RV Trailer Towing With F-150 Lightning - Considerations & Discussions

[astricklin]

INteresting, i struggle to find any suitable charging places in TOronto. But pulled up to my first tesla supercharge ( my model is is only 1 month old), and bam, charged stupid fast, no wait.

EV is the future.. I have high hopes for the lightning. You cannot understand what it feels like to floor the model S.. 0-60mph in 3.2 seconds (cant imagine what the plaid feels like).

I love my F150 - i find it to be a lot more comfortable than the model S, and feels better built, with less bugs, but to have an electrictified F150, OMG sign me up.. If the range was extended to 600miles, and payload is up to 2000lbs, i would dump this f150 in a heartbeat.

600 miles range is unnecessary. 400 to 500 is probably about where they are going to top out so that you are getting close to 200 miles when towing.
Once we have as many charging locations as we do gas stations and you can charge 2-3x faster then currently. There's really no need for that much range that you may use once per year.
Nobody should be driving 600 miles without having a few hours worth of breaks.

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[minirx7]

600 miles range is unnecessary. 400 to 500 is probably about where they are going to top out so that you are getting close to 200 miles when towing.
Once we have as many charging locations as we do gas stations and you can charge 2-3x faster then currently. There's really no need for that much range that you may use once per year.
Nobody should be driving 600 miles without having a few hours worth of breaks.

Actually its why i loved the cybertruck. 600 mile range = 250mile towing? Yes i do stop but dont forget, when towing, charging stations will MOST LIKELY not accomodate RV's meaning you need to unhitch and hitch each time to charge.

Also, not sure how many times you can DCFC without kiling the battery over time. Ideal situation is to drive from one locaiton to your camp spot, athen charge at the camp site (not sure if thats even possilbe plugging in both the RV and EV at the same time).

But 300 mile at 80% is only 240 miles, and half that towing a decent RV laves only 120 miles.. Add AC and highway driving and you might be atually down to only 100 miles. i hate to think you would need to stop almost every 1.5-2 hours to charge for 45minutes.

 

[astricklin]

Actually its why i loved the cybertruck. 600 mile range = 250mile towing? Yes i do stop but dont forget, when towing, charging stations will MOST LIKELY not accomodate RV's meaning you need to unhitch and hitch each time to charge.

Also, not sure how many times you can DCFC without kiling the battery over time. Ideal situation is to drive from one locaiton to your camp spot, athen charge at the camp site (not sure if thats even possilbe plugging in both the RV and EV at the same time).

But 300 mile at 80% is only 240 miles, and half that towing a decent RV laves only 120 miles.. Add AC and highway driving and you might be atually down to only 100 miles. i hate to think you would need to stop almost every 1.5-2 hours to charge for 45minutes.

Right, but charging speeds will increase. Stopping for 15-20 minutes every two hours should already be happening when towing. I get about 150 miles before I have to fill up with my SUV towing my camper trailer. That's a solid 2 hours of driving at 65mph.

 

[minirx7]

Right, but charging speeds will increase. Stopping for 15-20 minutes every two hours should already be happening when towing. I get about 150 miles before I have to fill up with my SUV towing my camper trailer. That's a solid 2 hours of driving at 65mph.

Been driving for EV's for a few years now.. Lets put it this way.. Once you drop down to 15% on your battery, there are possiibilties that the destination you are at to charge has issues. Also Level 3 chargers are mcuh less than Level 2 chargers in some areas so when it malfunctions you either charge at Level 2, or you look for another spot to charge. Hapened to me in my leaf, down to 10%, and the ELvel 3 charger was malfunctioning. Had to find somewhere else to Level 3 charge and got there with only 3% battery left not to mention a waste of time.

Its there reason i went tesla, as i am much more comfortable wtih the 650km stated range over the 240 that was on my leaf.

 

[astricklin]

Been driving for EV's for a few years now.. Lets put it this way.. Once you drop down to 15% on your battery, there are possiibilties that the destination you are at to charge has issues. Also Level 3 chargers are mcuh less than Level 2 chargers in some areas so when it malfunctions you either charge at Level 2, or you look for another spot to charge. Hapened to me in my leaf, down to 10%, and the ELvel 3 charger was malfunctioning. Had to find somewhere else to Level 3 charge and got there with only 3% battery left not to mention a waste of time.

Its there reason i went tesla, as i am much more comfortable wtih the 650km stated range over the 240 that was on my leaf.

In a few years there should be a lot more stations than there are today. In 10 years, I'm going to guess that you'll have multiple charging stations every 50 miles or so along most interstate routes.

 

[minirx7]

In a few years there should be a lot more stations than there are today. In 10 years, I'm going to guess that you'll have multiple charging stations every 50 miles or so along most interstate routes.

I believe that, and rooting for this to happen, but it will take time, thus early adoptors of EV Trucks towing RV's are going to suffer until that happens!

 

[Sdctcher]

I believe that, and rooting for this to happen, but it will take time, thus early adoptors of EV Trucks towing RV's are going to suffer until that happens!

Yesterday GM announced they will be installing a 40,000 charge network as soon as possible, open to all, at their dealers, hotels, and attractions. They understand this will drive traffic to their dealerships, maybe make money, and force Ford to do the same. Hotels will be forced to do the same over the next few years. Walmart has also said they will begin to outfit their parking lots so people can charge up while buying their products and groceries.

If you build the EVs, the Chargers will come.

 

[astricklin]

Yesterday GM announced they will be installing a 40,000 charge network as soon as possible, open to all, at their dealers, hotels, and attractions. They understand this will drive traffic to their dealerships, maybe make money, and force Ford to do the same. Hotels will be forced to do the same over the next few years. Walmart has also said they will begin to outfit their parking lots so people can charge up while buying their products and groceries.

If you build the EVs, the Chargers will come.

A large percentage of the electrify america locations at at Walmart. Not the best place to stop but usually there's food nearby as well.

 

[Texas Dan]

But if you live at altitude, in extreme hot or cold, or way way out in the Boonies, this is probably not the truck for you.

I think you need to rethink this statement. I agree with the cold statement but very little of the rest of it. I have extensive experience driving EVs in Colorado and I can tell you EVs work very, very well in the mountains.

Speed is what really kills the range of an EV. In the mountains not only are the speed generally slower but the air is thinner causing less air resistance. Also EVs recharge their batteries going down hills and EVs are not prone to oxygen starvation at high altitudes like ICEs are.

Give me a hot day anytime I’m driving an EV. Not only do the batteries hold more capacity on hot days but again the air is thinner on hot days giving you more range. You just need to have active battery thermal management so you don’t overheat your battery on really long trips like the Nissan Leaf is prone to do.

 

[Sdctcher]

I think you need to rethink this statement. I agree with the cold statement but very little of the rest of it. I have extensive experience driving EVs in Colorado and I can tell you EVs work very, very well in the mountains.

Speed is what really kills the range of an EV. In the mountains not only are the speed generally slower but the air is thinner causing less air resistance. Also EVs recharge their batteries going down hills and EVs are not prone to oxygen starvation at high altitudes like ICEs are.

Give me a hot day anytime I’m driving an EV. Not only do the batteries hold more capacity on hot days but again the air is thinner on hot days giving you more range. You just need to have active battery thermal management so you don’t overheat your battery on really long trips like the Nissan Leaf is prone to do.

Correct. Thanks for the correction.
What I was referring to was the ups and down of driving, not all of which is recovered by regenerative braking.

 

[fitek]

Don't want to derail your thread, but I'm really curious about the best way to sleep 3 in this pickup without a trailer, ideally. Don't need a bathroom or kitchen. A pop up tent is too minimal and seems like it would mess with aerodynamics without much benefit.

I get MUCH better mileage driving 55 in my Transit van than 75. I've hit 21mpg on I-5, up from 14-17.

 

[ShirBlackspots]

Actually its why i loved the cybertruck. 600 mile range = 250mile towing? Yes i do stop but dont forget, when towing, charging stations will MOST LIKELY not accomodate RV's meaning you need to unhitch and hitch each time to charge.

Also, not sure how many times you can DCFC without kiling the battery over time. Ideal situation is to drive from one locaiton to your camp spot, athen charge at the camp site (not sure if thats even possilbe plugging in both the RV and EV at the same time).

But 300 mile at 80% is only 240 miles, and half that towing a decent RV laves only 120 miles.. Add AC and highway driving and you might be atually down to only 100 miles. i hate to think you would need to stop almost every 1.5-2 hours to charge for 45minutes.

A NMC based Lithium battery can take 1500-2000 15%-80% DCFC charges before it retains only 80% of its original capacity. LiFePO4 batteries can pretty much be charged 0-100% infinitely.

 

[astricklin]

Don't want to derail your thread, but I'm really curious about the best way to sleep 3 in this pickup without a trailer, ideally. Don't need a bathroom or kitchen. A pop up tent is too minimal and seems like it would mess with aerodynamics without much benefit.

I get MUCH better mileage driving 55 in my Transit van than 75. I've hit 21mpg on I-5, up from 14-17.

You could mount a 'rooftop' tent on top of the bed and as long as it's not wider or taller than the truck cab it will not add wind resistance

 

[Silenze]

Yesterday GM announced they will be installing a 40,000 charge network as soon as possible, open to all, at their dealers, hotels, and attractions. They understand this will drive traffic to their dealerships, maybe make money, and force Ford to do the same. Hotels will be forced to do the same over the next few years. Walmart has also said they will begin to outfit their parking lots so people can charge up while buying their products and groceries.

If you build the EVs, the Chargers will come.

Most chevy dealers already have chargers. But they limit non chevy vehicle charging to after hours only.

 

[shutterbug]

Most chevy dealers already have chargers. But they limit non chevy vehicle charging to after hours only.

Most dealers block access after hours.

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