How to Keep Pro Power Onboard Power On For Long Period

[PrivateJoker]

Ford needs a camping mode. God I'm going to miss my Tesla when my F150 comes in.

I really don't understand why these legacy auto makers have such a hard time finding competent software engineers (in the numbers they need).

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[hturnerfamily]

...I've been traveling with my camper, and have used ProPower all day while towing it to my son's and to campgrounds, and even while IN campgrounds....here's the scoop on ProPower:

A) ProPower CAN stay on constantly, even when the truck is not in use, but yes, the power to the truck is required to remain ON.
B) You can turn OFF the 'center screen', on the PRO model, but pushing the far right top button between the radio control knobs. The first push takes the screen into a 'calm' mode, meaning that it then displays the clock only. The second push turns it totally OFF.
C) I'm am not aware of a way to turn 'off' the Driver Screen, although it, too, has a 'calm mode'. Access this 'calm mode' from the steering wheel's 'menu' button, toggling up or down until you find it... I believe it's after the 'TRIP' options.
D) Unfortunately, whenever you arrive to fast charge, since you must turn the truck 'OFF' to plug in, the ProPower will also go off. You can turn the truck back ON right after you start charging, but there is a period of 'outage' between. I think Ford should allow for a 'pause' of 30 seconds, or 3 minutes, or some time period for the ProPower to stay active, even with the truck OFF. It's a small annoyance. Maybe you CAN actually find a way to plug in a fast charger without the truck having to be OFF, but I've not come across that, yet.
E) ProPower works great, and does exactly what it was designed to do. I have run my camper while traveling to keep several fans going, and powering an RV fridge, and a compressor mini-fridge, all running about 280watts when the mini-fridge is not 'running', and spiking to 450watts when the compressor kicks on, and back to settle at 350watts total when it is also running. I have used the microwave to warm up my coffee. I have ran the a/c unit to make sure it operates, too. It's all good.

Yes, great idea - I do like the idea of a 'Camping Mode', in order to turn OFF the screens, or the option to at least 'DIM' the screens, otherwise.

 

[Icebear1987]

@Icebear1987:

1. How do you turn the middle screen off?
2. My truck won't shift from Park if the key fob is not in it.
3. Very odd that the reserve did not work. I'm curious if anyone else has had this happen.

1. I have the smaller screen and there's a physical button to turn the middle screen off. There's no way to turn the dashboard screen off.
2. That's good so no one can drive off with the truck even if it's on since key is not detected.
3. I'm more mindful now and keep it 20% so i don't run into that situation again.

 

[lightspeed]

Legacy car makers take a long time to change, plus Ford is hyper aware that their average customer does not want a lot of change.

What they really need to do is to support different OPERATING MODES that are independent of the drive modes (sport, snow, normal, etc.) which changes the behavior of the vehicle subsystems like: drivetrain, screens, radio, hvac, propower, wifi, etc.

The center screen would have an interface for selecting the current OPERATING MODE from things like:

DRIVE | OFFICE | CAMP | DOG | POWER STATION | CUSTOM | etc...

DRIVE = normal operation, all subsystems available, powertrain on

OFFICE = HVAN normal, gauge screen off, center screen on, wifi on, powertrain off, pro-power available

CAMP = HVAC normal, pro-power available, gauge screen off, center screen and interior lights turn off after N seconds, powertrain off, wifi avail

DOG = HVAC on and must be set to safe temp (between 50f and 80f for example), gauge screen off, center screen ON with DOG MODE notice (so people don't break your windows to save your dog), powertrain off, wifi off

POWER STATION = pro-power on, HVAC off, gauge screen off, center screen sleeps after N seconds, wifi avail

No "accessory" mode from the power button, Power button just turns the whole thing on/off and then user selects an operational mode (DRIVE mode is selected automatically if BRAKE pedal is depressed while powering on). Maybe even better would be a physical dial that selects the operating mode and OFF is one option instead of a power button.

^^ this is quick and dirty, so probably not perfect, but you guys get the idea.

This truck is a multi-use tool, not just a vehicle, so they need to make using it in all the different ways more clear.

 

[Farmford42]

It would be great to have the ability to create these modes yourself and have the ability to turn on and off options.
HVAC
Pro power
Lights
Screens
Locks

So if I want
Pro power on , hvac off, lights on, doors locked I can set that. Leave the truck while it powers the well pump in the field until the power gets to 25% and then it tells me and I come back and recharge.
I have two cattle well solar pumps that would match this use. That would also work to power a job site.

Pet mode for sure, especially while charging on long trips.

Legacy car makers take a long time to change, plus Ford is hyper aware that their average customer does not want a lot of change.

What they really need to do is to support different OPERATING MODES that are independent of the drive modes (sport, snow, normal, etc.) which changes the behavior of the vehicle subsystems like: drivetrain, screens, radio, hvac, propower, wifi, etc.

The center screen would have an interface for selecting the current OPERATING MODE from things like:

DRIVE | OFFICE | CAMP | DOG | POWER STATION | CUSTOM | etc...

DRIVE = normal operation, all subsystems available, powertrain on

OFFICE = HVAN normal, gauge screen off, center screen on, wifi on, powertrain off, pro-power available

CAMP = HVAC normal, pro-power available, gauge screen off, center screen and interior lights turn off after N seconds, powertrain off, wifi avail

DOG = HVAC on and must be set to safe temp (between 50f and 80f for example), gauge screen off, center screen ON with DOG MODE notice (so people don't break your windows to save your dog), powertrain off, wifi off

POWER STATION = pro-power on, HVAC off, gauge screen off, center screen sleeps after N seconds, wifi avail

No "accessory" mode from the power button, Power button just turns the whole thing on/off and then user selects an operational mode (DRIVE mode is selected automatically if BRAKE pedal is depressed while powering on). Maybe even better would be a physical dial that selects the operating mode and OFF is one option instead of a power button.

^^ this is quick and dirty, so probably not perfect, but you guys get the idea.

This truck is a multi-use tool, not just a vehicle, so they need to make using it in all the different ways more clear.

 

[lightspeed]

Yes exactly. Ford could provide 8 (or whatever) common operational modes and also support multiple custom operational modes that owners can configure. So far I have:

DRIVE/NORMAL - shifter up, everything normal, requires key to be in vehicle, optional PIN protected
WORK - shifter down, drivetrain off
VALET - reduced motor power, can't open the frunk/tailgate, can't exit mode without PIN or APP
POWER STATION - pro power on, drivetrain off
PET/DOG - HVAC guaranteed on, interior buttons disabled, drivetrain off,
SLEEP/CAMP - HVAC stays on, all lighting turns off after N seconds, drivetrain off
EMERGENCY - flash all the exterior lights and honk the horn every 5 seconds, drivetrain off
CUSTOM/USER - customized by owners

Then surface the most relevant settings to the modes main page when it's selected (and you can still go into the detailed settings and override stuff if you want).

 

[hturnerfamily]

I'm not sure I get the need for a 'pet mode', as the truck can simply be set to a temperature you like, leave the truck 'ON', lock the doors, and walk away... if you want to turn the truck off or even turn it on from a distance, use your Ford Pass app.

One thing to consider though, if your pet is left to roam the cab, would be the chance of them stepping on the Window switches, or the Lock/Unlock switch...

 

[hturnerfamily]

when it comes to CONSTANT Pro Power, you do the same - leave the truck 'ON' for ProPower to continue providing power, thru the night, for several hours, or ever how long you wish. You can use the Ford Pass app to turn the truck OFF, therefore also the ProPower, if needed, and vice-versa.

One note: use the settings screen to disable 'automatic power OFF' of the truck after so many minutes, or hours, so as to not affect the ProPower output. You can also set ProPower to turn OFF if the battery level falls below a certain amount.

 

[adoublee]

when it comes to CONSTANT Pro Power, you do the same - leave the truck 'ON' for ProPower to continue providing power, thru the night, for several hours, or ever how long you wish. You can use the Ford Pass app to turn the truck OFF, therefore also the ProPower, if needed, and vice-versa.

One note: use the settings screen to disable 'automatic power OFF' of the truck after so many minutes, or hours, so as to not affect the ProPower output. You can also set ProPower to turn OFF if the battery level falls below a certain amount.

It is an unnatural feeling for people to leave the truck in the On position overnight.

The truck needs to keep Pro Power Onboard running when L2 charging gets to full SOC setting. Right now it kicks Pro Power Onboard off in the middle of the night if the goal is a net add of energy.

 

[lightspeed]

I'm not sure I get the need for a 'pet mode', as the truck can simply be set to a temperature you like, leave the truck 'ON', lock the doors, and walk away... if you want to turn the truck off or even turn it on from a distance, use your Ford Pass app.

One thing to consider though, if your pet is left to roam the cab, would be the chance of them stepping on the Window switches, or the Lock/Unlock switch...

PET mode guarantees HVAC is set to a reasonable setting and it leaves a message on the center screen so that passers by don't think your pet is dying and break your windows. Also it disables all of the buttons/controls. Also, it should work with Ford Pass App to have a failsafe so if the truck fails to send an ALL GOOD message every 5 minutes, the Ford Pass App will notify owner that something is wrong.

POWER STATION mode would automatically disable the 30 minute auto off, plus present the setting for minimum battery before turning off pro-power, plus present the setting for notifying owner that min battery has been hit. Also, it would turn off all the screens and lights after 30 seconds. Currently, pro-power if left overnight leaves the screens on all night possibly attracting unwanted attention.

 

[RedLightning86]

ProPower isn't same as Accessory mode, because you are running DC to AC inverter. Basically, other than that, it is glorified idling. That is why you have to turn off climate and lights and display. In the Hybrid F150, it really is idling, as the gas engine goes on and off as needed to charge the hybrid battery (which is what I still have while awaiting my Lightning).

I camp in my '21 Hybrid frequently, and leave it in ProPower mode all night long to run my cooler and heating blanket, if I am not in a campground. If the keyfob is not in the cab, it isn't going anywhere. Similar to regular idling. But I have heard that there are ways to bypass that, that city thieves can do. ie, don't try this in cities.

 

[hturnerfamily]

I agree with being able to turn 'off' the driver screen, although the center screen can already be easily turned 'off'... I used a small towel to cover the driver screen when overnighting with ProPower...

 

[Kev12345]

Legacy car makers take a long time to change, plus Ford is hyper aware that their average customer does not want a lot of change.

Ford better wake up. New customer base grew up with the internet and ever changing tech. Tesla gets it. Catering to boomers is a mistake going forward.

 

[Firestop]

Ford better wake up. New customer base grew up with the internet and ever changing tech. Tesla gets it. Catering to boomers is a mistake going forward.

Easy now….I’m a “boomer” and, I agree with a lot of the comments about needed changes stated in this thread. It’s bad form to pin Ford’s design decisions on any one demographic! I’m not overly sensitive….”age” has taught me better. Bad business business decisions at this level are usually a little more complex…..

 

[Kev12345]

Easy now….I’m a “boomer” and, I agree with a lot of the comments about needed changes stated in this thread. It’s bad form to pin Ford’s design decisions on any one demographic! I’m not overly sensitive….”age” has taught me better. Bad business business decisions at this level are usually a little more complex…..

No offence meant by my comment. I just meant to say software is incredibly important in vehicles moving forward and there only seems to be one company that understands this.

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