Bumper Pulling Recommendation

[bigredhdt]

I plan to tow my 2 horse bumper pull with my vnl630. Anyone have recommendations?

 

 

Don't do it?

Need some sort of air hitch, etc??,

[jkoenig24]

Check with Steve Dixon; I believe his trailer is a "bumper pull".

[Broncohauler]

Yes check with Steve.

But I can tell you that my 21 foot boat. rides far better and smoother behind my 3 axle peterbilt than it ever did behind my F-150 or my superduty.

Give it a try. Maybe have Some one video it for you to watch that's what I did.

 

One thing I would think about is are you running a weed burner exhaust or a stack? The exhaust coming out of your stack could blow straight into the horse trailer depending on how clean your truck runs.

[jkennell]

I wouldn't worry about an occasional tow. A bumper pull trailer is not like a RV 5r, with the cantilevered poorly welded up and over frame. People pull bumper trailers all the time with MDT spring ride trucks--and if you thought your HDT with air was rough....! I especially wouldn't worry about a 2 horse trailer--you don't have enough length there to create a lot of force!

[bigredhdt]

I was more worried about the rough ride beating up on the trailer and bouncing around the horses.

[adept99]

Put knee pads on the horses & tell 'em it's an "E" ticket ride. They'll think it's fun...

 

Kidding...

[Dollytrolley]

 

Bigred,

 

I agree with Bronchauler that bumper hitch HDT is a good tow platform for conventional trailers.

 

We tow a 30ft /10K toy-box with a single removable horse module in a slant configuration in the last 3ft of our "garage / barn" and the horse enjoys the ride very well (Dolly-the-paint-horse-PET) is the kind of horse that is very low-key but IF the trailer is uncomfortable she lets us know!!

 

I have utilized some industrial vibration testing equipment to compare our one ton pickup vs our FL Century and the Freightliner is far more stable and does not stress the toy-box EXCEPT when I get club-footed on the clutch.

 

My fear of the Dolly-moma (DW) makes my clutch foot very smooth whenever the horse is in tow.......

 

One thing that helps out tow somewhat smooth is that we often carry several hundred gallons of fuel and water as well as a ton or more of horse gear plus up to a ton of horse feed for our extended trail-riding boondock camps. While our toy-box could hold 200 gal of water we only tow with almost all of the water on the truck and maybe just 10 to 20 gal in the trailer tanks. keeping the trailer below gross helps the trailer tires and the added weight on the truck helps smooth the truck ride so it is a win / win. Our toy-box axles are set well back so we carry a fair ball hitch wt of 900 to 1100 lbs so that also helps dampen the ride as well.

 

Also note we remain tandem since we often carry more bed weight than suitable for a single, sometimes tandems ride good and other times (washboard roads) not-so-good .....so..........tandem or single...... the stress mostly depends on the road surface conditions......

 

Happy travels,

 

Dollytrolley

[CDR]

Bigredhdt;

 

That's all we have ever pulled (bumper pull travel trailer), no 5ver for us the wife doesn't like them! 1st was an Airstream now the Sprinter, haven't had an issue yet even without the "air" hitch. Have put many thousand miles on each.

 

My 2 cents.

 

Curt

[SuiteSuccess]

Bigredhdt,

 

Steve is overseas in his day job but will tell you he runs an air ride bumper hitch. Otherwise very hard on the trailer and contents. Pretty sure he uses Air Safe.

[CDR]

Suitesucess;

 

You obviously did not read my post. Is an air ride hitch better, yes. Will pulling the trailer without one damage the trailer, not from my tens of thousands of miles of experience.

 

You be the judge.

 

Curt

[sdixon747]

I have been pulling bumper pull trailers for over eight years with my Volvo 660. My first couple of tows when I first got the truck was with a rigid hitch. Long story short, if it wasn't tied down, it ended up on the floor. After that, I decided I needed an air hitch. Bought a Shocker Hitch. Next tow, I inadvertently left a cup of water on the kitchen counter. It was still there when I got where I was going. I am sold on the air hitches. I now have a larger bumper pull trailer that is too heavy for the Shocker Hitch, so now I have an AirSafe Hitch.

[CDR]

SDixon747;

 

Are you still happy with the Open Range?

 

Curt

[sdixon747]

SDixon747;

Are you still happy with the Open Range?

Curt

Actually, yes I am. I did have some issues with cracks in the walls at the corner of the slides. I contacted the factory and told them of the problems. They said to take some pictures and send to them. They got the pictures, and even though my unit was three years out of warrantee, they said it looked like a manufacturing defect so bring it in and they would put new walls on it. They said they had a new construction method that would eliminate the problem.

 

So I took it in, and not only did they replace the walls, when they had it up on jacks, they saw minor uneven wear on my tires. So they gave me new upgraded tires and wheels and raised the max gross weight rating. My toilet had a small crack on the flush pedel, so they installed a new toilet. My fire extinguisher was almost out of date, so they installed a new fire extinguisher. The rear bumper had a small crack, replaced it. Got a new CO detector. Install several more air conditioning vents. Additional structure under the subfloor, new subfloor and new upgraded flooring. The list goes on and on. Once again, three years out of warrantee and all that plus more was done at no charge.

 

Even though I had a few issues with the Open Range, I can't say enough good about their customer service. They do stand behind thair product.

 

Steve

[HERO Maker]

Steve, it sounds like a great company! I remembered you talking about them being pretty open to you bringing it back to them for some repairs, but it sounds like they went far and beyond what you even imagined. You must be living right . Bless you bro,

[Jack Mayer]

Steve, that is amazing. Congrats on your new unit!!

[CDR]

Steve;

 

That is Great service! We started looking at upgrading to an new Open Ranger but the wife thinks we don't use ours enough to justify a newer trailer (if you can belive that?) we have not had an issue with ours, I'm the one who feels it getting dated. She wants to move to a motorhome next. Back to yours, do you think a dealer would have been as through or economical? I have not experienced factory dealings.

 

Curt

[AllenF]

I've found that if I don't have air in my hitch that things get thrown around alot in the trailer. I doubt that it you would damage a horse trailer but you could possibly hurt a horse.

[sdixon747]

Steve;

 

That is Great service! We started looking at upgrading to an new Open Ranger but the wife thinks we don't use ours enough to justify a newer trailer (if you can belive that?) we have not had an issue with ours, I'm the one who feels it getting dated. She wants to move to a motorhome next. Back to yours, do you think a dealer would have been as through or economical? I have not experienced factory dealings.

 

Curt

Hi Curt

 

Well, the short answer… I don’t think you would get the same service from a dealer.

 

For the long answer and to explain why I feel that way, I have to tell the story of how I ended up with that trailer. Before the Open Range, I had a 38’ toy hauler. We spent lots of time going to remote control helicopter events all over. The toy box gave me space to carry all of my helicopters, tools, support equipment, etc from event to event. As time went by, we found ourselves attending fewer helicopter events and more just living.

 

I was at my local dealer buying some parts for the toy hauler. Gail had no interest in the parts department, so she went to see what was out on the lot. When I finished at the parts department, I went out to the lot to look for Gail. I really wasn’t in the market for a new trailer, but while looking for Gail, I found the Open Range model that I eventually bought. It had all the storage space and living space of a 5th wheel, but was a travel trailer. I thought that this could work for me so I talked to the salesman about it. Told him what I would trade in and he gave me a price.

 

I went home and did some research on Open Range. I had never heard of them before. Most people had good things to say about it, so I started giving it more serious thought. The next week we were in Birmingham for a helicopter event. While there, I found a dealer in Huntsville only two hours away that had the same model, but better equipped, in stock. I told the salesman there what I had to trade in and the price he gave was $10,000 less than my local dealer. I called my local dealer and told him what I found and the price. I told him he didn’t have to beat the price, but at least come close. I wanted to do business locally, but his response was “I gave you my best price.”

 

Well, that obviously wasn’t going to work. So I called the Huntsville dealer back the next day and said I would take it. He said “too late. It sold yesterday.” Well Crap! Well I made THAT deal, I can do it again. So when I got home the next week, I contacted every Open Range dealer within a two day drive. I once again found the same model in Minneapolis with better equipment for $10,000 less than my local dealer. I once again contacted my local dealer and once again was told “I gave you my best price.” For $10,000 I’ll drive to Minneapolis.

 

So we went to Minneapolis and bought the new trailer. We then spent a month giving it a “Shake Down Cruise”. When it came time to head back home, I had a list of warranty items that I wanted to have addressed. I called my local local dealer to schedule a service appointment and was told “We don’t work on those units.” I hung up the phone and thought that’s weird, you sell them, but don’t work on them? Oh well. So I found a dealer in Roanoke. Told them what I had and wanted to have some warranty work done. They said no problem, bring it on in. When I got there and started going over my list, the service manager basically argued with me over almost every item. I told him that he obviously didn’t want me there, so I hooked back up and left.

 

As we were driving home, I got to thinking about my local dealer. I wondered do they not work on Open Range, or do they not work on MY Open Range. So I had Gail call them to schedule a service appointment. At first they were real nice. Then they asked her name. “Gail Dixon” she said. Service manager asked “Any relation to Steve Dixon?” “Yes, he’s my husband.” “We won’t work on that unit.” So she hung up the phone.

 

The next day I called the service department at the Open Range factory in Shipshewana. Told them the issues I was having and was told no problem, we’ll take care of you. I scheduled an appointment and they fixed everything on my list plus a few things that I missed.

 

Well that’s my long answer explaining my short answer of why I don’t think you will get as good of service at a dealer as you will get at the factory. Maybe there are some good dealers and service shops out there, but I haven’t found them yet.

 

Steve

[Dollytrolley]

I have been reflecting back on way too many years of hauling horses and it boils down to longitudinal and lateral trailer forces that you have to consider when hauling horses.

 

SUDDEN Longitudinal forces ( Brakes, Clutch, Throttle) can be substantial with a HDT and you might be able to "upset the horse in the trailer.

 

SUDDEN Lateral force (side turning, swerve....people texting pull out in front of you towing....) may upset the horse as well.

 

Vertical forces as in general are well tolerated by horses and there body is built to sustain high vertical force loads.

 

The type of hitch is likely never to matter to the horse they are pretty tough animals but jerky driving is a sure way to get a horse to get mad at a trailer and when the horse is mad at your trailer your in real trouble. We had a good friend that had to borrow a different trailer to get the horse home after the horse got mad at the trailer in mid-trip...

 

By far the biggest danger in hauling in horses is leg injuries sustained by ANY sharp object the horse can find (lose screw, bolt, cotter pin, etc)

 

Keep the trailer smooth inside and the horse will likely do well until some "texting jerk" pulls out in front of you and you have to swerve and brake hard.

 

A HDT has many advantages when towing but the shear power to pull, steer, and brake must be handled with care to keep the horse happy the trailer will follow along well.

 

The wifes trail riding addiction has had me towing horses over some pretty rough pig-trails and horses have all done well but higher speed sudden turning and sudden braking are not good......

 

 

Happy travels,

 

Dollytrolley

[rvhaulers.ca]

I also pull a bumper-pull (travel trailer). It is a triple axle toy hauler. I believe the frame and steel structure of my toy hauler should be able to handle the rough treatment my HDT puts on the hitch point. However, I am more concerned with the contents of my trailer, cabinets, and appliances.

 

I initially towed without an air-ride hitch, for a few years. After a few hours of travelling, we would often find cabinets opened, and the contents of our trailer had migrated to new locations while travelling. Items that were initially at one end of the trailer when we left, were now else-where!

 

I purchased an air-safe class 6 hitch, and it made a HUGE difference. Nothing moves in the trailer. The coffee maker (which used to be wrapped in towels, and stored) now stays right on the counter, and doesn't move. Dog bowl of water (with water in it), stays there, and no lost water. Pretty impressive.

 

My message is: perhaps your trailer frame can handle it.

 

You are carrying precious cargo. Make sure they get the best of treatment and ride.

[Broncohauler]

I also pull a bumper-pull (travel trailer). It is a triple axle toy hauler. I believe the frame and steel structure of my toy hauler should be able to handle the rough treatment my HDT puts on the hitch point. However, I am more concerned with the contents of my trailer, cabinets, and appliances.

 

I initially towed without an air-ride hitch, for a few years. After a few hours of travelling, we would often find cabinets opened, and the contents of our trailer had migrated to new locations while travelling. Items that were initially at one end of the trailer when we left, were now else-where!

 

I purchased an air-safe class 6 hitch, and it made a HUGE difference. Nothing moves in the trailer. The coffee maker (which used to be wrapped in towels, and stored) now stays right on the counter, and doesn't move. Dog bowl of water (with water in it), stays there, and no lost water. Pretty impressive.

 

My message is: perhaps your trailer frame can handle it.

 

You are carrying precious cargo. Make sure they get the best of treatment and ride.

 

Very well said.

[Big5er]

Gregg (and others),

you make a very valid point. I am not an engineer or builder or whatever and while the "frame" may be able to handle the stresses, from posts like yours we learn that the contents may take a beating without an airride hitch. What about the "rest" of the trailer? The cabinets, the walls, the slide room mechanics? Slides come in, and usually "up" some. I have seen slides that the manufacturer recommends not walking on while they are "in". What is the stress doing to the "rest" of the trailer? Any ideas? Our trailers are not commercial grades trailers that are riveted together. How well do nails (and little bitty nails at that) hold stuff together after the "extra" stressful trip of being towed behind an HDT?