hello.

I was wondering what is the smallest SUV that is safe to pull a trailer in? We need to get a trailer but we do not have a truck.

Thanks.

Suzuki Tracker. You can pull minis

im sorry i guess i should give a little more detail. im sorry.

okay we have i guess what you would consider small SUV's. We have a ford explorer sport and a toyota highlander.

we desparatley need to get on the road. we would only be hauling 1 horse. we thought our ford could pull a 2horse straight load bumper pull, but we were told otherwise. we have a friend who has a 3 horse slant load bumper pull and said we were welcome to use it anytime. im almost positive our little explorer sport could not pull that as i had my doubts about even a 2horse straight. so now we thought that since we would have access to our friends extra trailer whenever we needed it we would just buy a vehical to pull it with and not have to buy a vehicle and a trailer. so i guess my question is would our explorer sport be able to pull the 3 horse? if i was right and it cant could it pull a 2 horse straight load? if your explorer sport has no hopes then what would be a i guess cheaper way to buy a safe towing vehicle?  we dont need a big dually or anything extravagant like that.

thanks i hope this is more clear

From the factory receiver tube size of the Explorer's I've seen ... No you should not use your Explorer to pull a horse trailer.

The Highlander has a maximum trailer tow weight of 5000 pounds .... IF you have all the required tow options.  Do you have the required tow options ??

Safety is NOT extravagant.  If you think a proper horse hauling rig is expensive, wait until you have a wreck.  Then, you'll see what expensive really is.

Several people on this forum haul horses using a small tow vehicle like a Highlander.  Generally, they were experianced tow drivers before attempting the horse trailer thing.  There is a very steep learning curve starting out with a SUV and a horse trailer.

Neither of them are optimal tow vehicles...

If you really are that concerned about expense...sell the horses...

In the long run it is the cheapest solution...

Horses are an expensive hobby and that was BEFORE the RUN-UP in the cost of fuel...

The smallest SUV I would consider for towing would be the larger Expedition/Suburban size of vehicles. Even they can be "light" under certain conditions that include highway avoidance maneuvers. They are similar in capacities to the trucks of which they were derived.

You can tow many things with small vehicles; we have all seen outrageous examples on the road. To tow consistently, safely and comfortably will involve proper equipment. How much value a person's security is equated, will determine how much he is willing to spend, in an effort to assure his well being.

When you, your loved ones and your prized possessions are traveling down the highway at 65 mph and someone pulls out in front of you, at that moment do you want the smallest rig to try to save you from harm?

Gard

Among the rigs here, one is a 2h bumper pull, tall and wide, but not warmblood size, with no dressing room etc, has a saddle compartment under the manger area.  Pretty much a standard 2 axle 2 horse trailer.  I pull it on occasion with a 4WD suburban with a towing package and digital brake control.  Even with one 1000 mule in it, I would hate to pull it with anything smaller than the suburban, and it does trailer well.  Part of what car salesmen do not realize is that the on-paper evaluation of the towing ability of a vehicle is more or less under ideal circumstances with a non-shifting static load.  All of this is of little value to you when circumstances conspire against you, i.e., the road is a bit wet from the rain, the curve in the road is not well balanced and the road surface is rutted a bit from big rig use, the dog runs out in front of you as the person in front stops dead in the road for it and the poookey hits the fan as the trailer tries to take over the little SUV and the horses in the trailer, shifting their weight and thrashing around wind up shifting the center of gravity past the point of no return and the trailer winds up on its side.  That is where salesmen need to be to understand our needs are more than they realize.

Now, that is an imaginary scenario.  I know personally of a trailer with 1 horse winding over on its side on a flat quiet  straight road in the sunshine.... the cause?  Daughter in passenger seat became agitated over a bee that flew in, and the dad made a pretty fair wobble with the steering wheel, and in a split second the trailer was on its side with the show horse in it.  And that was with a 4WD 2500 Suburban (was not us, but sure makes ya think).  My husband was part of the crew that helped in this accident.  The horse did not enjoy it, but survived.

Not trying to rain on the parade, at all, but there are reasons that the experienced folks here are trying to tell you that more rig is necessary for the safety of the horses, and you, and others on the road.  Be careful, and good luck to you.

thank you for everyones replies. so i take it that it would be best and safer to upgrade to a larger vehicle.

so now my next question is what is the safest vehicle to pull a 3 horse slant load bumper pull in? and what are other conisderations when looking for a proper towing vehicle?

okay haha i guess i should not have written that. i mean we dont want to buy a brand new dually diesal type thing. we just need something basic. we will not sell the horse.

no of course i dont want minimal secutirty protecting my family and I. however we just need the basic simple setup yet will still be safe. am i wrong? do you have to have a big truck/dually to haul and be safe?

I hauled with a friend's rig with a two horse straight load and two horses for a while as she didn't like to do the driving. The Suburban handled well with a weight distributing hitch. I think that might be the way for you to go. A 2500 with the proper tow equipment and mind how much you haul should work just fine. Accidents can happen, you just try to minimize the risk.

Good luck!

thank you! so i assume a ford f150?

when you say properly equipped what exactlly are the details there? obviously a trailer hitch but i assume there are different kinds? anything else i would need to know in a search for a truck?

n response to your question, does one need a big truck/dually/etc just to do a small hauling type job.... no, it is not necessary.......that would depend on the size of the trailer and it's load. 

 I suppose we are all just hoping to see a post from you sometime saying how nice it is to feel good about your rig and towing situation, and not have to go through what others have been through with trading several times to get something adequate.  Adequate is, of course, relative to the sizen and type of hauling you do. 

I have the dually, and others have much more tow rig than I...  if I had their magnificent and large trailer, I would also have a medium duty truck to pull it, as they do.  As I understand it now, you have not yet aquired the truck or trailer?  Perhaps you could ride with people who have rigs similiar to what you may end up with, and see how that is, good and bad.

If your plans consistently include using a three horse slant load and one horse, a half ton truck or Suburban would work well. However, if your loads routinely  expanded to included three horses, then a half ton truck would be pressed to and past its limits.

Flyingfarm very well explained that the towing capacity of a vehicle, does not equal real world driving conditions. Pulling three horses would put you into a three quarter ton truck territory.

Before you purchase any vehicle, and there are many that will do the job, you have to decide your future plans. You don't want to purchase a vehicle capable of towing one horse, only to again, have to replace it because you've outgrown its capabilities.

You are considering a large financial expenditure. Before you make any commitments or considerations, you have to decide what your future plans will include. With that knowledge, you will then be able to make an informed decision.

We, the membership of this forum, will give you as many answers as to what vehicle you need, as there are numbers of members. You will have to scrounge though this information, and pick what is relevant. Only you can decide what is the best for your circumstances.

Gard

no we have not bought a truck or trailer yet. we have ridden with different people with different trucks. one person we rode with had a big ford dually with a big gooseneck. another had a dodge truck im guessing the one that is equal to the ford f150 and she pulled a 3horse slant. then another friend with a f250 and a 3horse slant and finally a friend with a 2horse straight load and a tahoe.

and you are right i do not want to have to go andy buy many different trucks as time goes buy.

i guess im just trying to do as much research as possible to find out first what i need to get started.

oh and thanks for answering my question =)

so far yall have been very helpful. now i shall explain my situation.

right now its just one horse. we would just be pulling the one horse to local barrel races. if we got a second horse it would not be for many many years. so yes my plans are consistently pulling just one horse. so with that i gather im pretty sure we need something like a f150.

now that i have that figured out could someone explain what all else is neccisary to start hauling? so truck and trailer...im sure there are more details to conisder though.

thank you all so much :)

yes that was helpful! thank you!

Slowlookin ... As all your friends tow the three horse slant with a truck, you may as well figure on buying a truck if you're going to borrow the 3 horse trailer. 

Don't mistakenly think that a single horse allows you to use a lesser vehicle.  The 3 horse BP trailer is very sensitive to load placement with a single horse.   It is easy to get uncontrollable sway with the horse in the last position (it unweights the hitch) and if you put the horse in the first stall, the hitch weight will squat the tow vehicle.  Even loading the horse in the middle stall may create problems with trailer handling.

i agree with you even though i know very little about all of this haha.! that a truck would be the best.

also i didnt know that the placing of the horse effets the  pull. that is good to know and it does make sense. thank you

haha well i will take any and all advice since we are totally new to the whole trailer thing. haha your welcome

http://www.kingstontrailers.com/html/horsetrailers.html

If you got a smaller 2-horse like from someone like these guys...You could get by with a Tahoe or F150 or such...

You can get into the game for fewer bucks...and when you decide to sell your 2 horse...there is always someone ready to buy it...well there was before the run-up in fuel costs...

The other advantage of a smaller 2 horse...people won't be asking you to haul their horses for them...

haha very true about people wanting a ride...im one of those people right now 

and thanks for the link i will look into that. i think we we were if we could not pull it on our suvs we were going to most likely end up with a tahoe or fordf150 or something like a f150. thanks so much!

This dealer was running an ad on TV..... $16,000.00 off the sticker price on F250's - F450's!!.... For what thats worth!

http://tomsmithfordonline.dealerconnection.com/

^^^ wow! but dont 250's take diesal? i dont want to buy a diesal truck if i dont have to obviously because  of gas

okay i have a big question. if im going to buy a f150 can yall give me the details that it would need to have to tow? i was looking at autotrader that someone linked to and i found tons of f150's in my area but i need yall to tell me all the specifics it should have. thanks

No, F250's aren't all diesel. Nor are they dually's. But they are all heavier built to carry more, and tow more than an F150.

GO to this link and find my reply about F150s... not all are created equal. Crew cabs weigh more and can therefore, tow LESS weight.

http://www.horsetrailerworld.com/forum/thread-view.asp?threadid=9922&posts=12

F250 come in diesel, V8, or V10.

No matter WHAT you tow, if it's a bumper pull, you need a weight distribution hitch on the TRAILER - so you may want to consider that  since you are borrowing the trailer... does it already have one?

Because even though the tow vehicle is rated high enough, your HITCH has to be too. Which is why someone pointed out that your Explorer only has a 1" tube at the back; you'll need a 2" tube...

You need to know how heavy the empty trailer is.

Personally, I would NOT tow a 3H slant BP with anything less than a 3/4 ton with an 8' bed. It's a matter of vehicle length.

I am towing a 3H GOOSENECK with an F150 properly set up... the weight is OVER the rear axle.

That is not exactly accurate.  My Dmax is rated both at the hitch and by GM to tow 1000# tongue weight in WC mode.   I have been to the scales and with my ~900# tongue the front axle on the truck is still a touch heavier than the rear.  A WDH would be a waste of my time/money in this, and similar, situations.

Should the OP end up with a 3/4 ton (other than a GM product) it would be worth mentioning that aftermarket receivers are available with higher WC ratings.........I would go that route before I would lug a WDH around just to "beef up" an OEM receiver.

To the OP; while youre truck shopping I would just go ahead and buy your own 2H BP.  I am one of the aforementioned people (Ive backed a trailer farther than many people have towed one) who have towed successfully with a small suv.  Your Explorer sport MAY be acceptable with a 2H BP but I doubt a 3H would be a good choice.  A 3H BP can be a real PITA in the manners department.......no matter what youre pulling it with.

thanks yall i think i am beginning to understand how different they tow and such. we thought we would just buy a truck so we weould not have to buy a truck AND trailer since our friend doesnt use her 3horse. so now basically yall are saying a 4wd will tow less weight? so does that then mean that for a 3horse a 2wd would be better?

Careful or youll end up with analysis paralysis.  With your friends 3H and your horse youre looking at ~5000 lbs.  Any modern 1/2 ton (F150) will be more than capable, 2wd, 4wd, SC, CC......whatever.  Look for the big V8 and the tow package and youll be fine truck wise.

Here is the Ford tow rating from the past few years.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/rv_trailer_towing/default.asp

chadsalt.. thanks for correcting about the WDH... I was thinking 1/2 ton when I wrote that.  But still, many folks forget about what their hitch is rated for.

What's "WC mode" ? 

As you've discovered there are many variables involved. Including where the horse rides!!

There are a couple of books available that are quite helpful - Cherry Hill "Guide to Horse Trailering" (I think that's the title- something close to that) and Neva & Tom Scheve "Guide to Buying, Maintaining, & Servicing your Horse Trailer"... although they go a little overboard on their preferences on ramps.

You might want to either buy these or see if your library has them. The $20 - $25 is an excellent investment as they both discuss caring for your rig and keeping your horse safe.

No, not all F250s will tow more than an F150. The F250 comes with 3 different engines. The F250 with a 5.4l can have less towing capability than an F150 with the same engine, trans, rear end, which is why I'm using an F150. Tow weights in Fords depend on cab, bed size, tire size, etc. Very Frustrating when shopping used.

When I last shopped for a 1/2 ton (2006 model year), I tried the Dodge - but the bed is a tiny bit shorter (few inches) and it's towing capacity is lower than the Ford 1/2 ton I bought. There were a few other considerations there too.

I need to learn all the GM configurations next.

Weight carrying.

I will assume this second half is directed at the OP.

Not to muddy the waters... but there IS at least ONE brand of trailer that you CAN pull with your current vehicles.
http://www.brenderuprealtrailers.com/

I've owned one, and while it didn't work for ME, it has worked well for many others in the US and around the world.  Not every country in the world is full of pickup trucks.

Also...get a towing insurance that will handle yhour truck trailer and horses if there is a breakdown...

http://www.usrider.org/index2.html

Dang! those are pretty cool! i will have to look into that!

oh thanks thats good to know about too!