Yeah, you would definitely want a fifth wheel to put the load over the axle. I made a dump run yesterday afternoon and the guy behind me was running an F-150 with a 20' flatbed trailer on a bumper hitch. The trailer didn't seem to have very much on it but the truck was tipped way back. So much so .... that it was probably taking the weight off his front tires and affecting the ability to steer the truck. It seemed like a monkey trying to do a gorilla sized job.
You might think about airbags for the rear suspension. The airbag kit is about 350.00 $ for an f-150 and it's not terribly hard to install. It offers some advantages:
1: It increases your load carrying capacity. Kinda like adding a helper spring or a couple of extra leafs in the stack.
2: It levels your truck back up after a load has been placed on it. You get better weight distribution and better steering.
3: It's totally adjustable.You can run the bags anywhere from 10 - 90 psi depending on your load.
4: They act as shock absorbers so that the truck & trailer combo is less apt to see - saw when you go over a bump.
5: It's not often that you need it ... but the airbags can level out an uneven load on your truck. Let's say that you had an oddly shaped thing that put 500 lbs on one side of the bed and 1000 lbs on the other. You could compensate for that by running one airbag at 50 psi and the other at 90 psi. That would level you up side to side.
The airbag suspension is nice to have if you're moving weight from place to place.
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