Chevrolet Adds Trail Boss to Silverado HD

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

It’s a great time to be a fan of burly off-road pickup trucks from the Bowtie brand. With multiple flavors of dirt road fun in three different sizes, Chevy has covered just about all bases.


Proving things don’t always happen in order, the Silverado HD is getting a Trail Boss trim for 2025, a model whose off-road chops slide in between the Z71 and ZR2 – though both of those have options been available on the HD trucks for a spell already. Adding this trim to the Heavy Duty line completes a trifecta of sorts, with Trail Boss now showing up on midsize Colorado, half-ton Silverado 1500, and now these brutish HDs.


What makes a Trail Boss? Hove underneath the truck in LT or LTZ guise are a set of suspenders from the Z71, including specially tuned shocks which are not the trick DSSV units. If you want those, get a ZR2. Meaty tires on unique 20-inch wheels are part of the deal, as are swaths of blacked-out trim and badges. Stickers don’t add horsepower or off-road prowess but at least advertise the fact you’re not rocking a bog standard Silverado HD.


The 6.6-liter V8 gasser is standard, a mill which showed up this year with 401 horsepower and 464 lb-ft of torque; there’s no indication those numbers will change for 2025. Meanwhile, the 6.6L Duramax diesel is the one you really want, belting out 470 horses and 975 lb-ft of twist. Both engines dance with a ten-speed automatic.


Elsewhere, the interior got a much-needed revamp last year, so other changes are minor. Park assists now appear on more trims, as does adaptive cruise control. Note that adaptive cruise is not Super Cruise – nor is it Ultra Cruise, a tech innovation The General has folded into the Super Cruise family and will no longer market separately. There’s a spate of black-out packages for 2025 as well.


These trucks will be available in summer of 2024. Pricing will be announced closer to the start of production.


[Image: Chevrolet]


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Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • GS340Pete All new cars, repairs only, in chronological order:1996 Eagle Vision Tsi: $400 in repairs in 90k miles, and an under warranty fuel rail replacement. Did I get lucky? 2001.5 VW 'New Jetta' 1.8T auto. Transmission self-destructed within six months. "You're lucky this was under warranty, this would have been like 11 grand." Traded it immediately. Electrical gremlins started showing up too. 2002 Nissan Pathfinder. One $400 repair out of warranty, 02 sensor, in 100k miles.2012 Nissan Maxima, $0 in 24k.2013 Nissan Altima, $0 in 50k.2014 Dodge Charger AWD. $400 sensor out of warranty in 130k. Again, did I get lucky?
  • 1995 SC The Ridgeline is too new so nothing yet.The FIAT needed a tire (nail in the sidewall) and a lower steering column cover and a set of wipers. Around 200 bucksThe 30 year old Thunderbird has been needy this year. Just did fuel injectors to add to belts, hoses, motor mounts, exhaust manifold gasket, shocks and a bunch of caps replaced on various modules.Rear main has developed a small leak so I will probably have the transmission gone through when I drop it. I want to do a few things to it. I have some upgraded front calipers too but they are junk yard parts I rebuilt. Like I said, it has been needy this year but old cars do that sometimes
  • Tane94 Mini annual oil change at dealership, synthetic oil and new filter, $129 but sometimes $99 when a coupon is offered.
  • Mike Beranek All that chrome on the dashboard must reflect the sun something fierce. There is so much, and with so many curves, that you would always have glare from somewhere. Quite a contrast to those all-black darkroom interiors from Yurp.
  • Mike Beranek 2004 Buick LeSabrepurchased in 2017, 104k, $3,100currently 287knever been jumped never been on a tow truckstruts & shocks, wheel bearings, EGR valves. A couple of O2 sensors, an oil pressure sending unit, and of course the dreaded "coolant elbows". All done in my garage with parts so plentiful there are a dozen choices of everything on Rock Auto.I've taken it to the west coast twice and the east coast once. All-in I'm under 5 grand for over 180,000 reliable miles. Best used-car purchase ever.
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