First hand F150 hybrid experience anyone?

Thermoguy wrote:


Hi Groover

So, what would be a test where someone could test a Hybrid towing a trailer that would be a fair test for the Hybrid but also show how people use there trucks towing a trailer? Outside of stop and go traffic, which is typically for commuter and only occasionally for an RVer that got stuck in traffic.

Thanks

As I recall TFL trucks did two tests. The first was a 70 mile fuel economy test on essentially level interstate with the cruise control on. So minimal braking and acceleration on this test.

The second test was the Ike Gauntlet. Wide open one direction and riding the brakes the other. One battery discharge on the way up followed by one battery charge on the way down.

On these tests the weight of the system may do more harm than it's assist returns as good.

I rarely find myself going either totally flat for 70 miles or traversing 7 miles of continuous grade. Even the Interstates around here have a hill maybe a mile long followed by a similar downhill that requires braking when pulling a heavy trailer. Granted that a 1.5kwhr battery can only store 2 horsepower hours of power but that is 60hp minutes. Enough to help all the way up and down most of these hills. So it is quite reasonable to ask how much it helps on these hills. How much power does it store while controlling speed going down a hill for a minute, how much less are the brakes used. Then, how much power is returned going up the next hill?

Likewise, what benefits does the system return when doing a stop from 60mph and then returning back to 60mph? Does the transmission stay cooler since the hybrid system pulls power out and puts it back in without going through the torque converter? That is not an unusual situation for me when trailer towing.

I just want to get some real world feedback for the type of situations where bybrid systems do work well.