Hello from Queensland, Australia!

[Scorpio3d]

Welcome!!
I assume they don’t move the charge port??

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[lazjen]

This forum is a wealth of information. Ask and you shall receive. Caravans/Travel/Camping trailers come in all shapes and sizes here in the States. Few of us have been hauling our toys around the country.
From my own experience, my caravan weighs 5500 lbs fully loaded for my coastal adventures. Expect a 50% reduction in range. The faster you haul, your range will be reduced a bit more. From my own experience and looking at my rig, I consistently get 1.0 to 0.9 miles per KW at 65 mph. The smaller and more streamlined your caravan is and your range will improve.
Once you plug your caravan to your Lightning, it will prompt you to identify your caravan, make it the active trailer and calculate the range based on your driving habit. Don’t be discouraged on your first experience of pulling your caravan. You both are learning from each other. I don’t know how Ford is going to deal with Over the Air updates, Down Under. When they make changes, some systems default to factory settings. The original Tow/Haul mode has been updated many times due to customer complaints and inputs. Ford is listening most of the times and trying to fix things with updates……until something goes wrong. Then, Ford gets very cautious about any updates.
Your is an XLT ER and you are doing some mods and upgrades thru an approved shop. Once you get it back, on the large screen, open the Controls page and verify if you have the Tow/Haul mode. Open all the pages and check what is available.
Download the FordPass app, don’t know what Ford is using Down Under, and connect your Lightning with your WiFi and the FordPass app.
Plug in your Lightning, get your truck’s cabin at comfortable level and schedule two hours of time to go thru with the process. Be patient. Lots of stuff to go thru. That is the only way you find out what Ford lets you do with your truck that they brought to the folks Down Under. Members of this forum will be more than happy to help.
It will be a learning process and don’t let it overwhelm you.
Good luck.

Thanks for the reply, very interesting.

I also have no idea how the Over the Air updates will go here. If necessary I'll poke the dealer about it if it becomes an issue. It must be something they have to handle already, so I'm hoping I'll fall into the same category as everybody else.

Most of the mods have been done already, just the PPF to go. So, I have a couple of extra widgets for towing and I've seen there's a menu item for it - saw a screen about adding a trailer, etc.

I assume they don’t move the charge port??

The charge port is in the same place, on the left side of the car (facing towards the front), with it changed to CCS2 - essentially the standard in Australia (we have some Chademo, but I expect that will die out over time).

The keypad door unlock is still on the left side as well, no change to its location I believe.

 

[lazjen]

Finally got the vehicle back from the detailers - they seemed to have done a great job.

I got to do some more driving around the coast and energy consumption is definitely high, but to be expected with the tires, etc. It's sometimes difficult to not compare it to the Tesla Model 3 which is quite efficient. Completely unfair comparison of course, but it's the EV I'm used to driving.

As requested, here's the inside showing the console. It looks pretty good. I think if Ford ever wanted to bring the Lightning to a RHD market, they'd have to do a bit more work, but overall this functions ok. Probably the most annoying is the software screen has not been changed, so stuff like the back button control is way over on the left. There's one thing I have to get checked - the dials for adjusting passenger and driver aircon temps haven't been swapped. Not sure if that's oversight or the way it is.

For charging, I had to get a software update for the Tesla wall charger to allow it to charge the Lightning.

 

[3121]

Hi mate, welcome.

Congrats on the Yank-Tank, I never understood why more full size Utes were not sold in Aus, it's fully set up for it. Heaps cool mate that you got this one! A mate of mine has been waiting for years to get an ICE Tundra...let alone an EV truck.

I've seen where Ford is doing their own conversion of the ICE 150, maybe out of Geelong or Melbs and they have the software flash to swap all the screen configs around to RHD.

Not sure if you have the Pro Power in the bed w/220v? Keep in mind that is U.S. 220v which is split phase and not compatible with the single phase 220v down there.

Funny, I happen to have one of the LHD VF2 Commodores imported under the Chevy brand here. Sent the screen off to Aus to get it flashed back to Holden brand. Ordered all the kit from Melbourne City Holden to "correct" the badging back to Holden.

Hit me up if you need any accessories or parts shipped over, happy to help.

Cheers

PS - you might be the only one who gets my user name on here

 

[invertedspear]

Finally got the vehicle back from the detailers - they seemed to have done a great job.

I got to do some more driving around the coast and energy consumption is definitely high, but to be expected with the tires, etc. It's sometimes difficult to not compare it to the Tesla Model 3 which is quite efficient. Completely unfair comparison of course, but it's the EV I'm used to driving.

As requested, here's the inside showing the console. It looks pretty good. I think if Ford ever wanted to bring the Lightning to a RHD market, they'd have to do a bit more work, but overall this functions ok. Probably the most annoying is the software screen has not been changed, so stuff like the back button control is way over on the left. There's one thing I have to get checked - the dials for adjusting passenger and driver aircon temps haven't been swapped. Not sure if that's oversight or the way it is.

For charging, I had to get a software update for the Tesla wall charger to allow it to charge the Lightning.

Thanks, this is super interesting and weirdly uncomfortable to view. The work looks great, in fact it's hard to tell it's not a factory conversion if you don't know better. But there is some things that just make this feel weird because it's mirrored (since I also have an XLT), but at the same time not mirrored. Like that gear shifter has to be weird in your hand since it's still designed for the right hand, and the glove box latch is impossible to reach from the driver's side. I get how easy the AC controls would be to make that mistake on since they're labeled driver and passenger instead of just right and left. All in all, this is pretty great, and thank you for sharing.

 

[lazjen]

Hi mate, welcome.

Congrats on the Yank-Tank, I never understood why more full size Utes were not sold in Aus, it's fully set up for it. Heaps cool mate that you got this one! A mate of mine has been waiting for years to get an ICE Tundra...let alone an EV truck.

I've seen where Ford is doing their own conversion of the ICE 150, maybe out of Geelong or Melbs and they have the software flash to swap all the screen configs around to RHD.

Not sure if you have the Pro Power in the bed w/220v? Keep in mind that is U.S. 220v which is split phase and not compatible with the single phase 220v down there.

Funny, I happen to have one of the LHD VF2 Commodores imported under the Chevy brand here. Sent the screen off to Aus to get it flashed back to Holden brand. Ordered all the kit from Melbourne City Holden to "correct" the badging back to Holden.

Hit me up if you need any accessories or parts shipped over, happy to help.

Cheers

PS - you might be the only one who gets my user name on here

The power hasn't been changed but has panels over it. I haven't got around to popping those off yet. Yeah, the 220V thing is problematic. I'm not sure if some form of adapter is possible - my google searching based on my limited knowledge hasn't turned up anything useful.

Username - I assume that's a postcode, therefore Richmond. I hazard a guess that based on being Victorian, it's probably AFL related? I don't follow it, but, again, I assume that's the team you follow?

Thanks, this is super interesting and weirdly uncomfortable to view. The work looks great, in fact it's hard to tell it's not a factory conversion if you don't know better. But there is some things that just make this feel weird because it's mirrored (since I also have an XLT), but at the same time not mirrored. Like that gear shifter has to be weird in your hand since it's still designed for the right hand, and the glove box latch is impossible to reach from the driver's side. I get how easy the AC controls would be to make that mistake on since they're labeled driver and passenger instead of just right and left. All in all, this is pretty great, and thank you for sharing.

So I found out that the aircon dials are doing the right thing, but it's a software issue. The software is still LHD oriented, so when the dial on the right is changed, it thinks it's the passenger side, so that's the text displayed, but it's still the RHD driver aircon that changes.

The truck is so huge that I'm getting used to not having everything within reach. Almost need a packed lunch to take with me as I move around it...

 

[lazjen]

Did an approx 100km drive this morning, starting at 70% and ending at 45% charge. 31kWh/100km, which I thought was ok for my setup and the hilly terrain I was in.

Love the colour change at different angles and lighting.

 

[Nikos]

Did an approx 100km drive this morning, starting at 70% and ending at 45% charge. 31kWh/100km, which I thought was ok for my setup and the hilly terrain I was in.

Love the colour change at different angles and lighting.

Great to hear that you got your truck and using it for its intended purpose. It always gets me when the steering wheel is the right side. Otherwise you have to teach your brain new tricks.
The more you drive your Beast Lightning the more will get with you.
It is a wonderful truck. I always drove a car and a SUV, but the Lightning has capture my heart. Getting close to change the tires to a more aggressive tread tires. The Michelin Defenders are my next choice. Will see what the efficiency hit will be. I am not worried though. Range anxiety is a thing of the past for me. Second nature now to plan and navigate while on short or long trips with my Lightning. Tesla superchargers are part of the charging network here and I hope is the same Down Under. I don’t know the specifics there. Still you will need an adaptor or not??? Either way enjoy your Lightning.
Are you enjoying the Olympics??
The swimming rivalry is hot.
Good luck with your Lighting.

 

[lazjen]

The Tesla chargers here use the same CCS2 and while they have been Tesla exclusive, they're slowly opening up the network to non-Tesla. Tesla has just installed some more superchargers in my area, which could be useful for the return leg on long trips. I'm right at the edge of the major Tesla expansion in our state, so going outside that means using other chargers, which while slower are a lot cheaper. Getting to some areas requires good planning, since the Lightning's charging rate post 80% is terrible. Fortunately for me, our main concern and activities revolve around day trips at this time, so by the time we get to worry about multi-day stuff, the charging infrastructure will have expanded more.

Haven't been watching the Olympics - the timezone difference makes most of it happen while we're asleep here.

 

[davehu]

likewise, welcome to the club mate!

 

[Dom630]

Hello from often sunny Queensland, Australia. While I could have posted in the "Say Hello and Introduce Yourself" thread, I thought the following might be worthy enough for it's own:

I've just taken delivery of my Antimatter Blue Lightning (ER XLT with mods). AusEV is a local company that does the RHD conversion as Ford is not currently supplying the vehicle in Australia. They normally do these conversions for fleet buyers, e.g. mines (they great for underground mines), but they released a very limited number to the general public (all snapped up now). I got the FIRST one!

Alas, I had to drop it off to get PPF done, so I won't see it again for a while, but the drive along the highway from delivery to the detailers was great - felt like I was a starship captain! I've already got a Tesla Model 3, so EVs are second nature to me. This however is the first truck I've ever had, and it's a monster in size.

Mods done (some are "standard", others I added): leather seats, 33" A/T Maxxis Razr tyres, 2" lift in rear to level, tonneau cover, tinting, electric side steps, bed liner, towing packages.

Intended use: won't be a pavement princess, I'm aiming to do some off-roading (nothing extreme) and eventually get a caravan to tow.

Nice! I saw one of the right hand drive Lightnings from AusEV featured on an Explore Life youtube episode:

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