When I only had an F-150 to tow with I had a steel 2 horse bumper pull.  As others have mentioned, with one horse in it and driving very alertly I had no problems.  When I was ready for a GN I bumped up to an F-250 because I would never consider pulling a GN w/ a F-150 because of the dangers it created for me and others on the road. 

Good luck in your search.

JM,

We pull our 3-horse BP with our Chevy Silverado 1500.  It has the bigger engine and the towing package, but we have had NO problems, not even with long hauls or hills.  We usually have 2 horses in it, but have had 3 for shorter trips.  The weight between the 2 and 3 horse was not much.

This summer when my wife and I were looking to buy a 3H BP trailer we were seriously considering the AV II.  There were two things that stopped us, which may or may not be a concern to you-

The first major issue was the weight.  The empty 3H weighs in a 4050 lbs.  It only has a GVWR of 7000 lbs.  That leaves less than 3K for 3 horses and tack.  Not much of an issue if you don't have big horses, however both ours are well over 1K, mine alone is 1650, with my wifes saddlebred at 1200 we would be overloaded by the time we got saddles & tack in, much less a 3rd horse.  Now granted, our Dodge 1500 was only rated at 7800, but 800lbs makes a lot of difference.  We went with a trailer that had 4500lb heavy duty axles (I believe they can be ordered on the AVII, but not the ones in stock at the dealer we went to).

The other issue was the drop down feed doors- I am 6'3" tall and had to stretch to reach them to get them open.  My wife is 6' tall and could not reach the top of the feed doors.  Not much use if you can't reach them to open them, the trailer needs running boards or a step ladder!  None of the other trailers we looked at had this issue.

It still was a nice trailer and if they had one in stock with 4500lb axles I would probably own it instead of the more expensive Featherlite we bought.  I also would have added some running boards to it as well!

I would encourage you to get the Avalanche.  I don't think you will be disappointed, and if you are, they tend to hold their resale value well. I had a 2003 Avalanche II that was great.  It maintained well, hauled true, and my horse was comfortable hauling in it. (I have a 15.2 1100# rather long-bodied,big butted QH  It also never leaked. Yes, they are a bit heavy at 3250, but, they are DOUBLE WALLED strong, strong, steel.  Other all steel trailers may be lighter, but are they single or double walled? 

The importance of that hit home, (no pun intended,) when my trailer was totalled this past fall. I was sideswiped by a box truck, I W/B, it E/B, both of us travelling approximately 50-55mph.  The left fender and both left wheels were sheared off, frame bent, and I ran off the road over a ditch thru a fence and came to rest in a field, fortunately upright.  The wood floor didn't break or splinter and the box itself stayed whole. My horse fell under the divider and was cast in the trailer.  The outside skin was peeled back but the inside wall was INTACT! He was not hurt. (I did have good shipping boots on him--a MUST!!!) The rivets on the rumber lined interior part were popped out a bit but even as he thrashed to get up, his feet NEVER went through.  What more can you ask for? Would I still have my horse if I'd had an aluminum trailer, or a cheaper, lighter steel one??  Granted, one can't predict an accident, had it been a T-bone however many thicknesses of steel vs. aluminum prob would be irrelevant, but I'm replacing it with another Titan.   Oh, as for the drop-down windows, I'm 5'3 in my horseshoes, ;) and I always had to stand on the fenders to reach them. I found this to be no big deal; the tie ring was nearby to hold onto.  The 2006 I looked at the window handle seemed to be modified in a way that was more awkward to open and the fenders were harder to climb onto and stay on. Very annoying, but not enough to prevent me from purchasing. I'll be getting an '07. Hopefully, Titan has realized that modification wasn't an upgrade and gone back. ;)

Sorry for the length, but I think these trailers are great.

Hi all,

My trailer was a 2H BP Slant load w/ DR, and I used a weight distribution system.  I second that about always using the weight distribution. It is a big, heavy trailer. That's my only worry about getting another one. I feel like it's really big and wide, though I've compared it with other slants and it's no wider.  I'm just a little gunshy- esp. on 2 lane roads with on coming traffic!

I had the 1 piece rear door and although it could be a pain when alone, I actually preferred it over the double rear doors and ordered it that way. If it didn't stay open I would just tie it with one of my spare lead ropes.  Re. the rust, I had some on the rear bumper, and a few other exposed parts of the frame. I do admit I was surprised as I thought the entire trailer was galvaneeled (sp?) steel  and not just the skin. I never had trouble with the divider, neither with it staying closed against my horse, nor shut against the wall. In the accident the bottom of it got bent upwards when he fell under it but it didn't break. I don't remember if it popped open on its own or if I opened it when I got into the trailer.  

A side note on things breaking, food for thought.  I tie when I haul, and  I use breakaway halters. (And I always carry spare halters and leads.) I had my guy in a nylon halter with leather crown.  The tie was nylon with a panic snap attached to the trailer and a bull snap attached to his halter. What broke was the NYLON TIE, right in the middle,  NOT the leather part of the halter, not the buckles, and not the panic or bull snaps.  I don't use bungee ties for fear of it breaking and snapping my horse in the face. I never expected that a nylon tie would break. 

Also, I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that my horse was barefoot on all 4 feet. I don't know if shoes would have made a difference as to his ability to kick thru the walls of the trailer as he was pushing and kicking to get up.  FWIW. 

And he's also not as unattractive as I described him! He's quite handsome actually. And that's not just a proud Mama talking.