Initial driving review impressions (Lightning Lariat OWNER)

[LagSwag1]

it doesn’t try to maintain the middle of an unmarked/unlined merge lane

i HATE this in my model 3 so im extremely happy to hear blues clues figured it out. Thanks for the write up!

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[TaxmanHog]

After 38 minutes, we only mustered 62 miles and plugged in our route home, which still took us farther East to a DC Fast Charger in South Bend. They’re, we used 62 or 63 kWh of our 250 kWh balance from the Blue Oval network and did a plug and charge. Thrifty minutes later we added 142 miles which was plenty to get us home. What’s typically a 2.5 hour ride, turned into a 4.5+ hour trek home.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, my use case and available charge stations are perfectly placed for my racing trips, I think I'll be able to make the Lightning work with the understanding of additional time charging mid trip.

 

[Nickbommer]

@Silent_Thunder Thanks for sharing your experience! So many of us are jumping into an EV not knowing what to expect. I would make it a priority to get an electrician out to your cottage and have them ground your panel and install a 32 amp outlet for the mobile charger. I feel like that would alleviate a ton of stress since you probably travel there often. Good luck with the truck and please, continue to share your experience. So many of us love reading them!

 

[Amps]

Do you think the frunk will fit two of those 27 gallon black and yellow bins lengthwise? The pictures look like 'no', but it doesn't hurt to ask. Thanks for all the great information and pictures.

Enjoy the ride!

 

[GDN]

Congrats on the truck, and thanks for sharing the feedback.

While I know we have nav tools available there should be no issue with charging as there is today. I'm not a big twitter fan, but maybe we have to create our army to get Farley's attention. He should be offering Tesla a few hundred bucks from every EV he makes to get them to integrate CCS and allow Ford to use the network. Basically, buy into their network. I don't think he truly cares though. He acknowledges the issues but has done nothing to work on improving them. Just leaves them to others.

 

[RidetheLightning]

Thanks for this! I’m thinking that between this and Oneguynick’s write up, I’m going to be preemptively charging on road trips when I *can* charge, not when I have to. If you look at the charging curve that Ford gave Tom Moloughney, charging is fastest between 5 and 35%, ramps down to another level between 40-75%, and then goes way down of course after that. I expect I’ll be charging a lot in the 40-75% SoC range on road trips when I charge. Then I’ll hopefully have a buffer in my trip if chargers are down near the end of my trip.

 

[sotek2345]

Thanks for this! I’m thinking that between this and Oneguynick’s write up, I’m going to be preemptively charging on road trips when I *can* charge, not when I have to. If you look at the charging curve that Ford gave Tom Moloughney, charging is fastest between 5 and 35%, ramps down to another level between 40-75%, and then goes way down of course after that. I expect I’ll be charging a lot in the 40-75% SoC range on road trips when I charge. Then I’ll hopefully have a buffer in my trip if chargers are down near the end of my trip.

That is a good rule of thumb for any EV (ABC - always be charging). If you are stopping somewhere anyways, and a charger is available - use it!

 

[dirtdiver]

Great insight! thanks for taking the time to write this up.

steve

 

[adoublee]

Thanks for this! I’m thinking that between this and Oneguynick’s write up, I’m going to be preemptively charging on road trips when I *can* charge, not when I have to. If you look at the charging curve that Ford gave Tom Moloughney, charging is fastest between 5 and 35%, ramps down to another level between 40-75%, and then goes way down of course after that. I expect I’ll be charging a lot in the 40-75% SoC range on road trips when I charge. Then I’ll hopefully have a buffer in my trip if chargers are down near the end of my trip.

I'm not sure you need to charge "everwhere" as 15 minutes at a level 2 will hardly help a bit. However, it is definitely worthwhile to work hard to charge at all overnight destinations!

 

[Silent_Thunder]

CONGRATULATIONS!

I've always been a but intimidated with giving up control of driving... especially letting go of the steering wheel. I think it will be a few years before I get used to the idea of that, but I love the idea of a vehicle that will take control if I'm not paying attention to avoid an accident.

It took some time for me to trust auto pilot in our Tesla and even after four years, I still took control in certain instances (construction zones or when lanes weren’t marked well).
It was a different feel in our Lightning as one really doesn’t need hands on the wheel (Teslas require a light tug on the wheel every 30 or so seconds).

 

[Silent_Thunder]

@Silent_Thunder Thanks for sharing your experience! So many of us are jumping into an EV not knowing what to expect. I would make it a priority to get an electrician out to your cottage and have them ground your panel and install a 32 amp outlet for the mobile charger. I feel like that would alleviate a ton of stress since you probably travel there often. Good luck with the truck and please, continue to share your experience. So many of us love reading them!

To quote an old favorite movie of mine, “I’m right on top of that, Rose!”
Besides our Lightning, we’re one of the first in line for a Rivian R1S (we’re waiting to get word any day now). We know how important charging at the cottage is and how it will impact our trips in the future!!

 

[Silent_Thunder]

Do you think the frunk will fit two of those 27 gallon black and yellow bins lengthwise? The pictures look like 'no', but it doesn't hurt to ask. Thanks for all the great information and pictures.

Enjoy the ride!

I’ll check this morning, but I’m thinking no.

 

[Silent_Thunder]

Do you frequent hands free car washes? I go a few times a week and that was one of my questions- would the truck hold up equally as a standard truck

As it happens, it’s one of the car washes nearest our home. In an effort to avoid swirl marks or scratches, we’ve been prone to using touch free washes. I still went over it with a damp microfiber cloth after the “blow dry.”

 

[Stlww18]

I'm not sure you need to charge "everwhere" as 15 minutes at a level 2 will hardly help a bit. However, it is definitely worthwhile to work hard to charge at all overnight destinations!

If you had to sign in and scan an app every time, I agree, the hassle probably isn't worth it for a quick stop. But, if you go somewhere with plug-and-play (or completely free, even better!) the two seconds it would take to plug in might add a KW or two on an L2.

 

[Silent_Thunder]

Congrats on the truck, and thanks for sharing the feedback.

While I know we have nav tools available there should be no issue with charging as there is today. I'm not a big twitter fan, but maybe we have to create our army to get Farley's attention. He should be offering Tesla a few hundred bucks from every EV he makes to get them to integrate CCS and allow Ford to use the network. Basically, buy into their network. I don't think he truly cares though. He acknowledges the issues but has done nothing to work on improving them. Just leaves them to others.

YES!! It surprises me that with 200k+ orders on hand, Ford is relying on “the market” to handle the charging infrastructure! Even Rivian is attempting to build out a network.

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