I really do appreciate everyone's input. I learn even from the banter! This is why I joined this forum. It's invaluable information in an area I am unfamiliar.
Aside from towing an 18' overweight travel trailer, (4) 20' boats and a few parade floats, I've never hauled anything this heavy.
Its because use of this Forum that I want a truck with an Aisin in it and that's what I ordered up until the deal went kaput two days ago.
That was my methodology, as TCDiesel said "Better to have and not need than to need and not have". The reason I was buying the truck was to tow. I wasn't buying a truck to have a new truck. My 2013 Ford F-150 Platinum 4x4 was a gorgeous, well appointed truck with only 40,000 miles on it. It just couldn't tow a 5th wheel in the size I wanted with the amenities that surpassed the 40' DP we just sold.
I could have settled for a different truck with Aisin, but because it's the end of the month, other dealers that carried the truck with options I wanted and even trucks with options I didn't want weren't getting back to my dealer. I didn't have the luxury of waiting it out, ordering a new truck, finding another dealer, etc. I had ONE day to get a truck with 0% financing.
I'm a single income family with a truck allowance. I'm not retired or independently wealthy, just a guy who does well at work and can afford our lifestyle. It was the 0% financing that makes the new truck affordable for me to carry and stay within my means. I had one day to make a decision and my dealer put something together that will work in the short term. The dealer knows exactly what I'll be towing and my concerns for wanting the Aisin based on what I've learned on this and other forums. If the transmission craps out during the short term I expect to have this truck, it will be fixed! This truck will never be out of full warranty before it's gone and a new one with Aisin transmission and all the options I want is in my driveway.
The dealer pulled out all stops to get me and keep me as a client. I've always been a Ford guy because of our fleet discounts. Our company has 52 Ford products from Escapes to Cube vans in our fleet. They know what that could mean in getting our company over to their side. Our vehicles are turned over every 4-5 years and our maintenance program on our fleet is huge.
I'm happy and feel they have done what they could for the short term. If you read my post above, they did just that and more and am confident they will come through to get me into the truck I want. It's all about timing for me. 0% financing works, the company pays for most of the truck, I own it and I make the profit off the truck when I sell it when it's time for a new one.