Hi everyone,
I am a teenager and just started driving, so bare with me. I have horses, and am planning on purchasing a horse trailer in the spring. I have always wanted to get a truck since I was a little girl. Since gas prices are so high, I would like to get the smallest truck possible to save the most money. What is the towing capacity on the F-series? Could a F-150 handle a 2-horse gooseneck that weighs a max. of 6000 with the horses loaded? or would I need a F-250? I know there are I would be getting 4WD because of the winter (and I have heard you really need it for the hills with hauling). Do you need a V8, or could a V6 do? Diesel or gas? I feel so dumb compared to the rest of you. Could someone help me out on what I would be looking for? Thanks

 

NewGal you could get by with an F-150. If you get a brand new one you might want to consider the 7700 Payload package. It is just a heavier duty version of the F-150. Either that or a F-250 would work just well too. If you want something that will give you good mileage towing you will want a diesel, but you would either have to get a Superduty or a 97 or older F-250/350 to get that option. If you get a gas I wouldn't get anything smaller that a V-8. About the 4 wheel drive you shouldn't need it for towing except for trying to get started if you're on bad ground. It won't give you any more power, just help you with some extra traction is all. Hope that helps you out. If you have anymore questions just ask me. I'll proably be here.

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See ya'll on the trail

 

The F-150 with the 7700 Payload Package can handle it. On the other hand, depending on how far you need to haul the trailer and how often, you may want a bigger truck, like the F-250 SuperDuty.

With the F-250, you can get the diesel, but then again you need to really think about this one. The diesel is an expensive option and makes sense only if you're going to do a whole lot of driving and heavy duty hauling. It also requires special maintenance. Oil changes are expensive because of the relatively huge oil capacity of the diesel.

The F-250 is also a physically bigger truck, so you may not enjoy it as much as a smaller truck. You definitely should test drive one to see if you can live with the size.

If you go with the F-150, get it with the 5.4L engine. You'll take around a 1 mpg hit but I think the 4.6L is a bit too small. The 4.2L V6 is definitely too small.

 

Well, I have a 2000 F-150 super cab 4x4 witht the 6500 GVWR package. I tow a 2horse slant load gooseneck with it and it has no trouble at all. When the trailer is hooked up it just about levels the truck out,it does not squat it down too much in the rear at all. I have the 5.4L V8 and would not recommend anything smaller than a V8. The last time that I weighed the rig, it weighed in at 13,060 pounds. That was with 2 horses and about as much gear as we take with us for any one trip. The regular 150 or the 7700 will do fine, and if you just tow on weekends or whenever, the 150 will give you alot better ride unloaded during the week. But anyway, I think you will be fine with an F-150, although I would not recommend pulling more than a 3 horse trailer with 3 horses in it. That is when it is time to step up to a Super Duty.

LHM

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2000 F-150 Super Cab XLT 4x4 ORP 5.4liter V8, Towing Package, Rear Slider, Remote keyless Entry,3.55 LS, Black Exterior, Medium Graphite interior, manual shift 4x4. Current mods Gooseneck hitch,Ford Custom Molded Splash Guards, Muth Signal Mirrors, SUPERCHIPS Performance Chip, and Y pipe with duals.