The 2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV Trail Boss gives off the same energy as the richest kid in the scout troop who shows up at the campsite with a three-room pop-up tent and REI tags still on their hiking boots. Like, dude, are you playing dress-up?
So we weren’t expecting much off-road prowess from an electric pickup in this price range and weighing up to nearly 9000 pounds, but we were pleasantly surprised by some of the Trail Boss’s clever features and problem-solving software.
The Silverado EV Trail Boss is new to the Silverado EV lineup for 2026, replacing the RST trim at the top of the line, above the base Work Truck and the mid-trim LT. Like the WT and LT, the Trail Boss is available with multiple battery packs of differing prices and ranges. But, unlike those lower trims, Trail Boss buyers can only choose between the EPA-estimated 410-mile Extended battery or the Max pack with a GM-estimated 478 miles of range; no entry-level standard pack is available.
Chevrolet
With the Extended pack, the Trail Boss makes 625 horsepower and 775 pound-feet of torque. Upgrade to the Max and the pony count rises to 725 (in Wide Open Watts mode, which unlocks full power for brief periods of passing or general acceleration). It’s no weakling, but then again, it has to be strong just to carry its own weight. The Trail Boss is a porcine machine, with the truck we drove ringing in at a manufacturer-claimed 8906 pounds.
Two motors provide the power as well as all-wheel-drive capability. While we haven’t yet tested a Trail Boss trim, we expect its 60-mph sprint time to be in the low-4.0-second range like the LT and RST trims (again, in W.O.W. mode). In more relaxed modes, expect that dash to take a bit longer, but we believe it will continue to prove zippy for an electric crew-cab truck with a bed that’s almost six-feet long.
While the Trail Boss’s quick reflexes are impressive, its charging and discharging are more important. We’ve already mentioned the range (410 or 478 miles, pack depending), which bests competitors like the Ford Lightning and Rivian R1T thanks to the simply massive amount of energy beneath the floor; in Max configuration, there’s 205 kWh of juice to play with and 170 kWh in the Extended. Chevy says those big boys can add 100 miles of range in 10 minutes at a 350-kW DC fast charging station.
What all these big capacities and quick fill times mean is that a fully charged Silverado will have plenty of juice to get you to the fishing hole or bike trail and then power a weekend’s worth of activities before driving home. The Trail Boss offers up to 10.2 kW of offboard power and multiple places to plug in. Onscreen settings allow the Silverado EV to keep outlets hot while the truck is off, and timers can be set based on the remaining battery level to make sure your tunes and campsite disco lights don’t leave you stranded by morning.
Chevrolet
As the name suggests, the Silverado EV Trail Boss is full of dirt-specific details. The wheel and tire package will probably hit your eyes first. While the LT offers 22-inch wheels, the Trail Boss sits on 18-inch gloss black wheels clad in 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain tires. The truck gets a 2.0-inch lift too, and the front fascia is tucked higher up for a better approach angle. There are a couple of other dress-up details, notably red front tow hooks and the requisite truckload of Trail Boss badging.
A new drive mode further enhances the Trail Boss’s off-pavement capability over its stablemates. Along with an Off-Road setting and Sidewinder mode (which turns all four wheels in the same direction for a crablike gait), the new Terrain mode softens the accelerator response, maximizes the use of the friction brakes for torque vectoring and to micromanage wheelspin, allows for more pronounced rear-wheel steering, and minimizes stability-control interference.
The programming makes a huge difference, as we found out while trying to traverse a ditch in Normal mode. We were left spinning our wheels as the stability control cut power, but once in Terrain mode the Trail Boss dug in and crawled out. Terrain mode uses the brakes more aggressively than Off-Road and is recommended for low-speed use over obstacles, while Off-Road gives similar but less brake-dragging results for the rest of the time on-trail.
Even with the raised ride height, coil-spring suspension, chunky tires, and off-road-specific software tweaks, Chevy tempers rock-crawling expectations by referring to the Trail Boss Silverado EV as an “adventure truck,” rather than calling it a proper off-roader. The difference is that the Trail Boss is intended more for getting you to base camp, even if the road is rocky, but not all the way to the summit. For that, you’d want something like a Colorado ZR2 or maybe a Sherpa. Certainly you’d want a spare tire, which is not among the Silverado EV’s features.
Chevrolet
Tire worries aside, the Trail Boss is capable enough on a trail, and we tackled a few obstacles that hung a wheel in the air, though we wouldn’t say it’s as nimble as a mountain goat. Even with the four-wheel steering improving the turning radius, the Silverado EV is a big, wide truck, and unless you’ve got pre-runners trimming the vegetation on your proposed path, you’re going to end up with some serious trail stripes. You also feel all that weight off-road; this behemoth crushes the path underfoot like the Landmaster from Damnation Alley, and if you do come down hard after lifting a wheel, you’ll know it in every vertebra.
On paved roads, the Trail Boss feels less hefty. It’s still a massive machine, but it’s so quiet and responsive that it seems less of a brute than similar-sized combustion-powered machines. The Silverado EV accelerates eagerly from any speed, and the regenerative braking’s adjustability allows for the smoothest one-pedal driving of any electric vehicle your author has sampled. If that’s not easy enough driving, the Silverado EV offers hands-free Super Cruise with towing functionality. As a tow vehicle, the Trail Boss with the Extended battery can handle 12,500 pounds, so feel free to load up the toy hauler with e-bikes and ATVs and spend a weekend by the beach.
One benefit of the Silverado’s big exterior is that it translates to a big interior. The rear seats could house three nightclub bouncers, and the front (heated and ventilated) seats are a proper VIP section. Most controls are housed in the 17.7-inch infotainment screen, but climate and volume settings are accessible through a row of knobs and buttons just below the screen.
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Small-item cabin storage isn’t as impressive as an extendable bed or a deep frunk, but there are multiple cupholders, a wide phone cubby, a center console that could hold a small handbag, and a useful passenger-side dashboard shelf. We think a vehicle at this price could sport a more glamorous interior, but none of the surfaces are offensive—except the dash itself, which is a vast savanna of slightly reflective plastic that throws an unfortunate quantity of reflections across the windshield.
Chevrolet
For truck shoppers whose plans involve deep backcountry, the Trail Boss might be more of a Trail Middle Manager. It’s best placed with folks who want to go electric without giving up the ability to carry cargo and like the more rough and ready look of smaller wheels and bigger sidewalls. The Silverado EV is a quiet, refined way to haul weekend toys with room for kids and dogs, and the Trail Boss trim adds some assurance that if you hit a washed-out bit of road, it won’t put a dent in your plans—or your wheel.
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