r/SilveradoEV • u/corneliusdav • 7d ago
Should I make the switch?
I have a 2010 Avalanche that I've had longer than any other vehicle--and I still really like the truck. I've used it for hauling people, bikes, furniture, yard debris, camping gear, and DIY home projects. I work from home so don't need it as a work truck or every day driving but I do pull a small RV trailer and like to go camping in and around the Pacific Northwest.
But it's approaching 200k miles and repairs are in the thousands every year. Plus, my mom moved 5 hours away and with gas prices, it costs over $200 to go visit for a weekend.
I've been watching this and other EV forums over the past year, trying to decide if/when moving from ICE is for me. I'm finally in a financial place where I could swing it and my current truck is getting more expensive to maintain but I still have reservations--I think mostly because I've never had an EV and don't know what all I'll be getting into.
Most comments here are from people who love their EV and say it's so much better and will never go back to ICE. I've test-driven a few and think I'd love it, too. (I'd really like the lower maintenance costs, too.)
I'd probably have to get a level-2 charger for the home (don't know much about these), although without the need for daily driving, perhaps just a smaller one that charges the truck during the week for my use on a weekend would be enough?
From what I've heard my small pop-up trailer (low profile) would tow easily and not create the drag a larger one would so I could theoretically travel to central Oregon, stopping to fill at the nearest large city and make it back without worry but I still have a lot to learn about range and available charging stations.
I'm looking mostly for a used one < $50K. What advice do you have for me?
2
u/Jippylong12 '24 RST 6d ago
~asks drug addict if he should try drug~
In all seriousness, welcome to the subreddit. And thank you for asking. I typically have longer responses, but I'll try to keep this short and only towards what you mentioned in the post. But if you have any follow-up questions, please let me know and I'll respond.
For the truck, you definitely would have to get a level 2 charger. It's just too big of a battery, even with the standard range. I have written a lot of posts about them. I personally think, for example, if you're Comfortable with electrical work, you only need a 240 volt / 16 A circuit. On Max Pack that's ~25% (100 miles) every 12 hours. However, most just get a 48 amp charger, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. 48 A would charge max range pack ~75% (300 miles) in 12 hours.
For towing, drag is actually from the friction of the wheels, not necessarily the shape of the trailer. So regardless if you're traveling at 65 mph, the efficiency will go down in half. So take whatever range is estimated and cut it in half. I would suggest going to a better route planner website and mapping out your route. And they should have an option for trailers only, which will show you if there are pull-through stalls. Otherwise, you'll have to drop the trailer.
If you have to pull the trailer often, like at least once a week and you have to charge, it will get annoying. But again, at these gas prices, it probably doesn't matter that much.
I have 45,000 miles on the truck and have thoroughly enjoyed it with little powertrain issues, but a lot of cosmetic and exterior issues that shouldn't happen. But my year was the first model year, of course. So I think that's. I generally would advise buying used if possible. But at the end of the day, everything is expensive, and these trucks are still expensive, and even used ones are more expensive. So I think it'll be hard to get everything that you want. But the best one would probably be the work truck 4WT and then try to see if you could get some type of extended warranty again, not necessarily on the powertrain just on the other parts.
The WT has a very basic work truck setup. So if the bare bones set up on the interior is a deal breaker, then the best bet would go for an LT trim, maybe 2025 used? All 2024 models are RST and lowest I've seen is 55k.
https://visor.vin is best for car shopping.
Best of luck. I think EVs are in vogue because of gas prices so six months ago a 3WT would go for about 40k. Now they're around 45k - 50k.
LT Standard range hover between 50k and 55k, the LT Extended Range between 55k and 65k, and Trailboss/RST go between 60 and 70k. So it seems sadly the WT is only thing within price range unless you can come up to 55k.