I just bought an 06 4x4 XLT 5.4 Crew short bed (w/tow package). My mom wants me to tow her ponies to my nieces bday party (with a borrowed horse trailor). I haven't towed anything in 15 years, even then it was my bosses truck and he did the setup and I didn't do it that often.

I still haven't bought the ball+mount, is there anything in particular I should be looking out for, possibly the drop height?

As I've been trying to browse the forum, it talks alot about calculations for XX% tongue weight, where do I start, should I just hook it up and run?

Also, the truck came w/a uhaul brake assist thingy, how do I use it properly?

 

Go see the borrowed horse trailer. 1) Make a note of the size of the hitch (there's a few). 2) Jack the trailer around until it's level... measure the height to the top of the trailer's hitch. Now you can figure out how much drop you need, or just take that measurement to a reasonably reputable hitch shop and tell them... they'll set you up with a draw bar and ball that're the right size.

Buy the wrong size ball (too big) and the hitch won't even drop onto it or (too small) it won't stay hitched up while you're driving... I'm having visions of a flipped trailer, dead ponys and lots of crying kids with party hats on.

I have no idea what a uhaul brake assist thingy is... but if you're lucky, it's a trailer brake - unless that is a very small horse trailer and tiny ponys, you are probably going to need that thingy. It activates the brakes on the trailer through the trailer harness you will plug in to your truck (near the hitch receiver under the bumper). It may have some kind of adjustable setting that determines how hard it brakes the trailer at any given time. **** around with that while you try stopping until it feels comfortable. Might be an idea to try that out before you load the ponys in.... some of those trailer brakes can jerk the fillings out of your teeth and pulling up to the party with two shetland pony's that have black eyes and whiplash probably isn't going to win you any points with mom.

Finally... load the trailer right. A tow-behind trailer should have about 10% - 15% of its total weight on the hitch. An improperly loaded trailer can be very unstable, causing uncontrollable sway and... once again... crying kids and dead ponys.

Or... just cross your fingers and hope for the best. I know guys who couldn't figure out their GCVW, if their lives depended on it, who've towed trailers for years and haven't killed anybody (yet).

 

Oh, yeah... you asked "where to start"

That was the start.

I think, if you want to tow stuff, you should learn about GVWR and GCWR and what your vehicle is capable of and intended for.

I think you should get a good weight distributing hitch, a good trailer brake and good tires (not the P-metric crap they put on most of our trucks from the factory).

A local Pontiac dealer near where I live put on a trailering seminar that was a lot easier to understand than all the blah-blah-blah I ever read that told me much the same stuff. My RV dealer also had a DVD, I forget what it was called but it was like... towing for dummies... and it said the same stuff too.

I was petrified about towing but I read all the stuff, bought the right equipment, set it up properly and it all turned out nice, drama-free and very enjoyable.

But if you're only going to do it once? What the hey. Just take it easy.

 

The odd thing is, I've pulled horses in a trailor a long time ago for my boss, and I don't remember being worried about it whatsoever. Granted my bosses truck was already set up and all I had to do was line it up drop it and run. I just don't remember anyone doing any calculations about tongue weight, etc... Granted one of the trailors was a 7 horse trailor w/a gooseneck, so I'm sure somebody did lot's of prep there.

I might just talk to the guy who owns the trailor, he has an f150 too, but problem is he's hardly ever home. My question is, how do you load a horse trailor and get 10-15% hitch weight? Horses pretty much only go in one way and it's only a 2 horse trailor, so not like I can load them in the front or back...once they're in, they're in.

I am planning on pulling it around a bit w/out horses just to get comfortable with towing again. As for the trailor brake, I know what it is, I was trying to be funny, but I really am wondering how to adjust it properly. It had an sliding adjustment, but it always springs back to one side. I'll just have to find the manual online to figure it out.

 

I must admit... I've never towed a live load.

One has to hope (assume) that the trailer manufacturer did all the figuring out when he built the thing.

 

we have a two horse trailer. i pulled our two horses to my uncles farm 150 miles and back for a total of 300 miles back when my pickup was stock. I just had the usual 2" drop hitch and away we went with no problems. Your right you cant move the horses to adjust where the weight sits, but they should be standing right on the axles so that is where most of the wieght should be if its just a two horse trailer. Its gonna be heavy no matter what. if is a borrowed trailer though, make sure the floors are good, you never know how other people take care of thier stuff, itd be a real shame if the floor was rotten or somthing.

 

from what I understand, my mom has used the trailer before, just someone else was hauling it with their truck. I'm going to have my mom measure the trailer hitch height and get the ball size next time she's out there.

I'll get the appropriate ball and hitch bar and pick up the empty trailer and take it for a spin and play with the trailer brake before putting any ponies in it.

Any other recommendations would be appreciated.

 

thats all i can think of right now unless you come up with any other questions let me know. You should be just fine pulling them.