VS Gooseneck Horse
Bumper Pull Trailer?
Tom and his wife, Neva Scheve, have been
advocating horse trailer safety since 1984.
Both have given safety clinics at many
horse expos around the country and have
written numerous safety articles for national
EE: And the gooseneck?
Tom: The gooseneck area provides a good area to snooze
or sleep. Most goosenecks will accommodate a queen
size bed and have windows on each side for ventilation. If
one wants a living quarters, the gooseneck area puts the
bed up and out of the way. The gooseneck area also gives
extra space for storing tack and equipment. A gooseneck
has a heavier tongue weigh, which is good for tracking,
and the truck can more easily handle the weight since it
is directly over the axles. It’s important to note that heavy
tongue weight is a good thing for non-sway tracking on
both goosenecks and bumper pulls as long as the tow
vehicle is rated to handle the weight. Another advantage
is that a gooseneck is heavier and the heavier weight can
be an advantage if your only tow vehicle is a substantial
sized truck. The stiffer springs on a heavy duty truck can
give a rather rough ride to a non-dressing room tag-along,
especially if you are only hauling one horse
One of the reasons people believe a tag-along trailer is not
as stable is because mistakes are more often made when
putting the tow vehicle/frame mounted hitch combination
together. The tongue weight on a tag-along has less room
for error over a gooseneck since it’s hitched to the rear
of the vehicle. As I mentioned before, tongue weight is a
good thing for a trailer to track well, but if the tow vehicle
can’t handle it, it will push the back of the tow vehicle
down causing the front to lift up, reducing control. As long
as the tow vehicle has a good weight, good wheel base
length, and correct towing capacity, it will be very stable
and track safely.
Tom: Now remember, we’re talking about a two-horse
gooseneck vs. a two-horse tag-along. The tag-along
tongue weight is lighter maybe by 1000 lbs. or more, so if
the jack is in good working order it can be easier to jack up
and down the lighter tongue weight. And you don’t have
to crawl up into the truck bed as you do for a gooseneck
to fasten the safety chains or in some cases, secure the
coupler onto the ball.
EE: Is a gooseneck horse trailer safer than a bumper pull
trailer?
Tom: First, let me clarify that “gooseneck” means a trailer
that hitches to a ball in the bed of a truck and bumper pull
refers to a trailer that attaches to a hitch that is behind the
axles of a tow vehicle. What is commonly called “bumper
pulls” we prefer to call “tag-alongs.” It’s just semantics, but
the idea is that you should never hook a horse trailer to the
actual bumper of a tow vehicle. The term “bumper pull”
might suggest it’s OK to use a ball installed on the bumper.
All tag-alongs should attach to a ball on a frame mounted
hitch.
Tom: The answer is “yes” for three or more horses but it’s a
common misconception that two horse gooseneck trailers
are safer than tag-alongs. But it gets tricky.
EE: How so?
Tom: A two horse tag-along can be just as safe and tow
just as well as a gooseneck trailer but this doesn’t involve
just the trailer. It has to take in account the tow vehicle and
hitch system.
Tom: Let’s talk about tag-alongs first because there are
quite a few benefits. For one, it cost a lot less and if it’s the
same brand as the gooseneck, the horse and tack area
will be the same except for the space in the gooseneck
itself – and, of course, how it’s hooked to the tow vehicle.
Another benefit is that it’s shorter if storage space is a problem.
Since it’s lighter weight and can be pulled by an SUV,
the gas mileage will be less. Not everyone wants to drive a
truck as an everyday vehicle. An SUV can function as both.
Also, a tag-along will track closer to the path of the tow
vehicle when turning whereas a gooseneck will cut corners
more severly. And a rather big advantage to the tag-along
is that it can be pulled by an SUV and a truck so if your tow
vehicle happens to break down somewhere, there are
more possible vehicles to draw from to tow it.
68 www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com
horse magazines including Equine
Journal. Neva has three horse trailer
books to her credit including the industry
accepted textbook “The Complete Guide
to Buying, Maintaining, and Servicing a
Horse Trailers.”
A common question often asked by those
considering a two horse trailer is: Bumper
pull or gooseneck? We asked Tom to explain
the advantages of and disadvantages
of both.
EE: Good points. So back to the question: is a gooseneck
safer than a tag-along trailer?
EE: I’ve heard it said that bumper pulls, sorry, tag-longs
are not as stable as goosenecks.
EE: Okay. I get it. So why would one choose a tag-along
trailer over a gooseneck?
EE: Which is easier to hook up?
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