Lightning Towing Stats with my 23FB Airstream Trailer

[beatle]

Are you just making numbers up? Or have you been secretly testing Lightnings over the last 12 months?

He's been waiting over a year for all these troll posts.

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[LightningShow]

He reported 0.8miles/kWh. It's math, not making stuff up.

What is 98 times 0.8?

 

[LightningShow]

Nope. It’s 78.4.

Next question…is 70 greater than, or less than, 78.4?

it’s just math.

 

[astricklin]

For the next trip to the west of the state I am basically doing this:

1. Assume 90 mile range on the truck
2. Find nearest 70kw+ chargers on plugshare
3. Look at photos posted by users
4. Go to Google Maps and see if sat view provides any indication of issues
5. Add to PlugShare trip and do it all again

The one good thing is I can assume a full charge leaving home and the campground given our airstream only requires a 110v plug. That means we can use the 30/50 amp to charge most of the time.

Remember, the 30amp RV outlet is still only 110v. If you can get a campsite with a 50 amp (220v) you'll be better off. I think someone on here did the calculations and it will take something like 36 hours to charge fully on a 30 amp 110v

 

[Griddlez]

Remember, the 30amp RV outlet is still only 110v. If you can get a campsite with a 50 amp (220v) you'll be better off. I think someone on here did the calculations and it will take something like 36 hours to charge fully on a 30 amp 110v

My bad charging math for fun.. let's see 30 amps x 110v = 3.3kWh with no losses (there will be.. probably around 5%.. so about 3.1 kWh).. fully depleted 131 kWh battery / 3.1 = 42+ hours of charging. Assuming there will not much of a charging curve drop off with only doing 3.1 kWh.

For me I will almost always spend that long at a camp ground so it'll work if needed. Even if it's just enough to make it to a fast charger some where.

 

[beatle]

IME, 120v charging is only about 70% efficient.

 

[Griswold22]

I was able to tow the Airstream around 30 miles today and understand how the Lightning does with some weight behind it. The TL;DR is that with a 23-foot Airstream, I am seeing 0.8mi/kWh. Compared to the 1.5-1.8 I have seen on my road trips thus far without the trailer, its around 50% of the range when towing.

When you plug in your trailer and set the weight, height, length, etc., the Ford system auto-calculates your mileage impact. I plugged in at 85 miles, and when I finished the calculation, it stated I had 54 miles of range with the Airstream.

Some stats:

• Airstream is around 6000 pounds (2721 kg) as it is loaded with our gear
• Approximately 20 gallons of fresh water and no wastewater
• Additional batteries for the solar
• Nothing in the truck other than one rural Standish man
• No hills. Flat driving

The towing experience is impressive. The instant torque makes hauling a breeze, and you sort of forget there is that much weight behind you as you accelerate.

Other than that, it's all standard high-end Ford towing with the advance package. No different than the ICE versions. Compared to my 2017, the pro backup system works, which is nice. I joke that every couple should see if they can survive a long road trip together, but right after that, they should attempt to work together, backing an RV into a tight camping spot.

Q&A (from members later in this thread):



Such an interesting thing. I plugged in the trailer, programmed the characteristics, etc. The pedal was NOT disabled when I took off down the road. When I put it in Tow/Haul mode it did, but I thought it was funny part of the system understood there was something on the hitch, but I had to go put it in the mode for the other part of the system to do something.

One of those weird Ford UX things.



Breaking was fine. Regen is definitely in play, but I tend to try and let the trailer take care of most of it when towing.

I did not with route planning. I will be doing a 200+ mile tow to a campground on the other side of the state 2 week in June. I will share more on that when completed.



Disables a ton of the BlueCruise capabilities and enables some hauling specific items like sway control and braking.



I use a weight distro hitch and just hooked it up first try. The airstream has always been pretty easy to level



Truck showed 30C which is 86F



65 in fact



Just barely. Coming from having them on our ICE F-150, the difference is vast. Maybe I will warm up to them and get used to it, but I am missing them from the other truck right now.



I was not on a full charge. I had driven most of the day and was just grabbing the trailer for a short jaunt. I started with 83 and when I programmed the trailer, it dropped me to the 50's of range which was enough to get done what I needed to do.



Exactly - it is pretty common here in Northern Michigan to see -20C/-4F. Our Tesla can struggle during the winter (with estimates mostly), but it is okay because it is okay in the lower peninsula. We would never venture to the UP during the winter with the car due to the lack of network.

If/when Ford can get the network updated, we will be fine towing. Right now its a huge research project after our Mackinac trip.



For the next trip to the west of the state I am basically doing this:

1. Assume 90 mile range on the truck
2. Find nearest 70kw+ chargers on plugshare
3. Look at photos posted by users
4. Go to Google Maps and see if sat view provides any indication of issues
5. Add to PlugShare trip and do it all again

The one good thing is I can assume a full charge leaving home and the campground given our airstream only requires a 110v plug. That means we can use the 30/50 amp to charge most of the time.



I did



Towing the impact is about 50% reduction. So 150



ReCurve R6 Weight Distribution Hitch Kit - 1000lb

https://www.eaz-lift.com/products/recurve-r6-weight-distribution-hitch-1000lb-kit

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Glad your shared that information. I am expecting my XLT SR for September with hopes I can manage no more than 40% loss while towing my 3,200lbs trailer.

We are planning a year long road trip for 2023 and I can’t wait to get real life range for accurate planning.

 

[Avocadodude]

As @GoGoGadgetTruck said we buy trucks on what we think we might do. In actuality my weekly towing needs are to get something under 10k lbs from the rental yard in town to the farm which is ~15 miles. I wanted a F-350 with the Godzilla power plant. Then gas went over $4 a gallon in CA. Pivot and built an off grid power plant and electric pickup truck. No gas is over $7 a gallon. I’ll work around the limitations on EV F-150.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

I know this isn't any surprise to anyone but these trucks really need 500 miles of range for those who tow long distance.

My ‘21 PowerBoost King Ranch has only 150 miles range maximum when towing our 9,100-lb boat/trailer. 5+- mpg.

 

[VTbuckeye]

My ‘21 PowerBoost King Ranch has only 150 miles range maximum when towing our 9,100-lb boat/trailer. 5+- mpg.

Those two kayaks on the roof really do kill your mileage .

How tall is the powerboat on the trailer? Is it more than doubling your frontal area while not cutting cleanly through the air itself? No wonder your mileage is so low.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

I simply disagree with your assessment of what’s needed to convince people go EV. Long haul towing isn’t a use case that Ford should be focusing on at all.

Yes, it is, for its truck EVs. Look at the RV sales numbers in recent years for evidence. Massive. Look at the park attendance stats and RV park reservation numbers. Ford’s issue is how soon it can meet the CyberTruck towing specs, which we all know is fantasy, but is what’s really required - 400 towing miles with 9,000 pounds for more parity with a Super Duty.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

Long distance towing is a technical limitation and only a small portion of people truly needed it. ICE trucks will be available for those people for decades, of course they’ll eventually become too expensive to operate because of dwindling ICE infrastructure and taxation but there’s no need for EV mfgs to chase that market. Eventually it will come to them whether people want it or not. When gas is $20/gal and there’s a yearly $2000 gas vehicle surcharge, people will come around to the idea of stopping to charge every 100-150 miles.

Nope See above. Rv sales say people tow big stuff every day. And more than ever. Same for boat sales. The biggest leisure vehicle/boat issue in the U.S. these days is lack of storage. Good Sam club registrations hitting new records by the month.

 

[Nikos]

My bad charging math for fun.. let's see 30 amps x 110v = 3.3kWh with no losses (there will be.. probably around 5%.. so about 3.1 kWh).. fully depleted 131 kWh battery / 3.1 = 42+ hours of charging. Assuming there will not much of a charging curve drop off with only doing 3.1 kWh.

For me I will almost always spend that long at a camp ground so it'll work if needed. Even if it's just enough to make it to a fast charger some where.

Most of the campgrounds have 30 amps two phase 220V circuits. Some have both 30 and 50 amp 220V circuits. Your camper or RV utilizes a single phase only to power your RV. You just have to find out from the campground if their 30 amp circuit is 110V or 220V. If the circuit breaker is a double pole 30 amp then it carries 220V.
What I am going to try when I take my Lightning to a campground that has only 30 amp circuit, is to hook up my trailer to my onboard 9.7KW Pro station and hook up the truck directly to the 30 amp circuit. I will purchase an extension cord in case I am running short from the shore line circuit to the charging port of the truck.
We will see what happens.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

Those two kayaks on the roof really do kill your mileage .

How tall is the powerboat on the trailer? Is it more than doubling your frontal area while not cutting cleanly through the air itself? No wonder your mileage is so low.

Yes, 12’6”, but it is what it is and cannot be lowered, so 5 mpg it is. I also have an F350 and two F250’s, much better for the job, but must use a half-ton pickup in this specific case due to HOA rules at our Florida home, so the Super Duties stay at our Virginia farm. The kayaks have no impact whatsoever, I’ve tested. I get between 4.9 and 5.1 mpg depending on wind direction at 65 mpg on I-95 between Virginia and South Florida. I’m expecting roughly the same range from the Lightning built last week, will test and then decide whether to keep. 150 miles, we’ll see the King Ranch. 140 miles, we’ll sell the Lightning.

 

[RickLightning]

I would agree that all of your points need to be priority for gen2, especially higher charge speeds.

at the end of the day if you want to convince the masses to go electric the truck needs to be better than the ICE versions in every category. I'm excited to get my lightning but I don't plan on keeping it long term. I hope gen2 2025 is going to bring a much more complete package.

No, it doesn't need to be better than ICE versions in every category. If Ford tried to do that, they'd fail.

First, they get contractors to adapt to EVS.

Then, they get the suburban family that may tow locally to adapt.

Then, the long tower.

In reality, the best vehicle would be a PHEV that had some decent electric range and then hybrid capability that wasn't insignificant.

Ford knows exactly how far people tow and how often. They know what percentage of people do what. And, as people start driving EVs, they're collecting the data to reaffirm what they know, because they will know every single towing trip you make.

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