# Best Vehicles for Horse People



## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

I don't believe in going in debt for a car, and I believe it is one of the biggest mistakes young people make. 

I choose a car based on the best car I can afford. I work out how much money I can spend on hand (no loans) minus appropriate insurance and registration costs. That gives me a number. Then I look online to see what that number gets me. For a used car I look for one under 10 years old with less than 150,000km (70,000 miles). If I can afford a 4WD with all the extras then and can afford the ongoing maintenance costs for tyres, servicing etc which goes up with size I will get it. If I can't afford it I look at something smaller. 

Buy with reference to your means, not your desires.

And even if you do have the money consider getting something you don't mind getting beat up a bit, and buy something else in a year or so. 

In Australia pretty much all farm vehicles are white.

In short the best vehicle is one you can afford comfortably. I've been driving tiny cars for years and it's no coincidence I am in a better financial position that many of my friends. And can afford a horse when others can't.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I would look at the towing capabilities of a Nissan. At one time none of the foreign trucks were built to tow but maybe they've improved on that. I have a 1/2 ton Chevy Silverado that I love. I've actually liked all my Chevy or GM vehicles. Hated my Jeep Grand Cherokee. Hubby has an F250 that we use for towing though.


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## Jan1975 (Sep 7, 2015)

How badly do you need to pull a trailer? I'd buy an economic car for now and save up some $. I big truck for an 18-year-old sounds extravagant unless you can really afford it.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I agree with the above comments.

As long as your father is on board with looking for a tow vehicle and you are heck-bent on buying something to pull a trailer, find something older that has been well maintained AND the GVW rating inside the driver door says the truck is heavy enough to pull a horse trailer WITH a horse in it.

The vehicle needs to have a big enough braking system to quickly stop a truck & trailer without fish tailing and possibly flipping the trailer over.

It needs a heavier rated transmission.

It needs a heavier rated radiator.

You can put a cap on a truck which not only protects what you put in there but also protects the bed.

My heavy 3/4 ton 1978 GMC has had a cap on it more than half its life and still doesn't have any rust on the bed

There's a lot more to a pulling vehicle than looks

Good luck with whatever you decide.


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## Roman (Jun 13, 2014)

We had a '96 Ford F250 pickup that pulled our cattle trailer (with probably 2000+ lb in it) good. Sold that and got an '06 Ford F350 thats also white. I really love it! Ford all the way. Except it does take diesel.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jamesqf (Oct 5, 2009)

I can carry everything I need, plus two ~70 lb dogs, in a Honda Insight. This is what I drive most of the time, 'cause it averages better than 70 mpg. When I need to haul stuff like bales of hay & sacks of feed, or drive where I need 4WD and/or high clearance, I have an '88 Toyota pickup. I could probably haul a moderate trailer with this, if I had to.

IMHO, buying a trailer-hauling vehicle (especially a relatively new one, as you want) as a daily driver is a waste of money. Also, unless you have a trust fund or something, DON'T buy anything that requires you to make payments And look into how much you'll be paying for insurance.

Finally, if I can inject a further bit of reality here, there is no way on Earth that your Nissan Titan (or anything that can tow a horse trailer) is going to be "decent on fuel".


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

I can haul all the stuff you listed, except the trailer, in my 1986 Ford Escort GT. In fact, I've got my saddle, bridle, pads, and grooming box in there right now. All the other stuff in there (my wedding dress, a 50lbs bag of blasting sand, various jackets and clothes...don't ask :lol: ) takes up more room than my saddle and such do. Even with all the junk in the back, I average 30-35 MPG.

My first vehicle was a 1986 Toyota pickup. No way on God's green earth I could (or would have dared) haul a trailer with it, but it did carry all the stuff I needed and got decent fuel mileage (averaged about 25-27 MPG). 

Granted, both of these vehicles are stick shifts.

I'm with James on this one. "Trailer-hauling vehicle" and "good gas mileage" don't belong in the same paragraph, let alone the same sentence. Anything that can haul a trailer without worry will likely get less than 15 MPG unloaded. If you're going to haul a trailer, you need something that can do the job, not something you'll have to wonder if it'll make it.

My brother-in-law used to work for Nissan (he was a sound engineer). When I was vehicle shopping a couple of years ago, I asked him what he thought about the Titan pulling a horse trailer. He laughed at me. They had a Titan for a while (they got new vehicles every year through the company) and it barely hauled their 19' ski boat. They're under-powered and overpriced. 

This isn't even going into price and insurance. Going off the Kelley Blue Book value from the closest US area to where you're at in Canada, that truck, without the lift kit or any of the other extra stuff you didn't detail out, you can expect to pay anywhere from $15,000 (US) if it's in not great shape to $20,000 (US) if it's in perfect condition. I don't know about you, but I didn't have that kind of money, nor the credit to finance something that expensive, when I was 18. I've worked selling cars and financing before. On a truck like that, with no credit, you're looking at a $400+ per month payment. Then there's insurance. Let's say you can get it financed. Most banks will require you have full coverage on the vehicle while it is financed. You're looking at a good $200+ a month (depending on area and insurance costs) for just insurance. So, that's at minimum $600 a month before you even drive the thing anywhere. Averaging 14 MPG and with fuel prices the way they are, you'll be filling up every four to six days, depending on how much driving you do. The Titan has a 28 gallon (106 litre) gas tank. I don't know fuel prices where you are, but in my area (unleaded is $1.79 per gallon at the cheapest place in my town) it would cost you roughly $50 to fill that tank. So, $50 every four to six days...that's about $250 a month (or more) in fuel. 

I know it's a pretty, shiny, newer truck, but you have to walk before you can run. Start looking at vehicles from the late '80s to early 90s and pick which is more important, trailer hauling or gas mileage.


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## Breezy2011 (Nov 23, 2012)

Thanks for the replies! I will be looking at vehicles from probably 1995 and up, but it seems these days the older vehicles are going for just as much as a newer used vehicle. Hauling a trailer isn't a huge thing though, and if I have too, I will get a car, I just prefer trucks or jeeps. 

My parents have a Jeep Grand Cherokee, it is terrible on fuel, but will haul a 4 horse stock trailer with 2 horses inside. 

I would at least like something with leather seats... so much easier to clean when you have a muddy dog or dirty tack.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

The question is, can that Grand Cherokee SAFELY stop a 4 horse stock trailer with two horses? I would be willing to bet that there's tons of wear and tear on the poor vehicle.

I found a '93 Ford F-250 with a 390 in it for $3000 a couple of months back. It was in great condition, lower miles, and enough power to pull (and stop) a horse trailer. 

If you're going to go with an SUV or truck and hauling is a negotiable requirement, I would go with something like a mid-90s GMC Jimmy or Chevy Blazer (NOT a Trailblazer). You can pick one up with low miles and good condition for usually under $4000 and the insurance won't be too terrible. They don't get horrible gas mileage, either (low 20s on average).


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## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

A 1995 car is 20 years old - especially if you have a jeep or large car repairs are going to cost a lot, and at that age it's not unlikely you'll have a lot of them. Maybe consider getting something quite small, I drive a little hatchback and can still carry all my horse gear, plus feed bags or a bale of hay if needed. Ive even moved a fridge in it before. You can use your parents car if you really need to move something bigger.

Outside of America it's quite common for most people to drive fairly small cars. With my reduced fuel and maintenance costs it's cheaper for me to pay people to haul my horse when needed than it would be to have such a large car as my daily driver.


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## Regula (Jan 23, 2012)

I'm with Saskia on this one, never had a car loan and never will, I don't think it's a good idea to go into debt for a car.

I would estimate of how many kms you drive per year and then make a realistic budget of the costs for insurace, fuel, ongoing maintenance (oil changes, tires, brakes), and put some money aside for repairs. Like with a horse,the purchase price for a car is only the beginning. Then I would see what's affordable and not even look at anything else. A dealer will very likely try to up-sell you.

For all your requirements other than pulling the trailer, I can recommend Subaru Legacy/Outback all the way! The hatchback gives you lots of space for dogs, tack and stuff, all Subarus are AWD, they go everywhere and they are incredibly reliable. Mine went >350'000 km with barely any maintenance besides oil changes, brakes and tires, and I did not go easy on it . And when they do break, everything goes all at once and you know it's time to throw out the car. Mine never broke, a friend ended up having an accident with it and it was too expensive to fix. But the engine never stopped working.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Unless you're in absolute need of a tow vehicle, I'd go with something smaller. I used to have a '07 Scion tC and it was great for everything except towing a trailer. I could pack everything I needed for a weekend horse show in it (including a bale of hay!) with the back seat folded down. Smaller cars are nice because they really do fit everywhere  

I ended up trading it in for a '10 Tundra, which I like, but boy does the gas mileage suck compared to my little coupe. It has lots of storage space (I have a cover on the bed) but it's not space that's easy to get to like the trunk of a car. The cab itself seems to fill up really fast when I put much of anything in there, even with it being a double cab.

I'll likely be buying a second car soon, since career decisions mean that I'm driving _a lot_ more now than I did before. Fuel efficiency is key for me, but so is AWD and moderately good ground clearance. I'm thinking of a Subaru Outback or Mazda CX-5, personally.

Definitely buy used if you can; the moment you drive a new car out from the dealership it's value drops by at least 1/3  I bought my tC new, to celebrate my first job out of school, with a loan (though I paid it off early.) I'm fairly certain that will be the only new car I will ever buy.


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## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

Ok...so this goes against what others have said....but I prefer to buy my vehicles a little newer (not brand new, but a couple years old). I like knowing I have warranty on it and that i can rely on that vehicle. So I do go into debt for a vehicle.

However, I did not start buying my vehicles like that until I was in my 20's and had a full time job. My first 3 vehicles were definitely well used vehicles. My first car was an '89 Dodge Colt. 

I do think that if you are looking for a daily driver that you should get an 'econo box' or small SUV. Look for something with 4 x4 or all wheel drive and that should do the trick. I had a Subaru all wheel drive which was an awesome car. 

Once you start getting into vehicles that can tow, you are looking at much more $$ on gas. I just went through that when I had to upgrade to a truck. I ended up getting a Dodge 1500 Hemi....it is NOT that easy on gas. Also take into account repair costs/ease of getting parts if you do need to get repairs done. Foreign vehicles can often cost much more to get repairs on.


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## Surrealle (Feb 28, 2016)

cbar said:


> Ok...so this goes against what others have said....but I prefer to buy my vehicles a little newer (not brand new, but a couple years old). I like knowing I have warranty on it and that i can rely on that vehicle. So I do go into debt for a vehicle.
> 
> However, I did not start buying my vehicles like that until I was in my 20's and had a full time job. My first 3 vehicles were definitely well used vehicles. My first car was an '89 Dodge Colt.
> 
> ...


This is pretty much me, too. Used cars at first (costing between $300 and $3000 at first, from friends of the family) but eventually a handy little used (newish) hyundai elantra I paid $200 a mo for. And now a new toyota prius that I'm kind of regretting because it's $600 a month (hey, live and learn. I'm still getting by financially, at least). So, know what you can afford even if your situation changes and if you do get a loan on it, it's not the end of the world because it does build credit. Having no credit to your name can actually cost you quite a bit in the long run, even if it is for a good reason (that you're being financially responsible by not taking on debt).
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

cbar said:


> Once you start getting into vehicles that can tow, you are looking at much more $$ on gas.


Oh, and it's important to know that it's not just more $$ on gas, either. Trucks use more oil, which costs you more. I run my truck with full synthetic oil only, and if I've been towing much I change it on the same schedule as conventional oil. Major service intervals are also 2-3x more expensive than for cars/small SUVs. Tires for a tow vehicle cost a lot more. I just had to replace my truck's tires last December and it was ~$1000 after shopping around and ultimately getting a tire shop to price match the tires I wanted with an internet retailer. Even windshield wipers are a pain to buy; finding wiper blades in the right size that actually do their job has been an ongoing saga for me (I never thought I'd care so much about quality wipers...)


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

verona1016 said:


> Oh, and it's important to know that it's not just more $$ on gas, either. Trucks use more oil, which costs you more. I run my truck with full synthetic oil only, and if I've been towing much I change it on the same schedule as conventional oil. Major service intervals are also 2-3x more expensive than for cars/small SUVs. Tires for a tow vehicle cost a lot more. I just had to replace my truck's tires last December and it was ~$1000 after shopping around and ultimately getting a tire shop to price match the tires I wanted with an internet retailer. Even windshield wipers are a pain to buy; finding wiper blades in the right size that actually do their job has been an ongoing saga for me (I never thought I'd care so much about quality wipers...)


Cheapest tires we found for my husband's truck ('05 Dodge Ram 2500) were $900 for an off-brand street tire. His truck came with stock 20" rims. Because his truck is a diesel, they lasted less than a year and a half. The tires we just got for the truck before Christmas are $450 per tire Toyo off-road tires. Luckily, his best friend's dad had just taken them off a truck he bought at auction (they were too big for the wheel wells on the truck he bought) and only charged him $200 for the set, even though they're less than a year old. 

Wiper blades are $30+ _each_ for his truck. I just replaced both on my car for $12. An oil change, if he goes to the dealership or to a regular mechanic shop is $60+. An oil change on my car is $20 or less, or I can just do it myself. He just had a ton of brake work done on his truck to the tune of $300...and that was just parts. His best friend is a mechanic and does all the work pretty much for free (I just have to make him dinner). Otherwise, all that brake work would have been $700+. I can change the brakes on my car in an afternoon and it costs me less than $100. Now he needs a new rim because one of his cracked (total fluke thing). We're looking at $1000+ for a new set, more if we want them to actually look decent on his blinged out truck. We can't just order a replacement because they don't make the rims on his truck any more (they were a special order in 2005 when his dad bought the truck new). 

I could go on, but I think my point has been made. lol


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## jamesqf (Oct 5, 2009)

DraftyAiresMum said:


> Cheapest tires we found for my husband's truck ('05 Dodge Ram 2500) were $900 for an off-brand street tire.


Ouch! The special LRR eco-tires for the Insight run about $85 each - and last way over 50K miles if I don't run into road debris that puts thumb-sized holes in the sidewall :-(

Gas isn't going to be $1.79/gal forever, either. Matter of fact, hereabouts it's gone up about $0.30 just in the last few weeks.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

jamesqf said:


> Ouch! The special LRR eco-tires for the Insight run about $85 each - and last way over 50K miles if I don't run into road debris that puts thumb-sized holes in the sidewall :-(
> 
> Gas isn't going to be $1.79/gal forever, either. Matter of fact, hereabouts it's gone up about $0.30 just in the last few weeks.


My dad put brand new tires on my car when we bought it for $200. They're not name brand, but they're decent quality. Haven't had an issue yet and we live on a poorly-maintained dirt road in the county. 

When I bought my '05 Chevy Trailblazer extended a couple of years ago, it had just had $600 worth of brand new Cooper Discoverer tires put on it. Loved that thing. Sad I lost it.


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

Without reading the entire thread, I'd say pass on that Nissan for one reason. Lifted. You don't want that for towing, as the springs won't handle the load.

I have a F150 for daily driving, hauling bumper pull trailers, and trips to Lowe's/Home Depot/Tractor supply. For the bigger stuff, like our gooseneck horse trailer, I have a F250 4x4, which is my son's daily driving truck. My truck definitely sees more mileage!


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