One of the biggest problems anymore is folks thinking they have a one ton and they can pull ANYTHING with it. Longer trailers, more weight, higher highway speeds, etc., all factor into what's ailing things. That's one of the reasons I bought a 550 to deliver LOOMIX with rather than a one ton. Lower gear ratio, more brakes, springs, etc., just makes the truck last longer. I had an 81 Chevy one ton 4X4 I started with, and after 6 years the goody was about gone, hence the 550. I replaced the rear springs on the 81 after 4 years service. I don't think I'll ever have to worry about that on that 550.
When I was in the hay business, I bought a 30 foot triple axle flatbed gooseneck trailer. You could load it to the nuts and the trailer would handle it no problemo, but the one ton Chevy with a 454 and a 4 speed just wasn't enough truck to handle the loaded trailer. I found an LN700 Louisville cab Ford with a 3208 CAT and a 5 speed with a high/low that had been an old Pepsi truck. It was priced plumb right, and after careful measuring, I had the dealer shorten the frame so it wasn't any longer than a regular pickup. Threw a Jensen flatbed on it and after that you couldn't get enough weight on the trailer to have any problems. PLENTY of gears and brakes to use, and empty it would get over 14 mpg. There were 2 downsides...it rode so rough empty that it would shake your fillings out, and it wasn't a 4X4. But all things considered, it was the best answer to the problem, and I didn't have a ton of dough in it. Insurance was cheap, and I didn't get raped at the courthouse.
Bottom line, I think folks are demanding too much out their trucks today, and the abuse of towing too much at too high a speed takes a rather expensive toll on them. Much more than a 20 foot stock trailer behind a one ton is asking for trouble on down the road, IMHO.