Thanks for all this feedback...really helpful!
Although we had hoped to *maybe* go out west and we had hoped to enjoy the mountains in our own state, our daughter has had such a problem the last (almost) four years with ear and headache chronic pain, that we are afraid to take her into altitude. She had a brain cyst removed this past year that everyone was hopeful was going to relieve her symptoms, but it was not entirely successful, and no other treatment has really helped.
I used the word "hassle" -- my friend has a dually Silverado and when we're doing something in it, we always have to be mindful of where we can park. It's not a major issue and I would get it if it was needed, but I would really, really like to avoid it.
Diesel, I go back and forth about...and I'm open to it.
And I'm open to a 350 as well. Looking around, you rarely see those for sale with a gas engine though, so I figured there was a reason for that? I only found one within 100 miles.