One of the most useful features of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV work truck is its offboard power system. The system allows the user to utilize up to 10.2 kW of power flow and access the Silverado EV's enormous 200+ kWh battery pack.
With that kind of energy storage, a contractor could power their entire job site for days without needing to recharge the truck. And Chevrolet says it can power the essential loads in an average home for up to 21 days, provided the power is utilized judiciously.
All Silverado EVs will come standard with the Offboard Power system that has seven outlets; six 120-volt, 20-amp, and one that's 240-volt, 30-amp. There's one 120-volt outlet in the eTrunk (don't call it a frunk to GM reps!), one more in the cab, four 120-volt outlets (two banks of two) in the rear right side of the bed, and one 240-volt, NEMA L14-30 outlet, which is a typical generator outlet configuration. However, customers can buy any number of adapters to use equipment with different plugs attached.
For Silverado EV owners that need more power, an optional Power Bar can be purchased which will deliver an additional 3 kW of power. The Power Bar plugs into the vehicle's J1772 charge port and delivers the power from there. The DC to AC inverter is built into the Power Bar box which can be offered with a variety of different plug configurations.
Chevrolet hasn't announced the price of the Power Bar, what plug configurations will be offered, or exactly when it will be available to order as of yet.
Chevrolet has also been advertising that the Silverado EV will be able to charge other EVs from the Offboard Power system, and we learned quite a lot about how that will happen at the media drive event last week.
First off, customers will not be able to use the Silverado EV's supplied dual-voltage portable charging cable with Offboard Power to charge other EVs as Ford F-150 Lightning owners can with their vehicle's portable charger and the Pro Power Onboard system. That's because the portable EVSE is a 32-amp unit, and the maximum power output of the 240-volt outlet of the Offboard Power is 30-amps. Therefore, the system would overload and shut down.
Check out the InsideEVs Chevy Silverado EV 4WT First Drive review.
I suppose if you had an EV that allows you to lower the AC charging power intake, it would work, but you would also then need to purchase a NEMA 14-50 to NEMA L14-30 adapter so the Portable charger could tap into the 240-volt outlet in the Silverado EV.
Therefore, Chevrolet is going to sell a vehicle to vehicle charging cable that will plug into the Silverado's charge port and then into the other EV's charge port and charge the vehicle directly. That cable will deliver up to 6 kW. As with the Power Bar, Chevrolet hasn't announced pricing or when it will be available to order, but we'll stay on top of it and let you know when it's ready for ordering.
Gallery: 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV Work Truck: First Drive
Ford had the same problem when it launched the F-150 Lightning because it's single 240-volt Pro Power Onboard outlet also has a 30-amp limit. But they chose a different solution. Ford when to the manufacturer of the portable charger, Webasto, and told them to de-rate it so the maximum power output would be 30-amps, allowing it to plug into Pro Power Outboard with an adapter and charge other EVs.
The interesting thing is the same portable charger, when purchased with the Ford Mustang Mach-E, will deliver the full 32-amps and won't work with the Lightning's Pro Power System, because of those extra 2-amps. I've had more than a couple of my followers contact me because they tried to do just that and it didn't understand why it wouldn't work
So check out the full video above and leave your comments and questions in the comment section below.
