Posted 2021-01-28 7:20 AM (#173453) Subject: New to LQ
New User
Posts: 2
I am new to the forum and new to LQ trailers. My husband and I are nearing retirement and are thinking a LQ trailer and travel might be perfect for us. Right now I am just reading through the forums and trying to learn.
We will be on a budget and thinking a used trailer of a better brand would be a good choice for us. Thoughts on that?
Also, what advice do you wish others would have given you when you purchased your first LQ trailer?
Right now the things we are thinking are important to us are a shower and toilet, fold up tack if it is a rear tack, also walk through from LQ to back, only considering aluminum due to weight. Trailer will be pulled with a 3/4 ton gas pickup. 2-3 horse will work and smaller living quarters will be fine for us. Not wanting a slide.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions/information!
Posted 2021-01-28 9:05 AM (#173454 - in reply to #173453) Subject: RE: New to LQ
Veteran
Posts: 124 Location: Calgary, Canada
Understand the actual load capacity of your 3/4 ton gas pickup truck.
Living quarters trailers are typically fairly heavy on the gooseneck hitch with "about" 25 to 30% of the loaded trailer weight being transferred to the frame and rear wheels of the towing vehicle. The limiting factor when towing a LQ trailer is most often the GVWR rating of your truck.
In my experience, a 3/4 ton truck is likely only capable to safely / legally tow only the smallest of gooseneck LQ trailers without exceeding the ratings of the tow vehicle. The maximum gooseneck towing capacity rating of most pickup trucks does not accurately reflect what LQ trailer you can tow since the rating it is based on typical RV trailers which only see "about" 15% of the total trailer weight on the gooseneck hitch.
My advise: confirm your truck ratings carefully, weight the trailer before you buy it, perform a test pull of the trailer before your buy it and stay within the GVWR rating of your truck.
Keep in mind this is for a LOADED trailer and it is very easy to under-estimate what get loaded into an empty trailer. With our 3H x 13ft LQ trailer loaded to go camping, our belongings including food, clothes, pots & pans, 2 horses, full tack, water tank full, 7 panels, 2 bales of hay, 300 lbs of firewood, and beer in the fridge adds an additional 5200 lbs to the empty trailer weight.
As you might read in other posts on this forum, often pulling with an under-rated truck might not be the problem, but STOPPING certainly is. Be safe!
Here is a post where trailer load ratings have been discussed recently:
Posted 2021-01-28 9:11 AM (#173455 - in reply to #173453) Subject: RE: New to LQ
Veteran
Posts: 124 Location: Calgary, Canada
Also, what advice do you wish others would have given you when you purchased your first LQ trailer?
Advice: Some (many) people do not properly clean the aluminum floors of their horse trailers. Before buying any used trailer, remove the shavings and the mats and do a careful inspection of the horse trailer floor. If it is well maintain it should look new ... if not, you will see white corrosion products and possibly even holes. You would be surprised with the number of people who think that aluminum floors are "maintenance free" ... there is no such thing!
Posted 2021-01-30 10:51 AM (#173456 - in reply to #173453) Subject: RE: New to LQ
Member
Posts: 13
Location: Baker, FL
There are lots of personal preferences, with or without slide, 7' or 8' wide, etc. but the best advice I can give is ALWAYS get an extra stall with a stud wall. If you have two horses, get a 3H so you can use the extra stall for storage. We call ours the mudroom. Unless you have a hay pod, you'll be hauling hay in there along with folding chairs, coolers, hoses, extension cords, etc.
One thing I wish ours had is a second sink. Ours only has the kitchen sink (no bathroom sink), which means I can't wash my hands if someone is cooking.
New to LQ
