Looks like people have their own opinions, and it gets into a brand war as well. Most manufacturers have "decent" engine choices, most tow "decent" if set up right, fact of the matter is, they are all decent pickups. You'll get good and bad/lemons with any brand, but some people are just set on which brand to get.
You asked about Ford, to answer your question, following a couple of their forums, plus people I know, I'd say any are fine. Majority of people around me do have at least 3/4 ton pickups, but it's common to have a "road pickup" in addition to that. I see no major issues with any of them. There is a condensation issue with the ecos, not enough that I'd worry about if you'd get a new one.
I personally would skip the base, not turbo v6 unless you never tow anything. The 5.0 is a good engine, for what you describe would work fine, if you figure towing a fair amount of time, get lower gears. The 2.7 ecoboost, light towing, myself I would skip it and go with the 5.0. Heavy towing, either the 5.0 or 3.5 eco. What most people miss about the comparisons, and has been mentioned, the 3.5 makes most of its power at the low end. Towing, it will hold its gear more often without down shifting. The v8 will downshift and rev. The way I look at it, you don't buy an eco for mileage, you buy them for the "behavior", they perform similar to diesel engines, lower revving, power on the low end.
There's an argument about turbos and maintenance. Well, it's there, but as I said before, there doesn't appear to be any major issues, failure rate is very low, they are rated for decent miles, it's a common turbo found in many other applications, I think there are even rebuild kits, etc, etc. I wouldn't worry about it. Some people do have failures on them, they are "just another thing". My main tractors all have turbos, most guys I know drive diesel pickups, etc. Turbos are an old, proven technology. But, as I said, if you don't tow all the time, I'd get the 5.0, similar highway mileage, and it would get the job done. Just like if you were looking at a 3/4 ton, if not towing much, get the gas, not the diesel. If towing, the diesel handles the load better.
No I don't have one, my last road pickup is an old '94 6 cyl. f150. I am going to get a new something, debating a 1/2 ton and continuing to hire most of my hauling, which is the cheap route, or get a diesel heavy pickup (so that I can haul my own hay, cattle, etc.), the expensive but much handier route (diesel, because the trailer would be over 20k lbs.). I've been putting off the decision for a few years, but I research pretty much all brands.
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Today's Featured Article - Grain Threshing in the Early 40's - by Jerry D. Coleman. How many of you can sit there and say that you have plowed with a mule? Well I would say not many, but maybe a few. This story is about the day my Grandfather Brown (true name) decided along with my parents to purchase a new Ford tractor. It wasn't really new except to us. The year was about 1967 and my father found a good used Ford 601 tractor to use on the farm instead of "Bob", our old mule. Now my grandfather had had this mule since the mid 40's and he was getting some age on him. S
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