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Gene, Although you could probably get away with this if you're not going any great distance, I would really recommend that you try to find a 3/4 ton (or 1 ton) vehicle. The main problem is that most 1/2 ton pickups have marginal brakes, and there is no simple modification that is going to overcome this problem. Pulling a heavy trailer with a vehicle that has lousy brakes is a recipe for disaster. Another problem with 1/2 ton vehicles is that they have semi-floating rear axles that use a single ball bearing on each side, while heavier duty trucks have full-floating axles with a pair of Timken bearings on each side. Even if you beef up the springs to carry the weight of your fifth-wheel trailer, you run the risk of burning up your rear wheel bearings. Assuming that your brakes are adequate, you'll probably need to beef up the cooling system and and change out the ring and pinion gears in the rear end. For what it's going to cost you to beef up your vehicle to handle a 10K lb gooseneck trailer, you can probably trade in your 1/2 ton for a good used 3/4 ton.
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