2023–2026 Chevy Colorado Upgrades, Ranked: 3 Mods in Order, With Sport Bar and Model-Year Fit Traps

There is no trailer hitch guide for the 2023+ Colorado on this site, and no running boards guide either, so neither is ranked above. Here is what the truck may already have.

The receiver. Our vehicle data lists a Class IV hitch with a 2 in receiver for this generation. Chevrolet's 2023 brochure, as we read it, describes a Trailering Package that includes a trailer hitch and a 7-pin connector, and a separate Advanced Trailering Package that is not offered on the ZR2. The brochure prints no hitch class or receiver size, and we could not tell from it which trims get the package as standard equipment. So don't go by trim name. Look under the rear bumper and check your window sticker. If a receiver is there, an aftermarket trailer hitch adds nothing.

The rating. Our vehicle data lists a maximum of 7,700 lb with the factory tow package. It is a ceiling. The 2023 brochure says 7,700 lb requires the Trailering Package or Advanced Trailering Package, plus the 2.7L Turbo Plus engine on WT and LT, and it gives the ZR2 6,000 lb. GM Authority's 2026 article ties 7,700 lb to the Advanced Trailering Package on WT, LT, Trail Boss and Z71, and reports 6,000 lb for the ZR2, 5,500 lb for the ZR2 Bison and 3,500 lb for trucks without the package. Chevrolet says the capacity of your specific vehicle may vary and points to the owner's manual. A receiver bolted on later never raises the figure.

Going by the brochure, a Colorado rated at the maximum already has a factory package that includes the hitch.

A factory sport bar sits at the front of the bed, behind the cab. That is where a tonneau cover's front edge seals, where a headache rack mounts and where most overland racks put their front uprights.

We could not confirm which trims carry it. Our tonneau guide cites Rough Country's exclusion for Trail Boss models and a ColoradoFans thread about Trail Boss, ZR2 and Z71 trucks. Our bed rack guide says Trail Boss trucks and some ZR2 and Z71 trucks. Chevrolet's 2023 brochure, as we read it, mentions a bed-mounted sport bar with a ZR2 sail panel, and lists a Sport Bar Package compatible with a soft roll-up tonneau cover from Chevrolet Accessories. So go by what is bolted to your bed, not by the badge.

Fit on this truck has fewer variables than on most pickups. Wikipedia says the third-generation Colorado is available only with a Crew Cab and a single bed length, and that it debuted in July 2022 for the 2023 model year. Chevrolet's 2023 brochure gives one cargo box for all models: 61.7 in long at the floor, 45.4 in between the wheelhouses and 41.9 cu ft. Our vehicle data rounds that to 62 in and calls it the 5 ft 2 in bed.

Cover makers describe the same bed in different ways. BAK prints 5 ft 2 in (62 in), Tyger 5 ft 1 in (61 in), Rough Country 5 ft and Retrax's Amazon title 5 ft (58.9 in). Gator's Amazon title prints 62.7 in, which is the figure our tonneau guide gives for the 2015–2022 short box, on a part numbered for 2023+. So the inch label is not a fit check. The part number and the year range are.

No part number in our guides changes by trim; the only trim exclusion is Rough Country's Trail Boss note. What differs is where each listing's year range starts and stops.

The bed rack is last on the buying list and first on the deciding list, because the rack you want can rule out the tonneau cover you were about to buy. The pairings our guides could document:

• Railed cover: the TruXedo Pro X15 TS (1250016, about $570–$670) is a soft roll-up with integrated T-slot rails. Retrax sells a RetraxPRO XR (T-80455) with T-slot rails for this truck; our tonneau guide did not verify its price, so confirm it on the listing.

• Tower rack over a cover: Yakima says its OverHaul HD and OutPost HD towers need Tonneau Kit 1 for select covers.

• Headache rack with a cover: the BackRack combo in our guide pairs frame 15002 with the 30226 standard-bed hardware. Trucks with a cover need a different hardware kit, and RealTruck notes the low-profile kit requires drilling two holes per side.

• Ruled out: the YZONA listing says it is not for trucks with a bed cover.

Check the rails as well. Chevrolet's 2023 brochure lists an available reconfigurable bed rail system. Yakima says tracked beds need its Track Kit 1 or 2, the Hooke Road listing is for trucks without bed rails, and Tyger says bed side rails and cargo racks must come off for its T5 hard cover.

The StowFlex tailgate, a lockable compartment in the gate that GM Authority reported as standard on the 2023 ZR2 and optional on other trims, is not a conflict in either guide. Covers seal on top of the closed gate and racks mount ahead of it. No maker mentions StowFlex, so confirm the rear seal does not sit on the lid's release.

Then fit things in this order. Floor liners go in first, with the factory mats removed. The cover goes on next, since our bed rack guide says to fit the cover before the rack. Set the rack's towers or feet along the rails, behind any sport bar, then square it and torque it to spec.

A mid-size truck runs out of payload before a good rack runs out of capacity. As we read Chevrolet's 2023 brochure, maximum payload runs from 1,280 lb on the ZR2 to 1,710 lb on a WT with the 2.7L Turbo Plus, with the Trail Boss and Z71 at 1,580 lb. Chevrolet says those figures are for comparison only, and we did not check later model years. The number that counts is on your door-jamb label.

Everything comes out of that one figure:

• The rack itself. Yakima lists the OverHaul HD towers at 59.52 lb and the OutPost HD towers at 44.09 lb, before crossbars.

• The tent, bedding and gear. Use the weights on their own labels.

• The cover. Tyger lists the soft T3 at 29.21 lb; check the maker's page for a hard cover.

• Passengers, and tongue weight if a trailer is hooked up.

Then read the rack's rating the right way. Yakima's towers are rated at 500 lb on-road and 300 lb off-road, and the moving figure is the one that limits a tent, not the parked one. Thule's Xsporter Pro Low is rated at 220 lb. Our guide found no published rating for the YZONA or Hooke Road racks, so treat them as racks for lights and light gear until the seller gives you a number.

Cover ratings are a separate matter. The 600 lb on Rough Country's hard roll-up, 400 lb on the BAKFlip MX4, 300 lb on the Gator FX and 200 lb on the RetraxONE MX are for flat, evenly spread loads. A tent or a bike mount needs a cover with T-slot rails and crossbars.