# Tongue weight and towing vehicle



## ZeeZee1985 (Jun 28, 2021)

I have a question regarding tongue weight and the towing vehicle.

So my husband ordered a slant reverse horse trailer BP from double D trailer. It'll be a larger one as he calculated 2 frisean mixes. His one is a frisean-percheron with dad being 1500lbs and mom being 1700lbs I believe. 
It is equipped with a 9900 suspension. The manufacture said we should calculate a tongue weight of 15% so 1450 in tongue weight but I seriously doubt that we will ever load so much.
I am just curious if this is correct as it sounds like a lot. In Germany the tongue weight is about 4% and then 10% if loaded so its very confusing how the calculation here works as my cousin is towing her horse trailer with a minivan. 
So I am curious on your input. 

The reason why i am asking is also simply because the frisean is not even mature yet. She weighs about 1000lbs when we get her in the fall. We currently have a QH that is about 1000lbs. So im not sure if or when we would get another frisean and that would be a lighter one with about 1200-1400lbs.

That being said. With this calculation which with the trailer weighing about 4500lbs (trailer is in production now) plus well for now about 2700lbs in horse and maybe some equipment so 3700lbs = total 8200lbs = 15% = 1230lbs

The reason why I am calculating is because i am debating of what makes sense to buy as a towing vehicle. I would like to get a 1/2 ton truck as a starter because I think that it would be enough for a couple of years until thw horse grows into its weight and until we might get another horse. Plus I dont feel like buying several cars so the 1/2 ton would be for daily commute as well. I am hoping to get the filly in October (drive from California to ohio). This will most likely be the longest trip ever. We live in a mountain area but would only tow on weekends max and most likely only 1 horse. So the vehicle would be a mountain commuter car as well so fuel efficiancy is a big thing.

This being said my question is just:

is 15% recommended with horse trailers?
do you think I should be ok with a 1/2 ton truck for maybe 5 years or so or would you absolutely not do it?
would you wait purchasing a truck until the trailer is here to see the trailer sticker?
I know that payload might be an issue thats why I am asking about the tongue weight
if deciding getting a bigger vehicle I would get one that has the 10000lbs gvwr restriction (dont want to make a commercial drivers license). Does that affect the payload? Im experiencing a lot of the payload stickers show the same numbers around 1800lbs or so like the 1/2 ton.

- what kind of issues did you experience when you bought a truck for your trailer?

I want to be able to tow safely but I also dont want to exhaturate with the size of the towing vehicle if I dont have to.

Sorry for typos not a native speaker. Thanks so much for your help!!!!


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Check out this recent thread:









Trailer and Truck Recommendations


I am looking at buying a new truck and trailer for transporting my horse, as well as one other. Putting cost aside for the moment, what would you recommend? On the trailer, my horse has never been trailered. My horse is what I would call high spirited, always well aware of his surroundings...




www.horseforum.com





It doesn't start off by answering your question, but there's a really good discussion of 1/2 ton vs 3/4 ton trucks in there.

With two big horses, no way would I get a 1/2 ton. Hopefully I'm linking this correctly. Post #23. My experience hauling a single pony up a hill:









Trailer and Truck Recommendations


I suggest a 3/4 ton or higher. As stated above the size of the brakes, weight of the frame, and transmission are designed for towing as opposed to a 1/2 ton which is more of a passenger vehicle. I tried towing with a 1/2 ton for awhile (2017 Ram 1500) and our bumper pull stock trailer but the...




www.horseforum.com


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Right now with your estimate of 1000 per animal you are nearing capacity of only certain 150/1500 who are marketed with the 11,000 capacity tow ability.
Please, please remember absolutely no manufacturer ever does a live cargo for determining what they say is OK to haul...never.
Dead/stagnant weight only of a camper, jetski or box trailer is used...
The problem with that is we deal with living, breathing, moving and shifting animals and blow those numbers off the road and charts.
Also know that only certain combinations of parts give you those wonderful numbers...
Most trucks sit in the 8500 - 9200 _maxed out_, few are the larger capacity and their cost is so ridiculous it often is cheaper to step up in class to the 250/2500 and inherit all the larger components of a vehicle made to carry & work, not move people as the intent of the lighter class truck is..
Because you are dealing with live cargo, you must have a "cushion" ability to absorb that live cargo and what it truly does to a trucks capacity to handle "allowed weight"...
There is a rule of thumb and one experienced haulers use that say do not exceed 80% of the vehicles capacity...you _are_ right at those numbers now.
Because it says you can, does not mean you should....can't stress that enough.
Your guesstimating animals weight of 1000 now will not be accurate for long with them growing...then what?
Do your homework and read, ask questions and if you plan on buying do it right from the get-go...not skimp as you are handshaking now with max capacity of live load carry for safety reasons and the longevity of your truck too.
The dynamics of how the load positions inside the trailer is also going to effect how your truck handles that load hurtling down the road at 55mph....

As for your family member towing with a minivan...if overseas they do things their we will not tolerate here, period.
They also have some very lightweight trailers we don't have here, however...my horses would travel in a horse truck before some of those lightweight trailers when you see what a car sold their and here hitting something of similar build structure destroys it beyond recognition you know any trailer occupant is severely injured or dead.
If they are doing that here in the US...bless them for taking such chances with animals and their lives.. There are other options much safer to utilize.
Again, because they do does not mean they should.
🐴... _jmo..._


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Just looked at a 2021 Ram 1500. V-8. Hitch already installed. Rated to haul 11,000+ lbs. 395 HP, 410 torque. 

"_In fact, if you rewind the clock a few years, *the current F-150 compares favorably with the F-250s and F-350s of yore*....We looked at both towing and payload specs going back to the 1990s and quickly realized that one of those numbers has diverged much more than the other....

Towing, though, is a different story. *A stout tow rating depends on a complicated synthesis between a truck’s engine, transmission, brakes, cooling systems and suspension.* Go back to 1995 and you could buy an F-250 with a naturally aspirated gasoline straight-six and a manual transmission, a combination unheard of today. And that truck would tow. . .3200 pounds. Never mind the F-150—a Subaru Outback now tows more than that F-250.

Of course, that was the mildest truck in 1995. *What about a King Kong 7.3-liter Power Stroke diesel F-350 dually? That one maxed out at 10,000 pounds, a towing threshold that the average F-150 was knocking on ten years ago.* (Even without the Max Tow and Max Payload packages, a 5.4-liter 2010 F-150 could tow 9800 pounds. With those packages: 11,300 pounds.)_"









How the Ford F-150 Became a Heavy-Duty Truck


Times change, and today's F-150 is yesterday's F-250. Here's a look at how the F-150's tow ratings reached the level of Super Duties from years past.




www.caranddriver.com





In 1995, the highest towing capacity Ford offered was 10,000 lbs. Lots of 1/2 tons can do today what a 1995 F350 maxed out at. When buying, it IS important to look at specific configurations. My 2008 F150 with 6 cylinders and a manual transmission was rated to less than 4,000 lbs.


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