So I managed to exceed my search limit trying to do some research, so I guess I'll just have to ask a bunch of questions. Background; my wife and I are getting more and more into the horse biz and are currently shopping for a trailer and a truck to pull it. I'm leaning towards a 3-horse, slant-load gooseneck. Granted, it has to be a big one since we have draft horses.

OK, so anyways, is a gooseneck the best way to go? Are they really that much more stable than a bumper pull?

As for the truck, if I do decice to go with a gooseneck, should I make sure that the truck has an 8' bed?

Thanks for any advice.

Micah

 

I cannot offer any experience with horse trailer, but I have pulled both bumper pull and 5th wheel trailers, which is very similar to the goose neck and hands down the goose neck will be more stable.
Your horses will thank you.

 

Gooseneck will be more stable for driving especially if the horses move any.
Being your going to have large horses I would go for the 8 ft as this will give you a little more room for hay and whatever fits around hitch.

 

Oh, and get the 8 foot bed, you never know when the extra room will come in handy.
Personally I had an auxiliary fuel tank in mine that enabled me to drive for two days before having to fill up. VERY handy when pulling the big trailer. You could pick and choose which station to go to because when the trailer gets huge like that you have to plan your route.

 

Go with the gooseneck. short or long box is simply a matter of extra room. they will both handle the same.

 

OK, cool guys. Thanks for all the advice. So I will stick with the gooseneck for certain and it sounds like the longer bed is at the very least handy for the extra room. What about turning radius? With the short bed is there more chance of hitting the cab?

 

With a long bed you can turn the truck 90 degrees in relation to the trailer and turn it on it's wheels. Can't get any tighter than that.

 

I raise drafts also and have a big trailer. Without a 8' bed, your trailer nose will kiss the cab. You do not want a short bed for pulling a big wide gooseneck.

 

Actually, whether or not there's enough clearance with a shortbed depends mostly on the shape of the nose of the trailer. I pull a Circle D with a full nose that's slightly tapered toward the front and I can turn 90 degrees with no problem with my shortbed. My gooseneck ball is 2" in front of the axle, btw. There are trailers with extremely tapered noses that work with the 5 1/2' bed on the supercrew. The shorter wheelbase has an advantage in manueverability, the longer wheelbase has an advantage in room and slight advantage in stability. I'd personally prefer a longbed, but finding a used 3/4 ton supercab or crewcab with a longbed is tough (around here anyway).

 

OK, thanks for the advice. I found a 250 v10 with the long bed and I'm thinking it would be a good option.

Another question; how can I determine the axle ratio? I noticed when looking up towing capacity that the axle ratio has a pretty major affect.

 

That will pass everything but a gas station.
If you need to tow heavy, get a 4.xx ratio.

 

You'll like the V10 and if you get 4:30 gears in it, it will haul that trailer like nothing!!

 

Heh, no kidding on the gas. My wife and I will probably have to carpool more.

 

My V10 has the 3.73 and I get along fine pulling up to 10K or so, past that 4.10's or 4.30's are a better choice. But then again, my V10 gets 14 - 15 mpg empty on the highway, depending on how hard I'm driving (I have gotten as much as 17). But mine's a 2 wheel drive supercab shortbed - bigger pickups prob'ly won't get quite that much. If you plan on running bigger tires you'll want the lower gears, too.

Not knocking the diesel's at all - they're great trucks, but you can buy alot of gas for the difference in price in comparable gas and diesel pickups.

Look in the FAQ's at the top of the superduty forum and you'll find which axle ratio corresponds with the code under "axle" on the gvw sticker inside the drivers door.

David

 

It sounds like a short bed is not the choice for the gooseneck where you want a living quarter with your horse trailer. Can't get rid of my 07 350, but do they make a good extender for the hitch?