An electric off-road truck sounds like a joke until you think about it for ten seconds. Then it sounds like the best idea anyone has had in a while. Then you remember you have to charge it in the middle of nowhere, and the joke comes back. That is the Silverado EV Trail Boss in a nutshell: equal parts genius and absurdity, and I am kind of obsessed with it.
Instant torque is a cheat code for trails
Here is the thing nobody talks about. Off-roading is basically a torque contest, and electric motors do not mess around. The Trail Boss makes 725 horsepower and 775 lb-ft of torque with the Max Range battery. No turbo lag, no waiting for the transmission to figure out its life, no screaming V8 bouncing off the rev limiter while you crawl over a rock at 3 mph. Just immediate, silent shove. Gas trucks need low-range gearing and lockers to do what this thing does by just existing.
It is also silent, which is either a feature or a bug depending on how you feel about nature. You can actually hear the trail. Birds, wind, your spotter yelling directions you were going to ignore anyway.
The ridiculous stuff is the best stuff
Chevy gave this truck a 2-inch lift, 35-inch all-terrain tires on 18-inch wheels, red tow hooks, and a high-angle front fascia. Fine, normal truck stuff. Then it gets weird in the best way.
There is a trim-exclusive Terrain Mode for low-speed crawling that sharpens up the 4-wheel steering. And then there is Sidewinder mode, which turns all four wheels the same direction so the truck moves diagonally, like a crab. A 4.5-ton crab. Chevy says it helps on tight trails and in tight parking spots, and honestly the parking lot use case might be the real reason it exists. Either way, it is the most unnecessary and most delightful feature on any truck right now.
The numbers are genuinely silly
With the Max Range battery, you are looking at up to 478 miles of GM-estimated range. The Extended Range version still does 410 miles EPA-estimated, makes 625 hp and 775 lb-ft, and tows up to 12,500 lbs with 2,100 lbs of payload. That is work-truck capability with sports-car power in something shaped like a refrigerator.
It also fast-charges at up to 350 kW, good for roughly 100 miles of range in 10 minutes, and every trim can output up to 10.2 kW of off-board power. So your off-road truck doubles as a generator for your campsite. The overlanding guys are going to love this thing, right up until they realize the nearest charger is 200 miles behind them.
The obvious problem
Weight and charging. Chevy did not publish a curb weight in the release, which tells you everything you need to know. This is a very heavy truck going to places where electricity famously does not live. The 478-mile range helps, but off-roading eats range for breakfast, and there is no jerry can for electrons.
But here is my actual take: most "off-road" trucks never leave pavement anyway. They go to the mall, they go to Home Depot, they go to Cars and Coffee. And for that 95% use case, an electric Trail Boss is perfect. It looks the part, it has the clearance and the tires for the 5% of the time you do something stupid with it, and the rest of the time it is a quiet, stupid-fast truck that costs pennies to run. The Trail Boss badge was always a little bit about the image. This one just admits it while being better at the actual job.
The lineup got simpler too
Chevy killed the RST launch trim for 2026, so it is down to three trims: Work Truck, LT, and Trail Boss. The lineup starts at $54,895, and the Work Truck with Max Range still holds the electric-truck range crown at 493 miles EPA-estimated. Every trim gets the 17.7-inch center screen and 11-inch driver display standard, the Multi-Flex Midgate is available on LT and Trail Boss, and Super Cruise with towing is available on LT and Trail Boss.
Key specs
- Power (Max Range): up to 725 hp / 775 lb-ft (GM-estimated, Wide Open Watts)
- Range (Max Range): up to 478 miles GM-estimated; Extended Range 410 miles EPA-estimated
- Towing / payload (Extended Range): up to 12,500 lbs / 2,100 lbs (preliminary GM testing)
- Lift: 2-inch factory lift, 24% higher ground clearance than base
- Tires: 35-inch all-terrain (285/75R18) on unique 18-inch wheels
- Drive modes: Normal, off-road, trim-exclusive Terrain Mode, Sidewinder diagonal-movement mode
- Charging: up to 350 kW DC fast charging on Max Range; ~100 miles in 10 minutes
- Off-board power: up to 10.2 kW available on all trims
- Lineup: Work Truck, LT, Trail Boss (RST discontinued); starting MSRP $54,895
What we don't know yet
Chevrolet didn't release Trail Boss-specific pricing or an on-sale date in this announcement (the truck was slated to arrive in summer 2025).
Source: Chevrolet press release via Chevrolet Communications. Specs from GM's official release.
Watch: my Silverado EV Trail Boss short, also on Instagram and TikTok.