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Re: [RC] [RC] Endurance Trucks - Heidi SmithWell, before you spend $30,000 for a truck and $10,000 for a camper, consider a Brenderup two-horse trailer, which can haul two 18-h warmbloods, if need be. I pull mine nicely at 65 mph with a 6 cyl. SUV that is big enough to sleep in, using a good air mattress, and I have a Thetford electric porta-potty and Zodi propane shower set up in the horse trailer (there is even a shelf in front area that would accomodate a microwave). Sounds like many of the endurance rigs in Europe... :-) Alas, many of us have other needs that dictate that we have trucks... With 50-some-odd horses, in addition to our 3-horse LQ trailer (no camper, btw, and we only paid $4500 for this oldie-but-goodie) we also have a 7-ton gooseneck flatbed (no, that's not what it weighs, that's what it's rated to carry) which does anything from hay to tractors to backhoes and a large steel gooseneck stock trailer, which has hauled up to 10 horses in a pinch, but frequently hauls 6 or 7. The pickup can also carry a ton or more of hay when not pulling a trailer, and can also accommodate a 325-gallon bed tank (although we also have a "farm truck"--a 1988 F-250 4WD 460--that usually does the hay-in-the-bed thing or the water tank thing, as well as the chained-up-in-the-winter feed truck thing). We only paid $2100 for the farm truck (which WILL pull the goosenecks, too, if need be, but that 460 will eat you out of house and home if you have to drive far), $2800 for the flatbed, and $4000 for the stock trailer. Also, if one isn't set on that new-truck smell, there are some wonderful deals on used trucks that are still fairly young. I got my Powerstroke extended cab 4WD 5-speed (a 97) for only $18,000--in immaculate condition with only 72,000 miles on it. Having priced SUVs, I don't think I'm out of the ballpark, and it sure is nice to be able to haul 6 or 7 horses at the speeds you mention... :-) So for less than you're quoting above, I've got a "good" truck and a spare, as well as THREE trailers... :-) Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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