Sid Silverado had served us extremely well for almost 6 years. We drove him hard for 150,000 miles, 44,195 of which involved towing Arthur Airstream weighing in at 8,700 pounds. We kept up with all required maintenance milestones, used only gas with 91 or higher octane, and changed the oil on a regular basis. He bore a few scars from being backed into a brick mailbox, some fender dents from using ratchet straps to hold down Home Depot materials, slight hail damage to the tonneau cover from an overnight thunderstorm, and minor scrapes from an accident I caused while changing lanes in Hollywood, FL. We’ve had to to replace the brakes, a failed motor for the passenger side electric running board, and the tailgate damaged by an ill-trimmed tree that our rear cameras failed to sense in a hotel parking lot. Sid’s on his third set of tires, as well as, third pair of rear air lifts (an upgrade we added). Despite this wear and tear, he still looked and ran great, and thankfully, our son Jon purchased him for a reasonable price.
We had been talking or several years about getting a new truck eventually. Early on, we were just dreaming but more recently had gotten serious. With the improvement of EV (Electric Vehicle) technology and expansion of nation-wide charging stations, we decided it was time. We stuck with Chevrolet and selected a 2026 Silverado 1500, EV Trail Boss. We bought from Reliable Chevrolet on Arapaho in Richardson, TX and picked up Sid II last Friday from our salesman, Brian Prosser. Brian worked hard and made the entire purchase experience feel unpressured, easy, and comfortable. Of course, we had our minds made up and were ready to buy, so the sale was a certainty from the start. We suspect he sensed that.
When shown the colors from which we could choose, there was only one we liked. We had ridden in the light gray version, which was the only EV truck on the lot. While it looked okay, had we gotten that color, we would’ve been settling for sure. When Brian showed us the available EV colors, MFI really liked the one called Blue Smoke Metallic. Turned out that this was available only on the Trail Boss model, and Brian promised to have it on the lot in five days, but if and only if we committed to buying it. So we did!
Sid II came with a combination of dark and light gray leather interior. The stitching on the seats was mostly light gray, accompanied by a red accent stitch. Similarly, the HVAC vents in the dash had a red accent, and the tow points in the front bumper were painted red (the ones on Sid I were chrome). In my opinion, these accents added some class.
It will be a while before we return to the road, but we’re looking forward to towing with two electric motors that possess twice the torque of Sid I. In the meantime, driving the Trail Boss has been fantastic. The ride has been incredibly quiet, the interior storage space is substantial, and the added storage under the front hood is a bonus we really appreciate. We again added a folding tonneau cover and were extremely pleased to discover it was about half the weight of the one on Sid I. The Infotainment Center came with a huge display screen, and while most of the controls and switches are the same or similar, we still have to learn some of the operating nuances of the touch screen and dashboard.
We stopped at IKEA today, and because they had 240V quick charge stations, we plugged in for our first recharge. The process was easy. Went went from 50 to 87% in 20 minutes at a cost of $50, which seemed a bit steeper than I expected. We’ll need to do some cost comparisons across different providers and determine where we can find better prices. In the meantime, we’re charging overnight, when needed, directly from the power tower at our RV site.
We’d only owned Sid II 4 days, before we’d experienced two anecdotes worth sharing. On the drive to IKEA, MFI admitted to me she had the urge to use a bathroom and habitually thought, I’ll just go when we stop at the next gas station. Then last night, as we were leaving Jon and Kat’s and saying our good byes to the boys, Jon requested a demonstration of Sid II’s Sidewinder mode; that is, the truck’s capability to crab left or right. MFI punched the Sidewinder button on the screen, it responded “ready,” and we crabbed back and forth down the street. Jon came to her window and drooled, “That was trippin’.” Several days later, I took a video of MFI Sidewinding in the RV Park; however, it really didn’t capture what I hoped it would. That said, the UPS driver who was waiting until we were finished shooting, stopped beside me and asked excitedly, “Did all four wheels on that truck just do what I thought they did?” He too thought this was cool. We’ve yet to figure out when and where Sidewinding should or could be used. Until then, it’s little more than a party trick.
Unfortunately, owning the Trail Boss hasn’t been all positive. USAA, where between me and MFI we’ve been members for over 50 years, DOUBLED our auto insurance. When MFI called for an explanation as to why, they offered three silly reasons, each of which she effectively refuted. For example, they claimed this new-technology vehicle was “very expensive.” She rebutted with the fact that it cost the same as we paid for Sid I six years ago. Their additional reasons were equally ridiculous, and her rebuttals were equally irrefutable. I strongly suspect she’s not done discussing this with them.
All things considered, however, we’re thrilled with Sid II. I’m certain we’ll be including much more in our blogs once we return to the road. So, stand by!
