Ford F-350 Lightning Coming Sooner Than We Think !!!

[SolarPoweredRV]

I just watched an Interview with Jim Farley (link below), and in the interview he mentioned that Ford is planning to Electrify their heavy duty pickup line.

Couple this with Ford teaming up with Tesla, giving all Ford EVs access to Tesla's Super Charger Network along with the adoption of Tesla's Super Charger Connector for every Electric Ford beginning in 2025. And you have the foundation for Ford to dominate the Electric Heavy Duty Pickup Truck market. Additionally, now that Ford Lightning Owners have access to the Tesla Super Charger Network, Towing with a Lightning becomes even more practical than ever before.

Yes, there will still be challenges and you won't be able to drive 600 miles Non-Stop, but, gaining access to the largest DC Fast Charging Network in the US really makes you think that towing with an Electric Lightning is a real possibility.

If you currently have, or are considering buying a new light weight trailer that falls within the Lightning's towing specs, I would strongly recommend you take a serious look at the Lightning as your Tow vehicle.

One advantage the Lightning has over every other Tow Vehicle is that you can plug your camper into the truck and power every electrical system in it for days. Not possible with any other Tow Vehicle. Just imagine the places you could get to with a smaller camper and your four-wheel drive Lightning. Imagine being out in the wild and having all the comforts of home (electric coffee maker, curling iron for the ladies) with you and no Generator Noise.

While Jim Farley did not go so far as an official announcement, he definitely indicated that Ford is evaluating the Electrification of their Heavy Duty trucks in their Commercial Division.

Link to this Excellent Interview, I highly recommend a listen:

Youtube.com/watch?v=8IhSWsQlaG8

[BigSwick]

I don't believe I have ever seen a tesla charging station that could be accessed by a truck towing a camper. So add that in to your recharge time. Find a place to drop the trailer, Unhook, charge, re-hook...
Then what to do once you get to your camping spot. Is there campgrounds that have the capacity to recharge a vehicle? And how much $$ would they charge you to refuel the batteries?
Now if your monster trailer was plastered with solar panels that are hooked to the truck, maybe you would never have to stop??

[NB Canada]

They best work on the first version before even thinking of another step

Will never happen

[SolarPoweredRV]

They best work on the first version before even thinking of another step

Will never happen

Ford has already announced that they are building a new version of the Lightning. The new version will be an Electric Vehicle built from the ground up as an EV. Ford expects to achieve many improvements for the new version because of this "Clean Sheet" design. One of the biggest improvements will be operating efficiency which will improve range.

Speaking of range, there is a new RV company that has a camping trailer that has it's own battery pack and drive motor that is designed to assist with propulsion which will eliminate the big reduction in range you get with a normal travel trailer, so, now you could get the full 350 mile range of your tow vehicle. A system like this could really prove popular with EV Pickup Owners.

When you say "Will Never Happen", exactly what will never happen?

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I watch EV vehicle progress with interest. Improvements are always ongoing. But they aren't near close enough with electric trucks to seriously compete with a current diesel and I believe the current thinking of Gov't in Canada with kill my RV lifestyle with taxes and penalties before the vehicle manufacturers can build a capable E-TV to suit my needs. I'd love to be wrong though. For me, 200 miles to a boondocking location, no chargers in the northern Ontario bush, then 200 miles home is the minimum. Maybe huge improvements in solar panel tech will make it possible?
I'm looking at buying a local commuter EV...but the wait list is still in the one and a half to two year area. I'm holding on to our 'long in the tooth' 2013 car to replace with a hybrid or EV when possible.

[trailrydr]

IMO..... Im betting on virtual camping/vacation becomming more popular than full electric tow vehicle camping.... too many obstacles, including cost, convenience, distance to overcome. Much easier/cheaper to design, create, and put on a set of virtual reality headsets, than to deal with all the nuances of electric tow vehicles of any size, distance, and or electricity requirements. Not to mention nature related issues that can hamper real vacations too.

Until they can come up with eletric highways from point A to B (like a rail system where vehicles are supplied power and dont have to carry/maintain it themselves, its just to costly and cumbersome for the masses to swap over end enjoy like today with Dino POVs. Infact, maybe ownership will be taken over by rentals?

Seen some interesting concepts of auto driver type vehicles for large city transportation challenges that are being kicked around that seems alot more reasonable with where the scientists, environmentalists and futurists want to go. Until then maybe hybrid tow vehicles.... but still costly and not very eco-friendly dealing with dino power still.

[Hoopy Frood]

"Towing with a Lightning becomes even more practical than ever before."

I'm not too sure the proper word there is "practical", I think maybe "possible" is a better fit.

[Tom Traveler]

Here’s some info for reference.

We get about 8.5 mpg pulling a 380FL with a 3500 Ram dually. Max range is about 380 miles (45 gals) leaving a 50 mile reserve.

With the following assumptions - `137,000 btus/gal of diesel and 35% engine thermal efficiency - that 380 miles takes 632.2 kWh of useful energy. That is the equivalent of taking 527 Battleborn 100 ah batteries from 100% to 0% in the 380 miles.

I think the important word is “light” trailer. I’ve got no gripe with electric vehicles. For automobiles and light trucks, they are far more energy efficient than gasoline engines. They can also be very convenient. Come home from work, plug in in your garage, and you are good to go the next morning. I just wish there was honesty in the push for them. Given the carbon footprint of battery production, there is a serious question of whether they produce fewer lifecycle greenhouse gases. I also wish the people who can’t use them didn’t have to help pay for them for the people who can.

I think the best implementation is a vehicle with a small diesel engine, running at optimal RPM efficiency whenever needed, connected to a generator and charging a small battery bank which powers electric drive motors. Lots of torque, dynamic braking, and very fuel efficient. The battery bank would cover the short term, high torque needs. Best of all, it would use conventional fueling.

I still don’t think this would work for pulling a heavy load up a long hill.

[WhittleBurner]

Ford has already said that if they go full EV they will get rid of half of their work force.

[Keebler]

As long as it comes on a time-line driven by the free market and not the government.

I know, we don't really have a free market, but you get my point