Second winter with our Lightning... just put a deposit on a Ramcharger. Public charging is awful

[JRT]

I was curious from your post, you just did the $100 reservation in line, correct? I did it the day they opened and so far just promo updates. I canceled my CT and Silverado reservation, but I trade a 2014 Ram 1500 137k miles I on my Lightning with my 2021 Mach-E. I prefer Ram, but the Lightning is very nice. Depending on how the Ram roles out and if this charging network improves will depend on if I convert to an order. I'm happy with my Lightning in AL, but if I still lived in Maine, no way.

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[TomB985]

I think ICE usage would depend on whether the owner had a level 2 charger at home. If not, a 120v charger wouldn't keep up in most cases and the gas engine would get much more use.

There's so much that we don't know, but I'm very interested to watch these get rolled out.

 

[nanohead]

I was curious from your post, you just did the $100 reservation in line, correct? I did it the day they opened and so far just promo updates. I canceled my CT and Silverado reservation, but I trade a 2014 Ram 1500 137k miles I on my Lightning with my 2021 Mach-E. I prefer Ram, but the Lightning is very nice. Depending on how the Ram roles out and if this charging network improves will depend on if I convert to an order. I'm happy with my Lightning in AL, but if I still lived in Maine, no way.

I did the $100 reservation, which they say is closing next week....

I'm not super particular, I had numerous Dakotas, a Ranger, an old GMC and also have a gas F150 XL now also. I love the Lightning, but public charging is a no go.

I guess if miraculously, public charging improves in the next year before the Ramchargers ship, maybe I won't care as much. But that's simply not gonna happen, Tesla SC or not.

I have the big Ford charger at my house, so I plan on charging the Ramcharger like a regular EV.

 

[LightningShow]

Can you send posted the link to where you ordered the adapter from?

https://a2zevshop.com/products/nacs-ccs1

 

[VTbuckeye]

I am a former volt owner. We would try to drive it like an EV. We had gas anxiety, trying to not have the ice run unless absolutely necessary. I when the temps fell below 15F it would run the ice regardless of charge level. If the ramcharger would default to EV unless our of charge or if the driver selects hybrid operation then it could be great. It it operates more like the jeep 4xe when cold, then it will spend all winter in fuel oil refresh mode running the ice due to our frequent short trips and cold temperatures.

We haven't done any long trips in the lightning as we have a phev in the driveway. Even with a 16 mile EV and 87hp EV limit to n the spring/summer our Volvo xc90 phev can get over 100 mpg over a 13 gallon tank of gas. I try to drive it once per week since getting the lightning. Last fill up was April 29. Since late October when it had used maybe 2 gallons, it entered aged fuel mode where it would only run the ice (this has happened before). I think there is one yo two gallons remaining in the tank, so hopefully can get to our next long trip or 6 plus months before it insists on burning gas again (after filling the tank). If the ramcharger performs like this (forced Ice operation) then it will drive some owners crazy, but it would smooth to it e transition to EV for many others (particularly the towing/long distance driving crowd).

 

[loveurdj]

That’s why we keep an ICE vehicle.

100% one EV one ICE no exceptions for me.

 

[RickLightning]

I am a former volt owner. We would try to drive it like an EV. We had gas anxiety, trying to not have the ice run unless absolutely necessary. I when the temps fell below 15F it would run the ice regardless of charge level. If the ramcharger would default to EV unless our of charge or if the driver selects hybrid operation then it could be great. It it operates more like the jeep 4xe when cold, then it will spend all winter in fuel oil refresh mode running the ice due to our frequent short trips and cold temperatures.

We haven't done any long trips in the lightning as we have a phev in the driveway. Even with a 16 mile EV and 87hp EV limit to n the spring/summer our Volvo xc90 phev can get over 100 mpg over a 13 gallon tank of gas. I try to drive it once per week since getting the lightning. Last fill up was April 29. Since late October when it had used maybe 2 gallons, it entered aged fuel mode where it would only run the ice (this has happened before). I think there is one yo two gallons remaining in the tank, so hopefully can get to our next long trip or 6 plus months before it insists on burning gas again (after filling the tank). If the ramcharger performs like this (forced Ice operation) then it will drive some owners crazy, but it would smooth to it e transition to EV for many others (particularly the towing/long distance driving crowd).

Every PHEV has a forced gas mode. 2018 Fusion Energi was 18 months as I recall. Tank was pressurized.

 

[jimfigler]

EVs are the perfect vehicle for charging at home and driving locally. When you can charge in 5 minutes and 6 to 12 chargers are located on every corner it will be a good vehicle for road trips.

 

[Newton]

You can't really generalize about EVs, the Lightning is about the least efficient EV in production. In real life, my e-Golf regularly gets 5 mi/KwH and the Ev6 rarely does much less than 4, but keeping the Lightning above 2 is a challenge. (It is the only vehicle that I have owned where I get less than the EPA on range or efficiency.) To get any kind of range with those sort of numbers means a large battery, which means longer charging times.

Ford has room for improvement with relatively minor changes. A different motor technology for the front wheels (or a mechanical disconnect like the Kia) would probably help a lot. Faster charging would really help the experience. I applaud Ford for actually producing a truck, at a nearly affordable price, but it is a first step. Unfortunately it seems that the foreign makers have a head start on us.

 

[nanohead]

You can't really generalize about EVs, the Lightning is about the least efficient EV in production. In real life, my e-Golf regularly gets 5 mi/KwH and the Ev6 rarely does much less than 4, but keeping the Lightning above 2 is a challenge. (It is the only vehicle that I have owned where I get less than the EPA on range or efficiency.) To get any kind of range with those sort of numbers means a large battery, which means longer charging times.

Ford has room for improvement with relatively minor changes. A different motor technology for the front wheels (or a mechanical disconnect like the Kia) would probably help a lot. Faster charging would really help the experience. I applaud Ford for actually producing a truck, at a nearly affordable price, but it is a first step. Unfortunately it seems that the foreign makers have a head start on us.

These here are some fantastic points.

The Lightning was the first spin at building a true full EV version of the venerable F150, which in most cases, is a work truck for many, a towing vehicle for many others, and for the rest of us, maybe a family hauler and occasional work truck, and probably for most, a combination of all of those.

The designers optimized for many of the most extreme use cases. No one on the planet needs a pickup that does 0-60 in 3.7 seconds. No one really needs 580 HP or 775 FtLbs of torque. Like no one.... I get how the headlines on all the nonsensical Youtube videos bring in the eyeballs, and all the garbage car rag reviews talk about how fast it is, but in daily life, its a complete waste.

Unfortunately, while I love the truck, and Ford has really done a great job overall, they allowed themselves to be influenced, seduced, by the Tesla mythos... I don't need Insanity mode. Its wildly irrelevant to us actual truck people (obviously not something the Cybertruck designers cared about)

Add to that, the Lightning has a digitally controlled drivetrain. I'd love to disable the front motor, and radically decrease HP/Torque in 95% of my usage of the truck. But that's not something that's really considered. I'd be fine with 0-60 in 8 seconds if I could get an additional 25% of reliable range or whatever improvement I could get.

I do love the Lightning, but I dread using for anything more than running around town or commuting to the office.

Some basic changes to how the motors consume current/voltage could dramatically alter how many of us think about the truck in many cases.

 

[RickLightning]

You can't really generalize about EVs, the Lightning is about the least efficient EV in production. In real life, my e-Golf regularly gets 5 mi/KwH and the Ev6 rarely does much less than 4, but keeping the Lightning above 2 is a challenge. (It is the only vehicle that I have owned where I get less than the EPA on range or efficiency.)

I don't know where you drive or how you drive, but I can barely get 3 miles per kWh on the highway with the Mach-E. A quick Google search shows that most get about 3.4 or so with the EV6, and similar with the e-Golf. Do you actually press on the accelerator?

You must do a lot of local driving to be able to hit EPA's numbers on any vehicle. I haven't in over 4 decades of driving, but I like acceleration.

 

[TomB985]

Add to that, the Lightning has a digitally controlled drivetrain. I'd love to disable the front motor, and radically decrease HP/Torque in 95% of my usage of the truck. But that's not something that's really considered. I'd be fine with 0-60 in 8 seconds if I could get an additional 25% of reliable range or whatever improvement I could get.

...

Some basic changes to how the motors consume current/voltage could dramatically alter how many of us think about the truck in many cases.

I agree with all of that, but EV motors don't suffer the same efficiency losses as high-power ICEs do. The most efficient high-volume EV on the road is the Model 3, and it's a rocketship with far more power than it needs. Stuffing 430 HP into a midsize sedan hasn't been a meaningful problem, otherwise its much lower-powered competitors would be much more efficient.

Capacity isn't the same as actual consumption. 580 HP is ludicrous, but you're not using it unless you ask for it. Aerodynamics is everything for highway efficiency, and the brick-like 0.44 drag and huge frontal area mean far more than peak motor output. You could swap the motor from a Chevy Bolt under the rear end and not see a 25% improvement.

I think a freewheeling induction motor or disconnect would make a noticeable improvement, but it's nowhere near 25%. My EV6 wouldn't unlock the front motor in one-pedal drive mode, but the difference was barely noticeable. It adds up on long trips, but it's not 25%.

We're dealing with a size problem, not a powertrain efficiency one. Winter range losses would be pared with a heat pump, but that doesn't help in warmer weather.

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