So just filled my truck full of dirt/ Oklahoma clay for a job around the house, and dang did she squat. The truck 10' f150 super cab, 2wd. Was dang near hugging the ground. Would a single add a leaf be enough to haul more and keep from squatting so Bad? Also keep in mind about to get horses.

- a bigger truck would be an obvious upgrade, but my F150 has let me down yet.

 

You could. Consider the tires though, they have a limit as well, so you could beef up the suspension to carry the weight and then overload and damage the tires. Put a set of Sumo springs on, they are less then $300, replace the bump stops and will help with the squat. A lot easier than pulling the pack apart or replacing the entire leaf and then having to get an alignment.

 

You were simply severely overloaded over the payload capacity of your F-150. You cannot increase the payload capacity for a reasonable investment, but the simplest patch would be air helper springs - so-called air bags. Pump them up before you overload the truck, then let out most of the air when you aren't overloaded. You'll still be overloaded, but most to the symptoms including squat can be reduced.


But yeah, when overloaded, pump up not only the air springs, but also the rear tires to the max PSI on the sidewall.

The most popular air springs are Firestone RideRite. www.riderite.com

 

8 year old truck, it could just be that your leaf springs are shot. Depending on the mileage and use it's seen over the years, you might just need new springs.

 

one yard of topsoil is about 2000lb. An 8' bed will carry just over 2 yards.

I'm guessing you were significantly over payload. It sounds like the soil you were carrying would weigh more than typical topsoil, so I'm guessing that even with a 6' bed you'd be well over 2000lb.

Your expectations might be a bit high for the truck.

 

Overloaded and unsafe. Do the math next time BEFORE endangering yourself and others.