pulling gooseneck horse trailer
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Joined: Jul 2003
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pulling gooseneck horse trailer
Have been reading questions and responsesand justam still no sure about towing. I am purchasing a 3horse, all aluminum gooseneck, 5200 lbs. I have a 97 F150 5.4L with 3.55 axle. my gvwr is 6250, also I will only be hauling one horse. My question, can I tow this trailer comfortably in local area, and is there anything I need to do with regard to suspension or transmission.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 7,298
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From: Southern California
pulling gooseneck horse trailer
Welcome to FTE! 
With the weight of one horse, a bale of hay, some tack and yourself, that trailer will put your truck right near the maximum on both the trailer weight and GVWR. Assuming your truck has an automatic transmission and is rated to tow a 7000# trailer.
First I would recommend checking your owner's manual to see what your truck is rated to tow for whatever transmission and cab/wheelbase configuration it has. Also, check what the GCWR is for your truck.
5200 trailer
1200 horse
_200 tack and feed
6600 gross trailer weight
The hitch weight on a gooseneck can be up to 25% (or less) of the gross trailer weight. So 25% of 6600 would be 1650# hitch weight on the truck.
4500 (wild guess what your truck weighs)
1650 hitch weight
__40 medium size dog
6190 gross truck weight
(plus you)
Now the hitch weight may be lighter on the trailer or your truck could weigh more, but as you can see, either way it's pretty close to maximum.
Unless you plan on upgrading to a bigger truck right away, I would suggest you consider a two horse, side by side trailer. They weigh around 2000# empty. You can still haul a second horse and it will be a much more pleasant towing experience. The only drawback will be no tack room, which my guess is, why you are considering the 3-horse gooseneck.
Scott
With the weight of one horse, a bale of hay, some tack and yourself, that trailer will put your truck right near the maximum on both the trailer weight and GVWR. Assuming your truck has an automatic transmission and is rated to tow a 7000# trailer.
First I would recommend checking your owner's manual to see what your truck is rated to tow for whatever transmission and cab/wheelbase configuration it has. Also, check what the GCWR is for your truck.
5200 trailer
1200 horse
_200 tack and feed
6600 gross trailer weight
The hitch weight on a gooseneck can be up to 25% (or less) of the gross trailer weight. So 25% of 6600 would be 1650# hitch weight on the truck.
4500 (wild guess what your truck weighs)
1650 hitch weight
__40 medium size dog
6190 gross truck weight
(plus you)
Now the hitch weight may be lighter on the trailer or your truck could weigh more, but as you can see, either way it's pretty close to maximum.
Unless you plan on upgrading to a bigger truck right away, I would suggest you consider a two horse, side by side trailer. They weigh around 2000# empty. You can still haul a second horse and it will be a much more pleasant towing experience. The only drawback will be no tack room, which my guess is, why you are considering the 3-horse gooseneck.
Scott
Last edited by horsepuller; Jul 21, 2003 at 01:04 PM.
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,297
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From: Billings MT
pulling gooseneck horse trailer
Horsepuller is right on. I would look into a bumper pull, personally with a 1/2 ton truck. The actual weight difference isn't that much, but where you get lucky is the tonque weight, 10%-15% versus 25% or so. That puts you better in terms of the GVWR. My two horse bumper pull weighs 1900 or something like that from the title. You can get a 3 horse slant, a 2 horse/3 stock with tack room, etc that would be easier on your truck than the trailer you mentioned.
If you are really stuck on a gooseneck, you should buy a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck.
If you are really stuck on a gooseneck, you should buy a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck.
