Posted 2009-10-26 10:17 AM (#112410 - in reply to #112408) Subject: RE: Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
Member
Posts: 11
we have a 4 star 14ft lq and a elite 12 1/2 ft LQ
after pulling both i will tell you the four star is much heaver and you need a dually...
the elite could be pulled with a single wheel..
we're selling the elite and have had lots of people look at it BECAUSE it doesn't require a dually...
pulling is easy, its stopping or bad weather that makes the difference..
roy
Posted 2009-10-26 10:19 AM (#112411 - in reply to #112408) Subject: RE: Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
Expert
Posts: 2953 Location: North Carolina
The correct answer is depends on the trailer hitch load. Your truck has a payload of about 4000 pounds as the base model. Subtract from 4000 the weight of any options, the weight of the hitch, the 1/2 cord of firewood, passengers, etc. Then compare the hitch weight of the loaded, tanked, trailer. If it's more, then your truck will be squat like a dog. It'll pull the trailer, the GCWR is about 22,000 pounds.
Posted 2009-10-26 10:44 AM (#112420 - in reply to #112411) Subject: RE: Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
Member
Posts: 33
Just to clarify - the trailers we're looking at are 8- to 10-foot shortwalls, not 20- to 24-foot shortwalls. It's the floor length I'm talking about that's 20 to 24 feet.
Posted 2009-10-26 3:02 PM (#112446 - in reply to #112408) Subject: RE: Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
Veteran
Posts: 229
gaitedwasfated, I have the 2001 long bed version of your truck. I pull both a 17 foot on the deck, 7 foot SW LQ two horse Featherlite, and 24 foot on the deck, 10 foot SW LQ, 3 horse elite, both equally well. However, I have only two horses, and use the stud stall in the Elite as a mudroom. As an earlier poster suggested, get airbags, I wouldn't run my SRW without them. (Some people like the Timbrens instead of the airbags) And, like many of the regular posters say, "no matter what your rig, stopping is the issue". Get a good inertia type brake controller, like a Prodigy, keep your speed down and give yourself good distance between rigs to buy the best margin of comfort that you can.
Do they not both mount to the frame of the truck inside the pickup bed in the same manner? Ever seen a vehicle manufacturer's recommendations on "gooseneck trailering"? Me either. They're all called fifthwheel by the vehicle mfg's. Gooseneck/Fifthwheel.... One in the same when talking about hitch pin weights, wheel base, long bed, short bed, no bed, etc...
Posted 2009-10-26 3:30 PM (#112449 - in reply to #112408) Subject: RE: Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
Member
Posts: 33
There are a lot of people out there who shouldn't be hauling their trailers then I guess.
Anyway, mine is a short bed. It has the heavy duty towing package with brakes installed from the factory.
So what would you guys recommend for the max length on a trailer for the tow vehicle I have then? Or apparently I have to consider both length and weight. Is there a tutorial on this site or somewhere else that tells you how to figure these things out? We're getting in to the realm of ratios and math, which was never my strong suit.
Posted 2009-10-26 4:00 PM (#112451 - in reply to #112449) Subject: RE: Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
Expert
Posts: 3802 Location: Rocky Mount N.C.
Originally written by gaitedwasfated on 2009-10-26 4:30 PM
There are a lot of people out there who shouldn't be hauling their trailers then I guess. Anyway, mine is a short bed. It has the heavy duty towing package with brakes installed from the factory. So what would you guys recommend for the max length on a trailer for the tow vehicle I have then? Or apparently I have to consider both length and weight. Is there a tutorial on this site or somewhere else that tells you how to figure these things out? We're getting in to the realm of ratios and math, which was never my strong suit.
Posted 2009-10-26 4:20 PM (#112452 - in reply to #112451) Subject: RE: Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
Member
Posts: 33
Thanks retento; this is perfect (I have a GMC so this is exactly the info I need). Now I just need to find my calculator (she said, as the sweat beads began to form on her brow).
Posted 2009-10-27 7:23 PM (#112483 - in reply to #112432) Subject: RE: Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
Veteran
Posts: 112 Location: ohio
I am no expert here but only from our experience . We have a 4Star, 3 horse with 14' LQ and we always haul two horses and it is pretty loaded with everything else we need including extra water and firewood. No slide-out. We pull it with a 1997 Dodge Cummins Diesel, 4x4, extended cab, long bed with no problems at all. It has been modified with gages and everything on it is heavy duty. We camp 2 or 3 times a month from March thru Nov. and we have had this combination for 6 years.
Posted 2009-10-30 10:17 AM (#112611 - in reply to #112483) Subject: RE: Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
New User
Posts: 1
Location: Georgia
I'm looking for a new horse trailer.....you haul a 14'shortwall 3 horse, which I'm looking at.....we go to horse shows most of the time but...but still like to hit the horse camps on occasion.....how is it for trail riding and getting into horse camps????
I have a 3/4 ton GM HD 4WD long bed truck. When I looked at the towing capacity for a goose neck there were two different numbers for the Max Trailer/Towing Capacity: 9,800# and 12,300#. Which one should I be looking at?
Posted 2009-11-02 10:29 AM (#112706 - in reply to #112611) Subject: RE: Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
Member
Posts: 14
Location: pa
We have an Adam For Sale on Horsetrailerworld.com, search it by placing Adam in trailer company and just place the state of "pa". Our is a GREAT size..it is a three horse with 14 ft shortwall. We find the living area to be perfect! We are actually selling it to buy a 4 horse for my husband's motorcycle. We love the LQ size......not too large and not too small to step on each other. We pull with a F350- Dually Diesel. We did spend about $350.00 and added airbags to the truck so we can adjust as we please.Take a look at our trailer.......entire trailer interior is custom and solid wood. GORGEOUS. Empty weight is about 9100 pounds.
I have a 3/4 ton GM HD 4WD long bed truck. When I looked at the towing capacity for a goose neck there were two different numbers for the Max Trailer/Towing Capacity: 9,800# and 12,300#. Which one should I be looking at?"<<
Does the difference have something to do with axle ratio? Maybe someone can explain what that is, because I don't know either, and I couldn't find any information about it in my owner's manual.
Posted 2009-11-02 10:31 AM (#112708 - in reply to #112706) Subject: RE: Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
Member
Posts: 14
Location: pa
P.S. Adam trailers are so well built (compare to 4-Star) that we will be buying our Third one!!!! Great company..........solid trailer built with lots of extra's that are standard for Adam to put on trailer but upgrades for other companies.Can you tell we love this trailer!
Posted 2009-11-02 10:39 AM (#112710 - in reply to #112408) Subject: RE: Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
Member
Posts: 14
Location: pa
Usually the axle on a large trailer is 7000 or larger. The placement of the axles impact your turning ratio.The larger the trailer, the larger the turns you will have to take and less ratio.We have had so many diff. length trailers and found this size is very manageable in tight area.......anything larger will impact ratio.With the new trailer we are buying, we are going down to a 12ft shortwall and adding the extra length with a 4th stall. Keeping the size virtually the same.Your single wheel truck should do the job but seeing that it is a 2500 even with heavy towing package, invest in the airbags! You can do it yourself! You can apply them so you blow them up with a compressor at each wheel or you can buy the kit where you have the air pressure controls and the gauge inside your cab of the truck. You will have the piece of mind that there is not too much weight on the tires to squat.
Am I looking at too much trailer for my truck?
