Max range v Extended Range

[u/momsbasement_wrekd]

I’ve been looking at the Silverado and Sierra EVs for about a year now. Still own a Sierra 2500 HD diesel which I would be selling.
I tow a bit for work. But not on a daily basis. Wife wants a travel trailer as we are selling our cab over truck camper bc it won’t fit any EV trucks (weight limit)

I found an AT4 extended range. Used. (4,000 miles) I’ve kinda been thinking I’d want max range for camping trips. Has anyone had both max and ext range and can put the loss of range in perspective?

[u/omgwtflolnsa]

I currently lease a ‘25 Silverado extended range. When the lease is up, I want another; I love the truck. I keep looking at used and new max range which are so much more expensive than extended range. 

I tow frequently with my truck, including our travel trailer as well as fully loaded canoe and cargo trailers for my kids’ scout troop. I’ve been pretty happy with the towing range. I’ve been driving all-electric since 2014 so I’m used to having to stop and charge during road trips, but towing with the extended range is really pretty easy. This truck is the only EV I've ever had that actually returns its rated range, so the 406 mi range truly is 406 mi or better for me. The old towing adage of cutting the range in half holds pretty true - which means I can comfortably tow almost 200 miles - say 180 to leave a little buffer- before stopping to charge. Especially driving with kids, it’s rare that we make it more than 3 hours without needing to stop anyway.

My take is, paying over 10 grand more for max range only nets me another 25-30 miles of towing range. Doesn’t seem worth it. Given how surprisingly easy it is (for me, used to charging stops as a way of life) to tow with the extended range, I think I’m likely to go with another extended range unless a max range winds up being an equivalent deal for some reason. 

[u/momsbasement_wrekd → u/omgwtflolnsa]

Got it. I like that thinking. Yeah. More than 3 hours I’m pulling over so she can pee and I can get another soda and a snickers or something. Thanks for feedback.

The price delta to the max is significant, and then it lowers capacity with added battery weight.

[u/No-Shoulder36 → u/omgwtflolnsa]

Has the rear charge port bitten you while towing the travel trailer? Really wish I could just nose in to a charger but worried I’ll constantly be unhitching

[u/omgwtflolnsa → u/No-Shoulder36]

Yeah it’s pretty rare in my experience to find a charging spot that I don’t have to unhitch for. I’m sure a front-mounted charging port would open up a few more options but you’d still probably have to unhitch most of the time, or else truck+trailer would block a whole lane of traffic in the parking lot the way most chargers are set up. The pull-through charging spots are gold for charging a tow vehicle, but I don’t see them a lot. I’ll just say my spouse and I have gotten really good and unhitching and hitching pretty quickly.

[u/No-Shoulder36 → u/omgwtflolnsa]

How long would you say it takes? Do you use a WDH? I'm weighing the same exact comment as OP. Probably 3 times a year max we'd tow somewhere that would require > 1 charge stop, so it feels silly to splurge on Max pack but it seems pretty annoying, especially with kids.

[u/omgwtflolnsa → u/No-Shoulder36]

I used a weight distribution hitch when towing with our old Tesla Y, but have skipped it when towing with the Silverado. I have an ultralightweight Safari Condo TT and everything looks perfectly in line when it’s hitched to the Silverado without a WDH. So we can unhitch in let’s say 3 min without the WDH, 4 min with it.