Good "real world" review from
@Bill Nourse ... although with all that upgrading you did to your 3/4 ton, you might as well have just gotten a 1 ton.
That's what I decided to do (+ dually) when I bought our truck for a future fifth wheel, and it's a pretty nice feeling knowing I won't have to worry much about my tow vehicle capability.
@steveblonde I think he's comparing that era of 3/4 ton SRW vs. 1 ton SRW with the Duramax diesel. From what I've read they had the same rear end and there wasn't a lot of difference between the two after factoring in tires. (EDIT: I see he commented on the leaf spring distinction.)
I have mixed feelings on chips and aftermarket tuning with diesels. A lot of guys do it, and there seems to be a lot of air/fuel/turbo issues that come up too. From the forum reading I do on a couple truck boards, anyway.