In a similar spot, this is what I did.
I detest buying new and expensive rigs as well. That said I decided to take the plunge two years ago. I wanted something I could drive for 10-15 years and hunt/fish out of. I needed moderate towing for a 4k lb boat, ability to take 4 adults and room in the bed for an atv. I prize reliability above all else, especially when I take a couple grand kids out hunting in remote SE OR.
So I bought a two year old Toyota Certified Tundra CrewMax in 2021, made the dealer add the 100k extended warrantee. It’s been flawless. I added some mods to make it better off-road and have not looked back. Only small complaint is the gas mileage is OK not great, so I made sure to get the 38 gallon tank. I can sell it today for what I paid for it, if not a little more. 39k.
If I needed a 6 1/2’ bed, I’d have got the Tundra Double Cab for the larger bed. Just makes for less space for the rear cab passengers. When the grands fledge, I may go for the longer bed, smaller cab.
All brands have issues, but these last generation Tundra’s are as reliable as they come. New gen has had issues. I would have preferred a 2016-2018 to get the better tranny cooler with the 38 gallon tank, but could not pass this one up.