Garage too small. Anyone park outside? In the snow?

[LSP]

I'm considering purchasing a Lightning, but my garage is a few inches too small. I could park it on the pad next to the garage and have the charger installed outside, but I live in MN. There will be snow to deal with. I wonder if anyone else has had to do this. Any comments on the experience?

Has anyone found a way to extend the garage that doesn't cost a ton of money? The contractor I talked to said that by the time he extends and blends in new construction, I might as well just tear down the garage and build a new one.

I'm trying to decide if I should wait for a smaller truck to come out, but I could use the Lightning next summer for powering a job site for a cabin build.

I live in Southern California but I have to park my Lightning outside of the garage. FYI, the cable for the Ford Charge Station Pro is approximately 20 feet long and so I can easily run it under my garage door to my truck.

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[21st Century Truck]

In my travels across the US including camping in the Rockies in January (lotsa snow) I found this charging port cover works very well for snow:

https://macapuche.com/

 

[ZSLC]

I live in Utah, up a canyon. We get snow, lots of snow.

I park outside and mostly use the "portable" charger on a beefy 220 extension cord.

My opinion is, it's a truck, it can handle being left out in the cold.

 

[Athrun88]

Great to hear that there are no real adverse effects from parking/charging outside in the cold. I'm in the same situation, garage is too small to accommodate the Lightning. Didn't think there would be issues but always good to get first hand experiences.

 

[Maquis]

I live in Southern California but I have to park my Lightning outside of the garage. FYI, the cable for the Ford Charge Station Pro is approximately 20 feet long and so I can easily run it under my garage door to my truck.

It’s 24’ including the handle.

 

[WilliamRobert]

My garage is my toy box, I always park outside! I keep my two evse inside and installed a two gang outdoor receptacle cover for passing the cords outside.

 

[pullinggs]

I wonder if anyone else has had to do this. Any comments on the experience?

Nothing to worry about.

 

[ChrisCon]

I live in New York . My truck has never been inside a garage . Two years later , my charge station pro works perfectly . Snow, sleet, ice= no problems. Remember to set departure times on your truck so your battery is warm in the winter to maximize range. Everyone forgets this step and it's the most important thing you can do .. even if you set a departure time an hour before you leave , it's better than nothing.

 

[Texas Dan]

There are a lot of reasons to park a Lightning in a garage besides keeping it out of the snow. In Texas one of our big concerns is hail damage. That being said, we use our garage primarily for storage and as a work shop and there hasn’t been a car parked in the garage regularly for two decades.

I do want to park my Lightning in there but first I have to find a place for all the junk. Even with all the junk out of the garage it’s going to be a very tight fit for the Lightning. The cord on my ChargeStation Pro inside the garage going under the garage door easily reaches my Lightning outside the garage so there is no great urgency for me to get my Lightning inside the garage.

 

[pullinggs]

I wonder if anyone else has had to do this. Any comments on the experience?

Nothing to worry about.

Dave - refresh your browser - you've posted 4 times. There is a forum issue.

YIKES! Sorry...

 

[ZSLC]

Nothing to worry about.

Well, you do have to worry about your wife running over the charger cord with your snowblower. I mean, not that it happened to me.

 

[Newton]

You will love the remote climate control ability (although Ford should let you leave it on longer). No fuss, no smell, just a warm car when you need it.

I do wish I could set a minimum temperature when plugged in, at home I don’t care about range but I do care about the water bottles freezing.

 

[Warp Asylum]

In cold climates and particularly when parked outside, try to keep the truck plugged in at all times. It will use shore power to keep the battery warm to prevent long term degradation (as best it can). It's not just for departure times/preconditioning.

 

[mrau]

Well, you do have to worry about your wife running over the charger cord with your snowblower.

Wow. Count your blessings.
A Ford Lightning and a wife that will run the snowblower.

 

[Texas Dan]

I just got a new insulated door. The new garage door is thinner than the old door and gives me about two inches more clearance in my garage. I’m looking forward now to clearing my garage out to see if I can get my Lightning in there.

Just to give you guys some numbers, the internet says the Lightning has a length of 232.7 inches or 19’-4.7”. I just measured a clearance of 19’-7” in my garage. If the internet information is correct I should be good.

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