pulled a 2 horse, straight load, bumper pull with a 1976 Chevy Blazer when I was in high school. All hauling was in town, the very little highway driving I did, I kept it under 50 mph. No freeway driving whatsoever. Later pulled with a longer wheelbase 3/4 ton conversion van which was a big improvement. Now, I pull gooseneck trailers, and noticed a huge improvement in stability between a shortbox and a longbox F350, both with the full four doors. I agree with everyone who has said a longer wheelbase will give you much more stability. |
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New User
Posts: 3
Location: Santa Rosa, CA | Thanks. And I wouldn't be pulling the vehicle by myself. We just don't have ANY vehicles right now that could manage one. But I talked to my dad last night and we're going to fix up his Ford F-250 Heavy duty that can DEFINITELY pull a trailer. More than likely, he'd be the one physically driving the truck and trailer and I'd be in the passenger seat. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 736
Location: Western WA | That will be a really good choice for pulling a horse trailer. But don't let your Dad hog all the drive time! Make him take you to a Wal-Mart parking lot or some other big parking lot when its not busy so you can practice maneuvering and backing up. You will be glad you learned early! |
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Expert
Posts: 1719
Location: PA | Glad to hear that you'll be using a larger tow vehicle. It really doesn't matter who is doing the driving or how much experience they have. I have over 25 years of towing experience now, long hauls too. Experience helps in a bad situation but it won't protect you from the crazy things that can happen. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 954
Location: Hagerstown, MD | Hi Squire and welcome to the forum. I feel like I'm getting ready to open myself up for a real verbal beating with the comments I'm going to make about Broncos. I've owned 3 full size Broncos from 1980 to the last year Ford them in 1996. I have done a lot of towing with all 3 Broncos and never felt unsafe but that's not to say I wasn't careful and took into account that I was towing with an extremely short wheelbase vehicle. Before I get too far into this post I'd like to say that I've driven several Blazers and was always glad I never owned one. Blazers drove like crap when you are NOT towing anything!!! O.K., got that off my chest. I can't say anything bad about Broncos, especially the full size Broncos. I put 100's of thousand of miles on Broncos and wish I still had the one that I bought new in 1996. Here's an example of the faith I have/had in using a Bronco to tow with. I live on the East coast and drove my 1980 Bronco to an AFB in Ohio to pick a 10,000 pound piece of equipment on a 14,000GVW two axle, bumper hitch trailer with no load levelers or equilizer bars. Needless to say, loading is critical and too much bumper weight is just as bad as not enough bumper weight! The Bronco had air shocks, excellent tires and maximum speed even going down hill was limited to 65mph! To revisit a sore subject, anyone that compares at Bronco to a Blazer doesn't know what they are talking about. The two vehicles may be similar in wheelbase, but that's about it! I wouldn't drive a Blazer if you gave it to me, but I'd buy back my 1996 Bronco in a heartbeat! This is a little off subject, but I have some photos of a Bronco pulling a 2 horse GN trailer with 2 horses in it some where. All full size Broncos have a removable top and the owner installed a "bolt-in" GN hitch after he removed his top. He ordered a snap in partition from J.C. Whitney and turned his Bronco into a really short wheelbase Ford p/up truck. I thought it was a really novel setup and at one point I thought about buying another Bronco just to install the GN hitch. Haven't done it yet, but keep thinking about and this was years ago when I saw the first one. Squire, here's the bottom line. I've seen class A CDL drivers handling semis do some really dumb stuff. I've seen drivers with really marginal equipment going from point A to point B in a safe manner. You figure it out. Happy trails in your Bronco. |
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Expert
Posts: 1989
Location: South Central OK | Deranger, I really don't think that Broncos and Blazers handle any differently. To say that they do, I feel shows gross negligence on your behalf. Think about your audience...
Edited by huntseat 2007-01-23 11:25 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 736
Location: Western WA | Bronco pulling a GN horse trailer..... When you find that picture will you post it? I'd like to see it! |
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New User
Posts: 3
Location: Santa Rosa, CA | I am also curious to see a Bronco pulling a trailer with everything that's been said.
But if you're talking about "your audience" as in me, I'm not going to listen to one person and disregard everyone else's opinion. When everyone else pretty much says DON'T DO IT, I'm going to listen to them because majority rules. But it is nice to hear that if I was in a pinch, it is supposedly possible. Plus my F250 is a lot safer and more reliable so I'm going to stick to it. It was my dad's old work truck and he hauled a 3 axl trailer with an 8000 lb trench digging machine behind it for a long time. All it needs is a new clutch and I'm good to go! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 954
Location: Hagerstown, MD | Originally written by huntseat on 2007-01-23 12:08 AM Deranger, I really don't think that Broncos and Blazers handle any differently. To say that they do, I feel shows gross negligence on your behalf. Think about your audience... huntseat, if you think I'm showing gross negligence on my part by saying that Blazers and Broncos are not the same.......then I think you are showing gross ingnorance on your part. By your statement I completely understand that you've never earned a living as a "flat rate" mechanic. Never owned your own repair business. Never looked under a Blazer or a Bronco to see that they have hugely different suspensions and steering components and the list goes on. By the way, I'm certainly not ignorant of my "audience." |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 954
Location: Hagerstown, MD | Originally written by headhunter on 2007-01-23 12:21 AM Bronco pulling a GN horse trailer..... When you find that picture will you post it? I'd like to see it! I've been out of town for a few days but as I get time, I'll comb through the archieves and see if I can't come up with a photo of the rig parked at a trail ride. |
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Bronco for pulling a trailer
