I am buying my first horse trailer, a 2H BP around 3500# empty. I have a 2005 Land Rover LR3 V-8 rated to tow 7700#. However I am nervous that the moving nature of horses and the short wheelbase of my vehicle are not a good match. With 3 children and friends who frequently join us on car trips, I must have a 7 passenger SUV. I've looked into other options such as the Expedition EL since it has a towing capacity of 8680# and around 18 inches longer wheelbase. Would a heavy duty towing package add to the safety and/or functionality of the car? I've considered a 3/4 ton GMC Yukon XL. Would this be the best choice? It seems it would be even more of a gas guzzler. Or would my car be just fine? Does anyone have experience towing a horse trailer with their LR3?

 

I think your LR3 could handle the weight but having towed many horses for years, their moving around and the short wheel base aren't what you are going to want.
Sorry.

 

Thank you, Disco Mike. That was my concern - the horses movement. I think pulling something like a camper or boat would not concern me. I have never pulled horses so I appreciate your knowledge in this matter!

 

I have never towed horses around but I have towed my share of trailers. Wouldn't an anti-swaykit like the one added to most big camper trailer solve the problem? I understand they are not that expensive at all. Certainly cheaper than having to buy another truck or SUV.

 

Janitz, thank you for your response. I am not sure if the anti-sway kit is all I need; I think it would certainly be best to have it on whatever vehicle. All I know is horses are 1000+ lbs with their weight actually "suspended" above the floor of the trailer and they will move from trying to balance themselves or possibly even just to kick. My friend's horse kicks every time a truck goes by. Maybe he started doing that because of the movement of the trucks causing the trailer to sway. Who knows. The way I see it, horses present difficulties that are not present with something like a camper or boat. I am not an expert in any way and that's why I'm posting for advice. Thank you for your input. [sm=smiley1.gif]

 

The fact that the weight of the horses (which combined is considerable) sits above the floor of the trailer makes the trailer top heavy, VERY top heavy. And you are very right in the fact that since they ride standing, the majority of that weight has the effect of being "suspended" on the trailer. However, I must call attention to the original question. We all agree thata vehicle rated at 7700lbs would be more than sufficient to tow that trailer loaded, IF the only concern at hand is dead weight. The question is, how would the relatively short wheel base of the LR3 behave while towing weight that is subject to shifting? The effect of heavy, shifting weights being towed with a short wheel base is uncontroled lateral swaying, to include the tendency to "jack knife" under emergency braking.

With that in mind, I say again that I believe an anti sway system installed on the trailer would solve the short wheel base problem. I can't guarrantee anything since I have never put such combination to the test, but my thinking is this:

Have the anti-sway system installed on the trailer and take it for a test drive. If it works (and I think it will) you solved the problem for probably under $1,000. However, should it not feel safe to tow even with the anti-sway bar,THEN go and spend however much Yukons are going for these days. The anti-sway system is always a good idea when towing weights that are prone to shifting so it would not be mony wasted even if you end up buying a new truck. That's my advice. Hope it works for you.

 

I use my 2003 Disco to tow a 14' tandem-axel cargo trailer nearly every day. My typical load weight is between 3,500-6,000pounds.

Yes, be very conscerned with weight distribution in the trailer. I marked out the CG in my trailer and methodicallypack each load. Loaded properly I don't even notice the trailer behind the truck.

I will strongly recommend electric breaks over surge breaks. I've tried both. Electric breaks are much safer and can be adjustedto complementthe pressure of the drivers foot and the break accuation time. This definately helps keep the trailer behind the vehicle in emergency breaking situations.I've smoked my breaksmany times and if it wern't for having my electric trailer breaks set properly I would have certainly crashed.

As for horses, I can't voice an opinion since I've never towed a horse trailer.

I do have a client wholovedhow herLR3 pulled her horse trailer. She said the base was long enough to be stable and short enough to menuver and park well.

I agree with her. I often parallel park my rig between cars.The menuverability and visibility is awesome.

MWmG