i am completely new to the trailering world but am going to have to purchase a trailer to haul my horse to shows, and hopefully NOT have to purchase a different suv or truck. will my vehicle tow a 16 hand horse and light trailer? i have a 2000 isuzu trooper 3.5 liter with a trailer hitch that says wieght distribution 7500 and weight carrying ball amount 5000 lbs. manual says gtw is 5000 lbs max, and gcwr is 9600. any any feedback is appreciated, as to if this is possible, and what kind of trailer would be work (besides the expensive brenderup). i will only be towing one horse and only locally, max 50 miles away now and then for shows. thanks for the help!

Hello ... Welcome to the forum.
So far the best information you have is the GCWR of 9600 pounds. Yes, you can haul a horse trailer.

This is not much weight to work with. You will have to be careful of your next choices.

First understand, what the GCWR is. The GCWR is the max weight of the loaded Trooper and loaded trailer combined. The other numbers are the ratings of the hitch.

You will need to find out what is the loaded weight of the Trooper. Every Trooper will be different depending on the options and stuff you will put in the Trooper. A couple of friends and tack for your horse loaded in the back could make you overloaded.

Pretend that you're going to a show, ask a friend and bring along lunch and tack for a short ride. Drive to a truck stop and ask them to weigh your vehicle with you and the friend. It'll cost under $10

Subtract the loaded weight from the 9600 pounds. That's the max trailer load your Trooper is designed to haul.

thank you. i will do that and get weighed.
can you tell me a bit about trailers and their brakes, and if and what kind would be necessary to haul one horse? ive heard some about electric brakes,then trailer brakes-but have no idea which are suitable for what, and if they are necessary at all for what im planning on hauling. do they all come with some kind of brake and how do they work? also i was hoping that a slant load stock trailer type would work...any comments on that? i do know from the research i have done that aluminum would be lightest, but any more info would be appreciated. thank you again.

quote:

Originally posted by seesoleil:
thank you. i will do that and get weighed.
can you tell me a bit about trailers and their brakes, and if and what kind would be necessary to haul one horse? ive heard some about electric brakes,then trailer brakes-but have no idea which are suitable for what, and if they are necessary at all for what im planning on hauling. do they all come with some kind of brake and how do they work? also i was hoping that a slant load stock trailer type would work...any comments on that? i do know from the research i have done that aluminum would be lightest, but any more info would be appreciated. thank you again.

Trailers weighing more than about 1000 pounds are required to have brakes on the trailer wheels. This requirement will vary depending on your state. I would strongly suggest that any horse trailer have functional brakes.

Most horse trailers have electric brakes. (the Brenderup has a "surge" brake system) To use electric brakes, you must install a "brake controller" in your Trooper. The brake controller is wired to the brake light switch. When the Trooper's brakes are applied, the controller sends the appropriate electrical power to the trailer brakes.

The Trooper is a very light weight tow vehicle in relation to a horse trailer. Bigger and heavier is better for towing. One 16 hand horse is plenty of load for the Trooper.

In two horse sizes, an aluminum trailer is not significantly lighter than a steel trailer.

Your money is better spent on the weight distributing hitch and top shelf brake controller.

A slant load stock trailer is a contradiction. I've always considered a stock trailer to be an open floor. A slant load has individual stalls (at a slant to the direction of travel) So it's either a stock trailer or a slant load, not both. Can you describe the configuration of the trailer you call a slant load stock?

oops see i dont know much! the trailer is was thinking about would be a step up slant load but is pretty open on the sides up top like the stock trailers are. i have seen a few around here. do you have any suggestions? i have only seen 2 horse trailers like this-and in fact the only single horse trailers i have seen look small and i highly doubt my horse would readily enter one. any suggestions? im not opposed to a stock trailer tho-are they lighter? and do they have them for 1 horse?
thanks for the brake and hitch info, that sounds like a smart idea.
i wanted to let you know how much i appreciate this info and your help. thanks for taking the time with me

quote:

Originally posted by seesoleil:
oops see i dont know much! the trailer is was thinking about would be a step up slant load but is pretty open on the sides up top like the stock trailers are. i have seen a few around here. do you have any suggestions? i have only seen 2 horse trailers like this-and in fact the only single horse trailers i have seen look small and i highly doubt my horse would readily enter one. any suggestions? im not opposed to a stock trailer tho-are they lighter? and do they have them for 1 horse?
thanks for the brake and hitch info, that sounds like a smart idea.
i wanted to let you know how much i appreciate this info and your help. thanks for taking the time with me

What you've described is a slant load trailer with stock sides. I believe the stock sides are for air flow AND tax purposes. The "Stock" sides qualifies the trailer as a "Livestock" trailer and is so taxed, deducted, or depreciated.

Consider that a slant load configuration will weigh more than a stock trailer. The slant requires more trailer length for the stalls.

A two horse straight load may have the divider removed to make a single large box stall for a single horse. They seem to load easier into a box or stock area than a narrow stall.

went to the truck stop and my truck weighs 4660 lbs with me and my dog in it. i went to look at a stock trailer today. it is a double axle stock trailer 2005 s&h with brakes. shipping weight is 2640 lbs. it was 16 ft long, which when i saw it i realized is way too long for me. what should i be looking for in terms of hauling 16 hand lightly built horse, sizewise?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: seesoleil,

As you can see, with your truck weight, trailer weight, and about 1000 pounds of horse, you don't have very much weight before you go over the 9600 GCVW. A lot depends on your horse. Some horses will cram themself into a too small trailer and be perfectly happy. Others will fight hoof and tooth from being loaded in a wide open stock trailer.

Don't figure the weight too closely. The trailer hitch will weigh almost a hundred pounds all by itself. Everything counts toward the 9600 pounds.

my horse loads fine into my friends 2 horse straight load. i was thinking that a stock trailer would be lighter-is that correct? or would there not be much difference wieght wise between stock and regular with a manger, etc.? enough to worry about with my suv?

quote:

Originally posted by seesoleil:
my horse loads fine into my friends 2 horse straight load. i was thinking that a stock trailer would be lighter-is that correct? or would there not be much difference wieght wise between stock and regular with a manger, etc.? enough to worry about with my suv?

Sorry... SS ... That's a depends question. Some stock trailers are going to be heavier than a horse trailer (to handle the 3000 pound bull and all his nastiness or crammed full of cattle at 1500 pounds each) So I wouldn't make that generalization about trailers.
The only way to make the choice is to have the facts on each trailer's weight.

Some folk say stock trailers for livestock and horse trailers for horses. I've only ever used a horse trailer (Slant and straight load) with stalls for my horses.

ok! thanks very much! most people ive asked about weight dont know it tho...anywhere specific to tell thim they can look on the trailer?

just bought myself a brenderup solo!! thanks for all of the info to help me decide..