No history with those brands - I’m on my 4th Toyota 4Runner and for sure if they made a big truck I’d be all over it!
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Diesel shop owner here….we don’t work on Cummins and will retire comfortably on Powerstrokes. 
My daily is a 2007 GMC 2500 and my husbands hauler is a 2007 GMC 3500. I’d stick to Duramax if you go diesel but if you want more affordable maintenance and repairs you should stick to gas. Diesel repair bills are not for the faint of heart lol
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My diesel Dodge owning horse friends have all had issues… just anecdotal evidence. Ford and Chevy seem more reliable based on their comments.
That being said, many truck owners are loyal to a brand or like a style feature or buy what’s most affordable. Drive them all and decide. I loathe how loud the Dodge trucks are, but that’s just me.
As to bed load: my 2015 Chevy 3500 Duramax long bed crew cab comfortably hauls a ton and a half of hay, while pulling a flatbed trailer with three tons on it, up hills, a full yard of wet gravel (not sure of the weight as we buy by the yard but damn, that’s heavy!), a fully loaded with two big warmbloods and all show necessities 2H BP trailer, and once, a flatbed with an excavator that was well over 12K lbs. I do have a big class IV hitch.
She’s steady, has a ton of power, pulls like a dream and has been trouble free so far. I got the “one step above the work truck” interior as I just didn’t want or need to fancy crap. I do wish it had the AC seats and the cameras of the new trucks, but I’m not complaining!
For what you’ve specified I’d be looking at a 1 ton diesel - the 3500 with an 8’ bed. However, if you go diesel… see if you can find one that’s been ‘deleted’ - meaning you don’t have to deal with DEF, and that whole blankety-bloomin’ mess. A diesel that’s got miles is okay, a gas engine no. I’d still have a PPE on it.
I have a Ram 3500, 2015, 4x4, crew cab - which is nice. I haul a lot of stuff in that thing. I have gone to the quarry and they have loaded me with gravel and that truck didn’t even wince. I have towed, hauled, taken long trips, whatever. I love that truck - EXCEPT for the emissions.
Like you, I’ve used my back seat (laid down makes a nice flat surface) for plants, (lots of plants, lol) and other delicate items. 
I don’t know that I want ‘built in’ in my truck; if I need that bed empty for something…
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The rear suspension of my GMC 2500 has 5 leaf spring pack on the rear axle. The 3500 model has the same 5 leaf spring pack. But above that
spring pack the 3500 has a separate 2 leaf “overload” spring pack with its own mounting points and bump stops so that it theoretically rides much like the 2500 until the bed load increases enough so the extra springs come into play.
In my life I have only ridden in one 3500 that was not a dually. The owner pulled a six horse trailer but didn’t want the wide hips, as he put it, so he tracked down a non-dually Ford 350. He wanted to be able to park easier and be able to use drive-thrus, as the truck was his only vehicle.
If you do go for a diesel, I’d certainly go 350. The extra weight of the engine eats payload and that’s a noticable hit in the 250. We’ve got a 2023 SRW 350 diesel and even though it’s just an XL, it’s great for us. It feels like a luxury vehicle coming from our old truck!
I like the 8ft bed so I don’t ever have to worry about my back windshield, although we mostly tow with ours. If you do go diesel, fuel quality is huge! I’d suggest fueling where there’s a lot of turnover. My husband is a diesel fan, which is why we went this way, but modern gas trucks are very capable without the repair cost being so high.
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I use drive thrus all the time with my dually. You just have to pay attention and be a little careful
A special few, you among them, have that skill set. I base this on the large numbers of duallies I see with their wide fiberglass hips flapping in the breeze hanging in pieces off the trucks.
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lol yeah some people don’t pay attention or forget to account for them
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Lol in California my SRW F350 doesn’t even fit through some drive thrus 
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There are some here that my F250 doesn’t fit in either but it’s because its just not wide enough , not because I can’t drive it well enough to get in there lol
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My 3500 isn’t a dually. I don’t haul a big enough rig to justify it. DEF hasn’t been an issue.
I have a 2012 Ram Cummins that I deleted (and a bunch of other performance mods) and tuned myself. 2012 was the year before they introduced DEF, it was DPF only, with fuel lines run to the exhaust pipe to burn off the filter. Yeah, no - and no to recirculating dirty exhaust into my intake.
The truck has been reliable. The only real problems I’ve had have been electrical related - it is very sensitive to voltage issues. It pulls hard and never misses a beat. Trans and turbo are stock. I’ll never ever give up a turbo with the exhaust brake (I’ll also never turn the exhaust brake on before the engine is warmed up to 180F on the tstat or better - that thing puts CRAAAAAAZY back pressure on the engine).
If your hauling/payload time is substantially less than your dry weight time, I would NOT get a diesel. The new ones HATE to be idled, they need to be worked in order to run correctly.
If this truck dies, I will be tempted to go to a gasser 3/4 ton. The repairs are obnoxious, I’m always the one doing them, and I can hardly get a damn thing broke loose because of the insane torque specs on everything.
@steelerino you don’t work on Cummins, or you won’t? Trying to figure out if it’s a compliment or a diss to my precious 
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We have a 2019 F250 gas 6.8 extended cab, stock, long bed. We ended up with a really good deal on it in 2020 that was assisted b/c DH works for our road dept and they had a couple of the same trucks. We pull a 20 foot steel trailer with 4 horses usually, and all kinds of flat bed loads etc. It’s been a work beast for us, we live in MT so it’s going over passes and all the things. Reliable, STIFF (those shocks), DH can work on it a lot, excellent work truck. Problem-it’s from the era where the beds were high. We get along with it but it’s high and I’m a short little person that thankfully can still climb up a tire to get in the bed. Our gooseneck trailer wants to fight with it sometimes but we manage. It’s paid for so we’re not swapping it out. It’s super reliable for us and strong, just … tall.
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@endlessclimb we WON’T. My husband hates them! For some reason a lot of my personal friends have them and I always dread when they need work. He will reluctantly work on them because I ask but I hear about it everyday until the truck leaves the shop. Especially my friends Eco Diesel 1500 lmao 
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Oh the ecodiesels are a whole different ballgame, and yes they suck haha.
But a regular ol’ cummins - I haven’t had any particularly large issues working on mine. The last cylinder being under the firewall is super irritating, but I’ve found work arounds. I trust you guys though, you’re way deeper in it than I am!
I upgraded from a F250 to GMC 3500 dually. With hauling it has been a world of difference. I have a small short wall LQ three horse and I don’t feel my big guy (1800lbs) back there as much. I did have the Ford deleted and I do miss that truck, but the wear and tear and rust (midwest living) got to be too much. I bought the 3500 in 2020 and I have 50K on it and have NOT had to do brakes yet (new tires and oil changes and fuel filter only)! They still have plenty of life left. The Ford I had already changed the front pads twice and rears once by this point. So if you’re planning on hauling heavy the 1 ton is the way to go. I got the long bed 3500 and the extra space in the bed is well worth it plus the additional payload capacity. I was always concerned about payload with the 250 and was very careful how I hauled.
I also found a good shop that works on diesels. It says something when the owner of the shop buys the same truck.
I had overlooked the bed height of the newer pickups. I am not small, but I am old, and need a bed step or a mounting block to get up into mine. I carry a two step mounting block in my 2017 GMC 2500 and I also had a fold away bed step installed at the back corner. Some of my passengers need the mounting block to get up into the seats.
I have a handle that fits into the door latch when the door is open just to help me get down to the ground from the driver’s seat even though the truck has running boards.
I use my SUV for most loads I haul simply because its loading height is more sensible. My 2017 pickup has only 8,000 miles just because it is too damn high to be fun to drive unless I need all the bed space.
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For older Ford models just do your research on whether oil pans are a problem in that given year; that’s a failure that can cause total loss, and it’s not cheap to repair either - but if you’re handy you can do it yourself.
That being said, I love my F350 7.3 XLT. It is a 2001 but it is everything you would need as a landscape truck. I use it for everything from landscape needs to moving heavy machinery to, of course, hauling. It does have some age related complaints - particularly rust around the frame ( 
) but for a 24 year old truck that has been in NE almost its whole life, it’s to be expected.
The one major drawback is most garages can’t inspect it, it’s a 10,000 lb truck so is in a separate class for inspections. Most also can’t put it on their lift, so if you are the type that isn’t handy that’s a consideration.
Like another poster mentioned, it’s a challenge in tight spaces. Even trying my best, it usually takes up 2 spots in a standard parking lot. It also doesn’t fit in most drive thrus and or car washes if that’s a consideration.
I’ve hauled boats, heavy machinery, horses, and extra large trailers with that thing and for most of them you could barely tell it was hauling weight at all. It’s a great truck.
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We love love our 2019 F350 Super Duty XLT!
It is a 6 3/4" bed, and we haven’t encountered a problem with that. It’s got great backseat space for things, babies, dogs, etc. It hauls like a champ, we barely notice the loaded down 6H behind us. My husband also uses it for his daily driver as a farrier, so it’s literally hooked to a trailer of some sort 24/7. Due to all the hauling, we did add air bags. We also replaced the tailgate with a locking one, because for some reason they come without that year and we go to horse show venues that people like to steal tailgates from.
The only problems we had with it was the Death Wobble (literally off the lot), but they recalled it shortly after and fixed it for free. We’ve had zero problems with it sense. So if you are looking used in that year - just make sure they did the recall fix for the steering column pin! My SO put DEF in the Diesel tank a year or two ago, so we did have the entire fuel system replaced then, but that was human error. I don’t think it is hard to park or navigate. It’s also very comfy.
While we were getting our fuel system replaced, we drove a new (at the time) 2023 Chevy 2500 Gas model. It was a great truck for around town and it hauled okay. However, daily driving SO’s farrier trailer, he said it sucked gas terribly and he’d never pick it if he needed a second truck.
Diesels you have to deal with DEF, but I do believe they are a better hauling truck if you’re going to work in them daily.
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