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FishOnOne's avatar
FishOnOne
Nomad
Jun 14, 2022

F150 Lightning Road Trip & Ike Gauntlet Pull

TFL drove the new F150 Lightning from Michigan to Colorado

Test Configuration: Mostly highway miles at 70-75 mph
Total Miles: 1225
Total Charging Time: ~ 5 hours

Summary: (Fail) Efficiency at highway speeds and charging time

Previous Test was the Rivian towing a small trailer up the Ike and the summary was an Epic Fail

Spoiler Alert: Pretty sure the towing test with the Lightning will fall into the Epic Fail category.

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  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator II
    Jun 15, 2022
    Huntindog wrote:
    Reisender wrote:
    Just a heads up for those wondering about infrastructure. It’s definitely different towing with a Tesla. I’m just catching up on the thread, munching my sandwich at the pointe des cascades campground in Quebec. We just pulled in. I haven’t confirmed it but my guess is I am about 5200 kilometres from our home in BC. We have been on the road towing our 18 foot travel trailer behind our Tesla model Y. We have had zero charging drama with our combo. Pull in, connect to the charger and walk away. And yes a typical supercharger stop is 20 to 30 minutes. Or if we want to have a slower extended charge so we can have lunch, shop or whatever we will occasionally use 3rd party networks using our adaptor.

    Anyway, just my 2 cents from an RVer who pulls a trailer everyday with an EV. Charging is just not that big a deal. And yes, even when charging at superchargers it’s a lot cheaper by electric, and the towing experience is superior.

    Cheers.

    I don't see an RV in the picture.


    Zoom out or put your bifocals on…
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    Jun 15, 2022
    Reisender wrote:
    Just a heads up for those wondering about infrastructure. It’s definitely different towing with a Tesla. I’m just catching up on the thread, munching my sandwich at the pointe des cascades campground in Quebec. We just pulled in. I haven’t confirmed it but my guess is I am about 5200 kilometres from our home in BC. We have been on the road towing our 18 foot travel trailer behind our Tesla model Y. We have had zero charging drama with our combo. Pull in, connect to the charger and walk away. And yes a typical supercharger stop is 20 to 30 minutes. Or if we want to have a slower extended charge so we can have lunch, shop or whatever we will occasionally use 3rd party networks using our adaptor.

    Anyway, just my 2 cents from an RVer who pulls a trailer everyday with an EV. Charging is just not that big a deal. And yes, even when charging at superchargers it’s a lot cheaper by electric, and the towing experience is superior.

    Cheers.

    I don't see an RV in the picture.
  • Reisender's avatar
    Reisender
    Nomad
    Jun 15, 2022
    Just a heads up for those wondering about infrastructure. It’s definitely different towing with a Tesla. I’m just catching up on the thread, munching my sandwich at the pointe des cascades campground in Quebec. We just pulled in. I haven’t confirmed it but my guess is I am about 5200 kilometres from our home in BC. We have been on the road towing our 18 foot travel trailer behind our Tesla model Y. We have had zero charging drama with our combo. Pull in, connect to the charger and walk away. And yes a typical supercharger stop is 20 to 30 minutes. Or if we want to have a slower extended charge so we can have lunch, shop or whatever we will occasionally use 3rd party networks using our adaptor.

    Anyway, just my 2 cents from an RVer who pulls a trailer everyday with an EV. Charging is just not that big a deal. And yes, even when charging at superchargers it’s a lot cheaper by electric, and the towing experience is superior.

    Cheers.

  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator II
    Jun 15, 2022
    Durb wrote:
    Going to chime in and show my age here. I think the vehicle and its capabilities are great. However, the charging circus has to go. Having to map out a charging strategy on a trip and use 4 different aps on your phone to find a suitable place is problematic for someone like me. Maybe if you have a compliant copilot, but doing that stuff on the go is the very definition of "distracted driving". 5 hours of recharge time is a deal killer for me, impatient as I am. Talk about range anxiety and stress. Road trips for me are supposed to be enjoyable.

    Another thing. Who would hurtle a 7,000 pound rig down the highway with their hands off the steering wheel? I don't get it. GM has a commercial showing a man driving with no hands and his daughter is sitting in the back seat! I see class action suits at some point possibly bankrupting a manufacturer for offering a crazy option that I doubt anyone was clamoring for. I hope Blue Cruise can't be enabled when towing. Do members on this forum really want to be going down the freeway at 25k combined with their hands off the steering wheel?


    On the upside, you'll have plenty of time NOT behind the wheel waiting to recharge the Energizers to map out your next charger stop!

    And to the contrary, I could and would TOTALLY make use of autopilot!
    I wonder, will autopilot let you break traffic laws, like speed limits in particular? Because if it doesn't then it's a deal breaker!
  • Durb's avatar
    Durb
    Explorer
    Jun 15, 2022
    Going to chime in and show my age here. I think the vehicle and its capabilities are great. However, the charging circus has to go. Having to map out a charging strategy on a trip and use 4 different aps on your phone to find a suitable place is problematic for someone like me. Maybe if you have a compliant copilot, but doing that stuff on the go is the very definition of "distracted driving". 5 hours of recharge time is a deal killer for me, impatient as I am. Talk about range anxiety and stress. Road trips for me are supposed to be enjoyable.

    Another thing. Who would hurtle a 7,000 pound rig down the highway with their hands off the steering wheel? I don't get it. GM has a commercial showing a man driving with no hands and his daughter is sitting in the back seat! I see class action suits at some point possibly bankrupting a manufacturer for offering a crazy option that I doubt anyone was clamoring for. I hope Blue Cruise can't be enabled when towing. Do members on this forum really want to be going down the freeway at 25k combined with their hands off the steering wheel?
  • way2roll's avatar
    way2roll
    Navigator III
    Jun 15, 2022
    The biggest thing I took away from the video isn't the shortcomings of the truck, but rather the infrastructure - or lack thereof. Inconsistencies in charging networks, where stations are, the rate of charge at stations, rate of pricing, logistics to actually find stations etc. This is the Achilles of EV - especially long distance travel. That will eventually get fixed though. But it won't address inconsistencies in network and pricing. I smell government regulation and when that happens how will EV's be any better or cheaper to drive/own than an ICE? Power will be regulated and taxed just like gas. Based on the video, the price to charge didn't seem like a big win over gas fueling especially when you consider your time (time = money).

    To me EV's are different, not better. Especially given ecologically damaging methods to produce and a continual reliance on energy and how that energy is produced.

    The touted advantages are measured at the tailpipe. I haven't been convinced that true lifecycle impacts are any better than ICE's. In some aspects, EV's are worse.
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator II
    Jun 15, 2022
    ShinerBock wrote:

    After watching the video, I think you need to add more context to this to further your point. The charging of five hours was on top of overnight charging while they slept. They had to stop 11 times to charge which includes 1 overnight charge. I think some people who haven't seen the video are thinking that it was just 5 hours charging without charging overnight.

    Also, this 5 hours based on charging time on their app and does not include all the time they spent going off course in order to get to a charger along the route.


    Chit...and I would have signed out at just 5 hours to "re-fuel." Probably started the trip with a fresh set of Duracells too!
    Considering that trip is 3 or 4 15 minute gas stops in an "average" new half ton truck....

    And before the "You need to eat, pee, rest, go shopping, whatever, during the trip" crowd chimes in, good for you, and I agree, sort of, what if you're a driver and not a site see-er drivin miss daisy tourist? Or what if you'd prefer to stop to "eat" where you want to eat, be it somewhere quiet or your favorite restaurant, vs mooch docking a charger station at wherever aint?

    Take the state of North Dakota, dart board on the map.
    31 Charging stations total in the state. Not bad I suppose for a state that has twice as many beef cattle as it has people!
    Cool, Imma take my re-incarnated Ford Lightning for a trip.
    4 of the chargers are Tesla chargers....no biggy, didn't need them anyway, every town with a Tesla charger also has a universal one.

    Cool, I'll go to the next...town?....nope gotta go find that one other charger in town. OOPs, its a level 2.....An average EV will gain about 15-40 miles per hour of Level 2 charging and will fully charge from empty overnight.... guess my piss break and a Subway sandwich turned into a sleep over. That's ok, there's a level 3 just down the road (there are 9 level 3s in the state), so it'll only be like 4 hours of charging to go that next 100 miles cause I'm headed west into the wind....

    Guessing they won't sell too many of them in ND! LOL
  • FishOnOne's avatar
    FishOnOne
    Nomad
    Jun 15, 2022
    ShinerBock wrote:
    FishOnOne wrote:
    TFL drove the new F150 Lightning from Michigan to Colorado

    Test Configuration: Mostly highway miles at 70-75 mph
    Total Miles: 1225
    Total Charging Time: ~ 5 hours

    Summary: (Fail) Efficiency at highway speeds and charging time

    Previous Test was the Rivian towing a small trailer up the Ike and the summary was an Epic Fail

    Spoiler Alert: Pretty sure the towing test with the Lightning will fall into the Epic Fail category.

    Link


    After watching the video, I think you need to add more context to this to further your point. The charging of five hours was on top of overnight charging while they slept. They had to stop 11 times to charge which includes 1 overnight charge. I think some people who haven't seen the video are thinking that it was just 5 hours charging without charging overnight.

    Also, this 5 hours based on charging time on their app and does not include all the time they spent going off course in order to get to a charger along the route.


    Your right...I originally was going to include those times, but I decided to error on the side of being optimistic since there's hotels with chargers. Having said that the charger at that particular hotel didn't have much charge capacity.
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator II
    Jun 15, 2022
    IdaD wrote:
    EVs at this point are totally viable for most daily driving purposes around town or even reasonable rural distances. They are not viable as towing vehicles or long distance road trip vehicles - until battery or charging technology changes that's going to be the case.


    This statement should just end the conversation and close the thread. Totally accurate and concise.
    Unless one is the perpetual Sunday driver and doesn’t have a schedule to meet, either real or self imposed, and likes to take more “breaks” while driving and considers a full day on the road a short trip by normal standards.

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