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

[SolarPoweredRV]

It sounds good. Reports are the current electric pickup truck can tow a 3000 pound trailer and get 90 miles on a charge.

The Lightning can get ~ 50% of it's range when towing, it's conventional towing limit is 10,000 lbs.

The Lightning getting 50% of the trucks range when towing is consistent with tests conducted by Rivian when they were testing the towing capabilities of the Rivian R1T.

While the Lightning's stated range of 320 miles is not tremendous, 150 miles when towing should be able to get you to your favorite campground or a lake house/cabin.

The Lightning would not be the first choice to travel cross country, but it could easily make 250 miles (+/-) in a day on a regular basis.

[Hokensalem]

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

Will never happen

I agree. Will never happen. They best start worrying about getting the electric grid upgraded to support this dream. I want to see an electric truck that can out pull a Cummins or a Power Stroke.

[huntindog]

I am willing to bet you will not be asked to cut back on your energy usage between 12 am and 5 am, the hours when most EVs are charged.

You are going to be asked to cut back late in the afternoon and into the evening when Air Conditioning usage is at the MAX.

We are already on peak charge and time of day rate plans that penalize us pretty severely for power use from 4 PM to 7 PM. The letter states that this "Energy saving days" program is in addition to that AND that the times may not coincide with those hours. "Energy saving days WILL be on the hottest days of the year BUT they can also occur thruout the summer to help supportgrid resiliency" IOW, they can be any time they want them to be.

During those peak times we already have every thing turned off but the AC and a TV. Our Our house has had a load controller since 1992. According to my bills we use 85-91% of our power in off peak hours. The only thing left to cut is the AC. The AC runs constantly in the summer. Turning it off even for a even little while means it will not catch up until late at night IOW the dogs are gonna have to sweat. As far as the times when most EVs charge.... Really? All those Tesla chargers are open 24/7.... Or do they not get power from the grid?

[Captcolour]

It sounds good. Reports are the current electric pickup truck can tow a 3000 pound trailer and get 90 miles on a charge.

Been thinking of this all wrong. All I need to do is couple 6 electric pickups together to pull my Solitude just like multiple train engines coupled together! I'll be about 150 feet long, but all electric baby!

[trailrydr]

Been thinking of this all wrong. All I need to do is couple 6 electric pickups together to pull my Solitude just like multiple train engines coupled together! I'll be about 150 feet long, but all electric baby!

We got us an electric CONVOY! Now we just need Robert Redford riding an a horse all lit up to lead you!




"'Cause we got a little ol' convoy
Rockin' through the night
Yeah, we got a little ol' convoy
Ain't she a beautiful sight?
Come on and join our convoy
Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way
We gonna roll this truckin' convoy
'Cross the USA"

LOL!

[SolarPoweredRV]

We are already on peak charge and time of day rate plans that penalize us pretty severely for power use from 4 PM to 7 PM. The letter states that this "Energy saving days" program is in addition to that AND that the times may not coincide with those hours. "Energy saving days WILL be on the hottest days of the year BUT they can also occur thruout the summer to help supportgrid resiliency" IOW, they can be any time they want them to be.

During those peak times we already have every thing turned off but the AC and a TV. Our Our house has had a load controller since 1992. According to my bills we use 85-91% of our power in off peak hours. The only thing left to cut is the AC. The AC runs constantly in the summer. Turning it off even for a even little while means it will not catch up until late at night IOW the dogs are gonna have to sweat. As far as the times when most EVs charge.... Really? All those Tesla chargers are open 24/7.... Or do they not get power from the grid?

i am willing to guess that the Tesla (and other brand) chargers will be charging extra during those "Peak" periods. Additionally, 90% of EVs are charged at home, usually overnight. I believe Tesla notifies users if their charging session will be in a "Peak" period to allow them to re-schedule their charging sessions, if possible.

On another note: it sounds like you would be a good candidate for a "home" battery. You could charge the battery overnight on the "cheap" rates and discharge it during the "Peak" hours. Depending on the rate differential and usage, you could probably pay for the battery in a few years. This "Peak Shaving" is becoming very popular in commercial buildings. Of course you could also install a full Solar system with a Battery Backup to reduce your energy bills even further.

By-the-way, if you do choose Solar, because of your "Peak" Energy usage charges from your utility, I would recommend you consider having a good number of your panels installed facing West to catch the afternoon Sun.

[COGrandDes]

We got us an electric CONVOY! Now we just need Robert Redford riding an a horse all lit up to lead you!




"'Cause we got a little ol' convoy
Rockin' through the night
Yeah, we got a little ol' convoy
Ain't she a beautiful sight?
Come on and join our convoy
Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way
We gonna roll this truckin' convoy
'Cross the USA"

LOL!

That post got me thinking....since we do aerial refueling on certain planes in the air---possibly we could have a diesel truck following the electric truck while towing and the diesel could re-charge the electric on the fly.....that would be better than stopping every two hours to charge the electric. It would reduce the stops for a trip and the amount of time for each stop. Who wants to stop every two hours to charge their batteries back to 40% for the next stop.

[Hoopy Frood]

When asked about refilling the battery charge, the advocates almost always use the refrain: "You will most likely be stopping anyway, and you can eat/drink coffee/stretch your legs for the short time it takes to recharge the battery". But what about when there are 2 or 3 people recharging ahead of you? That never gets mentioned as an inconvenience. Even with multiple pumps available now for fuel, you sometimes need to wait for people ahead of you to refuel. I can't imagine that won't be an issue for electric vehicles too. Does one just have to resign themselves to maybe an hour to get recharged? Travel two hours, recharge time of an hour?

[COGrandDes]

When asked about refilling the battery charge, the advocates almost always use the refrain: "You will most likely be stopping anyway, and you can eat/drink coffee/stretch your legs for the short time it takes to recharge the battery". But what about when there are 2 or 3 people recharging ahead of you? That never gets mentioned as an inconvenience. Even with multiple pumps available now for fuel, you sometimes need to wait for people ahead of you to refuel. I can't imagine that won't be an issue for electric vehicles too. Does one just have to resign themselves to maybe an hour to get recharged? Travel two hours, recharge time of an hour?

This is a good point and one not often expanded upon. I read an article one day where someone took the time to do that math on a busy highway of all those who stop to refuel within a few hour time period. The person calculated the number of cars that stop for fuel, the time in/out of the fuel station and etc. The calculations showed the traffic backing up for miles at those stations due to the number of cars charging, the amount of time they are at the charging station, and the number of cars waiting in line. The numbers were staggering! It's so interesting that we go to such great lengths and heroic efforts to rationalize the whole electric car thing and yet the technologies and processes are just not mature enough yet nor are they efficient for the masses.

[SolarPoweredRV]

I agree. Will never happen. They best start worrying about getting the electric grid upgraded to support this dream. I want to see an electric truck that can out pull a Cummins or a Power Stroke.

The Electric drive train can out pull the Diesel engines, that is one of the advantages of an electric truck. The Electric motors have plenty of torque.

As a matter-of-fact, the Tesla Semi can go 0 to 60 in just 20 seconds fully loaded (82,000 lbs). There is no diesel on the planet that can do that.

Range is the "Achilles Heal" of Electric trucks. However, when towing my range drops by 50% so I am not sure why we are surprised that an Electric Truck also looses 50% of it's range when towing.

I think because Electric trucks are new, and we are unfamiliar with their usage, and charging in general, that we are fearful of them. Granted, 150 miles towing range is very low, however, stopping to take a break every 2 - 2.5 hours is not that burdensome. Again I stress that towing cross country might not be the best use of the Lightning at this point in time, however, if you generally camp within 500 miles of home, the Lightning will work very well for you.

The Electric Grid can support the Dream. Mainly because the grid is built for "Peak Usage" and 90% of EVs are charged at home, overnight, (all EVs can be set to charge after midnight). By charging EVs overnight, EVs are actually helping Grid Operators better utilize their infrastructure by generating more revenue than they would normally overnight. Studies have shown that as EV adoption increases the Electric Grid can easily grow to meet demand, especially if we continue to increase our energy efficiency in other areas like Heat Pumps and Energy efficient appliances.