Chevrolet Puts the Silverado EV to the Test in Towing Video

• The truck is seen pulling a 7,700 lb RV down the highway.

• Maximum tow rating for the Silverado EV is currently set at 8,000 lb but a future package will bring it to 20,000 lb.

• This is double the current tow rating of the Ford F-150 Lightning.

Despite having unveiled it a year ago now, Chevrolet is still working on the Silverado EV ahead of its customer launch in the spring of 2023.

In a recent video, the company shows the electric truck towing a 7,700 lb RV on a highway as part of final tests that will allow engineers to modify certain parameters in order to make the truck more capable or more refined under heavy loads.

This trailer was chosen due to its weight, which is very close to the official towing capacity of the Silverado EV work truck that was used in the test.

This towing capacity is not necessarily impressive since the 2023 Silverado 1500 can tow a minimum of 8,900 lb and up to 9,500 lb even when equipped with the standard turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

This doesn’t mean that the Silverado EV won’t be able to tow more, however, since Chevrolet says a Max Towing package will be added in 2025 in order to increase the maximum rating up to 20,000 lb, which is double the rating of the current F-150 Lightning and the same as the 2023 Silverado HD 3500 powered by the Duramax Diesel V8 engine.

These towing capabilities could help sway more customers to Chevrolet showrooms despite competition in the electric pickup heating up with the arrival of new models such as the Ram 1500 EV Revolution which was unveiled yesterday.

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In the video, Silverado EV chief engineer Nichole Kraatz is heard saying that the vehicle is a “smooth, controlled, responsive truck” even while towing near its current weight limit.

This is not really a surprise considering that the truck will be available with up to 664 horsepower (510 horsepower in the WT trim) and the considerable weight of its battery.

What will be interesting to know is the impact towing takes on the range of the Silverado EV, which should be able to drive about 400 miles (644 kilometres) on a charge when unladen.

This is especially interesting since early customer experiences have proved that the Ford F-150 Lightning suffers a large hit to its range when towing, which was confirmed by MotorTrend in a test similar to the one performed by Chevrolet.

Indeed, the Ford truck could only manage 90 miles (145 kilometres) when towing a 7,200 lb RV despite its unladen EPA range being set at 300 miles (483 kilometres).

Source: Chevrolet (Youtube) and MotorTrend