Electric Ford F150 towing demonstration.

Heck.....I can't even remember to charge my d*@m cordless drill.........I'd definitely be walking after the first few days of ownership.

fj12ryder wrote:
Big deal, why didn't they show a real world scenario: hook that pickup to a 7,000 lb. trailer, and tow it non-stop for 400 miles, maybe even 300 miles, at highway speeds with the AC running and a couple people in the cab. Then pull into a campground, set up, and go eat and do some sightseeing. Maybe then we'd see how usable it really is.

In my mind that would be a test that would show realistically what it could do. I don't know many people who pull a train car behind them. Show what it could do in every day usage.

Let's be real though. This makes up what percentage of pickup owners? 5% maybe? I suspect it's probably even lower than that.

For typical jobsite use, even 150 miles when towing would be many times more than it needs. And since most light trucks are just fancy grocery getters, a 300 mile non-towing range would cover all their commuting needs and then some.

ford truck guy wrote:
agreed that it is NOT pointless... to a degree . .

The fact that they are pulling 1 million pounds with an electric truck is not all that surprising. Lets see what the stopping distance is... Let's see the cargo capacity....

In other words, let's see the REAL STUFF.... Not the stupid commercial stuff to try and 1 up the other guys.....

Its like the GM commercial that touts the most cargo box space.......

I would rather have more cargo space than some complicated man step or heated steering wheel. Wait...never mind. :B

fj12ryder wrote:
Big deal, why didn't they show a real world scenario: hook that pickup to a 7,000 lb. trailer, and tow it non-stop for 400 miles, maybe even 300 miles, at highway speeds with the AC running and a couple people in the cab. Then pull into a campground, set up, and go eat and do some sightseeing. Maybe then we'd see how usable it really is.

In my mind that would be a test that would show realistically what it could do. I don't know many people who pull a train car behind them. Show what it could do in every day usage.

Agreed. Hook onto a trailer with a Bobcat on it and drag it to a work site 100 km away. Then drag it home. That’s the kind of commercial they need.

SidecarFlip wrote:

BB_TX wrote:
Not pointless. In spite of all the naysayers, electric is coming on a much larger scale.

Not in my lifetime it won't and at the slight chance they did become mainstream, the grid as it now stands won't support electric vehicles for the masses. The grid needs upgraded first before plug in vehicles can become mainstream.

Putting the cart before the horse will result in disaster.

Ford's pulling the train cars is kind of misleading. For one thing all rail cars today ride on roller bearings so it don't take a lot of effort to move them (when the brakes are released) and I'm sure the trackage is perfectly level too. Might even be a bit downhill as advertising like that is usually fixed anyway.

Re the grid not handling it. I think this is more a regional issue. From what I have read from pretty much every poster on this forum as well as various news stories the US grid is more of a 3rd world affair with no hope of ever being upgraded to handle the expected 20 percent increase in capacity to handle the personal vehicle fleet changing to EV over the next few decades. Most utilities in most countries see no issue as it will be a gradual change. I don’t know what the technical issues are in the US but they seem pretty profound. It will be interesting to see how they solve the problem.

Companies like ford need to look ahead and adapt to changing laws that affect their marketplace. More provinces, states, cities, countries, regions will simply outlaw vehicles with any tailpipe emmision so they need to have an alternative market. BC and Quebec already have laws prohibiting the sale of any vehicle with any tail pipe emmision by Jan 1 2040. I think California is close and Washington as well. Europe and China are also going down this path.

China will lead followed by Northern Europe but eventually EV sales will be the majority over the next couple of decades. I don’t think any manufacturer doubts that. A test drive pretty much confirms that.

Big deal, why didn't they show a real world scenario: hook that pickup to a 7,000 lb. trailer, and tow it non-stop for 400 miles, maybe even 300 miles, at highway speeds with the AC running and a couple people in the cab. Then pull into a campground, set up, and go eat and do some sightseeing. Maybe then we'd see how usable it really is.

In my mind that would be a test that would show realistically what it could do. I don't know many people who pull a train car behind them. Show what it could do in every day usage.

Sales of BEV's more than doubled in 2017 and more than doubled again in 2018. 2016 they were only up 76%. I hope you have a longer lifespan * chuckle *.

If I buy another car, it will be in 2024 when my existing tires "age out". I already know it will be a Bev with a range of over 400 kilometers. It might even be a used car.

SidecarFlip wrote:

BB_TX wrote:
Not pointless. In spite of all the naysayers, electric is coming on a much larger scale.

Not in my lifetime it won't and at the slight chance they did become mainstream, the grid as it now stands won't support electric vehicles for the masses.

BB_TX wrote:
Not pointless. In spite of all the naysayers, electric is coming on a much larger scale.

Not in my lifetime it won't and at the slight chance they did become mainstream, the grid as it now stands won't support electric vehicles for the masses. The grid needs upgraded first before plug in vehicles can become mainstream.

Putting the cart before the horse will result in disaster.

Ford's pulling the train cars is kind of misleading. For one thing all rail cars today ride on roller bearings so it don't take a lot of effort to move them (when the brakes are released) and I'm sure the trackage is perfectly level too. Might even be a bit downhill as advertising like that is usually fixed anyway.

Saw a Ford representative on Maria Bartiromo this morning talk about the electric F150. He wouldn't, or couldn't, talk about range, price, or whether the truck was competent or a response to government regulations. At least two years out.

All of our tow ratings would skyrocket if our trailers had steel wheels riding on steel rails!

Dadoffourgirls wrote:
I appreciated my additional cargo box space over the last 2 weeks. Hauling all the necessary stuff for the county fair. It did not fit in my older bed.

agreed , BUT most of the time in OUR WORLD, ( towing ) cargo space is meaningless .. we run out of capacity long before space is a concern.

and in the real world as well..Unless your carrying feathers ! or pillows