[Burbman]

I was thinking about the (very low) payload rating that has been thrown around for the EV Silverado, and I have come to the conclusion that the true meaning of it is that the truck's curb weight is ~8,700 pounds, and to stay within class 2 for light duty trucks, GM had to artificially set the payload rating to 1,300 keeping the overall GVWR at 10K. Pretty sure the vehicle itself is more than capable of carrying more, hence the 20,000 pound max towing. Otherwise, there would be no reason to set the payload rating of a full size truck to be less than that of a Ford Maverick, Honda Ridgeline, or other small truck. Hell, the payload rating of my Kia Stinger is better than this.

 

[tsuintx]

Could be. However, payload and towing capacity are also quite different. It's usually easier for a truck to pull weight rather than carry it.

 

[HawaiiEV]

The 20k max is advertised as part of a special towing package. The base wt is 8000 lbs towing. I really think it’s a mistake to think about the Silverado EV as a competitor for anything other then a 1500. It doesn’t have the range and its not a HD truck with a frame. It might be possible for the WT EV to tow a skid steer or small excavator across town on the right trailer with the 20k lb towing package. But that’s not the same as what an HD truck can do on the highway with other large trailers.

 

[WXman]

I doubt the truck weighs 8,700 lbs. The Ford Lightning is only a little over 7,000.

If they do a Silverado EV with 20k towing rating by the SAE J2807 method you can bet it'll be a different frame, axles, etc. and it'll need a 10k GVWR minimum. Remember, towing is determined by payload since the weight of the trailer will subtract 10-15% of the available payload as soon as it's hooked on, before anything is loaded.

 

[Burbman]

The 20k max is advertised as part of a special towing package. The base wt is 8000 lbs towing. I really think it’s a mistake to think about the Silverado EV as a competitor for anything other then a 1500. It doesn’t have the range and its not a HD truck with a frame. It might be possible for the WT EV to tow a skid steer or small excavator across town on the right trailer with the 20k lb towing package. But that’s not the same as what an HD truck can do on the highway with other large trailers.

I agree that the 20K max towing is more than anyone should be planning from this truck. But looking at things objectively, ANY vehicle advertised and sold as a truck should have a greater payload rating than my current sport sedan. The only explanation I could come up with was an attempt by GM to keep this truck out of class 3 for licensing purposes. Likely has zero to do with the true capability of the platform.

 

[WXman]

I agree that the 20K max towing is more than anyone should be planning from this truck. But looking at things objectively, ANY vehicle advertised and sold as a truck should have a greater payload rating than my current sport sedan. The only explanation I could come up with was an attempt by GM to keep this truck out of class 3 for licensing purposes. Likely has zero to do with the true capability of the platform.

I guess we have to look at other trucks. My brother has a 2013 F-150 XLT and the payload is around 1,200 lbs. on the sticker. 1,149 to be specific I think. My 2016 Tundra I just got rid of earlier this year had a sticker showing 1,372 lbs. of payload. If you look around at "1/2 ton" trucks over the last 10 years (or longer actually) you'll find that most of them are well below 1,500 lbs. of payload. I feel like 1,300 on an EV truck is actually pretty respectable. I don't think GM came up with that number for any reason other than that's what's competitive in this segment and always has been.

 

[camaroz1985]

For reference my R1T has payload rating of 1543 lbs. It was 1623 lbs, but then the spare tire was installed and a new sticker was added showing the updated payload. So based on that I would have to believe the tire/wheel, jack and tools added 80 lbs.

 

[HawaiiEV]

My Escalade EXT is 1200 lbs of payload. I imagine stuff like the midgate, bed covers, side boxes all adds up. It’s plenty for what I’ve used it for, small trailers and even loads of concrete well over 1000 lbs, air suspension levels it out every time.

 

[SilverDan]

I wouldn't be surprised

• We have a first generation Bolt, all the specs on that are underrated by GM, most significantly range. With EV's their philosophy appears to be under promise and over deliver, which actually goes back to their founding and the days of Harley Earl
• Given the lead time - GM is playing the long game here big time, I would not at all be surprised that they intentionally left room for surprise on release. I'm expecting
  • A frunk/etrunk that's 1" bigger than the Lightning
  • Range of 430 miles, which compares to our Bolt which had a range of 225 and whereas we get more like 250+ real world (and now 285 with the upgraded battery)
  • Payload of 1500 at least. The Lightning payload is 2,235 according to Google, but I've seen it at 1800, maybe it got pushed up or depends on this or that. Anyhow given the Lightning is a ICE retread in theory the Silverado should be able to optimize to better GVWR. Throwing a number out and eyeballing the Lightning I'll say 2,000 lbs, depending on trim. The WT should be higher since it doesn't have extra goodies.

 

[HawaiiEV]

This truck is nothing like your bolt, the efficiency’s of EV play in favor of small city cars like yours. Telling people to expect more range then the 400 which will clearly be for an already upgraded pack is just bad advice. This is a big heavy brick and people like to drive 80 mph on the highway. Assuming the payload for a unibody pickup is going to be higher then what GM said is also not advised, is it possible sure… this design is clearly finalized, the frunk will be the exact size it is now in the truck people see at shows and driving around. GM is working on how to mass produce this design now, not secretly redesigning it to have a larger frunk or double payload over what they said.

 

[SilverDan]

Dude this is getting annoying how you come after me for stupid reasons ... I'm not giving advice, I'm offering an opinion which is based off a fact that their track record is to underestimate, and in this case with a long lead time they have every reason to leave surprises to the end. You're hand waving about how they are different means nothing as its based off what, the truck is bigger? That's meaningless as it's an engineering design, guess what it also has a battery many times the size and is a different architecture. That has no bearing as to how they set specs. I've been setting hardware specs for 30 years and you seem to have trouble understanding that for customer 'me too' ones they are set as much by marketing as engineering where I work.

So do me a favor and back off, just ignore what I say and/or take it FWIW, I'm tired of the needling

 

[tsuintx]

The amount of GM Kool-Aid flowing around here is overwhelming. That is my opinion and I'm sticking to it. 😁