Just got back from a few days camping and am catching up.
My 07 Tacoma has been the best truck I've ever owned and I was seriously tempted to go with Tundra for that reason. After 9 years and 172,000 miles I've replaced tires, brakes, serpentine belt, shocks, battery, plugs and one U-Joint. Probably the only unexpected problem was the HVAC fan at about 150,000 miles. It has some chips in the paint from gravel roads that are peeling and a couple of dings that really hurt resale or trade value. I simply decided it was worth more to me to keep it than trade. Love the truck, but there are times when I needed bigger.
Will the F-150 be as good. Probably not, but I doubt it'll be horrible either. I've owned others in the past, paid for a few small repairs, but never had any major issues. If I'd gotten the 5.4 in the 2002 truck I probably would have kept it a lot longer and never gone with the Tacoma.
On the 3.5 vs 5.0 I do like the 3.5. But I never found one configured the way I wanted it. When you compare the 3.5 with 3.31 gears to the 5.0 with 3.55 gears all the advantages of the 3.5 are gone. It is a virtual tie in performance and the 5.0 was enough cheaper to make the decision for me. Had I found a 3.5 with 3.55 gears at the same price I likely would have bought it.
