When horse owners decide to transport their horse for a short or long distance trip, they tend to focus on choosing the most suitable trailer to buy or rent. Of course, since the safety and comfort of the horse are the primary concern, the choice of trailer is key. That said, one of the biggest mistakes people make is not also considering the tow vehicle they intend to use. The overall safety and well-being of your horse, the vehicle driver and passengers, as well as others on the road, depends on choosing a vehicle that can handle the combined weight of your trailer, horse, passengers and equipment. The key metrics to look at to ensure you have the right trailer/tow truck combination are the GVWR of the trailer and the GCWR of the towing vehicle.
Trailer GVWR
If you’ve already selected a trailer (or already have one) and are ready to choose the right towing vehicle, you need to know how much your trailer weighs. More specifically, you need to know the GVWR or gross vehicle weight rating of the vehicle. The GVWR, which is usually printed on a decal on the inside door of your trailer, represents the manufacturer’s recommended capacity, or the maximum gross weight of the trailer itself and whatever you’re hauling on it. It is important to note that the trailer should never be loaded beyond the GVWR.
Why use GVWR as the weight metric that will help determine which tow vehicle you’ll use, even if you never intend to load the trailer to full capacity? Because that will help give the driver a margin of safety in light of the uneven distribution of a horse’s weight (they are very heavy) and the change in weight that results from the fact that it will have a live load.
GCWR towing vehicle
Now that you know the weight of your trailer when it’s full, the second key metric that’s important is the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) of your tow vehicle. Similar to the GVWR of the trailer, the GCWR of the towing vehicle represents the maximum recommended weight that a vehicle can safely tow, which includes the weight of the vehicle itself, its passengers and its cargo, including the fully loaded trailer.
As a result, the GCWR of your towing vehicle must be greater than the weight of the towing vehicle, plus the GVWR, or the maximum gross weight of the fully loaded trailer. In other words, as the required trailer weight increases and the amount of horsepower you are towing, the GCWR of the vehicle should also increase. Let’s say, for example, that the GVWR of your horse trailer is 7,000 lbs. and you’re considering a 5,000-lb. pickup truck like the Chevy 1500. You’ll want to make sure the vehicle has a GCWR of at least least 12,000 pounds. Of course, the closer you think you’ll be to the 12,000-pound limit, the more likely you should consider the next size truck. The additional cost of $3,000 or more should pay for itself with less wear and tear on the vehicle over time.
It’s also important to consider the terrain you expect to ride most often. Driving in the mountains, for example, is hard on the way up, but even harder on the brakes on the way down, so it’s best to have a significantly larger truck capacity if you plan on hauling your horse up in the mountains frequently. Keep in mind, too, that depending on the weight of your trailer, you may be able to use an SUV or other light truck, unless you’re hauling a gooseneck trailer, which requires a pickup or larger unit with a bed. for the trailer. gooseneck hitch.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to be conservative and choose a more powerful towing/trailing capacity combination than you think you’ll need. The bottom line is that maneuverability and the ability to accelerate and/or brake smoothly can be the key to an enjoyable ride, no doubt, but more importantly, it can also be the difference between life and death on the road. .
