If I were looking to buy a new used truck 2016 or newer , just a regular 1/2ton v8, basic everyday driver to be used to occasionally haul small trailers would Toyota or Ford be my best bet? Would there even be a point in looking at Nissan, GMC, Chevy, or Ram?
Toyota Tundra, followed by 2016 and 2017 Ford F-150 with (true and tried) 2nd Gen Coyote V8 and 6-speed AT. Then stop there. 2018+ F-150 went to the 3rd Gen Coyote 5.0 and 10-speed AT, both of which have had growing pains. A lot has already been mentioned on this forum on that - you can do a search within this forum to learn more. Honorable mention: you can also look at Nissan Titan (but model years 2017-2019 with the 7-speed AT), however the Tundra > 2016-2017 Ford F-150 are my top two.
Ignore the rest: they are trouble if you plan to keep for a long time and put as much mileage on it.
2015-17 F150 5.0V8 6 speed transmission is one of the best modern 1/2 tons in my opinion. Tundras a good truck as well but I don’t need to say that cause over half the forums going to tell you buy Toyota.
Toyota Tundra. Easily the best in the 1/2 ton segment.
Anything with the 10-speed transmission (Ford and GM) is not the best option. My neighbor still currently drives his 1/2 RAM 1500 with the HEMI v8 and he's haven't had any issues with it. Do some research on those trucks first before you buy anything.
https://www.carcomplaints.com/
Which model year RAM? The older ones model year 2003 and older were better than the “newer ones” (model year 2003 and newer), albeit even some of those had transmission issues.
I believe 2013. He takes care of that truck everyday.