any thoughts ? no max tow, rated for 9600 , pulling travel trailer. all sorts of grades including rocket mountains rarely, i would also put in airbags. would there be any "diff-erence" from 3:73

 

Drivetrain can handle it no problem, but I'd be concerned about exceeding max payload and/or truck GVWR. Being that you will need a weight distribution hitch I don't think airbags will be needed.

 

You can always combine a WD with air bags. Let me know if you have any questions!

https://www.airliftcompany.com/works...s-air-springs/

 

Not only are they not needed, but airbags can "fool" you into not setting up the Weight Distribution Hitch (WDH) correctly. Generally, you adjust the WDH so that you get equal compression (drop) at the front and rear of the tow vehicle when the trailer tongue load is applied. That way, that load is distributed evenly onto the front and rear axles of the tow vehicle.

If you have air bags, you can add pressure to them to raise the rear end of the tow vehicle when tongue weight is applied so that the tow vehicle "looks" ok. But, virtually all the extra weight (10-15% of 8000#) is now being carried by the rear axle. That's 800-1200#! And, if you now make use of a WDH, it will be doing nothing (except adding more weight).

Unless you set up the WDH correctly, you are likely to exceed the weight limit on the rear axle of the F150. You can find that limit on the door sticker, and you should take your truck and trailer to a CAT scale to verify that you haven't overloaded your truck.

Personally, I think an 8000# trailer is too much for the suspension of an F150. You need a SuperDuty.

- Jack