Horse trailer+ slide in camper? Or LQ?

[quickster2]

We've had steel BP 3 horse stock trailers, a 4 horse aluminum CM Norstar LX gooseneck with 8' short wall, and now a 2 horse Homesteader we pull behind the truck with our North Star pop-up 850SC truck camper. Hands down the gooseneck pulled better and was more stable for the horses. As we no longer travel far with our aging horses, the truck camper and BP horse trailer works well for us. We can also tow the fishing boat, kayaks, ATV's, etc., as we need with the truck camper.

The Lance 650 is listed on Lance's website as: "Wet Weight w/Std. Equipment 2264 Lbs". You'll easily be a couple of hundred pounds heavier fully loaded especially if it is optioned out with. I would recommend the Gooseneck. Good luck with the decision.

 

[tjfdesmo]

Yes, but the weight will also be over the axle instead of hanging off the back which the advantage may be worth the extra weight.
Plus all the other advantages of a gooseneck horse trailer with living quarters including it's one unit to hook up and disconnect, 1 unit to maintain, smoother ride and safer handling than a tag-a-long trailer with a slide-in camper.

My vote is gooseneck with living quarters. Now to get past the cost!

Just to clarify, my post was not a vote for a camper, just a warning that it is exceedingly easy to go well beyong axle and tire ratings with a gooseneck LQ horse trailer.

I'll add that after my poor experience with Sundowner, I would advise OP to steer clear. Cimarron, and Bloomer are likely better choices.

 

[james.kaschmitter.90]

I have to admit, knowing your vehicle info, I would have to vote for a goose neck LQ horse trailer, makes more sense than anything.

 

[Roncad]

Have owned both truck with camper and horse trailer and now a dually towing a Trails West 8 ft. short wall two horse LQ. You are going through the same growing pains we did thru the years. First a truck and trailer and then you want to camp and ride.............now you add weight, a lot of weight. So, bigger truck is the safest. Hands down my pick is a living quarters. Campers add a lot of weight over the back axle and then the tongue weight of your bumper pull adds more. But, for ease of loading and safety a gooseneck LQ is my preference by far. Campers are really tight inside unless you purchase a huge one (even more weight), plus the center of gravity rises and is more susceptible to wind and rollovers. No matter what anyone tells you the danger in loading and unloading a camper is much much higher than disconnecting a trailer. The LQ trailer has a lower center of gravity and overall height plus much more room inside. When we horse camp we turn the back of the trailer into a game or dining room and/or dressing area once the horses are corralled outside. So much more of your load is distributed over the rear axles of the trailer instead of your truck bed. Other bonuses are carrying a small atv in back when not taking the horses and many times when people have stayed at our home it works well as an apartment. Your biggest hurdle is now making sense of all this weight being added to the limits of your truck. Our LQ is 8100 lbs. dry........add two 1,000 lb. horses, propane, water, and stuff...........add my dually 4X4 at 7500 lbs plus generator, firewood, outside cookware, and more stuff, plus 2 to 4 humans........see where this is going? Pushing the 20,000 lb. mark!!!! I didnt see whether your truck is a 1 ton or 3/4 ton, but a 3/4 ton start thinking about the two most overlooked items; brakes and rear tire capacities. I wouldnt feel safe in a 3/4 ton truck no matter how much you modify it towing the weight I do. My two cents worth.........

 

[redvetram]

I’m not going to go into all the reasons why cause they’ve all been listed already. But as a horseman (woman) I would absolutely go with the gooseneck LQ. I’ve seen enough people try to go with the other option and they always regret it.