Thinking about buying a "newer" truck - any advice?

Stay away from the Ford Eco-boost crap.
I personally know 3 people who have them, and all three have had then back to the dealerships. That's 3 for 3 with issues. One has been at the dealership for 11 days now, and it STILL isn't ready. SO far the word is that they (the dealership) can't find the cause of the problems the truck is having. They are bring in a "factory export". This should be good.

If you're think new Ford, go for the 5.0L.

I personally own 2 Rams, a GMC and a Chevy (call it 2 Chevies). No major issues with any of them.

The Rams are both Diesels. If you're going to by a Ram, buy either a Hemi truck, or a Diesel. Forget about the V6 and the 4.7L V8.
My rams are both Diesels, (a 2007 2500, and a 2010 3500) both have been relatively flawless. The 2500 has 150,000 miles on it, and the 3500 has a little over 80,000 miles.
I also owned an 2005 Hemi Ram 2500 that was also a good strong truck that with regular maintenance was a damned good truck. I gave that truck to my son when I bought the 2010 Diesel.

If you're going to buy GM, the 5.3 and the 4.8 V8's are very good. I have a 2008 5.3L with 120,000 miles on it, and a 2000 4.8L with 255,000 miles on it, and neither has had a major repair. Again, stay away from the V6's and a Friends 6.0L 2500 Chevy has had a lot of little issues. disturbing, but not costly.

Hope this helps a little.