EventingSaddlebredStyle did a fun post on Friday about her current hauling rig, and I’m making the executive decision to turn it into an (unofficial) blog hop! I feel like pictures of my rig make it on here on a pretty regular basis, but in case you haven’t seen it….
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| Lookin' sharp at Von Holten Ranch. |
The truck is a 1999 Ford F250 Superduty with the coveted 7.3L engine – it’s also diesel with a standard transmission (my two least favorite parts about it, haha). Extended cab, long bed, 4WD, the works.
We bought it when it became clear that my towing needs had outstripped the capacities of my beloved 2000 Chevy Silverado 1500 (although it’s still rolling right along as our hay/miscellaneous farm chores truck).
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| Picking up the trailer 7 years ago. |
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| The first time I drove the diesel with the trailer -- ack! It was nerve-wracking. |
Learning to drive a manual came with a pretty steep learning curve for me, but I have finally gotten to the point where I’m pretty comfortable driving it on the regular (well ya know, except for that time we put a new
clutch pedal in and I had to relearn how to drive it!). The truck isn’t the prettiest (in fact, I call it Brienne. Props if you get the reference), but it runs like a top with TLC and regular maintenance. This particular engine is well known to last
FOR.EV.ER so I imagine I’ll be driving this truck for the rest of my natural life (I'm only sort of joking -- these engines can easily get over
400K). I think the next project will be doing something about the incredibly rusted out cab corners, yikes!
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| Earning it's keep hauling hay -- 50 bales in the bed? No sweat! |
Brienne is currently sporting some sweet truck magnets that were a Christmas gift from my dad a few years back.
The trailer is a 1999 4-Star gooseneck 3-horse slant load with a collapsible back tack room. We are the second owners of this trailer, and even though it’s older, it’s still in really great shape! A few years ago the roof was badly dented in a nasty hailstorm, but thankfully my insurance company had no problem replacing it (to the tune of like $7K, yikes!).
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| That time when I finally got around to acid washing the trailer and it looked brand new again haha. |
4-Star makes a super quality product, even though there are a few features of the trailer I don’t love. Honestly what I’d really love is a 4-Star 2+1 (and of course I literally saw one for sale last week), but this trailer is perfectly serviceable and meets my needs. It also has the added bonus of being fully paid for ;) so probably won’t be changing it anytime soon (unless anyone out there has a 2+1 and is dying for my trailer instead? No? Didn’t think so… haha).
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| Topaz and Ruby hanging out at the trailer at a clinic I went to a few years back. |
The tack room is spacious and I love the gooseneck for storing lots of things that are convenient to have in a trailer, but that take up a lot of space (like 5-6 folding chairs, a canopy, several Rubbermaid totes, etc). There is a rack for 3 saddles, copious bridle hooks, and another hook for hanging clothes. I've never had a horse not fit into the slants, from Topaz (16 hands and 1350 lbs) to Jasper (much, much smaller haha). Although I really wanted a ramp when I was trailer shopping, the step up is a reasonable height and most horses load into it quite well.
We recently installed Kensington trailer screens (LOVE) to increase airflow to the horses, and I’m still eyeballing fans and a camera as
ideas for long-term upgrades.
How about you – what’s your current hauling set up? What do you love about it? Are there things you’d like to change about it?
I'm getting better with the diesel manual but there is definitely one stop sign on a slope that I say a little prayer at 😂
ReplyDeleteI consider stop signs on hills to be borderline optional in low traffic areas 😂 lol
Deletei love having a manual transmission on my daily driver sedan.... but am way too chicken to haul with one. like i considered it.... but then the idea of trying to pull out from a steep driveway (like at my dressage trainer's farm) or get through some sticky mud.... idk, makes my heart all fluttery lol. your truck sounds awesome tho!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely terrifying at times, although repetition has made it more comfortable. I grudgingly love the truck. It was a good buy, even if it wasn't my preference at the time haha.
DeletePretty sweet rig! I have a 4Star 2+1 now and it will
ReplyDeleteHave to be pried from my cold dead fingers. Not even kidding. There are some additions I want to make but the set up is on point.
Props to you for hauling with a manual. That's a hard pass for me. I drive a little manual M3 hatchback as a daily driver to spare my precious truck and couldn't imagine hauling with one.
Nice to see how well the 4Stars age! Your trailer looks great! :)
Haha yeah everyone I know who has a 2+1 would never go back, which says a lot about how fab they are! And yes, 4-Stars definitely age well 😉
DeleteI totally echo your sentiment on a 2+1 (though I'd take any brand at this point...) and you can tell they are great because they're never for sale. Ugh! Manual trucks scare me, and when I was truck shopping way back when (on a major budget) I opted for gas, because diesel scared me, too. It's crazy how many bloggers I've seen who have them, though!
ReplyDeleteI was not in love with the idea of a diesel either, but it's converted me I think. There are some downsides for sure (let's not talk about what a bitch it is to start in the cold lol) but overall it's a really super solid truck. And the number of them floating around with high mileage speaks to the longevity and durability! Like I'll be amazed if my gas truck makes it past 200k, but 200k on this diesel is just getting it broken in right 😋 haha
DeleteI actually love manual transmission for cars, but I don't think I'd want to do it for a truck. Just driving the horse trailer makes me on edge enough, I don't need another thing to worry about managing. I love having a diesel though. It's a lot more power and we get great mileage.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it wouldn't be my personal preference, there's no denying that the standards hold up way better to the rigors of frequent towing, so I just have to suck it up and deal lol. But yeah, the power of the diesel was a major selling point!
DeleteI'm about 85% sure I'm trading in my sundowner 777 for a new custom 4Star this winter. I want something a touch smaller than a 2+1 but that has a side ramp and a tack room. Which means, probably at the end of the day I'll have a 2+1 lol.
ReplyDeleteI'm hauling with an F350 diesel named Jorge. He's a stud.
I'm glad to hear you're happy with yours!
Haha I hope you get one, and then down the road when you're done you can sell it to me 😋
DeleteWe just traded our 2006 Ford F-250 a few weeks ago. It was a diesel, but the 6.0. We personally never had any problems with it, but with 226k miles, it was getting to the point where we couldn't afford to fix it if things went wrong. And they gave us way more than we ever thought possible for trade in.
ReplyDeleteSo now we have a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. Not ideal for a lot of hauling, but we haul so infrequently and usually like 30 minutes max, that it will work fine for us. The truck is my husband's daily driver and he does a lot of various towing. He's missing the diesel a lot.
My trailer is a 1965 I believe (not even sure of brand) 2 horse straight load. Miraculously it doesn't have mangers and is 7 foot tall (most trailers this age are around 6'6"). My horse and pony fit well in it. It's not luxury and frankly kind of ugly, but it works for what we need it for. If I could do some upgrades I'd redo the roof and have some welding done on a few spots that are a bit rusty, replace the rubber on the ramp and replace all the plywood on the sides. And likely just reinforce it a bit. Not my dream trailer, but it's better than no wheels.
I hauled for several years with my Chevy 1500, especially short hops! But I can imagine it was a bit of an adjustment for your husband.
DeleteAs long as a trailer is safe and functional, who cares if its not the most attractive thing? Wheels are wheels! :)
The funny thing is, he's really more of a Chevrolet guy, but he has always wanted a diesel truck and the Ford was what we were able to afford. Even though he loved hauling with that truck and misses it a lot, he would tell people almost daily how he wasn't a Ford guy. But at the end of the day, a half ton truck that runs, is better than a 3/4 ton truck that doesn't. It still ran, but we were starting to get worried something would happen that we couldn't afford to fix.
DeleteI'm a Chevy girl myself honestly. It took quite a bit of convincing for me to make the jump. But you're right, a reliable truck is always better than one that you can't count on for whatever reason. That was one of the big reasons the Chevy got relegated to hay truck for us -- we've had numerous issues with the brake lines and I just couldn't trust it to haul the horse trailer any more... Especially with horses onboard :( But I sure do miss hauling with it! A little half ton with a 2 horse is the perfect set up for quick hops 😀
ReplyDeleteLove my big diesel, and I'll never go back! It's a 2012 F350 Superduty. Yes, it's a bit overkill for my two horse bumper pull, but it also does all the hauling for everything else on the farm. I had a F150 and a Ram 1500 prior to my F350, and there's just no comparison. As long as it's above about 10 F, I've never had a problem getting the truck started, but less than 10 F we plug it in. It will still start if we forget to plug it in, but it isn't happy about it!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I feel a little silly dragging my two horse bumper pull behind my giant truck, but the bumper pull really fits my needs. It's "WB sized": extra tall, extra wide, extra long. A lot of the goosenecks I see just aren't big enough for my big guys. I'd have to get one of those massive 4 horse head to heads, and then I'd have to learn to park it! I'll keep my bumper pull, thank you!
I don't think there is such a think as "overkill" for a hauling truck! :) Sounds like a perfect set up. And yes, I've enviously eyeballed some of the 4 horse head to heads but the logistics of navigating with it makes me shudder, haha. So probably a good thing it's unlikely I'll ever end up with a 2+1 ;) lol. Also jealous of your truck's starting abilities -- ours gets finickly below about 40, which is annoying. Next year's truck maintenance list includes new glow plugs haha.
DeleteSomeday, I will have a rig. Someday.
ReplyDeleteAnd ZB will delight in putting her smushy nose all over said rig 😁 and cute photos will be taken.
DeleteOh no... this makes me want to keep my truck. I have a '95 GMC Sierra 6.5L diesel manual transmission long box sitting in my driveway.
ReplyDeleteThings I love about it 1. Big truck 2. Diesel
Things I don't like 1. Fuel consumption 2. I don't have a trailer
Things I'm not sure about: Hauling + Manual transmission
Yeah the fuel consumption is definitely a downer, haha. And not having a trailer sucks :( but honestly, hauling with a manual is so much better on the engine in terms of wear and tear that I suck it up and make myself do it! I got very lucky hauling for quite some time with an automatic on a truck that was really too small to do what I was asking it to do, but I'm really lucky I didn't blow up the engine. I'd rather be over-trucked than under-trucked!
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