ford 7.3

DOT/manufacturer weight limits are all you need to worry about.
I pulled a race car trailer grossing out at about 12000 and it did fine, would have easily handled more. Scale houses aren't as forgiving....LOL
Just remember to give yourself plenty of braking room.

 

7.3 is a good reliable motor in stock form. ZF5 or 6 trans would be a better choice than auto for regular business use. I pull my skid steer weighing around 11000 with attachment and steel tracks on top of a 3000 pound trailer all the time with mine and it gets the job done. Its a 1996 F350 crew cab dually

 

Mine is plated at 33K and I've been gross at 36K once.
After 9 years of using 7.3's for work I try and stay at 10-12K payload with a 9k trailer 20-30K isn't a problem, as long as you remember it's not a race truck . One 7.3 has 568K and other has 422K on them.

 

Not as good as without a trailer. Electric trailer brakes are a must for safety (and truck brake life) when hauling a load.

 

10k sounds cheap.... better have it looked at by someone that knows his stuff.... my son turned down 12 for his 98 with way less than 200,000. He paid 15 for it. But it does have an upgraded turbo, EGR delete and after market tuner and a ####### stereo....LOL

 

98 don't have an EGR they came out in 2003 on the 6.0 . Wait a little while longer trucks going to be cheaper when market softens a little more.