f150 2001 V8 Triton engine. Never pulled a trailer or horses before and trying to get educated. Any suggestions on a horse trailer? Combined horse wt. about 2400#. Can't afford new truck. Any info appreciated.

quote:

Originally posted by fracturedbones:
f150 2001 V8 Triton engine. Never pulled a trailer or horses before and trying to get educated. Any suggestions on a horse trailer? Combined horse wt. about 2400#. Can't afford new truck. Any info appreciated.

Hello fracturedbones.. Welcome to the forum. You're going to have a bunch of fun with horses. Since you already have the truck, get Ford's towing guide for 2001. It will have the max tow weights. You can do a web search for it.

Remember, these are the MAX tow weights. To safely tow the max weights, you have to have all the required equipment. (like a Weight Distributing Hitch)

The next piece of info is the Combined Gross Vehicle Weight Rating or CGVWR. This is the MAX loaded truck and trailer weight that Ford will stand behind. You'll hear stories of fools overloading everything on their truck & trailer. Stay under the ratings. Getting broke down on the side of the road with horses is just the start of a bad day. It'll get worse from there...

Thanks for the info. Have my factory book and will look up tonight. Don't know zip about towing. Truck came with factory tow package, so does that mean I have the wt. distributing hitch I need?

Reading on it, looks like empty trailer wt. will be defining my purchase. You'll have to forgive me ahead of time for the stupid questions to come...I should probably get traier towing lessons while I am at it!(Seriously, if they had them, I'd sign up!) Will get back once I've educated myself on the numbers.

FB -- The only stupid question is the unasked question. Only by the the grace of God and dumb luck am I able to type about trailers. My first horse trailer experiance wasn't pretty.

I may not have been clear. The weight that will define your trailer is the loaded weight. You could haul around an empty 4 horse trailer all day with your truck. BUT, put four large horses and a week-end worth of camping supplies... you'll be over loaded. You have to consider all loads, including what you put in the truck for that CGVWR.

The weight distributing hitch looks like two bars that will project toward the trailer from the truck. They are actually spring bars that will transfer some of the trailer hitch weight to the front wheels of the truck. It is NOT part of the ford factory tow package.

FB and all ... Here's a link to an article on weight distributing hitches. It has pictures, so you'll recognize one if you see it at the trailer dealer.


LINK >> http://www.mrtruck.net/wdh.htm

Thanks in advance for your help. My trailer experience consists of towing a cart on my garden tractor..and problems backing that up. Really starting at point "A" here!

2001 F 150 stats from the book:
4.6L engine
3.55 rear axle ratio
Max GCWR 11,500#
Max Trailer wt. 6900 then gives figure 6600 below that

Original purchase tag on car also said GVWR 6350
I have had to re read the definitions to get it (don't laugh!). My (probably faulty!) interpretation is, for example, if my truck with saddles, passengers etc is 6000#, then would I subtract that from 11,500 to get 5500# that I could tow max? (combined wt of trailer and horses) but to be safe I should be under that wt?

If so, how much do trailers usually weigh? Have no idea what my truck weighs either.

Ideally, would like a 3 horse trailer (live in fire country), and the horse combined wt. for 3 would be around #3000. Is there such a trailer my F 150 would tow? A 2 horse would be fine except if needed to get everyone out at once in case of fire.

So many questions, I'm at a loss. Thanks.

Hi again ... Glad you're looking before leaping into a trailer purchase. you're smart to do the asking first instead of regrets later.

quote:

2001 F 150 stats from the book:
4.6L engine
3.55 rear axle ratio
Max GCWR 11,500#
Max Trailer wt. 6900 then gives figure 6600 below that

My (probably faulty!) interpretation is, for example, if my truck with saddles, passengers etc is 6000#, then would I subtract that from 11,500 to get 5500# that I could tow max? (combined wt of trailer and horses) but to be safe I should be under that wt?

Your example interpretation is correct! I always suggest staying under that max weight because horses can't be secured like a load of lumber. They're top heavy and prone to shifting their weight. (Otherwise called moving) Even worse, one horse can get the other violently moving too!... boards and bricks always get along just fine in a trailer

Trailer weight will depend on size. a simple two horse trailer will be about 2,000 pounds. A 3 horse slant might be 4000 pounds. The aluminum trailers don't seem to save that much in weight. A couple of hundred pounds won't make up for a third horse. You might be best served with stock type trailer. It will weigh less than the 3 horse slant. yet you could put three horses in to evacuate them to safety. You won't want to do that often since you're overloaded with 3 horses. But in an emergency, one needs results.

Hi
I want to thank you for all your advice on trailers and towing. I did buy an aluminum 3 horse for that just-in-case fire and had to get out, though don't plan on hauling 3 horses.

The sales guy did not think I need a wt. distributing hitch...but reading your info I think I do. For an F 150 super crew with a Circle J aluminum (empty wt. approx 2700#), could you give me a suggestion? Confused by all the different ones you list.
Thanks!

FB ... Glad we could help in some way. I can't give any first hand experiance with a brand of WDH (Have a GN trailer) but Mr. Truck seems to like the "Equal-i-zer" brand.