personally I'd be more concerned about pedals scratching the paint on the bed without any spray in bedliner but everyone has their own priorities I guess
if you buy a decent quality tailgate pad this is not a thing. I have a tailgate pad sat on the back of my Mav most of the summer, I have seen no issues with the paint whatsoever, nor with the countless trucks I've had before with the same set up.
I've towed several thousand km's with my 2700lb travel trailer with and without premium gas, never noticed any difference in performance.
here's a decent torture test:
The main reason we ordered a Maverick was to tow our travel trailer, didn't want an SUV, didn't need a bigger truck, just wanted something practical, good on gas, comfy on long trips and would fit in our garage. All those things others have mentioned it has met expectations, but, I am still...
So for comparison I put my set up on a CAT scale a while back, one 150lbish passenger in the truck, interesting to see how the weights compare to what you saw especially the weight of the truck.
First trip out this year enjoying some early summer/late spring sunshine (and a couple of small thunderstorms). 350km round trip, hand calculated 12.3l/100km or 19.1mpg, not the best numbers I've seen while towing but it was pretty windy on the trip out. Still continue to be impressed as to how...
cruising at 55-60mph i've seen 19mpg. no problems towing at all, plenty of spare grunt to get up hills. I've towed with many different vehicles big and small and it's right up their with the best of them