School me on TRUCKS

[ExtraSlow]

I don't know shit about horses, but I have heard they are "harder" to town than a similar weight of travel trailer. No idea why.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

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I don't know shit about horses, but I have heard they are "harder" to town than a similar weight of travel trailer. No idea why.

I did some research and a horse weighs 700-1000kg. So one horse and one single horse trailer is likely around 2200kg on the lowest end. I assume they are harder to tow because the horse can move its weight in transit slightly.

[ExtraSlow]

I just looked up a 2 horse trailer and it had 2x 3500lb axles, like a lot of the travel trailers I've had. Those typically weigh 7500 lbs when loaded and have enough tongue weight that it's easy to exceed payload on most "half-ton-class" trucks.

With a family and some gear in the bed, most people run out of payload before anything else.

[ThePenIsMightier]

A "quarter ton" can't pull worth a shit and will brake poorly if pulling something. I'd say it's essentially not an option for a horse. Consider it a car that is shaped like a truck.

A "half-ton" may also be a tad small for pulling a horse, plus they are nearly all gasoline which will get horrendous fuel economy when towing.

The consensus on Beyond seems to be that the move up to "3/4-ton" is very expensive and isn't worth it considering for "a little more money" you can move into a "1-ton" that can pull a fucking rail car up a mountain.

[ExtraSlow]

That is not the consensus.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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That is not the consensus.

I've heard it more than once.
I think I tried to use the word "seems". It's a huge premium for a .75 and the extra towing and payload has poor payoff compared to a 1ton, non?

Edit
*Consider my advice from a very layman's (lame man's) perspective. I am not a truck guy, but when the person asking doesn't know the different classes of trucks and the rest of the crew moves straight into engine codes and chassis code language, I don't think my partial info should be completely discounted.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

The main difference between a 3/4 and 1 ton these days is mostly the rear axle rating for weight carrying and potential for DRW. Most of the time the powertrain and everything forward of the box is identical to a 3/4 ton.

[bjstare]

Whether or not it's the consensus, it's objectively correct, isn't it?

The truck classes are basically:
-Toy (Tacoma, Ridgeline, Ranger) - good for hauling bicycles and pets. A roof top tent is probably pushing it for payload, but who cares because those things are fucking stupid.
-1/2 ton (1500, F150) - Mainly good for hauling family, groceries, dirt bikes. These were targeted for buyers who do real truck stuff many years ago, but have evolved into commuter cars that are easily overloaded (unless you get the @ExtraSlow special that can do a bit of real truck stuff).
-HD (incl 3/4 & 1-ton) - These are useful for real truck things. They sacrifice comfort for utility. If you're paying the premium to get in this class, it's a measly amount more to go up to a 1-ton.

[killramos]

I thought the only benefit of 3/4 tons was in jurisdictions that allow you to register them as passenger vehicles where a 1 ton must be classed commercial which comes with additional costs and requirements. Or something to that effect.

And that Alberta is not one of those jurisdictions.

You could probably get away with a heavy half for horse duty, but good luck finding one at all let alone for less than $20k.

[haggis88]

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I thought the only benefit of 3/4 tons was in jurisdictions that allow you to register them as passenger vehicles where a 1 ton must be classed commercial which comes with additional costs and requirements. Or something to that effect.

And that Alberta is not one of those jurisdictions

This was basically my understanding also, but I also thought that identical specc'd 2500/3500s had no differences other than stickers wrt weights but apparently that's not correct because rear end stuff

[Darell_n]

Towing horses with a light duty ‘1/2 ton’ pickup will be sketchy as shit. As an FYI, I grew up on a farm and horse ranch, have been towing 26-30ft gooseneck horse trailers starting when I was 16. (30 year ago) Haven’t been involved with horses for a number of years, mind you. The small single and double horse bumper pull trailers are prone to accidents and flipping. Horses shift their weight in a trailer, kind of like hauling a large half filled water tank. These small trailers are very sensitive to having proper tongue weight and combine this with the weak suspension and brakes on a 1500 / 150 series truck, it’s a recipe for disaster. I’m sure there is no option for a larger trailer in the case, but most definitely tow it with a truck that is stout and well maintained.

[arcticcat522]

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I thought the only benefit of 3/4 tons was in jurisdictions that allow you to register them as passenger vehicles where a 1 ton must be classed commercial which comes with additional costs and requirements. Or something to that effect.

And that Alberta is not one of those jurisdictions.

This.....just get a 1 ton

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

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This was basically my understanding also, but I also thought that identical specc'd 2500/3500s had no differences other than stickers wrt weights but apparently that's not correct because rear end stuff

There’s so many different packages and GVWR that it can be correct in some cases. Ford for sure has different “GVWR” options that can be beneficial for different jurisdictions.

[firebane]

As someone who paid 4k for a 2005 CC Duramax and got paid out 9k after it was stolen.. The prices of a crew cab duramax truck these days is astronomical.

You end up with something that is super clean and has "decent mileages" but going to pay close to 20k. I was wanting to get back into the same sort of truck as I like my crew cab duramax but it just wasn't in the cards.

I ended up with a 2500HD with the 6.0l and extended cab and still paid 7k for the truck.

[Darkane]

I’ve also seen comparable one tons will have one additional leaf in the back over a 3/4.

The big difference in 1 ton are the dual wheels. Everyone knows that!

For a family configured truck (crew cab short box) it needs to be a 3/4 if you’re towing near 10k.

[jutes]

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I normally like to research the shit out of things before I buy. But in this case, I don't want to. I am in search of a truck but I have no idea what's good or bad, what criteria to pay attention to, etc. So I'd appreciate everyone's thoughts here:

Requirements:
Budget $20k
Reliable as hell (will be shitkicked and driven on rough roads, and be wife-maintained, that is, occasional oil changes if you're lucky but not much else, and planned to last for many years)
Safe.
Can comfortably accommodate a family including 2 kids and a dawg.
AWD/4WD
Also needs to be able to pull a horse trailer. I know nothing about weights here though.

Good resale would be nice, but not a requirement since the truck would be kept a long time. Thoughts?

If you take away that horse moving requirement, sounds like an SUV makes more sense.
Rent a suitable sized truck when you actually need to haul the damn horse and trailer around? Sounds like you're going to get a massive truck for the sake of using it a horse puller less than 5% of the time. Do people daily their horses around? Tims horse meet?

[firebane]

You can get SRW or DRW 1 tons but I haven't looked into what the payload difference is.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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If you take away that horse moving requirement, sound like....

Now OP is hauling a dead horse?

[redline]

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I've heard it more than once.
I think I tried to use the word "seems". It's a huge premium for a .75 and the extra towing and payload has poor payoff compared to a 1ton, non?

Edit
*Consider my advice from a very layman's (lame man's) perspective. I am not a truck guy, but when the person asking doesn't know the different classes of trucks and the rest of the crew moves straight into engine codes and chassis code language, I don't think my partial info should be completely discounted.

3/4 tons sux most don’t have much better payloads then half tons , if you are going there just get a one ton.

[Darkane]

Some light reading. The question at the very end is sort of what we’re talking about here.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/content/d...owingGuide.pdf

And in terms of rough marths and numbers:

F150 family spec max ~1700 payload
F250 ~ 2600
F350 ~ 3400

Those number based on the slip in camper weights allowed.