RV Trailer Towing With F-150 Lightning - Considerations & Discussions

[vandy1981]

Most chevy dealers already have chargers. But they limit non chevy vehicle charging to after hours only.

Most of the Chevy chargers are 25 kW which is not going to be very helpful for road trips with a vehicle with such a large battery pack.

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[PungoteagueDave]

Chiming in. This is my 2nd EV (my first was an 18 Leaf SL), and now i have a 21 Model S with the dumb yoke steering wheel. I dont think it is going to be very comfortable doing the RV/Lightning combo (although i preordered both the cybertruck/lightning).

1. Cold weather reduces range significantly. In my leaf, i was getting almost 40% reduction.
2. Weight is a huge part. I have a 7000lb RV loaded, and my fuel economy literally worsens to almost half. I cannot see the Lightening not also HALF in range as well.
3. The charging infrastructure is terrible. .Tesla did say they will open up the charing to all, but this is why i bought the Tesla Model S instead of great EV's like Rivian, Mach-Eetc... Having the ability to supercharge is literally the same as filling up gas. After tryign to charge my leaf at chademo/level 2 chargers, it plain SUCKS. Not to mention a lot of places only offer like 2-3 chargers versus a supercharger.
4. I still have not read anything about payload on the new lightning. Is it going to be signifantly less than ICE vehicles?
5. DCFC is limited. ONce you charge up to 80%, it DOES NOT FAST CHARGE anymore to protect the battery. After 80% the charge speed drops back to level 2. This means your range is going to be reduced to 80% of the stated 300mile range.
6. DCFC is not good for the battery if done so many times over. Even with my tesla, it is not good to repeatedly supercharge as it degrades the battery.

I really want an EV towing my RV, driving only 150-200miles at a time then waiting ot charge is nasty, if you are on a long road trip.

All true. However, my 2021 KR PowerBoost only gets 150 miles range per tank when towing my boat, (under 6 mpg for some segments), so if we could guarantee DCFC all the way from S Florida to upstate NY, I still might try it in the Lightning. Of course, I also road tripped to Key West and from California to Maine in our first Tesla in 2013 before there were many Superchargers.

 

[vandy1981]

All true. However, my 2021 KR PowerBoost only gets 150 miles range per tank when towing my boat, (under 6 mpg for some segments), so if we could guarantee DCFC all the way from S Florida to upstate NY, I still might try it in the Lightning. Of course, I also road tripped to Key West and from California to Maine in our first Tesla in 2013 before there were many Superchargers.

Long-haul towing with the lightning will only be fun if you have reasonable expectations about charging intervals. If you road tripped an EV in 2013, you probably have a high tolerance for pain

 

[minirx7]

Long-haul towing with the lightning will only be fun if you have reasonable expectations about charging intervals. If you road tripped an EV in 2013, you probably have a high tolerance for pain

couldnt agree with you more.. My 2018 Leaf SL was a piece of crap because of Nissan's cheapness on bad battery thermal management. Several occasions i overheated the battery.. One DCFC and done.. no more charge.

LIke i said, 80% max charge, on 300 miles is 240 miles. Then if you tow, anything larger, cut that in half, gets you down to 130 miles. Provision the fac ttha tyou probably will NEVER drive below 30 miles remaining, your usable range is only 100 miles.

Am i wrong in that analysis? My last trip, i did about 300kms a drive before stopping for food/filling up gas etc.

 

[jefro]

I actually had considered buying the Tesla Semi for use as an RV tow vehicle. The original price wasn't that far fetched for some of the features and expected re-sale I thought.
It may never get produced.

I've had two EV's so far and unless Ford is putting a huge battery in and the motors are some of the most efficient on the planet I can't see taking too much of a load too far in one charge.

I know the sales pitch shows a happy couple pulling into an EV station and driving off happy but it can make long trips very time consuming. If retired then maybe time won't matter.

This F150 is a first gen product really. At some point maybe super batteries or hydrogen/battery setup. Who knows. Maybe induction charging on dedicated roads?

A long time away still.

 

[astricklin]

couldnt agree with you more.. My 2018 Leaf SL was a piece of crap because of Nissan's cheapness on bad battery thermal management. Several occasions i overheated the battery.. One DCFC and done.. no more charge.

LIke i said, 80% max charge, on 300 miles is 240 miles. Then if you tow, anything larger, cut that in half, gets you down to 130 miles. Provision the fac ttha tyou probably will NEVER drive below 30 miles remaining, your usable range is only 100 miles.

Am i wrong in that analysis? My last trip, i did about 300kms a drive before stopping for food/filling up gas etc.

Ya that's about what I figured, and around 70 miles for SR battery.
That makes it pretty tough because you'll be charging about an equal time to driving. Going to be slow going for any long haul.
I really wish Ford would say something at all about range when towing. They have to be trying to gather that information so they can use it in the navigation calculation.

 

[vandy1981]

I really wish Ford would say something at all about range when towing. They have to be trying to gather that information so they can use it in the navigation calculation.

This would be useful but I don't know how they would come up with an "official" number given the wide variability between aero, weight and rolling resistance between trailers. It's also important to note that manufacturers don't publish a number like this for ICE trucks.

Maybe they could use some sort of widely available reference trailer?

 

[machz]

I would buy a lightning in a heartbeat but IMO I don't think it will have the miles or ability that some think. I tow my RV that weighs 6700 LBS with my plat powerboost and I'm at the trucks max towing capabilities(payload). In my PB I can have only one other small person and the truck has to be empty to just meet my payload. Towing I get 8-9MPG and less if I go over 70MPH so I don't see the EV getting 200 towing, I would guess 150 or less towing the same trailer. I can see using it for a small TT or popup if you are staying close to home 100 miles or less.

I hope I'm wrong because I would love to have one but I don't think it will fit the bill for longer range towing.

 

[minirx7]

I would buy a lightning in a heartbeat but IMO I don't think it will have the miles or ability that some think. I tow my RV that weighs 6700 LBS with my plat powerboost and I'm at the trucks max towing capabilities(payload). In my PB I can have only one other small person and the truck has to be empty to just meet my payload. Towing I get 8-9MPG and less if I go over 70MPH so I don't see the EV getting 200 towing, I would guess 150 or less towing the same trailer. I can see using it for a small TT or popup if you are staying close to home 100 miles or less.

I hope I'm wrong because I would love to have one but I don't think it will fit the bill for longer range towing.

In the same boat as you. I preordered the lightning anyways, but i also ahve a preordered a cybertruck as well. The cyber truck has much better stats (500-600mile range), tesla supercharger network, and priced the same as the lightning (much more power on teh tri motor)...

So that woudl nearly double the range of the lightnining making it more feasible for towing. BUt again, the cybertruck is now out to 2023 (perfect for me since my 21 F150 is a 2 year lease).

But i must say, after owning and driving so many cars, i love my F150 (even over my brand new Model S 2021). If i had a diesel, i woudl roal coal on my own model S lol!

 

[Easycamper]

Payload is the reason I’ll be sticking with an XLT. My F-150 now has 2000 pounds payload, and 1800 or so will work for towing the fifth wheel I have now and any smaller fifth wheel I’d be interested in having in the future.

We usually camp at provincial parks and anything longer than about 28 feet really limits the sites you can fit onto.

 

[astricklin]

I would buy a lightning in a heartbeat but IMO I don't think it will have the miles or ability that some think. I tow my RV that weighs 6700 LBS with my plat powerboost and I'm at the trucks max towing capabilities(payload). In my PB I can have only one other small person and the truck has to be empty to just meet my payload. Towing I get 8-9MPG and less if I go over 70MPH so I don't see the EV getting 200 towing, I would guess 150 or less towing the same trailer. I can see using it for a small TT or popup if you are staying close to home 100 miles or less.

I hope I'm wrong because I would love to have one but I don't think it will fit the bill for longer range towing.

I'm guessing you'll get 70 or 100 miles when towing just about any camper trailer as the wind resistance plays much more into it than the weight. The reason for those numbers is that after your first charge to 100% at home, most fast charge sessions are only going to be to 80% and then you probably aren't going to run much below 10%.

Ford could still come out and give some examples. They give plenty of examples of things that you can power of the outlets in the truck. They make a claim about how many days you can power your house with the backup feature. Both of those things will vary greatly based on actual usage situations.
They could come out and say if you have this type of trailer with these dimensions and this weigh you may see about this reduction in range.
I am sure part of the reason that they aren't at this point is because the ranges are still very much 'targeted'and until there is published EPA range estimates, Ford has to be very careful how they state any information regarding range or efficiency.

 

[EaglesPDX]

Most dealers block access after hours.

Since few have any chargers, you can't make that statement.

 

[EaglesPDX]

Also, not sure how many times you can DCFC without kiling the battery over time.

Did it for two years, 50,000 miles. Extreme usage and battery degradation was 6%,

Here's the battery degradation curves for Tesla that largely lived on DC charging.

 

[jefro]

"Most dealers block access after hours.
Since few have any chargers, you can't make that statement. "

To be certified EV dealer they would have to have at least a L2 charger.
If you look at plugshare many dealers are showing up with DC chargers but some of the comments say something to the effect "customers only."

A local BMW dealer currently has free DC but we'd have to suspect that will change.

 

[shutterbug]

Since few have any chargers, you can't make that statement.

Actually, yes I can. Nearly every dealer that sells plug-in vehicles here in Phoenix has chargers out front physically accessible to everyone during working hours. Even Harley Davidson. They also have chargers in the back for use by the service department. And yes, nearly all of them block access outside of working hours.

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