Need To Know If a Lightning Will Work For Me

[BlueLightning]

Look at my signature/avatar/whatever that is to the left of our posts. I have both the F150 Hybrid (Powerboost) & the Maverick Hybrid. Love them both! I was just wondering if I could add a Lightning to the stable at this point, & do what I normally do with it.

The Powerboost (4WD Long Bed) reliably gets about 750 miles on a tank & the Maverick goes about 550 on a tank. I drive both like I am an old man, because I am, & get great fuel mileage as a result.

How much, if any, would my driving style affect range on a Lightning?

Apologies, missed that. I thought of getting the hybrid it’s a better in between option but still gas. lol. Well the true mileage of a battery at 100 full charge doesn’t represent driving conditions, headwind, temperature down the road. And on return trips it takes about 4-6 hours to charge back up on 220v so it could be a go for your trips. But I would use it around town and keep the others for long trips just to save your time on the road.

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[Amps]

The Powerboost (4WD Long Bed) reliably gets about 750 miles on a tank & the Maverick goes about 550 on a tank.

I think viewing range like this is irrelevent. You can't drive that far without peeing or deep vein thrombosis. Even if you could, you would pass many price and time competitive sources of fuel. At some point, all you're really doing is unnecessarily hauling fuel around. In essence, you're burning fuel to haul fuel.

Range is what you need to have to get you between available 're-fueling opportunities' and your driving needs. In your original posted use case, an SR Lightning wouldn't work for you, unless you have the time and an opportunity to charge on both ends of the trip.

 

[MJ Heat]

What relevance is this? You can't drive that far without peeing or deep vein thrombosis. Even if you could, you would pass many price and time competitive sources of fuel. At some point, all you're really doing is unnecessarily hauling fuel around. In essence, you're burning fuel to haul fuel.

Range is what you need to have to get you between available 're-fueling opportunities' and your driving needs. In your original posted use case, an SR Lightning wouldn't work for you, unless you have the time and an opportunity to charge on both ends of the trip.

I had no idea that sharing my experience regarding the range on the Ford Hybrid Pickups would be in any way offensive. Please accept my apologies. Do I need to edit that out of my post?

 

[Amps]

I had no idea that sharing my experience regarding the range on the Ford Hybrid Pickups would be in any way offensive. Please accept my apologies. Do I need to edit that out of my post?

Sorry you thought that was offensive. I edited the original post. I was just trying to make a point that range worries become irrelevant when you exceed reasonable needs. A 600 mile range is great if you're towing and it becomes 330 miles.

With EVs, charging infrastructure isn't there yet. Although opening the Supercharger network is a huge advance. So, you tailor your suitability considerations to what your use case is. It depends on what you're comfortable with and any compromises you may be willing to make in time/cost/benefits of driving electric. To me, the quiet is as big as anything else.

 

[MJ Heat]

Sorry you thought that was offensive. I edited the original post. I was just trying to make a point that range worries become irrelevant when you exceed reasonable needs. A 600 mile range is great if you're towing and it becomes 330 miles.

With EVs, charging infrastructure isn't there yet. Although opening the Supercharger network is a huge advance. So, you tailor your suitability considerations to what your use case is. It depends on what you're comfortable with and any compromises you may be willing to make in time/cost/benefits of driving electric. To me, the quiet is as big as anything else.

I do like quiet! That is 1 of the big reasons that I am looking into the Lightning. Thankfully, technology is trending forward with great sound dampening for vehicle interiors.

You should see the odd looks I get with the hybrid pickups that I have when driving thru a parking lot (almost always in electric mode), I guess because the trucks are incredibly quiet. I bet you get those looks too, in your Lightning.

 

[pullinggs]

I am interested in potentially purchasing a Lightning.

Interesting thread. Thanks for starting it.

I'm in the "Yup, do it!" club, as others have suggested, assuming ER and that you can add a 240V charger at your destination. I routinely charge with 240V/24A overnight at home and the truck is always ready when I wake up. You don't need crazy-fast charging while you're asleep.

 

[Schroederhc1]

Buy one—it is the best vehicle I have ever owned! XLT ER: You will figure out everything you need to in a week. The way it drives is awesome, and with the addition of the Tesla network and the current price drops, it is a no-brainer, in my opinion. Good luck!

 

[grouphug]

MJ Heat,

I am not a ford guy. I am not a truck guy. Yet only good things to say about my Lightning. I am not paid by Ford or anything, I'm using my own personal damn time to give you a Freebie (you can thank me later for the thousands of dollars):

You are actually the ideal lightning owner you just don't realize it yet (assuming of course the usual caveats that you keep it for at least a few or several years -- or sell it earlier than that for a lot -- and that you get the $7,500 tax break). You should buy a Lightning over a gasoline Ford F150 because:

1. You can charge to 100% the night before a long trip and you can go down to 5-10% or something like that briefly without any meaningful damage to your battery's longevity. In my personal actual real world driving I get 2.0mi per KwH (aka a bit less than 196.0 miles per full charge of a standard range battery). Don't worry about that.

2. The ideal owner is someone who drives more than average (like you) but doesn't frequently do trips longer than 190miles or so (like you). This let's you use the advantage of the cheap fuel (electricity not gas), but not have the disadvantage of longer charging times (waiting/paying at a DC fast charger). You will actually save MORE money in the long run than the average US driver would.

3. Since it takes a couple days or so to fully charge on a 120v, you should buy a charger at your turn around point. Simple math, if you are buying a $50k+ truck, investing $2k to $4k in charging infrastructure is well worth it. You should buy a tesla universal wall charger (so you can charge any electric vehicle including a tesla), it is $600, then add about $1.4k for an electrician to install it, that is $2k per charging station, and sounds like you should get one at your home and one at this second location 150 miles away, so that is a total of $4k. Of note, comparing this to if you bought a gasoline Ford F150, this means you will recoup your $4k in gas savings in less than 2 years or so (and then also have 2 free installed universal chargers).

4. All that being said, I appreciate you are thoughtful about your large purchase. That means you are smart. You don't want to regret it (but I didn't). If you don't want to do it, don't do it, all good. If you do go and buy it, just hit me up some time and tell me I was right and you appreciate my time. And no, I will not accept any money from the thousands of dollars I saved you, but thanks for the thought.

 

[Henry Ford]

How much, if any, would my driving style affect range on a Lightning?

Depends on how you drive. Speed kills range. Acceleration has a negligible affect on range. If you accelerate slowly but cruise fast you will get worse range than if you accelerate fast and cruise slow. Basically, aerodynamic drag kills range.

I haven't seen you answer if you can install a charger at your turn around spot or how long you are there. These are important variables for your use case. So can you? How long?

 

[Nomoregas]

I run 250km to 400km daily Monday to Friday with cap and 1200 pounds in back, NEVER charge except at home, had range anxiety and I learned just step on the gas pedal and giver, made it home many times 1 percent, charge to 80 percent daily 65000km no range loss i can tell thus far

I also learned that last 50km seems to go more than stated, likely in last ditch effort not to strand you..

 

[ctuan13]

If you can swing the price difference get the ER. Do you have a place to install the 80a charger? Do you have space in your panel for an 100a breaker? I think they still come with the ERs for free (but you need an electrician to install it $$). That’s the closest you will get to not having range anxiety and you can return home with 5-10% battery and not have to worry about charging times. I would try to put a 240v plug wherever you routinely stop and you have control over. I added one at my parent’s house several years ago (they are 500mi away). A meaningful 120v charge will take days.

No, 2024 ERs no longer come with the FCSP and no longer have dual on-board chargers so are limited to around 9.6kW of AC charging. 23 and 22 ERs were capable of up to 19.2kW of AC charging.

 

[MJ Heat]

Depends on how you drive. Speed kills range. Acceleration has a negligible affect on range. If you accelerate slowly but cruise fast you will get worse range than if you accelerate fast and cruise slow. Basically, aerodynamic drag kills range.

I haven't seen you answer if you can install a charger at your turn around spot or how long you are there. These are important variables for your use case. So can you? How long?

After looking into it further, I do have access an existing 30amp 240v outlet for charging at my turnaround point. I guess that this would not be fast charging, or super slow charging. Can anybody give me an idea of how long that it should take to get an adequate charge for the return leg?

 

[MJ Heat]

In continuing looking into the purchase of a Lightning, I had someone tell me that tires do not last nearly as long on EV's, as they do on on the gas powered vehicles. I would appreciate any feedback that anyone can give. Is this the truth or just someone who is looking for ways to dissuade EV purchases?

 

[mrau]

On a 30 amp outlet you can draw 24 amps max into the truck. Doing the math, 24 amps * 240 volts = 5.76 kW per hour.

If you average 2.0 miles per kW, then you will add back in about 10 -12 miles each hour of charging.

Charge rate is the same for standard or extended battery.

 

[duncanmaio]

Well, EVs are heavier and generate more torque. In addition, manufacturers look to reduce weight and rolling resistance in order to improve efficiency. That certainly can result in less tire life, depending on how and how much you drive.

The stock AT tires were apparently a little soft for my driving style - but I still got over 40,000 miles out of them in about 18 months. Could have gone a little longer maybe, but I thought we were going to have winter in New England this year.

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