How Well Does the 2023 Chevrolet Colorado Trail Boss Tow?

The 2023 Chevrolet Colorado has a maximum towing capacity of 7,700 pounds when properly equipped, which is top of the range for mid-size pickup trucks, but maximum towing numbers don’t necessarily guarantee a stress-free towing experience. My focus in this article is specifically to evaluate how well the Colorado performs in the off-road-focused Trail Boss trim level while towing a camper trailer over steep elevations.

Related: 2023 Chevrolet Colorado Comes in 3 Off-Road Flavors

What Is the 2023 Chevrolet Colorado Trail Boss?

The Colorado Trail Boss starts as the basic WT trim level and noticeably adds 2 inches of lift, 3.6 inches to the track width and 32-inch diameter Goodyear Wrangler Territory A/T tires. Going along with that is the G80 auto-locking rear differential and skid plates to protect the most vulnerable bits. I like that it starts with the WT trim level because many off-roaders today require fancy, more expensive trim levels. The Colorado Trail Boss is for those who want a truck that gets things done without needing the extra costs of leather, heated and ventilated seats, and high-end sound systems.

While a turbocharged, 2.7-liter four-cylinder is standard for all Colorado trims, it comes in three variants. The Trail Boss gets the mid-level 2.7-liter Turbo Plus, which has 310 horsepower and 390 pounds-feet of torque and is paired to GM’s 8L80 eight-speed automatic.

The Truck, Trailer and Route

This test truck came with the additional Advanced Trailering Package that includes the trailer brake controller; trailering app for setting up various trailers and testing connections; and trailering package with a 2-inch receiver hitch, 4- and 7-pin connectors, and a 7-pin harness.

Many trucks list a weight requirement for when to use a weight-distribution hitch in the owner’s manual, but for the 2023 Colorado, all I found was “A weight-distributing hitch may be useful with some trailers” and some general guidelines on properly setting up a weight-distribution hitch. As with other tests performed over this route, a Fastway Flash Scale Ball Mount was used. While I recommend using a weight-distribution hitch with sway control when towing high-profile trailers, I perform these tests without one to better experience the truck’s performance. (I’m a mechanical engineer and former product engineer for Progress Mfg. Inc. in Utah, makers of the Equal-i-zer hitch and Fastway Flash ball mounts.)

My trailer in this test had a total weight of 4,650 pounds, and while the weight of the trailer isn’t significant, the frontal area is. In previous tests, vehicles towing this trailer have returned appreciably lower mileage when compared to much heavier trailers with lower profiles. The tongue weight of the trailer is close to 450 pounds.

This test includes steep climbs starting at an elevation of roughly 4,500 feet and topping out at just over 6,200 feet. There is a short freeway section, and the remainder is mostly four-lane roads with speed limits of 45 to 55 mph and grades approaching 10%.

Connecting a trailer can and should be a very easy process. However, with some vehicles, this isn’t so. The 2023 Colorado is certainly one of the good ones.

Factory connections and controls are good with the 4- and 7-pin outlets and built-in trailer brake controller. The trailering app that’s included in the Advanced Trailering Package comes with a checklist for safe towing and features to keep track of multiple trailers and settings for those trailers. The best feature of this system is the trailer light check. After you start the test, the truck will wait a short time then start testing the running lights, brake lights and blinkers. The test repeats multiple times, so if the driver misses it the first time, they can just wait for the cycle to repeat.

The rearview camera is offset from the center, which has provided me with bad experiences in the past, like on the Toyota Tundra. However, Chevy has done an excellent job with programming this camera, and I had no issues.

Chevrolet Colorado Towing Performance

One of the most telling parts of this test is merging onto the freeway on an uphill on-ramp. While the 310 hp is good, the real story with the 2.7-liter turbo engine is in the 390 pounds-feet of torque. Getting up to speed required some effort, but not a full-throttle application and redlining the engine as we’ve seen with other vehicles we’ve tested, like the Nissan Frontier.

Once on the freeway, maintaining cruising speed was not an issue. Again, the high torque output of this engine makes for an excellent towing platform. The eight-speed auto is well tuned with crisp shifts when needed, which isn’t often while cruising.

There was a very slight amount of trailer sway felt while driving at 70 mph through a curve with road damage. Nothing unsettling, but enough that it was noticed. Due to the conditions, I would expect most mid-size trucks to behave similarly.

With the trailer brakes properly set, exiting the freeway on a downhill off-ramp and coming to a stop was a nonissue. The transmission is tuned to assist by downshifting, which helps with engine braking, as well.

Moving to the long steep-grade portion of the test, the 2023 Colorado Trail Boss was able to hold the engine rpm at or below 3,000 rpm for nearly the whole climb. Once again, the performance during this part was much better than I experienced in other trucks in this class, including the Toyota Tacoma.

Now is a good time to mention the gauge setup for monitoring the vehicle while towing. The main gauge cluster has a layout that includes fuel level and transmission, oil and coolant temperatures. Additionally, battery voltage and oil pressure can be displayed through the infotainment system. All of these are good to have on hand when towing.

Heading back down the hill, the story remains the same: The truck performed great. Engine braking is good, requiring minimal regular brake operation, and a complete stop was made in the middle of an 8% grade without issue.

Colorado MPG While Towing

From past experience, turbocharged engines generally get better fuel mileage when empty and worse fuel mileage when heavily loaded compared to naturally aspirated options. In this case, the 2.7-liter turbo engine came out just about the same as the naturally aspirated competitors while towing over this course: 11.9 mpg, per the truck’s onboard trip computer.

Towing Takeaways

Based on the WT trim, the 2023 Colorado Trail Boss doesn’t have much in the way of upscale features. However, it has everything needed to get the job done while towing. The factory-optioned trailer brake controller, 4- and 7-pin trailer wiring connections, G80 rear auto locker and powerful engine all cover the needs in a capable work truck. As such, the 2023 Colorado currently sits near the top of the mid-size truck segment for towing.

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