Peering into the front-view camera on the massive center display, I see a 4-foot–deep ditch carved into the rocky landscape. Given the extra ride height of the 2026 Chevy Silverado Trail Boss, I keep calm about clearances, but how will an electric all-wheel-drive (AWD) system put the power down?
Easily, as it turns out. The Trail Boss EV sinks down and then immediately climbs out with little tire spin.
With Chevrolet sunsetting the road-focused RST version of the truck, the Trail Boss edges past the LT trim to take the top of the lineup of Silverado EVs. The lifted electric truck stands alone on 35-inch, all-terrain tires and the requisite suspension to comfortably hit the trails.
Given that, I happily hit the trail to Southern California outside of San Diego to give Chevrolet’s latest massive battery pack–equipped vehicle a go. How does a 9,000-pound, four-wheel independent suspension–equipped truck fare? Time to find out.
In short: The Trail Boss Silverado EV epitomizes the more-is-more approach to problem-solving that we Americans tend to use. Range anxiety? A 205kWh battery pack offers nearly 500 miles of range on a single charge, and 725 horsepower and 775 pound-feet of torque propel it along. Attach up to 12,500 pounds behind it or 2,100 pounds worth of payload in the bed. You also get a surprisingly quiet cabin and smooth ride. Just bear in mind that the price is more, too — nearly $90K for the top-of-the-line truck.
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Quiet cabin, even at highway speeds very little wind or road noise -
Plenty of punch when you stab the accelerator -
Mid-gate, “eTrunk,” and large cabin deliver tons of cargo options -
One-pedal driving, even when towing a trailer
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Trucks weighs 9,000 pounds — that’s 4.5 tons! -
Base price comes to more than $72K -
The off-road–friendly suspension makes towing a touch unsettling
The Current State of Silverado EV
Chevrolet started the Silverado EV with the WT, or work truck, trim in 2023. GM’s biggest brand focuses on fleet and commercial sales with that truck.
Then, we got the RST model to kick things off for consumers in 2024. But Chevrolet sunsetted that one after the 2025 model. In the meantime, we got the LT trim, and now for 2026, the Silverado EV Trail Boss to top the lineup.
Unlike the ICE-powered Silverado, all the EV trucks use the same configuration, a nice big cabin, and standard-size bed. Every truck measures 233.1 inches from nose to tail. Width varies by trim a bit, between 81.6 and 83.8 inches.
That’s also true of height; the WT and LT stand right around 78 inches tall. But the Trail Boss stands above at 79.9 inches. All three share the same 145.7-inch wheelbase, between which lies the massive battery pack. Actually, one of three sizes of pack.
Battery Bonanza!
Chevrolet sells three battery sizes: standard, extended, and max range packs. The standard pack holds 119 kWh worth of energy, and Chevrolet offers it on the WT and LT trims. The extended pack carries 170 kWh of energy, and the max pack, 205 kWh. Chevrolet offers both of those sizes on all three trims.
Despite the size and weight of the truck, these massive batteries offer high levels of range. The standard pack offers 286 miles on the WT and 283 miles on the LT.
Choose extended instead and see range climb to the 400s: 424 miles for the WT, 410 miles for the LT and Trail Boss. Go max, and the WT delivers an impressive 493 miles of range. The LT and Trail Boss stay close with 478 miles of range.
All the range comes at the cost of charging time. Even with a 350kW fast charger — which only the max battery pack can handle — you’ll need at least 34 minutes to go from 10% to 80% state of charge.
If you put the fully depleted max battery pack on an 80A, 19.2kW level 2 charger, plan on leaving it plugged in for 13 hours. The smaller packs will need less time on the level 2 charger, but cannot handle as much power on the fast charger and will likely need even more time.
All Silverado EVs use those packs to power two electric motors, one mounted on each axle. And that means that every electric truck includes all-wheel drive. However, horsepower and torque vary based on which battery pack sits in the truck and the trim.
2026 Silverado EV Trail Boss Review
Taking hints from the original, 2019 Silverado Trail Boss, the 2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV Trail Boss comes with a few distinguishing traits. To start, Chevrolet lifts the suspension by 2 inches, increasing ground clearance by nearly 25%, improving suspension travel and clearances along the way.
The Trail Boss enjoys 31.6 degrees of approach, 19.2 degrees of breakover, and 25.1 degrees of departure angle clearances. A unique front fascia with exposed red tow hooks also contributes to the approach figure.
From there, the four-wheel independent suspension gets a unique, more off-road friendly tune. And a hydraulic rebound system too. That helps the 35-inch, Goodyear Wrangler Territory all-terrain tires bite into whatever surface you find yourself on.
Technology add-ins help as well. Rear-axle steering comes along for the ride. It turns the opposite direction to the front at low speeds to help maneuver around tight beds. Want to move sideways? Put the system in “Sidewinder” mode and crab walk wherever.
Inside the EV Trail Boss
Inside, the electric Trail Boss offers up auxiliary switches to mount up custom stuff. That’s in addition to the 11-inch digital instrument cluster and 17.7-inch center display included in all Silverado EVs. Beyond that, Chevrolet also provides a wireless smartphone charger and other comforts like heated front and rear seats. The front seats are also ventilated.
Things get impressively tech forward when you hit the highway, as the Trail Boss and LT include Super Cruise. To start, if you wish, you can tell adaptive cruise control to simply follow the posted speed limits. Furthermore, LT and Trail Boss trims get Super Cruise that works while towing. To go sustained hands-free on the interstate, even while pulling a trailer is slick.
But I most like the mechanical tech inside, specifically the mid-gate. Fold down the second row and remove sealed panels to expose the truck bed space. With them removed, you effectively have a nearly 11-foot–long truck bed. That gives you plenty of options to carry things like kayaks and surfboards around with ease.
Trail Boss Power
While all Silverado EVs use the same inherent powertrain, the trims and which battery pack you choose decides your true peak outputs. The LT trim actually offers the most horsepower, 760 with the max pack.
But this Trail Boss isn’t far behind, spinning up a healthy 725 horsepower when you use the “Wide Open Watts” or WOW mode. And the Trail Boss wins the torque battle, getting 775 pound-feet to pull you around, compared to the LT’s 765 pound-feet.
Moreover, you get the power and torque to all four wheels with effectively instant response. Peg the accelerator, and your head immediately flings back as the whole front-clip seemingly lifts off the ground and the truck bolts you forward. Even at highway speeds — even going uphill — you feel strong pull right away, always.
And that’s despite the truck weighing 9,000 pounds. You read that right. The curb weight of the Trail Boss comes to 4.5 tons!
When the party needs to slow down, just lift. If you put one-pedal driving on its highest setting, you get up to 0.4 g of decel — plenty to one-pedal the Trail Boss EV under normal driving conditions. If you prefer not, just turn the system off, and it slows down much like a standard Silverado.
Trail Boss Towing
And that remains true with a trailer mounted in back. I got the chance to tow a 2.5-ton trailer in the Trail Boss and completed the quick 4-mile loop around town, barely ever touching the brake. Engineers specifically tuned the system to integrate trailer brakes into the battery regen system to maintain that up to 0.4 g of decel when towing.
However, doing so does make the braking a bit more abrupt. You will likely get a touch more tugging from the trailer and a bit of a bounce in the rear when you come to a stop.
Overall, the Trail Boss towed 5,000 pounds with ease. The soft suspension left me slightly less comfortable than the Silverado EV RST I towed with a while ago. But still, high marks overall.
The max battery pack–equipped truck can tow up to 10,000 pounds. If you instead get the extended pack, that figure increases to 12,500 pounds. It’s similar with payload: 1,500 pounds for the max, 2,100 pounds for the extended.
EV On-Road
On the road, the Trail Boss drives like an enigma. You sit high off the ground, quietly and softly bounding over the road. Inside, the seats provide nice support and plenty of comfort. You hear very little wind or road noise and zero engine noise. And the fully independent suspension soaks up bumps more like a Buick than a truck.
Yet outside, 35-inch all-terrain tires connect with the road and most of the world looks up at this 6-foot, 8-inch–tall machine with bright red front tow hooks popping out of the front bumper.
It even behaves itself around a patch of tight twisty corners, though you feel plenty of understeer here. And this much weight needs a moment to transfer from left to right and back again.
EV Off-Road
When the time comes to leave pavement behind, don’t think twice. You have the off-road driving mode to give you more wiggle room with the traction control system. And when things get really bumpy, like 4-foot–deep ditchs and bathtub-sized potholes over rocky terrain bumpy, you have terrain mode.
In that mode, engineers tuned the rear-axle steering to more quickly engage and help steer the truck around tight bends. Additionally, the anti-lock brakes get aggressive about limiting slip and transfer torque to one wheel or the other.
Chevrolet took us to an off-road park an hour outside of San Diego, where more than once I saw at least one wheel dangle in the air as the other three or two wheels powered me up, over, and around every obstacle.
This was not the most extreme off-roading I’ve encountered. But it was the least stressful, courtesy of 775 pound-feet of electric torque, grippy tires, and the well-tuned suspension. This truck makes off-road travel easy.
And, no range anxiety either. We started the day with well over 450 miles of range, drove 80 miles to the trail, drove the trail, and then another 30 miles to a lunch spot. I still had nearly 350 miles of range left to go explore with.
2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV Trail Boss Review: Summary
While the base Silverado EV WT starts at $54,895 — including its $2,095 destination charge — going with the Trail Boss means you pay at least $72,095. And if you want the largest battery pack, the price jumps to $88,695. If you stick with internal combustion, you’d save a ton, as the Silverado Custom Trail Boss starts at $53,995.
My test truck had the max pack, as well as a truck bed cover, a glass roof, a “gameday” tailgate package, the Riptide Blue metallic paint, and a few other gadgets. It had a sticker price of $94,335. Woof!
Then again, I drove a quiet, quick, tall, luxurious riding truck on the road. And a capable, comfortable, stress-free one off of it. The Silverado EV provides tons of flexible cargo space, both behind and in front of the cabin — did I mention the 10.7 cubic feet of storage under the hood? And one that can power up to 10.2 kW worth of things plugged into it. The capability and the range of uses for this truck truly impresses. Indeed, sometimes more is more.
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