This will be my last attempt at a Lightning Road Trip

[Rip]

I cheaped out a bought a VLinker, it’s works ok but I recommend a OBDLink MX+ since it comes with an app as well.

Oh another one - avoid any charging in Richmond VA. That adds an hour to my trips usually. I’ll stop before or after but never in.

Richmond cost me a lot. I found a Tesla Supercharger station that FordPass and the Tesla app said was compatible. I had to take a 20-minute detour to get there, and found that none of them worked with the Ford. I ended up driving another 10 minutes to some EVConnect chargers that worked well (and were in the parking lot of a 5 Guys). So, yeah, avoid Richmond.

I only made a couple of stops in SC. One was in Florence, an EA station that was easy to get to and worked well. It was next to a Super Walmart, and I got lucky and got on a charger right away. There are only 4 there, though, and only 2 are rated at 350 Kw. There was another one on the way down near a bowling alley that was an older Tesla station with pretty slow (95-105 Kw) service and no amenities.

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[dww]

Why on earth would Ford need to create its own charging network? Because Tesla did? Tesla built its network out of necessity—there were virtually no chargers at the time. That was over a decade ago. In 2025, with nearly 70,000 chargers in existance, the idea that Ford needs its own branded network is crazy. The navigation system already finds any available charger, not just ones with a Ford logo.

Would you expect to fuel a Ram truck exclusively at Ram-branded gas stations?

Bottom line: Ford is already investing billions in manufacturing. Expecting them to sink billions more into a charging network—when dozens of networks already exist—just to support a mere 70,000 EV sales per year? That would be financial suicide.

Because Tesla chargers are the only reliable ones. EA? 50/50 there will be a line and a tight spot for a truck. Anyone else? 70% more than half are offline. 50% chance they will de-rate or not connect. The last non-Telsa I tried had 50% off line and the one I used de-rared from 150kw to ONE kw within 3 minutes. I moved to the other working one and it instantley de-rated. I got connection charges for all attempts.

 

[CavRider]

Umm... Who owns ABRP? Rivian. Why would they license it to any other car company?

Did not know about the acquisition but that is exactly what I was suggesting. License/acquire rather than build in house. ABRP was just an example that came to mind quickly.

Why would ABRP license? To generate revenue. I bet Ford will peddle more vehicles with navigation included than Rivian can ever hope to.

 

[RailroaderJ]

The East Coast sounds challenging. I'm on the I-30\I-40 corridor and have had good experiences with EA, GM energy, and Tesla super chargers. Google maps will tell you if the charger is compatible. I'm finding most 150kw Tesla chargers ARE

 

[PJnc284]

The East Coast sounds challenging. I'm on the I-30\I-40 corridor and have had good experiences with EA, GM energy, and Tesla super chargers. Google maps will tell you if the charger is compatible. I'm finding most 150kw Tesla chargers ARE

ALL 150kW (v2) Supercharger locations are incompatible so avoid any with the silver collar on the handle as they 100% won't work. The v3/v4 stalls have a black collar on the handle but ymmv as most but not all should be available.

 

[kstype]

I have to concur with the other comments, I have travelled on many LONG road trips since I took delivery of our Lariat ER in 1/6/2023 and I currently have 63,970 miles…major road trips included:

SE Pa to West Palm Beach Florida (first week we had it only EA and EvGO chargers) (2,200 miles RT)

SE PA to Lexington VA (800 miles RT)

SE PA to Dearborn, MI Ford HQ (1,100 mile RT)

SE PA to Chicago, IL (1,400 miles RT)

<Recieved NACS Adapter June 2024>

SE PA to Oklahoma City, OK (2,500 miles RT) almost exclusively Tesla

SE PA to CT and Albany (about 850 miles RT)

I took some time to research in PlugShare and used ABRP and EA and Tesla apps when needed and never had any issues or was close to running out of energy.

it’s not as convenient as a gas station every 50 feet but I was able to do all this without any issues.

 

[Zprime29]

I've mostly skimmed to catch up, but I don't think I saw anyone bring up how the GOM will affect Ford's Nav planning. Several times I've gotten a warning about not reaching a destination. I know what efficiency I'm getting and can do the math, which tells me I'm fine. Just ignore the warning and continue with your plan. You can always slow down to conserve range.

 

[RailroaderJ]

I've mostly skimmed to catch up, but I don't think I saw anyone bring up how the GOM will affect Ford's Nav planning. Several times I've gotten a warning about not reaching a destination. I know what efficiency I'm getting and can do the math, which tells me I'm fine. Just ignore the warning and continue with your plan. You can always slow down to conserve range.

I've had the Ford Nav run spot on with range and suggested charging stops. I would test it on route with plenty of chargers first.

 

[WaterboyNorCal]

If you cannot use the built-in navigation then it IS a failure of the truck. Yes, we all know better ways to go about this, but if the truck nav says it provides those features then it should actually provide them.


I have to be honest, the folks here are kind of being jerks about it.

Two things can be true- yes, the Ford Nav software is hot garbage. It would be adequate for an ICE vehicle but for an EV it is practically unusable. OP is correct about that.

It is ALSO true that OP should have done some basic research before buying a $50-$90,000 EV. Unless your head is stuck deeply upside down in a sandy beach, people must know that our EV DC fast charging infrastructure is lacking, especially in some western rural areas (Idaho, I am looking at you). I agree that forum members could perhaps be a little less annoyed and a little more understanding, but I get it. We see these posts weekly about someone complaining that they can’t road trip in their Lightning and it’s untrue. The truck (even the SR) is a great road trip vehicle. My XLT is the best road tripper I have had, over 30+ years of heavy driving. But it does require some pre-trip and during-trip planning and flexibility. OP- If you’re unwilling to be flexible and learn something new, simply don’t buy an EV. Period. Even a Tesla will frustrate you, though likely not as much.

 

[RickLightning]

ALL 150kW (v2) Supercharger locations are incompatible so avoid any with the silver collar on the handle as they 100% won't work. The v3/v4 stalls have a black collar on the handle but ymmv as most but not all should be available.

No need to be able to identify chargers by color since the apps tell you whether they are compatible or not. So MMNV (My Mileage Never Varies).

 

[PJnc284]

No need to be able to identify chargers by color since the apps tell you whether they are compatible or not. So MMNV (My Mileage Never Varies).

While mostly reliable, even the apps aren't 100%. I've came across several in PlugShare that are listed as Tesla only but are open to others. Also seen a couple that the Tesla app listed as compatible but were down for non-Teslas for one reason or another including one that was working previously but was then inaccessible for a month+. Figures I would try to use it during that time.

 

[RickLightning]

While mostly reliable, even the apps aren't 100%. I've came across several in PlugShare that are listed as Tesla only but are open to others. Also seen a couple that the Tesla app listed as compatible but were down for non-Teslas for one reason or another including one that was working previously but was then inaccessible for a month+. Figures I would try to use it during that time.

Right. I found a location where it said Fords had charged, a new V4, not yet marked as open for non-Teslas. I went there and charged fine.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Umm... Who owns ABRP? Rivian. Why would they license it to any other car company?

The same reason they bought ABRP. It gives them a jump start on the data.

Rivian ultimately bought ABRP after significant complaints about their route mapping (raises hand, I’m one) ABRP gave them years of data from Tesla owners (and others) that they wouldn’t otherwise have had access to.

So I think offering a license deal may not be out of the realm for several reasons.

1) More/better data about charging ultimately makes their own software better.
2) They’re still in a cash burn, licensing offers cash flow with minimal capital investment and development.
3) They already engage in self competing agreements (VW / Scout)

 

[evowner]

I do not recommend this. Level 3 chargers require a large amount of power and if you do not have 480V/3-phase at your shop you'll likely need one with an integral battery and it will be VERY pricey. Level 2 is great for home charging, level 3 is great for charging on a trip.

It sounds like you have some deeply ingrained ideas about EVs that a lot of the forum disagrees with. I am not going to tell you what to do, but I do know based on your posts that at least a handful of your assumptions are incorrect and you may decide something else is better for you if you researched some more.

Thanks for your concern. I do have the power required. I am looking for a charger at auction. It may not happen. I would not use it for daily charging, only if I needed a quick charge. I have 48 amp L2 chargers in all of my shops.

I'm not sure what "the forum disagrees with" means, but I have had an Ev for almost 10 years. The battery in that vehicle still charges to 100% and still provides almost the same output as when I bought it. I have 3 Ev's now. I have never run out of power, I have never had one single problem with any of them, so far. So whether anyone agrees or not it worked for me.

My first experience with charging at a public charger did not go well, and I admit I held that prejudice for longer than I should have. Most of my travels are done without using public chargers and I like it that way.

 

[Henry Ford]

If you wanted to change a software-selected charger, you just pushed a button and all the chargers within 100 miles or so would come up, and you could select a different one. I don't know whether Ford engineers are working on it or not...I do see updates occasionally, but they seem to be minor.

Google Maps has this functionality. When you set a destination it gives you what it thinks are the best charger options. If you want to change a selected charger you click on the charger and choose to replace it. It shows chargers in the area which you can select to see how many are available and how fast they are. After you select a new charger or delete a charger it recalculates the estimated SOC at each stop. I don't recall the exact steps to do this but it's pretty intuitive.

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