Limited Lightning Tow Range

[wayfarer556]

I was thinking about this more while camping over the weekend.

The last few places I've gone camping have been up hill getting there. I get maybe 7.5-8mpg getting there, but get it all back one the trip home. Sacramento to Reno for example is a super easy 2hr trip by car (130 miles, over a 7.2k ft summit) but I don't even think I could make it on one charge in the Lightning while towing, which is very sad.

Then I had the more general thought of, let's say you make it to your campground. Now do you want part of your vacation to be finding the nearest place to charge and sit with your truck, or else you will never make it home?? That's crazy stress and planning to add to what is supposed to be relaxing.

Then I thought more (yeah I know) about it. Maybe if you have a 50A hookup site, you can use the proper adapter to charge your truck and power your rv from the truck?!? I wonder if the Lightning will allow simultaneous charging and "generator" mode because THAT would be perfect! Of course for boondocking you need to arrive with plenty of banked juice, there's just no way around it.

All this thinking just reinforced that I made the right (current) decision with the powerboost as my daily driver and tow vehicle. The Lightning is so cool and so much capability but cannot compete as a tow vehicle to distant places or remote campgrounds.

One thing I want to point out is that I would NOT want to rely on an unknown RV site's 50 amp hookup when it comes to power for getting home. Those things aren't always going to be reliable, and if you drove away more than half of your range to get there and there's something wrong with that hookup..you're going to be spending a lot of time trying to find a place to recharge your truck...

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[Brian Head Yankee]

Strange, I’ve never had an issue with the power pedestal at an rv site over 20 years of trips. Rv campgrounds with hookups offer more than one space. Throw a 50ft rv charge cord in the drunk and try the pedestal to the left or to the right of your space.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

One thing I want to point out is that I would NOT want to rely on an unknown RV site's 50 amp hookup when it comes to power for getting home. Those things aren't always going to be reliable, and if you drove away more than half of your range to get there and there's something wrong with that hookup..you're going to be spending a lot of time trying to find a place to recharge your truck...

I’ve had excellent experience using both 30 and 50 amp rv and marina hookups on road trips in Teslas before the superchargers were pretty much everywhere in North America. In 2012, 13 & 14 it was truly an adventure, using level 2 chargers and waiting for hours in campgrounds. There’s no question that DC fast charging is the game changer that makes EV travel on par with internal combustion. However, our Tesla’s range drops in half just towing two jet skis, so we stick with a pickup for heavy work. The car carrier and 8,000 pound boat trailer aren’t going behind a pure EV anytime soon. We have over 200k miles of pure EV driving, but towing is still not feasible, even with the Lightning, except around town.

 

[wayfarer556]

IDK, I've read more than one account on a couple of RV forums talking about RV Hookups that either have a bad ground or are non functional. Maybe it's less common than I thought, but if your towing range is roughly 100 - 150 miles, I'd want to be damn sure I had some kind of backup plan.

 

[daemonic3]

IDK, I've read more than one account on a couple of RV forums talking about RV Hookups that either have a bad ground or are non functional. Maybe it's less common than I thought, but if your towing range is roughly 100 - 150 miles, I'd want to be damn sure I had some kind of backup plan.

You are right, that's why most recommend using a surge guard first that tells you the pedestal doesn't have a fault. It is either rare or common, depending on what types of campgrounds you go to.

Also, even though I find the term "weekend warrior" annoying, that is basically the category I fit into. So leaving on a Friday to get to a place within 1-3 hrs, then turn around Sunday morning by checkout. The thought of dedicating ANY part of the planning in such a tight 40hr vacation starts to become extra stress and work. That's why even having to stop in Auburn or Strawberry just to make it to Tahoe is extremely unappealing. It's the time factor that looms large, not just the potential availability of the chargers.

I still do think that:
1) the Lightning would be AMAZING for boondocking or dry camping because you can run full electric all the time, not just generator (non-quiet) hours. BUT you have to have gotten there with a decent charge, which could mean <50-75 miles from your last charge location
2) it would still be awesome if you can reach your campsite with full hookups with nearly empty battery (say, only 100 miles away) and use the 50A pedestal to charge the truck overnight and power the trailer from the truck
3) if you can afford the payload, that range extender will turn this truck into a camper's dream potentially!

 

[PungoteagueDave]

You are right, that's why most recommend using a surge guard first that tells you the pedestal doesn't have a fault. It is either rare or common, depending on what types of campgrounds you go to.

Also, even though I find the term "weekend warrior" annoying, that is basically the category I fit into. So leaving on a Friday to get to a place within 1-3 hrs, then turn around Sunday morning by checkout. The thought of dedicating ANY part of the planning in such a tight 40hr vacation starts to become extra stress and work. That's why even having to stop in Auburn or Strawberry just to make it to Tahoe is extremely unappealing. It's the time factor that looms large, not just the potential availability of the chargers.

I still do think that:
1) the Lightning would be AMAZING for boondocking or dry camping because you can run full electric all the time, not just generator (non-quiet) hours. BUT you have to have gotten there with a decent charge, which could mean <50-75 miles from your last charge location
2) it would still be awesome if you can reach your campsite with full hookups with nearly empty battery (say, only 100 miles away) and use the 50A pedestal to charge the truck overnight and power the trailer from the truck
3) if you can afford the payload, that range extender will turn this truck into a camper's dream potentially!

No need to check the pedestal. You cannot damage a modern EV by plugging it into bad power or reversed polarity, or any form of screwed up supply. They all diagnose what’s being fed and either deal with it or reject it, telling you on the main screen what’s up. I agree that surge guards ARE recommended before plugging in an RV, because most are not so self-protecting.

 

[Brian Head Yankee]

You are correct. There is no way to damage the truck. You would be prevented from charging as pointed out above. Trivia - per code RV campgrounds are typically wired up with 7 pedestals per feeder off the transformer. If there is an issue at a pedestal, it will typically show up in the other 6 on the same string. Ask the RV park to move you to another loop instead of a site or two over.

The really damaging issue at an rv pedestal would be a bad neutral that would let the leg voltages float all over the place. It will fry all of the 120v devices when it floats up above 120v.

 

[JDinNFLA]

It is one issue that the range may be cut to <150 miles, but I would ALSO worry about when you find that charging station, how the hell do you get into the spaces without unhitching? You may be double disadvantaged in that you have to 1) get to a charge station and dedicate up to an hour, and 2) find a way to unhitch safely in a lot or side street, drive to the charger, wait, and hitch up again.

Exactly. And do this every 2 hrs on a 8 hour trip. Cool truck but still not ready. I’ll keep my 650 mile range and lots of places to fill up for 650 more.

 

[dog_tired]

Tow range is my concern as well. I don't know if this is just marketing exaggeration but look at this image from Ford's Charging on the Go video:

It shows a range of 240 miles and in the very next frame shows this:

Some day...
The pull through charging stations are what we really need to be able to effectively tow with an EV, and we need a lot of them because the range is so limited.

It's a chicken and the egg scenario with the current battery technology. Bigger batteries = more weight = less payload.

 

[Peanutsparisinsyrup]

I do wonder if they have the range extender or something up their sleeve for 2022 or 2023 since most people who know about EVs know the marketing material showing an airstream is at best grossly exaggerated. What would compel the Ford marketing team to show off images of this thing towing? Why then be guarded about the towing range when interviewed by media? Was it just to increase adoption by normal truck users? But then wouldn't there be backlash when they find out it's physically impossible for a current generation battery to do this for longer trips? It seems like they're setting it up for future negative press by pushing the towing as a feature.

The whole thing is very strange, I am very confused.

 

[dog_tired]

I’ve had excellent experience using both 30 and 50 amp rv and marina hookups on road trips in Teslas before the superchargers were pretty much everywhere in North America. In 2012, 13 & 14 it was truly an adventure, using level 2 chargers and waiting for hours in campgrounds. There’s no question that DC fast charging is the game changer that makes EV travel on par with internal combustion. However, our Tesla’s range drops in half just towing two jet skis, so we stick with a pickup for heavy work. The car carrier and 8,000 pound boat trailer aren’t going behind a pure EV anytime soon. We have over 200k miles of pure EV driving, but towing is still not feasible, even with the Lightning, except around town.

This ???

Tesla owners have a ton to add to this discussion, because we've been the early adopters of long range ev (aka "guinea pigs"). While the Lightning is going to be a great fleet vehicle, it's not a tow vehicle. Not yet, at least.

It looks cool with an airstream behind it, doesn't it? But so does the Model X Tesla, as well as the 14th gen F150, as well as, well, any tow vehicle. But until you conquer the range and the ability to charge on the go with pull-thru's, it's going to be an EV for anything but towing, unless you're towing 100 miles or less.

I've been a Tesla owner for 7 years, which means prior to the massive supercharger network they have now. I've got a deposit on the cyber truck, along with 500,000 other people. But it's not going to be a practical tow vehicle if you've got an airstream (I do) or other travel trailer.

 

[BigDill]

Newbie here, but a long time Ford sufferer owner. I have followed along with the discussion here and I have appreciated all of the information.

I could see this truck working on a "work level" for local landscapers towing a trailer, or the weekend warrior towing a race car or motorcycle to the local track or shop, or similar. By no means is that the towing capacity we expect from an F-150, but it's frankly what the vast majority of F-150 Lightning users will be doing. And for that, the towing range should be sufficient. I would find it similar to what I would expect from the current Silverado 4 cylinder engine. Good enough to move furniture around town, but not something you want to tow across the state with unless absolutely necessary.

 

[docprego]

Ford should have gone for 400+ mile range which would allow for at least somewhat tolerable towing range.

However their target market is certainly not people that tow long distances.

 

[F150ROD]

Ford should have gone for 400+ mile range which would allow for at least somewhat tolerable towing range.

However their target market is certainly not people that tow long distances.

I mean if I recall correctly the first and second generation Lightnings weren't about towing neither. At least they stuck to making somewhat like the its predecessors except for the number of doors. Unlike how they butchered the Mustang name with an electric SUV that's slower than molasses.

BTW, I suspect Ford will eventually offer the PB will a larger battery pack.

 

[George Bartlett]

It is one issue that the range may be cut to <150 miles, but I would ALSO worry about when you find that charging station, how the hell do you get into the spaces without unhitching? You may be double disadvantaged in that you have to 1) get to a charge station and dedicate up to an hour, and 2) find a way to unhitch safely in a lot or side street, drive to the charger, wait, and hitch up again.

That's exactly my concern!
I use my current F150, and then the lightning, to pull my travel trailer. Without charging sites that will accommodate truck and 30-40' trailer, the distance on a charge is secondary to getting the truck/trailer into and out of a charging site without disconnecting.

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