VAF84
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2023
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- 24
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- 251
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- Location
- Central Texas
- Vehicles
- 2024 Sierra EV Denali
- Occupation
- Consultant
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- #1
Last Thursday afternoon I received my new Lightning Lariat ER from Paducah Ford; who was great to work with btw. The following morning I left Evansville, IN with 80% charge to head to central Texas. Here’s the report of my 950 mile non-stop trip with my observations and experiences.
In my prior pickup, I could make this trip in roughly 13 hours averaging 85 mph, and google maps says 13hrs 45min assuming speed limits. Ford nav stated anywhere from no less than 20 hours to I think 40hours at some points. It was really wonky until I got about six hours from my destination. The final time was roughly 20 hours. I left around 7:30am and arrived at nearly 4am the following day.
North of Little Rock, Arkansas charging sucked. I mostly had options for 60kwh chargers, and they were spread out. GMC dealer chargers were more reliable and faster than Ford chargers, which was a bit frustrating. I rolled into one Ford dealer that I was routed to via nav and they told me theirs was out of order and I had to go into town. I think most of northern half useable chargers were Charge Point or EV-go. South of Little Rock things improved with EA Walmart chargers and consistent 120-160kwh hour charges.
At highway speeds, following the speed limit, and using Blue Cruise for all available areas (90% of my trip), I was at about 1.7kwh as far as efficiency goes. I noted that using the AC button due to some humidity at 68-degree ambient temp, knocked off .1kwh. I’m going off memory and some brief notes I jotted, but I’d assume you have 55% usable range on road trips. Stopping about every 120 miles, or the occasional 176-mile stretch. Temps for the first half were in the 40’s and 50’s, the second half temps were mid to upper 60’s. Towards the end, it seemed like I had dropped to 1.4kwh, IDK if that was because I’d been driving nonstop, but worth noting.
This trip made me realize that it will be impractical to tow such distances. Something I hadn’t expected. The excessive time it took me to make this trip, is what I had expected for hauling my 20’ cargo trailer. It would probably take me three days to get there with a trailer if it technically took two without. Further, I met a guy hauling the exact same trailer I own at near 3am in Waco. He’d stopped three times already since leaving north Dallas; he was pissed. Lucky for him it was a Demo truck that had been loaned to him by the dealer to try out. I’m hoping his was a standard range, because I can’t imagine stopping 3-4 times just to travel a typical 3 hour trip.
Blue Cruise worked wonderfully. I may have had some minor issues.I had another note that I must have made when I was deliriously tired using siri; I can't remember what I meant. However, something about temps dropping 50 and then reversing to 75. I think I meant speed though because there were some sections where the speed sign in the dash wouldn't not match the speed limit.
Things that frustrated me.
None of this should be a surprise to anyone, but I thought adding some efficiency numbers along with the status of charging in the Midwest would help. Sure, my “like” list was shorter than my frustrations, but the short comings of this truck on long trips has been discussed extensively. Also, of the 1250 miles on my truck, 1100 of those were full on highway miles, so I'm just now entering into the enjoyable part of the ownership experience which is commuting around town.
EDIT @ 2:17p - One important positive note for those considering buying an EV. Pre-purchasing my EV, my biggest concern was running out of battery and becoming stranded due to not having a charger nearby. I'm happy to report, that although one can be majorly inconvenienced in getting to a working charger; I did not run into any situations where I truly thought I wasn't going to make it to a charger. So long as you are savvy enough to plan and combine your use of the Ford navigation and EV charger apps. Additionally, there are still chargers out there that don't show up on any apps. For example, keep this to yourself
, but the GM/Chevy dealer in Henderson has a 60kwh charger on the lot that's free, but does not show up on many apps including the manufacturer app. I can't remember how I found it initially, but stuff like that is still out there.
In my prior pickup, I could make this trip in roughly 13 hours averaging 85 mph, and google maps says 13hrs 45min assuming speed limits. Ford nav stated anywhere from no less than 20 hours to I think 40hours at some points. It was really wonky until I got about six hours from my destination. The final time was roughly 20 hours. I left around 7:30am and arrived at nearly 4am the following day.
North of Little Rock, Arkansas charging sucked. I mostly had options for 60kwh chargers, and they were spread out. GMC dealer chargers were more reliable and faster than Ford chargers, which was a bit frustrating. I rolled into one Ford dealer that I was routed to via nav and they told me theirs was out of order and I had to go into town. I think most of northern half useable chargers were Charge Point or EV-go. South of Little Rock things improved with EA Walmart chargers and consistent 120-160kwh hour charges.
At highway speeds, following the speed limit, and using Blue Cruise for all available areas (90% of my trip), I was at about 1.7kwh as far as efficiency goes. I noted that using the AC button due to some humidity at 68-degree ambient temp, knocked off .1kwh. I’m going off memory and some brief notes I jotted, but I’d assume you have 55% usable range on road trips. Stopping about every 120 miles, or the occasional 176-mile stretch. Temps for the first half were in the 40’s and 50’s, the second half temps were mid to upper 60’s. Towards the end, it seemed like I had dropped to 1.4kwh, IDK if that was because I’d been driving nonstop, but worth noting.
This trip made me realize that it will be impractical to tow such distances. Something I hadn’t expected. The excessive time it took me to make this trip, is what I had expected for hauling my 20’ cargo trailer. It would probably take me three days to get there with a trailer if it technically took two without. Further, I met a guy hauling the exact same trailer I own at near 3am in Waco. He’d stopped three times already since leaving north Dallas; he was pissed. Lucky for him it was a Demo truck that had been loaned to him by the dealer to try out. I’m hoping his was a standard range, because I can’t imagine stopping 3-4 times just to travel a typical 3 hour trip.
Blue Cruise worked wonderfully. I may have had some minor issues.I had another note that I must have made when I was deliriously tired using siri; I can't remember what I meant. However, something about temps dropping 50 and then reversing to 75. I think I meant speed though because there were some sections where the speed sign in the dash wouldn't not match the speed limit.
Things that frustrated me.
- Maybe because I’m new, but still really have no clue how Ford Pass works to pay or communicate with charging stations. I find myself using individual apps.
- I’m not sure if “A Better Route Planner” or Ford is better. I couldn’t use them simultaneously, but IDK why I get the impression Ford was very cautious, and or possibly overlooked better charging options. For example, it sent me to the burbs of Little Rock out of the way to stop at a GM dealer 60kwh charger for an hour, when just a few minutes past Little Rock there was an EA fast charger at a Walmart. Didn’t get the logic. Additionally, I plugged in my return route, and it says 17hrs 48 min on ABRP
- Not being able to use two nav’s simultaneously. I.E. I initiated Apple Maps, Ford Nav shut off.
- I have no clue if the nav initiates the battery prep for charging, and part of the reason I used the Ford nav is because I assume it does.
- I wish it would fast charge to 90% on road trips. Every little bit helps, and I want to stop less. Further, in rural areas, a shot at a fast charger is a big deal.
- 2-3 times I got an “error’ when plugging to charge, but it charged anyway.
- Why is the charger in front of the vehicle. I’m used to backing up to park, and it’s much easier to back in when driving a large vehicle. Pulling to some of these tight charging spots forward takes a lot of back and forth. Hope some kind of adapter gets created to plug in the rear.
- I primarily purchased this vehicle for the Blue Cruise, and it paid off.
- For the amount of time I spent in the car, it was definitely a comfortable and effortless ride.
- Storage space. Having decided on buying the EV, I left my trailer at home and was very worried about not having space to fit the items I planned to bring home with me. The trunk makes a world of difference. It’s a very practical truck.
None of this should be a surprise to anyone, but I thought adding some efficiency numbers along with the status of charging in the Midwest would help. Sure, my “like” list was shorter than my frustrations, but the short comings of this truck on long trips has been discussed extensively. Also, of the 1250 miles on my truck, 1100 of those were full on highway miles, so I'm just now entering into the enjoyable part of the ownership experience which is commuting around town.
EDIT @ 2:17p - One important positive note for those considering buying an EV. Pre-purchasing my EV, my biggest concern was running out of battery and becoming stranded due to not having a charger nearby. I'm happy to report, that although one can be majorly inconvenienced in getting to a working charger; I did not run into any situations where I truly thought I wasn't going to make it to a charger. So long as you are savvy enough to plan and combine your use of the Ford navigation and EV charger apps. Additionally, there are still chargers out there that don't show up on any apps. For example, keep this to yourself
, but the GM/Chevy dealer in Henderson has a 60kwh charger on the lot that's free, but does not show up on many apps including the manufacturer app. I can't remember how I found it initially, but stuff like that is still out there.
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