Almost exactly two years ago, I traded in my towing vehicle for a more practical, gas-friendly daily driver. You see, I was this close to having all the pennies saved up for a proper truck, and was excited to be able to finally have an appropriate set of wheels to take Fosterpants to the destination of my choice.
The old rig
And then 3 days later, I learned I needed to retire Foster.
From making plans for Foster, to saving up for a new horse(s), my dreams of independently taking my horse from point A to point B were definitely quashed. So every time I went somewhere in the last 2 years, I borrowed a truck. But recently I finally, finally, filled the truck fund up enough to go shopping.
And came back with this beauty:
She’s an ’07 F150, with 4WD and over 8,000 lbs of towing capacity- huge overkill for my 2 horse stock trailer. And though I may be making payments for some time, I could not be more thrilled to finally have the wheels I dreamed of.
Now I can’t help but turn my dreams towards a trailer upgrade, though in reality this will likely be another couple years in the making. Not that there’s anything wrong with my trailer- it’s an extra tall 2007 2 horse straight load, and I’ve done my best to take care of it. But I hope to eventually get something with a tack room (though I have become a bungee cord queen over the years) that’s warmer in the winter time.
The Chariot
Isn’t it ironic that the days of horses transporting us from destination to destination have become replaced with humans spending thousands of dollars to do just the opposite?! What is your current rig set up? Do you have your own truck and trailer, or do you have a borrowing scheme in place like I did? If you own truck/trailer/etc what are the things about it that you love? What would you change? What would be your ideal set up?
Red on the Right 
i had the truck before the trailer. I bought a Ridgeline in 2013 and got rides with people who had trailers (A PIA for sure). I bought my trailer finally in 2015 and have never looked back. I would like a dressing room but live without it due to my truck not being able to pull too heavy a trailer. I am so happy to have my own wheels. And glad not to be begging rides 🙂 Congrats on your new truck YAY! And I think your trailer is cute. Whatever works, right??
For sure! I had wondered about the Ridgelines… what is the towing capacity on those?
i think 5000. The people i bought it new from did all the research, it only weighs 2000 lbs empty (it is basically just a two horse trailer no storage) and that works for me along with the extra brakes etc we did to it. Since I mostly just haul Remus short distances it works. One day maybe I Will have a real truck. PS the new ridgelines seem even smaller than mine, not sure how they haul (Mine is a 2013) LOVE MY TRUCK 🙂 Congrats again on your new truck!
We got our trailer first. We had a little two horse straight load bumper pull originally that worked for our shorter stock horses, but when Bacon came around, she threw that out the window. My husband wanted a gooseneck, and I agreed especially with dipping my feet into the eventing world and knowing that none of our shows are close by, we would be spending nights in it. We bought a simple three horse slant with plenty of room for the giraffe and company, but I watched it sit behind my house for over a year before we had the vehicle to pull it.
My husband struggled watching me miss adventures because I couldn’t get there, and went to work on finding the right truck. He had a specific checklist and made a chart of every truck that was listed for sale (year, mileage, price, etc) so he could find the right one for the right price. We lucked into our truck, as our friend briefly mentioned they might sell it and we snatched it. A 2007 GMC 3500 slt long bed crew cab with duramaxx diesel and Allison transmission with less than 100k miles. Yep… Those were my husband’s specs. And yes, I know I married a weirdo. But man, do I love my truck. And him!
Holy cow- that sounds like an awesome setup! And I have major truck envy. ❤ ❤
I had hoped to eventually get myself a gooseneck but not with this particular truck, since it's a short bed. But I get your giant comments! There's no way I'm going to be able to get Jack into anything smaller than warmblood height!
I’ve never had a truck or trailer — just lucky enough to have friends who are willing to haul my ponykins around!
It’s definitely handy to have those kinds of friends!
Congrats on your truck! Having just been down this path myself, I understand the excitement. I wish you very many happy miles.
Congrats! Doesn’t it feel amazing again?
And I need to see your bungie cord set up. I’m trying to figure out how I can squeeze things into places.
yay new truck! i honestly think i would have kept my stock trailer forever if it hadn’t been too small for charlie lol, i freakin loved that thing. we made custom plexi panels to cover up the open sides during winter and it was pretty darn cozy in there too. i like my new trailer a lot tho, a cotner (made in PA). i personally prefer extra nose space to a dressing room, and have decided that emergency doors on both sides are a must. hopefully this trailer will be with me for a long time, tho it may be time to upgrade the truck sooner than i’d wish…
So pretty! Congratulations!
Also, I typed out a long comment on your post about courage and WordPress didn’t post it 😦
I acquired truck and trailer pretty much simultaneously with our move to Michigan. My SO had a job with one of the big three car manufacturers, which meant really good discounts on their trucks. So I got a lease (which is now a purchase) on a new truck (2015 Chevy Silverado crew cab standard bed) and then found an excellent deal on a used 2h straight load Eclipse horse trailer that fit all of my needs (extra tall and long since Gwyn is a big girl with a dressing room). And just in time to move the horse home for the first time ever.
Congrats on your new truck!! So nice to have some wheels of your own to go on adventures with your pony 🙂 We are also truck-shopping, and were advised to find a rig that was set to pull 10k+ lbs, for 1 horse. I see your truck is in the 8k range, do you feel it gets the job done safely? Going into the search, i assumes that was plenty for one horse but had a few people tell me otherwise – so I am just curious to hear your take on a lighter tow model 😬
She’s so pretty! Congrats!
Congrats on the truck! Goals for me.
I grew up riding with access to a truck and trailer. Now that I’m an adult on my own, not having one is really difficult. I don’t get lessons on my own horse. I don’t get to try a tiny schooling show for cheap because I don’t have people to haul me. I don’t have an option for evacuating (a thought brought up by the recent fires). My husband and I have agreed that buying a house comes before buying a truck/trailer. I don’t NEED a truck and trailer but I really really want one…