A Kansas farmer who traded his diesel pickup for a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV says the electric truck has handled heavy towing, rough terrain, and daily farm chores better than he expected. His account, shared online and later picked up by media outlets, offers one of the few real-world stress tests of an electric work truck outside controlled manufacturer demos. The verdict: the EV earned its keep, though questions about long-term durability and rural charging access remain open.
Towing 12,500 Pounds on Kansas Dirt Roads
The farmer described “putting it to work in a traditional role,” a phrase that cuts against the common assumption that battery-electric trucks are suited only for suburban commutes or light hauling. His use case included towing up to 12,500 lbs over uneven ground, the kind of rutted pasture lanes and gravel paths that punish suspension components and drain range quickly. That figure matches the manufacturer’s listed maximum towing capability for the Silverado EV 3WT trim, meaning he pushed the truck to its rated ceiling rather than staying in a comfortable middle zone where most owners operate.
What makes this account useful, rather than just anecdotal, is the specificity. The farmer did not simply claim the truck “worked great.” He detailed the load weight, the terrain type, and the operating conditions, offering a rare look at how an electric pickup behaves when it is treated like a piece of farm equipment instead of a lifestyle accessory. Independent verification of his claims is limited, since no third-party agricultural testing body has yet published results on the Silverado EV in farm settings. But the fact that the truck’s rated maximum tow rating held up during sustained off-pavement use is a data point that diesel-loyal farmers have been waiting for, or hoping to disprove.
Range and Efficiency Beyond the Spec Sheet
Chevrolet lists up to 450 miles of range on certain Silverado EV Work Truck configurations, a number that looks impressive on paper but tells farmers very little about what happens when you load the bed, hook up a trailer, and drive across soft ground in July heat. The ENERGY STAR listing for the 2024 Silverado EV provides standardized efficiency metrics that help ground those marketing claims in government-tested data, including kilowatt-hours consumed per 100 miles. For buyers trying to translate that into operating costs, the EPA’s comparison tool on fueleconomy.gov offers side-by-side figures that make it easier to weigh electricity expenses against diesel or gasoline.
The gap between advertised range and real-world farm range is where most skepticism lives, and rightly so. Any truck (electric or internal combustion) burns through energy faster when it tows at maximum capacity on unpaved surfaces, particularly in extreme temperatures. The Kansas farmer’s experience suggests the Silverado EV remained functional for his daily work loops, but no published data from USDA, agricultural extension services, or independent testing labs has confirmed how much range drops under sustained heavy-tow conditions on dirt and gravel. Until that research exists, farmers are essentially running their own field trials, tracking charge levels and work output day by day. That is not necessarily a dealbreaker, but it does mean early adopters carry a level of uncertainty that institutional buyers and fleet managers typically try to avoid.
Powering Tools Without a Generator
One detail that separates the Silverado EV from a standard pickup is its ability to function as a mobile power station. Select Work Truck models include multiple 120-volt outlets and a 240-volt bed outlet, with a total output of 7.2 kW according to Chevrolet’s support documentation. That is enough to run drills, saws, air compressors, and moderate welding equipment without hauling a separate generator, and the system can power tools while the truck is parked or charging batteries while it is in motion between job sites.
For rural operators, ditching a trailer-mounted generator saves weight, fuel costs, and maintenance hassle. A 7.2 kW output will not run a full welding shop or a large irrigation pump, but it covers the portable tool range that most small and mid-size operations rely on daily for fence work, building repairs, and equipment maintenance. In practice, the truck replaces two pieces of equipment at once: the hauler and the power source. That consolidation matters more in agriculture than in many construction or fleet scenarios, because farms often operate miles from the nearest outlet, and every extra piece of gear adds time, logistics, and potential breakdown points to the workday.
Operating Costs and the Solar Charging Plan
The farmer reported experiencing operating cost savings after switching from diesel, a claim that aligns with the basic math of electricity versus fuel pricing in most U.S. markets. Diesel prices fluctuate regionally and seasonally, and they are vulnerable to global supply shocks. By contrast, the per-mile energy cost of charging an EV at typical residential rates often comes in well below the per-mile cost of fueling a full-size diesel truck. The Kansas farmer’s situation adds another variable: he has plans to add solar on his property specifically with EV charging in mind, which would reduce or even eliminate his electricity bill for the truck once the system is installed and paid off.
Solar-powered EV charging on a farm is not a fringe idea. Rural properties often have ample roof and ground space for panels, and in many states, net metering policies allow excess daytime generation to offset grid consumption at night or during cloudy periods. If the Kansas farmer follows through, his effective fuel cost for the truck could drop close to zero after the upfront panel and inverter investment is recovered. That would turn sunlight into the functional equivalent of on-farm diesel storage. That payback timeline depends on local incentives, installation costs, and how much of the array’s output is dedicated to vehicle charging versus other loads such as barns, grain dryers, or even upgraded heating and cooling equipment in the farmhouse. While his story does not spell out those details, it illustrates how EV adoption can dovetail with broader energy upgrades on working land.
What This Test Case Does and Does Not Prove
A single farmer’s experience does not settle the debate over whether electric trucks can replace diesel across American agriculture. The absence of long-term durability data under constant heavy towing, exposure to dust and mud, and temperature extremes leaves open questions that only years of use will answer. Components such as battery packs, suspension parts, and high-voltage electronics have to survive washboard roads, manure, and corrosive farm chemicals in ways that laboratory tests can only approximate. Likewise, rural charging infrastructure remains uneven, so farmers who regularly haul long distances for livestock auctions or grain delivery may still see diesel as the lower-risk choice until fast chargers become more common along their routes.
What the Kansas Silverado EV does offer is an early, concrete example of an electric truck performing demanding tasks that many skeptics assumed were beyond the reach of battery power. It shows that, under at least one set of real-world conditions, the advertised tow rating is usable, the range is workable for daily loops, and the onboard power system can meaningfully replace a generator. It also highlights how pairing an EV with on-farm solar can turn volatile fuel expenses into a more predictable capital investment. For now, the truck is best understood as a promising test case rather than a definitive template. As more farmers share detailed accounts and as formal testing catches up with marketing claims, the industry will get a clearer picture of where electric pickups fit in the agricultural toolkit, and where diesel will continue to dominate for years to come.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
