Slant six or v8 swap for use in a truck

X2 on what Charrlie said, if you're towing much of a trailer I'd for sure get the trailer brakes. My trailer alone is 1800 lbs, with much of a load it's well over 3000 lbs. I wouldn't tow more than that without brakes.

Also, you may want to look at air bags. My truck rides like a Cadillac when empty. However, it gets pretty saggy in the back end when I start adding weight. I didn't want to give up the nice ride to add helper springs to keep the rear end level. So I added these air bags and really like them. They have only about 5 PSI in them when putting town around empty. I have about 60 PSI in them when hauling something heavy. It's the best of both worlds. They were a PITA to install but it was a worthy upgrade.

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Personally not a fan of airbags, no reason just have zero experience with em.