CHERRY
HILL'S HORSEKEEPING NEWSLETTER
September
2006
© 2006 Cherry Hill www.horsekeeping.com
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Tractors, Trucks, Trailers and More !! -
Richard
and I would like to share some excerpts from our new book with you.
It is
called Equipping
Your Horse Farm.
Whether you have one acre or
one hundred, you probably need a tractor or ATV, some implements,
a truck and a trailer.
We put all that
information together in one book.
It includes lots of worksheets, checklists
and buying guides.
Here are four excerpts.
Excerpt
from Equipping
Your Horse Farm
TRUCK
TOWING CAPACITY
It is better to
have more truck and not need it than to need more truck and not have it.
The
Towing Capacity of a vehicle is very important and must be appropriate for the
work. Manufacturers rate each vehicle according to its towing capacity but manufacturers’
ratings are usually based on hauling a static load such as a boat and trailer.
The demands on a towing vehicle are greater for live weight than for fixed cargo.
When you are hauling horses, you should plan to haul about 25% less than the maximum
load rating. It’s better to have more truck and not need it than to need
more truck and not have it. In general, and especially for interstate driving,
the weight of a loaded towing vehicle should be at least 75 percent of the weight
of the loaded trailer. Towing capacity is determined by many factors including
wheelbase, vehicle width, engine size, transmission, differential gear ratio,
and the vehicle weight.
Read a detailed
description of all of these factors in Equipping
Your Horse Farm.
Excerpt
from Equipping
Your Horse Farm
BUYING
A TRAILER
Physical Inspection
If
a trailer sounds promising after the first two stages, you’ll want to make
an appointment to look at it. Here is where you want to spend some time looking
at details. If you are buying a used trailer, take your tow vehicle along so you
can hook it up to evaluate the hitch or bed height, assess levelness and to check
the lights and brakes. Used trailers generally have no warranty so you or your
mechanic should inspect the trailer carefully.
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