Real life experience question

[JerEazy]

Not an owner yet - but been shopping them for a few weeks or so and with new incentives - trigger pull is probably coming this week.

like most most of us im a mostly around-town commuter with a few occasional HD trips and short tows to the river or campsite. Can anyone give me a range impact on a relatively small trailer and maybe a golf cart or motorcycle getting pulled behind?

My longest tow is up to the Homosassa river at just about 100miles. And I’m sure the extended range would make it round trip without issue. Trying to see if the standard gets it done with maybe a stage 1 plug in while I’m fishing. I’m still researching and learning about EVs in general; so excuse the newb level.

TIA

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[jmc6020]

You would get almost nothing in range with level 1 charging while fishing. Level 1 charging takes several days.

 

[JerEazy]

You would get almost nothing in range with level 1 charging while fishing. Level 1 charging takes several days.

Appreciate that. Not really asking a charger question. But i guess it is part of the question.

Where my curiosity comes from is (let’s say) the standard has an actual usable range of 200miles unladen; I’m going 100 miles with a golf cart and a small utility trailer. I have read no where of actual experience with just light towing. All the test videos and articles are pulling 5000-10000lb travel trailers.

My thought with the level 1 was I won’t need a top off to get back the other direction if towing impact of the lighter load only cut say 10-20% of range off. I just need a day or so lift up.

 

[jmc6020]

If you're saying 100 miles I am going to make the assumption that is 200 miles round trip with the majority being highway speeds. A standard range isn't going to cut it even without towing.

 

[JerEazy]

If you're saying 100 miles I am going to make the assumption that is 200 miles round trip with the majority being highway speeds. A standard range isn't going to cut it even without towing.

Was using general numbers my guy. Was also talking about charging while I was there. And I also didn’t give any indication how long I would be there charging.

Do you have experience towing a light load you would like to share? Or are you just here to throw negative stuff out there? Going through your post history that seems to be your vibe.

 

[jmc6020]

I’ve driven over 50,000 in a year between a SR and ER, towing light loads and not. Based on that “real world experience” it is my opinion that level 1 charging should not be relied upon for any significant range gains and that a SR would not work well. Since that’s being too negative for you I’m going to step away from this. Good luck.

 

[Amps]

Besides not mentioning how long you’d be at the fishing hole, is it a possibility you would be at a camp site that has 240V receptacles?
is there a fast charger along your route?
How fast will you be driving?

if your trailer cut your efficiency to 1.5 mi/kWh, an SR would need about 35 kWh extra to make a 200 mile round trip. That’s a day and a half at Level 1 charging and still doesn’t provide much buffer. IMHO, you need to find a minimum 50 kW DCFC somewhere or a 240V receptacle for several hours while you fish.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Not an owner yet - but been shopping them for a few weeks or so and with new incentives - trigger pull is probably coming this week.

like most most of us im a mostly around-town commuter with a few occasional HD trips and short tows to the river or campsite. Can anyone give me a range impact on a relatively small trailer and maybe a golf cart or motorcycle getting pulled behind?

My longest tow is up to the Homosassa river at just about 100miles. And I’m sure the extended range would make it round trip without issue. Trying to see if the standard gets it done with maybe a stage 1 plug in while I’m fishing. I’m still researching and learning about EVs in general; so excuse the newb level.

TIA

If you tow at all get the ER. You won’t be able to make 100mi/ea way or 200mi total with a trailer in tow with a SR.

Even a relatively small trailer could be a big impact. If you have a big ramp gate, it’ll act as a parachute. If you have slide in ramps or a tilt trailer it’ll fair much better. But having had a SR and a ER I’ve always said. Get a ER if you tow at all

 

[captcory]

I lose about 30miles towing a small 5 x 8 utility trailer with a riding lawn mower on it in my standard range PRO. In flat warm Florida, non highway. (best place for a electric vehicle)

 

[BlueLightning]

like most most of us im a mostly around-town commuter with a few occasional HD trips and short tows to the river or campsite. Can anyone give me a range impact on a relatively small trailer and maybe a golf cart or motorcycle getting pulled behind?

My longest tow is up to the Homosassa river at just about 100miles.

TIA

If you have range anxiety, it’s normal. Just make the purchase enjoy the freedom from gas and oil changes. It’s best to start by using it for the around town, and figure out the trips as you go. Extend range is the way to go though if you ever plan on towing anything near or far you can still plan your trips with their Ford charger map.

But in the end again don’t let range hamper your pending purchase.

In contrast.

Side note, range anxiety is real you just have to get through it.

My experience:

Owned a Tesla Model 3 Long range 320 miles per charge. Well decided to sell it, it was a car and not a truck. Needed a truck. Charged it up to make a 230 mile trip to dealership. Left the house with 300 mile charge. Plenty right? Tesla trip computer said I was good. This was before Tesla was found to be falsifying their true range numbers, (Story for another time). Well on the highway going 65-70mph with hills and head wind, I watched the miles fall off?! Arrived at my destination with 10 miles remaining out of 300 driving only 230 miles. 🫣LOL! And I wasn’t pulling anything.

 

[hturnerfamily]

you can choose to use any charging outlet you have access to... anything is better than nothing...

140 miles is possible in a PRO, while towing our 3,000lb camper... mostly flat roads... with conservative driving... good weather, etc.... or about 1.4-1.5 miles/pkwh average

 

[Heliian]

ER is a must.

You might be able to make 200 miles with a small trailer but speed would have to be sub 60mph. Also depends on trailer setup.

Level 1 charging will get you about 1% per hour. The lightning maxes the level 1 at 1200w, regardless of evse capability.

 

[RickLightning]

A level 1, 120v charge, will give you 1.2KW. 1.2/98= 1.2% per hour of charging. If you need an extension cord, it must be 12 gauge.

You provided no information about how long you would be charging, nor what speed you would be driving.

Go to the ABRP (A Better Route Planner) website, pick the SR, and put in your round-trip. You will see if it has a chance. Note that the date of the trip can matter due to temps.

I think the answer will greatly depend on the amount of charging you do.

And lose the attitude.

 

[duncanmaio]

I tow a trailer with four large kayaks - a litte more than 600 pounds - on an open trailer. It's pretty aerodynamic and does not extend above the top of the bed, but is almost 20' long.

I get virtually no range reduction over a 120 mile drive with 850 feet of elevation, compared to the same drive without the trailer in my '22 ER. I suspect that size and shape have more impact than weight, especially in that range. So towing a motorcycle on an open trailer, or a pop-up camping trailer, might not have any impact but a box trailer with a motorcycle or golf cart would be significant.

The Guess-o-Meter will initially drop the estimated range in half(ish) when the truck detects a trailer attached. That will moderate over time as the truck "learns" what it's like to pull that particular trailer (if it is stored in the truck's list of known trailers). It's pretty amusing to watch the "distance to empty" number go up as the trip progresses.

Then a software update will wipe it all out and you have to start over.

 

[JerEazy]

I tow a trailer with four large kayaks - a litte more than 600 pounds - on an open trailer. It's pretty aerodynamic and does not extend above the top of the bed, but is almost 20' long.

I get virtually no range reduction over a 120 mile drive with 850 feet of elevation, compared to the same drive without the trailer in my '22 ER. I suspect that size and shape have more impact than weight, especially in that range. So towing a motorcycle on an open trailer, or a pop-up camping trailer, might not have any impact but a box trailer with a motorcycle or golf cart would be significant.

The Guess-o-Meter will initially drop the estimated range in half(ish) when the truck detects a trailer attached. That will moderate over time as the truck "learns" what it's like to pull that particular trailer (if it is stored in the truck's list of known trailers). It's pretty amusing to watch the "distance to empty" number go up as the trip progresses.

Then a software update will wipe it all out and you have to start over.

Thank you! So I’m picking up that weight is less of the issue with range than the aero of the trailer

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