Since 10% of the trailer's gross weight needs to be on the hitch, (700 lbs. when loaded) you'll need a Valley Tow-Rite or a Reese weight-transfer hitch. A sway control would be another strong reccomendation if I were setting you up in my shop. You will have far too much tongue weight to use a standard bumper-pull hitch, even one that's tied into the frame. Don't even consider pulling that kind of weight with a regular bumper mount. When you change the shocks, a switch to air assisted shocks would be good, but don't use them to raise a rear end sag when the trailer is connected. When the load-leveler hitch is installed and set up right, the vehicle should squat evenly front and rear when the trailer is hooked up. Trailer brakes will be a must-have situation, not an option. If you don't have a 4-speed transmission (SM-420 or equivalent), get one. The 3-speed will not be up to pulling the load, and you'll need the very low-geared 1st. speed to get started on hills without roasting the clutch. If it's got a Powerglide or a Hydramatic, forget the whole idea of trailer towing. 283's have very low torque, depending on high RPM to develop power, so you'll need to keep it wound up around 3,000 RPM for anything but level-ground cruising. Pulling 7K is doable, but you're going to have the engine working near its design limits. Be sure it's well built, and keep an eye on the connecting rod bearings. Unless it's running a fairly fresh rebuild, expect rod bearing problems sooner rather than later. An oil cooler might be a good idea, also.
Jerry
