Towing Questions

[Wolflord]

Hello,
I'm curious if a 2001 dodge Durango (can pull up to 7,350lbs) would be fine to tow a 2 horse trailer with a pair of fjords in it?
Thanks for any help.

 

[Red the butcher]

V8 or v6? Says max tow of 6100lbs. Your fjords good stable haulers. Sway bar kit?

 

[Red the butcher]

Well now that i think about it fjords are about a 1000lbs and a trailer is about 2500lbs then your gear and passengers is about lets say a 1000lbs. So you are at 5500lbs. Should be good. Would want a v8 in it though and transmission cooler. Dodge is known for weak transmissions so a cooler in my opinion is a must.

 

[promiseacres]

Yes most half to trucks should easily pull a loaded 2 horse trailer. Ours pulls steel 3 horse slant, around 17'.

 

[Mini Horses]

One thing about towing, in general, beyond weight & load -- type terrain on which you are moving. That would have a bearing on the truck engine/tran needs. I mean, a loaded wagon pulls ok on flat concrete....add a good incline and you will feel it.

If you live in the mountains you have more the consider.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

And, it's not always about towing - it's about stopping too!

 

[Red the butcher]

Most all horse trailers have electric brakes. Make sure your rig has a brake controller.

 

[AClark]

You may have a hard time stopping it. I used to have a GMC Yukon (5.3L vortec engine, so an 8 cylinder) and it didn't haul for crap. The poor transmission would make the motor scream on any kind of small hill, and the trailer would sway above 70 MPH with a 12 ft Uhaul trailer, definitely not loaded heavy either.
It's the reason I upgraded to what I have now, which is a 2000 F350 dually - with the 7.3L powerstroke. I hauled a flatbed with 5000 lbs on it from TX up to OK without any trailer brakes, no problem. No swaying at 80 MPH on the freeway. I have the set up, but it seems I"m prone to getting trailers where something is wrong with the trailer brakes.
Most horse trailers come with electric brakes, but electric brakes can fail, and you don't want to have a wreck because they failed and your truck just can't stop the 5000+ lbs pushing you.

Swaying is a real problem, especially when you can't hit freeway speeds due to the whipping on the trailer. Combine that with horses that shift around and it's probably not the best idea. For short trips, it should be fine, but I wouldn't go on a long road trip with a half ton pulling, not only for that reason, but it is hard on your transmission with a lot of weight.

 

[Wolflord]

On that note. Any recommendations on a good Truck or other vehicles to get the job done? I don't live in Mountains per say, but it would be nice to be able to if I need to pick up a horse or transport one through them. I live in the foothills so it wouldn't be unheard of.

I hear that rams tend to just crap out on you when you're not even towing. My dad had a Chevy and I know we could have trusted that boy with anything. But alas it's to the point it can't be fixed. (Poor thing was run over 21 years) basically, I'm looking at Chevy but I'm open to look at other places.

 

[AClark]

Anything 3/4 ton or larger (F250 or F350, or a 2500-3500 of Chevy, GMC, or Dodge). I would tend to lean away from Dodge right now, speaking as a consumer. We have a 2009 1500 and it's had a ton of recalls and is so bad Dodge offered to buy it back. The only reason we didn't sell it right back to them was because we had more in it than they would offer (aftermarket parts) so wouldn't even break even. Right now, the ignition switch is going out in it, and they said it's not a recall so we're responsible for the repairs, even though several other models have been recalled for the same issue. It has 95,000 miles on it - and has had at least 4 recalls. I think that's a pretty sad life on a truck with less than 100, 000 miles on it.

Fords...well, I'd stay away from the newer powerstrokes too, especially a 6.0 or 6.4L, they had a lot of expensive repairs some that required the removal of the entire cab to fix, which means big bucks at a garage, I dont know about the newest powerstroke and how that's holding up. The 7.3L is about the most reliable motor they ever came out with (it's made by International) but they quit putting those in trucks in 2003. My 7.3 has had most of the common repairs, oil cooler, HPOP, etc. Though most of it has just been the fact that it's 17 years old with 197,000 miles on it and stuff just wore out. The transmission and motor are original, and the previous owner to me had a cattle ranch so it has been used hard.

I can't speak about Chevy's, the only one I ever owned was the GMC Yukon, and while that was a great riding SUV, I wouldn't have another. At 140k miles it had a lifter knocking, and shortly after the water pump ate it - but my ex husband kept that in the divorce so by then it wasn't my problem anymore (and neither was he, lol).