F150 Lightning Towing Test vs GMC Denali (not Ike Gauntlet) by TFL

[vandy1981]

0.7 mi/kWh with a 8x11x26, 5000 pound trailer at highway speeds and ~1000 foot elevation gain.

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[doolin64]

Moral of the story, be honest with what your normal driving habits are. If you tow campers and long trips...this is not the truck for you.

 

[F150ROD]

They should have used a PB

 

[Bannerman]

As much as I am for electric vehicles, we are just not ready for electric trucks for anything outside of "around town" real world usage. But I think we all knew that already.

 

[sotek2345]

As much as I am for electric vehicles, we are just not ready for electric trucks for anything outside of "around town" real world usage. But I think we all knew that already.

No, they are fine for road trips as long as you are not towing.

 

[FordLightningMan]

Moral of the story, be honest with what your normal driving habits are. If you tow campers and long trips...this is not the truck for you.

My family has a camp site exactly 45 miles from my house. I keep thinking about what my SR XLT can do, in relation to the site.

Could I get there and back towing a camper on one charge? What if I am there a few days and want to use the on-board power for stuff throughout my stay? The closest charger to the site will be my house, 45 miles away, since it is in a rural area. It's actually kind of an adventure, I look forward to seeing what I can and can't do, based on the truck's limitations.

 

[Bannerman]

No, they are fine for road trips as long as you are not towing.

Right....so using it as a truck. I realize that many truck owners primarily use their trucks for Costco runs, but some of us actually have boats and travel trailers. Again, I'm not shitting on EVs, but even if you just consider the lack of aerodynamic efficiency, a Electric Truck is a poor choice for anything beyond around town.

 

[Bannerman]

My family has a camp site exactly 45 miles from my house. I keep thinking about what my SR XLT can do, in relation to the site.

Could I get there and back towing a camper on one charge? What if I am there a few days and want to use the on-board power for stuff throughout my stay? The closest charger to the site will be my house, 45 miles away, since it is in a rural area. It's actually kind of an adventure, I look forward to seeing what I can and can't do, based on the truck's limitations.

Subbed for updates, I recommend wearing comfortable shoes.

 

[Griddlez]

Surprised they are towing a trailer that heavy with no weight distribution hitch or sway bar (or a all-in-one combo). Truck specs requires a WDH if the tongue weight is over 500 lbs. So unless there is something special about that trailer that it is less than 10% on tongue (6k lb trailer as stated so that's hard to believe) then their setups are not correct or safe. Sway can can impact range as well which they were complaining a little bit about as well.. probably due to the poor hitch setup.

(I was corrected later on in this thread. Trailers were safe.)

Toy hauler trailers are taller than normal travel trailers typically (as stated at 12ft). Certainly impacted the aero some with this setup.

But yes, Lightning is not a convenient 100+ mile tower. This we knew coming into this video.

 

[Beans]

As much as I am for electric vehicles, we are just not ready for electric trucks for anything outside of "around town" real world usage. But I think we all knew that already.

I drive 80 miles round trip to work. I don't call that "around town." The truck is perfect for me, driving 20k miles plus each year. Have had several > 200 mile days since owning without any problem.

 

[sotek2345]

Right....so using it as a truck. I realize that many truck owners primarily use their trucks for Costco runs, but some of us actually have boats and travel trailers. Again, I'm not shitting on EVs, but even if you just consider the lack of aerodynamic efficiency, a Electric Truck is a poor choice for anything beyond around town.

Trucks are trucks to haul things. That is what the bed is for. Towing is a bonus.

 

[Bannerman]

I drive 80 miles round trip to work. I don't call that "around town." The truck is perfect for me, driving 20k miles plus each year. Have had several > 200 mile days since owning without any problem.

I have no doubt it's a great commuter vehicle. I am talking about using it as a TRUCK to tow or haul, as this is the point of this thread. Why do yall keep missing this point?

 

[Bannerman]

Trucks are trucks to haul things. That is what the bed is for. Towing is a bonus.

Have we seen a range test at max payload?

 

[Prime8]

I drive 80 miles round trip to work. I don't call that "around town." The truck is perfect for me, driving 20k miles plus each year. Have had several > 200 mile days since owning without any problem.

I'm waiting for the video where they spell out the cost savings for someone like you. Where the actual cost per mile difference between gas and electric (charged at HOME!) is calculated.
Anybody who bought a Lightning to regularly tow large trailers long distances didn't do their research.

 

[TFLtommy]

Surprised they are towing a trailer that heavy with no weight distribution hitch or sway bar (or a all-in-one combo). Truck specs requires a WDH if the tongue weight is over 500 lbs. So unless there is something special about that trailer that it is less than 10% on tongue (6k lb trailer as stated so that's hard to believe) then their setups are not correct or safe. Sway can can impact range as well which they were complaining a little bit about as well.. probably due to the poor hitch setup.

Those toy hauler trailers are extra tall too at 12+ft; normally a travel trailer is 9.5-10.5 ft . Certainly nearly worse case for aero issues in this setup + the hitch problems described above impacted this tested.

But yes, Lightning is not a convenient 100+ mile tower. This we knew coming into this video.

We were right on the limit for needing weight distribution bars. We couldn't add them as these are not our trailers. I will say after doing these tow tests on just about every truck for the last 12 years I can say this was far from unsafe. Andre mentioned a slight sway event at the beginning, this was quickly fixed by lowering speeds below 65. From there on out it performed wonderfully with no sway. Thanks for watching all!

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