F150 Lightning electric tow vehicle

[EricN]

Originally Posted by jergle

Anyone see the video Ford released last night on the all electric F150? It looks pretty darn sweet. Supposedly has a 10,000 lb tow capacity, 300 mile range (I'm sure that doesn't apply when towing), and is full-time 4WD. Base price is less than $40K. Under the "hood" is actually a storage area! Since most of our camping is within 150 miles of home, I can almost see that working for us. I guess time will tell how good they are in practice, but in theory, they look pretty nice!

I could be wrong but I'm afraid it probably won't have a 300 mile range when it's loaded to capacity or towing a 10,000# load, especially if you're towing up a mountain pass. Start with a full charge and hopefully regenerative braking will get back some of what's spent going up on the way down the other side. Start over the pass with 30% charge and you might be hosed.


It will be interesting to see how these trucks work out. I'm interested in them too but am not interested in learning more by way of being on the bleeding edge myself.


Eric

[Guy_from_SF]

Here's my question for Ford and the rest of you - Since the Lightning is 4WD, can the transmission be put into neutral so that I can four down tow the vehicle. This can be a real winner for Ford with the RV world if somehow, this can be towed four down. I understand the limitations of other EV's but what say Ford on this question????

[09 harley]

Originally Posted by carybosse

If you are towing 5000 pounds or more, you better have at least 2 places to stop to re-charge if you have a 150 one-way trip to the campsite. And of course, that is a charging station that can accept your long rig.

This is based on what?

[09 harley]

Originally Posted by radar

Hard to say. Most people EV towing right now are towing with electric SUV.s which are very slippery, so when you hook up a trailer to them it destroys what was a very streamlined package. A truck is already a box. Going by other ford half ton towing reports you lose about 40 percent gas mileage. I suspect it will be the same with electric. Its just a different fuel.

Charging at campsites will just allow for another revenue stream for campground owners. There are already campgrounds with L2 chargers here.

I’m sorry but what is this 40% decrease in mileage when towing based on? My F250 and friends 150’s don’t report this drastic drop. I’m not aware of this drop in 6.7 diesels either. Let’s give the manufacturers some credit for their new products and when they go into service then we can judge them on actual reports rather than speculation. Seems like the fair way to dot it.

[radar]

Originally Posted by 09 harley

I’m sorry but what is this 40% decrease in mileage when towing based on? My F250 and friends 150’s don’t report this drastic drop. I’m not aware of this drop in 6.7 diesels either. Let’s give the manufacturers some credit for their new products and when they go into service then we can judge them on actual reports rather than speculation. Seems like the fair way to dot it.

I don’t know. Certainly the folks on the F150 forums with the ecoboosts are reporting exactly that. Some more.

Our GMC 2500 was a dog when towing.

https://www.f150ecoboost.net/threads...trailer.77604/

[gryhester]

It could take up 10 hours to recharge and the recharge station has to have at least a 75 amp supply.

Gary 05 AMB DST

[radar]

Originally Posted by gryhester

It could take up 10 hours to recharge and the recharge station has to have at least a 75 amp supply.

Gary 05 AMB DST

I think that means at home. Level 2 charging. Sounds about right.

[winmilcook]

The electric F-150 might be okay if you're not in Texas during winter camping season as a snowbird! When the wind turbines are frozen and the solar panels are covered with four inches of ice and snow, the coal-fired plants are not online, it may be very hard to find a place to charge your electric vehicle when the power grid is down😲😲🤔🤔🤔🤠

[Roadyacht1]

For all you nay sayers, it’ just a matter of time when, not if. There needs to be good infrastructure in place which will eventually happen. And Our country badly needs to work on infrastructure of all kinds.

[rarebear.nm]

Ford has a long history of pickup trucks. First truck was in 1917 and first Ford pickup with factory built bed was in 1924. The F 150 Lighting is just another iteration in that long line of trucks.

One of the early Ford trucks with a factory built bed:



It took about 100 years to get from that to this:



I do not think that the first iteration of Ford trucks was any more capable of towing our big trailers than the new F 150 Lighting. I don't think Ford ever suggested that this new truck was to compete with the F 250 or F350 product lines in any shape or form. It is an F 150. So why ever try to judge this new model against the peak of 100 years of truck development? From a percentage point I do not believe many F 150s today tow RVs long distances over high mountain passes. Almost 800,000 F 150s were built in 2020, most are used for other purposes. I suspect Ford and others understand the data very well and know what segment of the existing F150 market the Lighting will replace. They are competing against their own truck. The best selling vehicle in the US. Who really thinks Ford will risk losing that claim? That's partly why the Lighting is billed as an F 150 and not something totally new.

Some of the posts in this thread are like posts in many threads related to EVs, full of old fashion FUD. The past is history, the future is what we have to deal with and will include many changes. You can join it or get left behind, but the future will also become history for a new future as it always has.

When Ford or Telsa announces a truck line targeted to compete head on with the 1 ton dually class then all is fair game. But, that is not the F 150 Lighting or the Cyber truck.

In the mean time I'll keep trucking along in my RAM 3500 diesel.

[Victory6]

It won't pull 10K for 300 miles. I would imagine the range estimates are without any load except PAX. I drove a Hybrid for two years, and while the summers (when not using the AC) were great for getting the most out of the battery, cold weather, hills, wind, etc quickly ate into the range of my battery. When it was below freezing, the ICE (internal combustion engine) had to start up to keep the battery system warm. It may be a while before EVs as prime movers for RVs work.

[H Steinhoff]

How about two 10 KW diesel generators in the trailer and using these to charge the batteries in the pickup while driving?

[radar]

Originally Posted by H Steinhoff

How about two 10 KW diesel generators in the trailer and using these to charge the batteries in the pickup while driving?

Won’t work. All the charging formats require the car to be “off” when charging. Keeps people from driving away while plugged.

[amosnandy]

Originally Posted by jergle

Anyone see the video Ford released last night on the all electric F150? It looks pretty darn sweet. Supposedly has a 10,000 lb tow capacity, 300 mile range (I'm sure that doesn't apply when towing), and is full-time 4WD. Base price is less than $40K. Under the "hood" is actually a storage area! Since most of our camping is within 150 miles of home, I can almost see that working for us. I guess time will tell how good they are in practice, but in theory, they look pretty nice!

The one to watch is going to be the Tesla. It will outperform the Ford by a mile. With the self driving option you can put it to work on Uber while your at work, then hook the TT up and take a nap while it drives you to the campground. The high capacity will go over 400 miles on a full charge and with a 6000# tow you loose about 15% range.

Hell teach it where your favorite campong spot is and send it out on Thursday to make sure you get your spot. And yes, it will back the trailer for you with the self driving feature. (provided you buy the extra cameras)