An HD Silverado drives heavy, as in a solid feel and deliberate control inputs. It is confident empty or with a maximum load on board, and the added frame stiffness and body build quality mean there is much less sensation of a separate cab and box. They are, of course, still separate pieces, but you don't feel like you're being tossed between two camel humps. Pogo-sticking or bobbing is dependent on road surface and wheelbase and ultimately hard to avoid everywhere, but such motions are now well-controlled and unlikely to redistribute improperly secured cargo.

Yet the HD is still a truck, designed to carry anywhere from a ton up, so the predominant cornering attitude is understeer, or push. Drive too fast into a corner and it will tend to keep going straight ahead as it scrubs off speed, a condition far preferable in a loaded pickup than oversteer which would have you looking for the rear fender in a side window. The steering is heavily weighted, as is the throttle, perhaps to remind you there is much weight under your control, and the amount of precision is directly related to which type of tire you have: street or all-terrain.

The Silverado has slightly crisper steering response than the competition for three reasons: One, it tends to ride closer to the ground for a lower center of gravity. Two, it tends to be a bit lighter up front, especially comparing a gas Silverado to a V10 gas Ford. And third, the Silverado uses torsion-bar independent front suspension on two- and four-wheel drive models, where the Ram and Super Duty use a heavier, live axle on 4WD models. The areas where some of the competition deliver a better ride are those with small bumps and irregularities where their larger tires soak up more, and in empty dually configurations; the Silverado does not kick more in the back, but it is noticed more because the front is more relaxed.

Brakes are all vented disc with ABS and plenty stout to handle the load or aggressive driving. New for this model is an optional integrated trailer brake controller to slow your trailer much more comfortably and controlled than an aftermarket controller can. Like Ford's system, however, it's not compatible with the electric-hydraulic disc brakes becoming more common on high-end RVs.

A new 2.5-inch receiver hitch allows conventional trailer ratings to 13,000 pounds, eclipsing many competitive offerings; the maximum for fifth-wheels 16,700 pounds. The strongest Silverado HD will haul 23,500 pounds of truck, cargo, and trailer.

The new 6.0-liter V8 gas engine is a redesign of last year's same-sized product, now with variable valve timing to widen the power curve. It generates 353 hp in lighter models and 312 hp in heavier models, with 373 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm in either case. That's about the same horsepower as last year's big-block 8.1-liter V8 but down 80 lb-ft on torque, so a new six-speed automatic is used to make up for the deficit.

And it makes up fairly well, smoothly and quietly propelling the truck on daily chores. It will tow, but grades will have it working above 3500 rpm and since it's providing essentially the same propulsion as an 8.1-liter with four-speed automatic, it will use some gas doing it. The Tow/Haul mode works exactly as it should, as does the tap shift manual control, and were we making a habit of driving around with more than 12,000 pounds in truck, cargo, or trailer, we'd spend the big bucks on the diesel.

The Duramax turbodiesel and Allison six-speed automatic brings only a small bump in horsepower but nearly doubles torque to 660 lb-ft at just 1600 rpm, and truckers and engineers alike will tell you horsepower is irrelevant for getting a load moving. Additionally, the turbocharged diesel will lose only a fraction of the horsepower the V8 loses at altitude, important when towing trailers through the Rockies. The diesel will deliver 25 percent to 35 percent better fuel economy (maybe more if you work them both hard), and it runs so clean that diesel tailpipes remain steel-colored inside while the gas engine pipes go black.