vehicle brand aside. a person with the tools and mechanical mindset to service and repair their own vehicle is likely to maintain it to a higher standard than the average person. that can make a big difference down the stretch as the vehicle gets older.
ive no doubts this is one reason a person can get more life from the vehicle than the next guy

 

Exactly right.
Also, as mentioned before, the Japanese trucks may be assembled here, but from Japan sourced pieces. They ONLY do this because of tariffs. You cannot compare any of them against any of the big 3.

If a yota does what you want and you love it, motor on with it. I've owned a couple toyota's and a datsun. One of my toyota's was a really fun truck, once we dropped an engine out of a Mustang under the hood