MY26i Chevrolet Silverado 1500 towing capacity: 4,500 kg leaves 97 kg

The MY26i Silverado 1500 range has two grades, not three

GMSV's current Australian range is unusually simple. The Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium and Silverado 1500 ZR2 are the only 1500 grades listed, and both use the 6.2-litre V8 with a 10-speed automatic. The separate Silverado 2500 HD is a different vehicle. There is no current Australian 5.3-litre LT Trail Boss; Trail Boss material is historical and the grade is absent from the live range.

The confusion comes from GMSV's generic trailering page, which still carries historical Trail Boss material alongside newer trucks. That page remains useful as a dated record, but the live range and model pages decide what is on sale now. They show LTZ Premium at up to 4,500 kg braked and ZR2 at up to 4,200 kg, with MY26i figures applying to both. If a dealer page or search result offers a current Australian Trail Boss, a 5.3-litre engine or a third Silverado 1500 grade, it is mixing markets or model years.

The powertrain detail matters for the same reason. Both current GMSV pages still list Dynamic Fuel Management. The cylinder-deactivation system has not disappeared from the MY26i Australian specification, despite some older reporting saying otherwise. New MY26i trucks therefore still carry DFM.

MY26i added 205 kg of GVM, while GCM stayed at 7,160 or 6,851 kg

GMSV announced the MY26i change on 17 July 2026. Recertification from vehicle category NA to NB1 raised GVM from 3,300 to 3,505 kg on both grades. Headline payload became 942 kg for LTZ Premium and 922 kg for ZR2, and GMSV said local right-hand-drive remanufacturing of the updated trucks would begin from 1 August. Those are meaningful gains for a truck carrying people, a canopy, tools or recovery gear.

For MY26i, LTZ Premium has a 2,563 kg kerb mass and 7,160 kg GCM; ZR2 has 2,583 kg and 6,851 kg. Both list 1,724 kg at the front axle and 1,866 kg at the rear. That axle pair matters because the two limits are different; a repeated 1,724/1,724 figure does not describe the current MY26i truck.

GVM and GCM buy different things. GVM limits the loaded truck, including the load pressing on the towball. GCM limits the truck and trailer together. Raising GVM without raising GCM creates more room when the trailer is moderate, then the combination ceiling takes over as trailer mass rises. Load an LTZ Premium to its full 3,505 kg GVM and only 3,655 kg remains under its 7,160 kg GCM. A fully loaded ZR2 has 3,346 kg left. The 4,500 and 4,200 kg badges therefore depend on the truck being well below GVM.

LTZ Premium: the 4,500 kg calculation ends at 97 kg

The full-tow calculation has two sides. The vehicle side is 3,505 kg GVM less 2,563 kg kerb and 422 kg maximum towball mass, leaving 520 kg. The combination side is 7,160 kg GCM less a 4,500 kg trailer and 2,563 kg kerb, leaving 97 kg. The smaller answer governs, so 97 kg is the allowance for the driver, passengers, fitted accessories and anything in the cab or tub. As a transparent example, a 75 kg driver would leave 22 kg before a toolbox, fridge, canopy or fuel can is counted.

GMSV publishes two coupling tiers on the LTZ page. A 50 mm ball carries a 3,500 kg braked ceiling and a 350 kg towball limit; the 70 mm ball is required for the 4,500 kg ceiling and is limited to 422 kg on the ball. The RAM 1500 towing page explains the Australian coupling split in detail. On the Silverado, the practical instruction is shorter: match the fitted ball and towbar label to the tier you intend to use, and do not transfer the 422 kg figure to a different coupling.

Below the maximum, the GVM lift is useful. At 3,000 kg ATM with about 300 kg on the ball, an otherwise standard LTZ has roughly 642 kg available. At 3,500 kg and 350 kg on the ball it has 592 kg. At 4,000 kg with 400 kg on the ball it has 542 kg, with the vehicle side narrowly governing. By 4,200 kg the combination side has taken over and the remainder is 397 kg. The last 300 kg of trailer then removes 300 kg of cabin-and-tub allowance, leaving the 97 kg result at the badge.

ZR2: check the 400 kg figure on the labels; GCM still leaves only 68 kg

ZR2 starts 20 kg heavier and carries a lower combination ceiling. At its 4,200 kg trailer rating and 400 kg planning limit, the vehicle side leaves 522 kg, while 6,851 kg less 4,200 kg less 2,583 kg leaves just 68 kg on the GCM side. GCM therefore binds. With a transparent 10 per cent planning assumption, the same truck has about 572 kg at 3,500 kg and 268 kg at 4,000 kg before its axle split is checked.

The 400 kg figure needs context. GMSV Australia's current MY26i ZR2 page publishes the new GVM, GCM, kerb, payload and axle figures but leaves the towball row blank; the current federal descriptor confirms 4,200 kg braked towing but has no towball field. GMSV's official Australian MY26 service and warranty booklet lists ZR2 at 4,200/400 kg, although its mass table predates the MY26i GVM update. GMSV New Zealand's current MY26i page repeats 4,200/400 kg against the identical 3,505 kg GVM, 6,851 kg GCM and 2,583 kg kerb set. Until GMSV Australia republishes the field, treat 400 kg as the best available planning limit and check the individual vehicle and fitted towbar labels before loading to it.

Compared with LTZ Premium, ZR2 has 300 kg less trailer rating and 309 kg less GCM, alongside Multimatic DSSV dampers, a factory lift, locking differentials and 33-inch tyres. Those features may matter on rough access tracks, but the buying decision is the trade: compare their off-road value with the lower combination margin and the route, trailer and measured axle loads you will actually run. The 922 kg headline payload does not cancel the 68 kg GCM ceiling.

The cited independent reviewer tow tests stop below the 4,500 kg badge

The local test record is useful because it shows where reviewers have actually operated the truck. Caravan World towed a caravan rated to 3,500 kg ATM behind an MY23 LTZ Premium and recorded about 22 L/100 km, with confident braking and a ten-speed transmission that shifted cleanly; it reported the van's 2,880 kg tare but not a test-scale ATM. A 2025 caravancampingsales test used a roughly 2,900 kg van with about 300 kg on the ball, measured around 30 mm of rear suspension settlement and 10 mm of front rise, and returned 21.7 L/100 km while towing. Neither report tested the Silverado at 4,500 kg.

The same reviewer record is not uniformly flattering. Caravan World described the LTZ's nose floating over larger dips with the 3,500 kg-ATM van, while a separate MY23 test at roughly 2,800 kg described floaty damping over bumps. The 2025 test called the truck stable overall but noted slight movement in crosswinds. Those pre-MY26i observations used different trailers and do not establish a current defect; they are reasons to test the loaded combination on the roads it will use.

Owner comments put scale around that trade-off without replacing a measured test. In a January 2026 Australian caravanning thread, one Silverado 1500 owner nearing the end of a lap reported towing about 4.2 tonnes through remote routes without major issues, while another towing 2.2 tonnes praised the smoothness but said the truck's width demanded more care on bush tracks. They are single-owner anecdotes, not proof of maximum-tow behaviour, but they show why trailer mass and route belong beside the badge.

That difference matters. A measured test around 2,900 kg, or a test with a van rated to 3,500 kg ATM, can tell you about ride, braking feel, fuel use and stability in those conditions. It cannot prove how a particular truck and caravan will behave at the certified maximum. The arithmetic also changes sharply across the gap to 4,500 kg: an LTZ has about 592 kg for people and gear at a measured 3,500 kg ATM, versus 97 kg at 4,500 kg.

Start with the caravan's real loaded ATM and measured towball mass, then add the occupants and everything fitted or carried by the truck. Check GVM, GCM and both axle loads on the same loading. GMSV publishes the 1,724/1,866 kg axle limits but not the truck's axle split at kerb, so a brochure-only rear-axle remainder would be guesswork. Use a weighbridge split across the front axle, rear axle and trailer axle group. Where the vehicle, towbar and hitch manufacturers permit it, a correctly specified and adjusted weight-distribution hitch may restore front-axle load; it does not raise GVM, GCM, either axle limit or towball rating. The GVM guide covers the truck-side check, and the ATM guide keeps the trailer basis consistent.

The engine recall covers MY21–MY24, and GMSV has a recall page

The Australian Government recall register lists REC-006344 for 9,468 Silverado 1500 vehicles from model years 2021 to 2024. Manufacturing defects in connecting rods or crankshafts can damage the engine and cause a loss of propulsion; the listed remedy is inspection, repair and engine replacement where required. That model-year range does not include the current MY26i truck, but it matters to used buyers and should be checked by VIN rather than assumed from a registration year.

GMSV also maintains an Australian recall page for the Silverado and directs owners to contact GMSV or an authorised dealer. Use the manufacturer page for the current campaign instructions and the government register for the formal affected-vehicle record. A completed recall does not change the truck's certified towing, axle or combination limits.

MY26i LTZ Premium and ZR2 still list the 6.2-litre V8, ten-speed automatic and Dynamic Fuel Management. Older reports that say cylinder deactivation was removed do not match the current Australian specification. Used MY21–MY24 vehicles need the VIN recall check; a new MY26i truck needs the current payload-and-combination calculation. One does not answer the other.

Silverado 1500 vs RAM 1500: choose the margin you can live with

The factory rating permits an LTZ Premium to tow up to 4,500 kg in the specified configuration, subject to every other limit. It does not reserve seats or tub space. With a 3,000–4,000 kg caravan, the MY26i LTZ Premium retains roughly 642–542 kg before real accessories and loading are counted. Someone who genuinely needs a 4,500 kg ATM van should begin with the 97 kg result and work backwards from actual people, towball mass and accessories rather than treating the factory payload as available on top.

The comparison with the other full-size pickups is revealing. A Ford F-150 and a RAM 1500 can share the same headline rating while arriving at it through different GVM, GCM and coupling relationships. None is chosen responsibly from the tow number alone. The useful shortlist is the truck whose loaded margins still suit the family, van and equipment you will actually take.

GMSV lists a factory GCM alert. GM's 2026 trailering supplement says it estimates combined weight from vehicle data after enough driving; it does not measure the loaded rig or check GVM, rear-axle, trailer and towball limits. A scale establishes the baseline. When people, water or gear change after that weigh, recording the changes in loadmate updates the compliance and loaded-behaviour picture while keeping maintenance with the same rig. Read how the Live Rig Score is built and the safety disclaimer before using it for a towing decision.

loadmate provides decision support for towing safety, not legal weight certification. Score, compliance checks, and trip readiness are based on the data you enter and the regulator information current at the time of release. For legal weight evidence, use a certified weighbridge. Towing remains the operator's responsibility.