I thought I wanted a diesel when I bought my last truck. Realized "wanting" a diesel and "needing" a diesel were two different things.

Went with a used ram 1500 and couldn't be happier.

I hauled a 3000 lb trailer with four ATVs and a bunch of camping stuff from here to Grand Junction and didn't have any problems running the speed limit the whole way. Gas mileage was crappy on that trip (like 10 mpg maybe) but I make one or two hauls like that a year so I can deal with it. Otherwise the truck gets about 17 mpg around town and gets about 19.5 on a long highway trip.

Now, if I were going to get a diesel I'd probably opt for the dreaded Ford with the 6.0. Why? Because they are everywhere and are cheap because nobody wants them and with a few upgrades can actually make pretty good trucks. Buying the truck cheap and being able to do the work yourself would give you the best bang for your buck.