Hi All,

I have a Ponderosa Eclipse (3 horse slant load BH) with electric brakes. Normally there will only be two horses in it at a time. I understand the trailer is about 3500 lbs plus add another 3000 lbs for horses and tack. I'm shopping for a truck to pull it. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
J

Hello J ... Welcome to the forum...

I'm assuming you mean a BP for bumper pull trailer...
I would recommend you getting a true 3/4 ton truck. (gross weight rating of at least 8900 pounds) The tongue weight of such a large trailer will squat a lesser truck. The gear ratio and suspension will be more suited to your use. The downside... (there is always a downside) is fuel use.

Be aware that positioning of two horses in a 3 horse BP is critical. You'll want to try different positions to see how stable the trailer tows. The tongue weight is critical preventing trailer sway.

Hi Hosspuller,

Thanks for the welcome and reply.

If the tongue weight is critical, does it make more sense to put the horses in the back two stalls? Is there an advantage to putting the heavier horse in the far back?

Also, speaking of fuel, I was thinking diesel. Should I be?

Thanks again!
J

J Depending on your trailer... Having the horses in the last too stalls may unload the trailer tongue... the rule of thumb is to have 10% of the trailer weight on the tongue.

As for diesel... If you want the tow power and head turning panache' of a huge, honkin' snort'n clatter bucket go for it... Dollar-wise it depends on your usage. It takes a lot of miles quickly to make the $5000 diesel option pay for itself. The old way of thinking balanced gasoline engine tune-ups against the diesel filters. Modern gasoline engines go 100,000 miles on a set of sparkplugs and with no points or distributer to mess with. A diesel engine has 12 qts of oil, oil filter, fuel filter and higher price of fuel.