2400 Miles and 9400lbs: Coast to Coast Journey

[TheBigBezo]

I recently moved across the country from the Florida coast to the high deserts of California. As I am but a humble MY23 driver, I didn't have smart scales and loading one box after another into the bed led to a very over weight truck. With me driving, it was just shy of 9400lbs. Here's a recap of how it went:

Disclaimer: I would not recommend overloading your truck intentionally. Mine was an accident but too late to unpack. While the truck handled fine, it can lead to unknowns where you're operating outside manufacturer design and get yourself hurt or killed.

The good:
Truck handled the weight like a champ. 2400 miles, 15+ charging sessions, a high of 8000ft, and a low of 5ft. Saw it all. Had no issues climbing steep grades and it descended 7% grades with ease. Battery showed warm in 100+F temps but nothing abnormal. Typically held 1.9mi/kWh at 77mph the entire trip, only going lower when climbing the plains into the mountains. I almost exclusively used Tesla to charge, much harder here out west where it's a battle to find an open spot. I miss the South where EVs aren't widely adopter but Tesla has still built out tons of large charging stops. ABRP reliably accounted for elevation changed with a 2.0mi/kWh reference speed (for mountain crossing). Definitely took some believing getting 1.3 only to crest the top and see it improve. ABRP never failed me.

The bad:
Sync... Why does Spotify mute without a means of recovery every new chapter on audiobooks? It was annoying at first and maddening after 30 hours in the truck. I had to restart sync multiple times. Blue cruise... Handles driving fine but I swear sometimes it would throw a fit and yell about my eyes on the road, even if it was just me tilting my head towards the window since I was driving 14 hours! If I could never hear that damned Ford chime again lol, I swear I still hear it. Tesla's App... This thing freezes more than Fordpass I swear. I'm sweating in the heat reloading the app so it'll actually let me select my charger. It would always hang up when I selected the location but wouldn't let me select the post!

The Weird:
The truck felt weird so heavy, I could feel it reaching it's limits when the suspension compressed. The weight was spread in the front of the bed and in the rear row of seats, so I never felt the magic carpet feel, the front dug in fine, but it felt very underdampened and bouncy. At one point in Arizona, the road had these soft rolls and the truck would compress into the peak, expand into the trough, and slam into the next roll. It felt very positive feedback oscillating~y and got scary, several times I was floating in my seat. They were hard to see and by the time I felt them I was practically already bouncing out of control. Fortunately no damage to the truck or to my personal goods. Dog was scared tho.

Overall, I would not recommend overloading, but I offer this as a data point showing the capability of our vehicles. I drove a lot of miles through the rural southwest, with only the stop behind me and in front of me, good planning is key to survival (joking and also not, that heat is killer!). I never took the battery below 13% out of fear of the below 10% rollback people have experienced. Fortunately, that 10-15% range was normal for me and I didn't experience any weird power reductions. The truck was comfy, with the bed cap I had more room than sense to pack stuff in still leaving space for my dog to sleep in the back row behind me. Tesla Superchargers made worrying about availability a joke, I only checked plugshare when I had to use an EA station in Santa Rosa NM lol. Would I do it again? I have to in a year when I head back, but next time I'll keep the weight under control.

Extra Data:
Average temps: 90 - 105F
Typical speed: 77mph
Typical mileage: 1.9mi/kWh
Typical charge: 15-70% to drive 150 miles.
Charge rate: 165kW to start, then derated down to 80kW by 70+% (HOT!)
Interesting note: I got the full 165kW charging sprint 20min after getting off another charger (no bathroom close by)

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[DesertEV]

I recently moved across the country from the Florida coast to the high deserts of California. As I am but a humble MY23 driver, I didn't have smart scales and loading one box after another into the bed led to a very over weight truck. With me driving, it was just shy of 9400lbs. Here's a recap of how it went:

Disclaimer: I would not recommend overloading your truck intentionally. Mine was an accident but too late to unpack. While the truck handled fine, it can lead to unknowns where you're operating outside manufacturer design and get yourself hurt or killed.

The good:
Truck handled the weight like a champ. 2400 miles, 15+ charging sessions, a high of 8000ft, and a low of 5ft. Saw it all. Had no issues climbing steep grades and it descended 7% grades with ease. Battery showed warm in 100+F temps but nothing abnormal. Typically held 1.9mi/kWh at 77mph the entire trip, only going lower when climbing the plains into the mountains. I almost exclusively used Tesla to charge, much harder here out west where it's a battle to find an open spot. I miss the South where EVs aren't widely adopter but Tesla has still built out tons of large charging stops. ABRP reliably accounted for elevation changed with a 2.0mi/kWh reference speed (for mountain crossing). Definitely took some believing getting 1.3 only to crest the top and see it improve. ABRP never failed me.

The bad:
Sync... Why does Spotify mute without a means of recovery every new chapter on audiobooks? It was annoying at first and maddening after 30 hours in the truck. I had to restart sync multiple times. Blue cruise... Handles driving fine but I swear sometimes it would throw a fit and yell about my eyes on the road, even if it was just me tilting my head towards the window since I was driving 14 hours! If I could never hear that damned Ford chime again lol, I swear I still hear it. Tesla's App... This thing freezes more than Fordpass I swear. I'm sweating in the heat reloading the app so it'll actually let me select my charger. It would always hang up when I selected the location but wouldn't let me select the post!

The Weird:
The truck felt weird so heavy, I could feel it reaching it's limits when the suspension compressed. The weight was spread in the front of the bed and in the rear row of seats, so I never felt the magic carpet feel, the front dug in fine, but it felt very underdampened and bouncy. At one point in Arizona, the road had these soft rolls and the truck would compress into the peak, expand into the trough, and slam into the next roll. It felt very positive feedback oscillating~y and got scary, several times I was floating in my seat. They were hard to see and by the time I felt them I was practically already bouncing out of control. Fortunately no damage to the truck or to my personal goods. Dog was scared tho.

Overall, I would not recommend overloading, but I offer this as a data point showing the capability of our vehicles. I drove a lot of miles through the rural southwest, with only the stop behind me and in front of me, good planning is key to survival (joking and also not, that heat is killer!). I never took the battery below 13% out of fear of the below 10% rollback people have experienced. Fortunately, that 10-15% range was normal for me and I didn't experience any weird power reductions. The truck was comfy, with the bed cap I had more room than sense to pack stuff in still leaving space for my dog to sleep in the back row behind me. Tesla Superchargers made worrying about availability a joke, I only checked plugshare when I had to use an EA station in Santa Rosa NM lol. Would I do it again? I have to in a year when I head back, but next time I'll keep the weight under control.

Extra Data:
Average temps: 90 - 105F
Typical speed: 77mph
Typical mileage: 1.9mi/kWh
Typical charge: 15-70% to drive 150 miles.
Charge rate: 165kW to start, then derated down to 80kW by 70+% (HOT!)
Interesting note: I got the full 165kW charging sprint 20min after getting off another charger (no bathroom close by)

Excellent write up about your trip and really informative. 9,000+ pounds going across country in the heat, up mountains, with charging stations, + your dog…balls of steel my friend.

 

[Hammick]

What tires did your truck have? Three of my General Crappers had cord failures. I suspect it was from driving on a rocky road overloaded by a couple hundred pounds. Have Michelin Defenders now and they are excellent.

 

[TheBigBezo]

What tires did your truck have? Three of my General Crappers had cord failures. I suspect it was from driving on a rocky road overloaded by a couple hundred pounds. Have Michelin Defenders now and they are excellent.

I'm riding on stock Dynapro AT2s, I think these came as the AT option when Ford was low on tires in early '23. I was worried about side loads, especially descending down into Phoenix, lot of sharper turns taken at speed. They all look to be in good condition still with no major tread wear obvious.

 

[JTodd64]

Great read!
thanks for sharing!

 

[LSUT1GER]

I recently moved across the country from the Florida coast to the high deserts of California. As I am but a humble MY23 driver, I didn't have smart scales and loading one box after another into the bed led to a very over weight truck. With me driving, it was just shy of 9400lbs. Here's a recap of how it went:

Disclaimer: I would not recommend overloading your truck intentionally. Mine was an accident but too late to unpack. While the truck handled fine, it can lead to unknowns where you're operating outside manufacturer design and get yourself hurt or killed.

The good:
Truck handled the weight like a champ. 2400 miles, 15+ charging sessions, a high of 8000ft, and a low of 5ft. Saw it all. Had no issues climbing steep grades and it descended 7% grades with ease. Battery showed warm in 100+F temps but nothing abnormal. Typically held 1.9mi/kWh at 77mph the entire trip, only going lower when climbing the plains into the mountains. I almost exclusively used Tesla to charge, much harder here out west where it's a battle to find an open spot. I miss the South where EVs aren't widely adopter but Tesla has still built out tons of large charging stops. ABRP reliably accounted for elevation changed with a 2.0mi/kWh reference speed (for mountain crossing). Definitely took some believing getting 1.3 only to crest the top and see it improve. ABRP never failed me.

The bad:
Sync... Why does Spotify mute without a means of recovery every new chapter on audiobooks? It was annoying at first and maddening after 30 hours in the truck. I had to restart sync multiple times. Blue cruise... Handles driving fine but I swear sometimes it would throw a fit and yell about my eyes on the road, even if it was just me tilting my head towards the window since I was driving 14 hours! If I could never hear that damned Ford chime again lol, I swear I still hear it. Tesla's App... This thing freezes more than Fordpass I swear. I'm sweating in the heat reloading the app so it'll actually let me select my charger. It would always hang up when I selected the location but wouldn't let me select the post!

The Weird:
The truck felt weird so heavy, I could feel it reaching it's limits when the suspension compressed. The weight was spread in the front of the bed and in the rear row of seats, so I never felt the magic carpet feel, the front dug in fine, but it felt very underdampened and bouncy. At one point in Arizona, the road had these soft rolls and the truck would compress into the peak, expand into the trough, and slam into the next roll. It felt very positive feedback oscillating~y and got scary, several times I was floating in my seat. They were hard to see and by the time I felt them I was practically already bouncing out of control. Fortunately no damage to the truck or to my personal goods. Dog was scared tho.

Overall, I would not recommend overloading, but I offer this as a data point showing the capability of our vehicles. I drove a lot of miles through the rural southwest, with only the stop behind me and in front of me, good planning is key to survival (joking and also not, that heat is killer!). I never took the battery below 13% out of fear of the below 10% rollback people have experienced. Fortunately, that 10-15% range was normal for me and I didn't experience any weird power reductions. The truck was comfy, with the bed cap I had more room than sense to pack stuff in still leaving space for my dog to sleep in the back row behind me. Tesla Superchargers made worrying about availability a joke, I only checked plugshare when I had to use an EA station in Santa Rosa NM lol. Would I do it again? I have to in a year when I head back, but next time I'll keep the weight under control.

Extra Data:
Average temps: 90 - 105F
Typical speed: 77mph
Typical mileage: 1.9mi/kWh
Typical charge: 15-70% to drive 150 miles.
Charge rate: 165kW to start, then derated down to 80kW by 70+% (HOT!)
Interesting note: I got the full 165kW charging sprint 20min after getting off another charger (no bathroom close by)

Nice write-up. How did you kept your truck so clean? Even your windshield is spotless....

 

[TheBigBezo]

Nice write-up. How did you kept your truck so clean? Even your windshield is spotless....

That's probably just the camera. It's super dirty. The bed caps flip up window is caked in dirt. The windshield is covered in bugs. The hood and grill have a heavy dusting and marks from bugs. But AMB does a good job of hiding imperfections under full sun.

 

[Realtruck]

This is an insightful and useful read. FL to CA is a long trip. Glad to see you made it safely with notes for your ride back!

 

[TomB985]

I don’t think you were in as much danger as some of these posts would indicate. Yes, you were overloaded, but not to the point where I’d be nervous to drive it.

The Lightning has a near 50/50 weight distribution, which means you have about 3,300 lbs on each axle. The rear GAWR is 4,950 lbs, which gives you 1,600 lbs of headroom before exceeding the rating out back.

Assuming a 60/40 weight distribution of your 2,700 lb payload, you added 1,620 lbs to your rear axle, which is pretty close to your rated GAWR. Even at 70/30, you were only ~300 lbs over GAWR. That’s 6%…not exactly an earthshattering number.

Let’s say you were 300 lbs over GAWR with a whopping 5,250 lbs on that axle. You’d still be under the 5,358 lbs your tires are rated for at their max PSI. You’d certainly want to inflate to your max 51 PSI for that load, but you wouldn’t risk blowing a tire. You were probably bottomed out, but lots of vehicles hit the bump stops before they max out their GAWR. My Model Y towed 7,000 lbs with the rear bottomed out, but I was still over 200 lbs under rear GAWR and ~400 under my GVWR.

I wouldn’t run that heavy every day, but I’d have done the exact same thing you did. Note the weight, drive accordingly, and enjoy the ride.

 

[Effonefiddy Lightning]

I recently moved across the country from the Florida coast to the high deserts of California. As I am but a humble MY23 driver, I didn't have smart scales and loading one box after another into the bed led to a very over weight truck. With me driving, it was just shy of 9400lbs. Here's a recap of how it went:

Disclaimer: I would not recommend overloading your truck intentionally. Mine was an accident but too late to unpack. While the truck handled fine, it can lead to unknowns where you're operating outside manufacturer design and get yourself hurt or killed.

The good:
Truck handled the weight like a champ. 2400 miles, 15+ charging sessions, a high of 8000ft, and a low of 5ft. Saw it all. Had no issues climbing steep grades and it descended 7% grades with ease. Battery showed warm in 100+F temps but nothing abnormal. Typically held 1.9mi/kWh at 77mph the entire trip, only going lower when climbing the plains into the mountains. I almost exclusively used Tesla to charge, much harder here out west where it's a battle to find an open spot. I miss the South where EVs aren't widely adopter but Tesla has still built out tons of large charging stops. ABRP reliably accounted for elevation changed with a 2.0mi/kWh reference speed (for mountain crossing). Definitely took some believing getting 1.3 only to crest the top and see it improve. ABRP never failed me.

The bad:
Sync... Why does Spotify mute without a means of recovery every new chapter on audiobooks? It was annoying at first and maddening after 30 hours in the truck. I had to restart sync multiple times. Blue cruise... Handles driving fine but I swear sometimes it would throw a fit and yell about my eyes on the road, even if it was just me tilting my head towards the window since I was driving 14 hours! If I could never hear that damned Ford chime again lol, I swear I still hear it. Tesla's App... This thing freezes more than Fordpass I swear. I'm sweating in the heat reloading the app so it'll actually let me select my charger. It would always hang up when I selected the location but wouldn't let me select the post!

The Weird:
The truck felt weird so heavy, I could feel it reaching it's limits when the suspension compressed. The weight was spread in the front of the bed and in the rear row of seats, so I never felt the magic carpet feel, the front dug in fine, but it felt very underdampened and bouncy. At one point in Arizona, the road had these soft rolls and the truck would compress into the peak, expand into the trough, and slam into the next roll. It felt very positive feedback oscillating~y and got scary, several times I was floating in my seat. They were hard to see and by the time I felt them I was practically already bouncing out of control. Fortunately no damage to the truck or to my personal goods. Dog was scared tho.

Overall, I would not recommend overloading, but I offer this as a data point showing the capability of our vehicles. I drove a lot of miles through the rural southwest, with only the stop behind me and in front of me, good planning is key to survival (joking and also not, that heat is killer!). I never took the battery below 13% out of fear of the below 10% rollback people have experienced. Fortunately, that 10-15% range was normal for me and I didn't experience any weird power reductions. The truck was comfy, with the bed cap I had more room than sense to pack stuff in still leaving space for my dog to sleep in the back row behind me. Tesla Superchargers made worrying about availability a joke, I only checked plugshare when I had to use an EA station in Santa Rosa NM lol. Would I do it again? I have to in a year when I head back, but next time I'll keep the weight under control.

Extra Data:
Average temps: 90 - 105F
Typical speed: 77mph
Typical mileage: 1.9mi/kWh
Typical charge: 15-70% to drive 150 miles.
Charge rate: 165kW to start, then derated down to 80kW by 70+% (HOT!)
Interesting note: I got the full 165kW charging sprint 20min after getting off another charger (no bathroom close by)

Welcome to Cali. But, why? lol

 

[ctuan13]

What tires did your truck have? Three of my General Crappers had cord failures. I suspect it was from driving on a rocky road overloaded by a couple hundred pounds. Have Michelin Defenders now and they are excellent.

General Crappers

 

[RickLightning]

Disclaimer: I would not recommend overloading your truck intentionally. Mine was an accident but too late to unpack. While the truck handled fine, it can lead to unknowns where you're operating outside manufacturer design and get yourself hurt or killed.

Bravo!

I spent 10 years on an F-150 forum. It was filled with bragging about overloading, ignoring weight limits, extremely dangerous towing. I cannot remember a post that so clearly said "I screwed up, don't be me".

Well done. Lesson learned. The only potential for damage would be to the shocks IMO. If you get leaks you know why.

 

[JRT]

I'm curious what you were hauling that was that heavy.

 

[TomB985]

The only potential for damage would be to the shocks IMO. If you get leaks you know why.

I’d be surprised if he hurt the shocks. The jounce bumpers exist to prevent the struts from bottoming out, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone hurting a shock by overloading.

Those bumpers can sometimes corrode or fall off on leaf spring applications, but they wrap around the piston on our struts.

 

[RickLightning]

I’d be surprised if he hurt the shocks. The jounce bumpers exist to prevent the struts from bottoming out, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone hurting a shock by overloading.

Those bumpers can sometimes corrode or fall off on leaf spring applications, but they wrap around the piston on our struts.

I agree, I was just saying I believe that is the only thing that would have been harmed, and a leak would tell you, in the future, that you did it.

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