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OT: How much vehicle do I need???

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
Hey folks,
I haven't been around for a little while. Got a new job that doesn't give me so much surf time. Anyway, I've got a 91 ford F250 4x4 that I'mselling because it's just more than I need for what I do and is costing me more money than the convenience it provides is worth. I had a guy ask about it the other day because his newer F150 2x4 wouldn't pull a horse trailer. I've got a VW passat station wagon that pulls 2 horses just fine. I'm wondering, if my car does better than an F150,what do I need to look for in an SUV or pickup of a new/newer model. My trailer w/ 2 horses would weigh around 2.6 ton at the most. What do you folks use?
I'm in Germany and they just started selling Chevrolets (something like a blazer), there are Ford escapes, and some small breed pickups to choose from. I'm considering keeping my F250, but it's expensive w/ $10 a gallon gas. What do you think?

Dave
 
I am not trying to be smart. At 10 bucks a gallon i would ride the horses. Don't think a Blazer will pull much either. My sister has a Blazer and its a gas pig it uses gas at about the same rate as my 2500 4x4 truck.
 
Dave,
The thought of pulling 2.6 tons with an auto scares me to
death. The weight could be pulled with a 1500 lb tractor, but
can you stop at hiway speed, can you control it with a blow out
or emergency manuever/stop ???
 
I can't imagine a F-150 not being able to pull that load, even with a 6 cyl engine and it would have the weight to handle the load. You need to look at the specs on SUV's if they are rated for over 5000lbs. I am sure your VW is not rated for that load. I can imagine the weight on the hitch of your VW would just about put on the ground.
 
that probly isn't a good idea to be pulling that much weight with a little SUV. i would go with a 1/2 ton truck at least. yeah the milage ain't there but the safety is..can't put a price on your life or other people's lives.
go with the truck if i was you
DF in WI
 

A 6 cyl 250 Hp Honda Ridgeline will pull it and get 20 mpg without it. AWD and 4 wheel independent suspension makes for a comfortable ride to boot.
 
(quoted from post at 09:05:36 07/22/08) Dave,
The thought of pulling 2.6 tons with an auto scares me to
death. The weight could be pulled with a 1500 lb tractor, but
can you stop at hiway speed, can you control it with a blow out
or emergency manuever/stop ???
Click to expand...

My car is rated for 2 ton and the trailer is max 2 ton and has brakes. You can only drive 48 mph here with a trailer. I asked for 2.6 ton just for a little leway. There's about 100 pounds of tongue weight.

Dave
 
The rule of thumb is 10% of the total weight or more on the hitch (400 lbs) or you have unstability problems on the road. You have to give us specs on your car, an American Passat would be rated to pull about 2000 lbs. And could not have 400lbs on the hitch.
 
Dave,

What sort of trailer do you have? I believe most of the trailers in Europe differ quite a bit from what we use in the states- with only 100lbs of tongue weight, it probably has four wheels, more of what we would call a wagon. Horse trailers like this used to be popular in the states until the early 1980's when they were pretty much abandoned.
Can you post pics.
 
(quoted from post at 12:11:16 07/22/08) Dave,

What sort of trailer do you have? I believe most of the trailers in Europe differ quite a bit from what we use in the states- with only 100lbs of tongue weight, it probably has four wheels, more of what we would call a wagon. Horse trailers like this used to be popular in the states until the early 1980's when they were pretty much abandoned.
Can you post pics.
Click to expand...

Looks about like this (mine is a little uglier). I meant 100 kg tongue weight.

Dave
 
I have seen those before, usually in a pasture somewhere. They have an axle in the back and one in the front. I also believe the front axle might have tie-rods and it steers by the tounge. Probably hard to back up...

I would like to see a picture of your horse trailer and/or the car and trailer combo. I give it to European residents, they have more efficent means of transportation than here in the US. At the cost of $10 US/gallon, I would put a gooseneck or 5th wheel on the VW and pull my 24' trailer!

Good luck
Charles
 
(quoted from post at 12:30:51 07/22/08) I have seen those before, usually in a pasture somewhere. They have an axle in the back and one in the front. I also believe the front axle might have tie-rods and it steers by the tounge. Probably hard to back up...

I would like to see a picture of your horse trailer and/or the car and trailer combo. I give it to European residents, they have more efficent means of transportation than here in the US. At the cost of $10 US/gallon, I would put a gooseneck or 5th wheel on the VW and pull my 24' trailer!

Good luck
Charles
Click to expand...


Forgot the link to a trailer
http://cgi.ebay.de/Pferdeanhaenger-Westfalia-Vollpoly_W0QQitemZ280248078534QQihZ018QQcategoryZ28576QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

and here's a car like mine
http://cgi.ebay.de/VW-Passat-35i-Kombi-TUV-NEU_W0QQitemZ190238794399QQihZ009QQcategoryZ9873QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

We had a land rover discovery rented once that you couldn't even tell there was a trailer behind it, but I don't want to spend the money on one.

We don't pull a the trailer more than a couple of times a year and not very far when we do. Just want to be prepared for the worst.


Dave
 

That is a Brenderup style trailer, almost all fiberglass/plastic. Very light and with the axles a lot farther forward than the US style trailers.

These were designed with the Euro van/mini truck in mind to pull them (or the large family car- large family car in Euro sense, mind you).

If it pulls fine with your VW with the few trips a year you make, seems like a waste of the F250. I know only a little about the Brenderup trailers other than the one I know of is pulled (rather successfully) by a Volvo station wagon. Those trailers aren't popular here as they cost a fortune and we have an affinity for our big trucks here in the USA.

That VW probably has better brakes and a lot more HP than the old '51 F1 my mom and dad used to use when pulling our two horses when going barrel racing back in the early '60s.
 
Swap him even for the 150 ,(BTW 4H fair just got over lots of
150s in the lot hooked to trailers) sell it to someone who wants
a cheaper running truck than 250 4x4 and find what you'd like
to have.
 
(quoted from post at 14:13:01 07/22/08) If his truck wont pull that trailer, then hes got a serious problem with the truck.
Click to expand...

I think so too, just can't tell him anything. His wife is one of the horse folks that some folks cry about on here. Thinks she's gotta be dressed just right to go to the boarding stable and driving just the right vehicle, etc, etc. My truck is too ugly and only 2 door (someone else at the stable drives a 4dr pickup). I've got pretty attached to my car cause it cost me 50 bucks 3 years ago and gets about 35 mpg if I keep my foot out of it. Probably end up getting a newer AWD and V6 version of the same for my wife. She wants something in the SUV direction but nothing that is affordable to drive can be had at a price we are willing to get off of. I just saw a VW Golf pulling two horses down the autobahn earlier (had to be a helluva feeling to drive). Just wondering what you folks have or have seen.


Dave
 
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