Limited Lightning Tow Range

[cghall77]

Definitely going to wait for the tech to improve. As a family that likes to drive across both Canada and US I don't see this as a feasible option. We typically drive Toronto to Largo (2100km) every winter for a few weeks vacation, we drive straight, 3 gas station fill ups (10 minutes to stretch the legs and washroom break) and stop for breakfast (20 minutes). Usually takes us between 22 and 24hrs depending on traffic/construction. I can't imagine stopping every ~300km to sit there and wait for the truck to charge.

Will be interesting to see what they have in store for the SuperDuty EV. Will have to have a better range than the Lightning, when on the job, time is money.

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[Brian Head Yankee]

Your "other" car in the driveway is EV, not your cross country vehicle. In my case, it is our RV.

 

[Pedaldude]

I seriously expect the aftermarket do develop something like an 80 amp generator you can put into the bed of the truck as a "range extender" to help plug the gap in towing distance and also provide some peace of mind.

https://fordauthority.com/2020/10/ford-files-patent-for-electric-f-150-range-extending-generator/

I don't think comparing the Lightning to any existing EV towing a trailer is fair. The air drag difference between a super efficient/current EV towing vs a truck-brick that already has the consideration it's a brick factored into it's 300 mile range... can't really be comparable, can it?

What looks aerodynamic and what is aerodynamic can be surprising, for example, a worn brick is more aerodynamic than early Detroit automobiles, while a fresh brick is going to approach the drag coefficient of a flat plate. Little details go a long way to improve the aerodynamic efficiency, for example the F150 has been using 'air curtains' around the front wheels to help with the huge impact of the exposed wheels.

Mercedes managed to make the brick of a full sized sedan S-Class have the same coefficient of drag as a Tesla Model S. Though I would guess that the frontal area is less on the Tesla, so it should have less overall drag.

https://www.popsci.com/aerodynamic/article/2005-08/fish-inspired-car/

It is one issue that the range may be cut to <150 miles, but I would ALSO worry about when you find that charging station, how the hell do you get into the spaces without unhitching? You may be double disadvantaged in that you have to 1) get to a charge station and dedicate up to an hour, and 2) find a way to unhitch safely in a lot or side street, drive to the charger, wait, and hitch up again.

I think that Ford made a big disservice to the Lightning by showing the picture of one hitched to a double axle Airstream. Really for towing, something like a battery plug in hybrid Powerboost truck would be superior if you want to go electric. However, Ford is big enough that they can easily either partner with utilities and build charging stations with dedicated trailer charging spots, or just build their own like Tesla has. I would also expect to see the charging stations popping up with chain restaurants attached to take advantage of the the wait. Though with the range impacted by towing, you might not be wanting to eat at Cracker Barrel every two to three hours!

The writing is on the wall now for internal combustion engines in cars/trucks. The Powerboost is a super popular truck and if the forum numbers are any indication, should be a large portion of F-150 sales. I would hope that the Lightning is equally popular, if not more than the Powerboost.

Barring any more shortages, the 2022 model year will be very interesting!

 

[cghall77]

Your "other" car in the driveway is EV, not your cross country vehicle. In my case, it is our RV.

That may change way down the line, but don't plan on tying up $150k+ just to have an ev vehicle as the grocery runner and another gas work/tow vehicle. $80-$115k?? for short range pickup doesn't make sense to me. I'd rather just spend the $30k on something like I have now (Cruze) and continue with the gas/diesel tow vehicles. Maybe once the smaller ev come down to reasonable prices then I will make the jump and I fully understand the need for overpricing to pay for innovation.

 

[Pedaldude]

Since my old truck was in great condition and had low mileage, my main reason for picking the 2021 F-150 was safety, since I expect it to perform as well as the previous generation.

The urban sprawl I try to avoid driving in has some of the worst drivers and accident rated, we are in the top for wrong way highway collisions and some weekends there are multiple incidents and sadly often multiple fatalities. I really wanted to keep a compact sedan for drives that don't require a truck. However, it would make zero sense if that was the goal and I even turned down a 'free' Honda Civic that was in great condition with low mileage. So my second car is an old SUV that is nearly identical to my truck in most characteristics. I really shouldn't keep it either but I just put a lot of new parts in it that added zero value and I decided that I didn't want to be stuck with a single vehicle in case the new F150 was a lemon.

Combined with the F-150 cab, extra weight from the battery and having it equally distributed with a low center of gravity, I expect the Lightning to be one of the safest 'cars' available. I call it that because I expect very few of them to be used as trucks and from the specs, I expect it to drive more like a sporty luxury sedan!

With the new Hummer, there's likely going to be another arms race when it comes to giant vehicles. Which kind of eliminates the purpose of more efficient EVs but if everyone else is driving around something huge, few will volunteer for driving around smaller ones, Ford should know this best after popularizing the previously niche SUV segment.

 

[Ron]

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/amp36481590/ford-f150-lightning-range-towing/

EV truck Towing range discussion by car & driver.

 

[Sundancer330]

Just put a reservation in for one.... my biggest concern is range as well, and then charge time. Not that I truly need the range day to day, but if I am going to tow a boat from metro Detroit up to Torch Lake (roughly 200 miles) over the summer it would be nice to not worry about it.

I bet the towing range will be about cut in half, look at the difference on a gas motor towing and not towing. You will have to spend the night in West Branch and top off the battery.

 

[navi]

Another Lightning tow write up

https://jalopnik.com/towing-range-for-the-ford-f-150-lightning-sure-seems-li-1846936001

 

[Stubblejumper]

At what temperature is that 300 mile range? If it's at 70F, the range will drop by about 50% at -30F, so useless for me.

 

[UNIKRN150]

The only thing the Lightning is good for is an alternative to the "Mach E".

It's a "Mach E" without the hideous looks.

But... it's a "start" I guess.

 

[daemonic3]

I think that Ford made a big disservice to the Lightning by showing the picture of one hitched to a double axle Airstream. Really for towing, something like a battery plug in hybrid Powerboost truck would be superior if you want to go electric. However, Ford is big enough that they can easily either partner with utilities and build charging stations with dedicated trailer charging spots, or just build their own like Tesla has. I would also expect to see the charging stations popping up with chain restaurants attached to take advantage of the the wait. Though with the range impacted by towing, you might not be wanting to eat at Cracker Barrel every two to three hours!

Yep! The one that came to mind was a Tesla supercharger station that shared a parking lot with a Denny's on I-5. From what I remember though, the stalls are all pull-in and not pull through. Makes sense because why would a Tesla or other EV need a pull through? It will take a loooong time before truck stops have pull through EV chargers so in the meantime the best solution will be that range extender gas generator.

 

[SBrentnall]

At what temperature is that 300 mile range? If it's at 70F, the range will drop by about 50% at -30F, so useless for me.

The only articles I've read suggesting that big of a drop in low temps have been written by stock sites populated by Tesla short sellers. Most of the customers in Norway (where it's a best-seller) report a much lower drop in range.

 

[Brian Head Yankee]

Does my range go up in my 115 degree Nevada desert location?

 

[Brian Head Yankee]

The only thing the Lightning is good for is an alternative to the "Mach E".

It's a "Mach E" without the hideous looks.

But... it's a "start" I guess.

Then what you doing here posting comments?

 

[UNIKRN150]

Then what you doing here posting comments?

Good question...

You go first...

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