FloridaMan655321
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- #1
TLDR: Was a nice trip without any issues and was very enjoyable using the Lightning.
Decided to take the Lightning to Key West. I bought an A2Z adapter as mine from Ford isn't going to arrive until November. We brought our bikes, so kind of made the decision to use the Lightning. Side note, definitely bring bikes to Key West as it's the best way to get around (and booze around).I passed the 1000 mile mark with this trip, so just to give you an idea that I'm very newb with this truck. I definitely over prepped, but I also didn't want to have any big issues as this was my first 'long' trip with my wife and dog.
In the week building up I looked at the charging stations with the Ford app and ended up finding a spot south of Miami that had 20 Tesla chargers that were almost always 10+ available, along with a few EA chargers. I charged up to 100% the night before via 120v. We left early in the morning to make sure to get to this location and not have any issues charging. We arrived and all the EA stations were full, with one person waiting, so went to a Tesla one and charged from 62% to 79% in the time it took for both of us to use the restroom (along with the dog).
I was pretty sure that I could make it all the way to Key West, but wanted to do some scouting
EA charger at Key Largo
Tesla DC at Big Pine Key
EA charger at Key West
I ended up messing up and missing the Key Largo station, but didn't find out until we hit up a little coffee shop a few miles down the road, so just skipped and went to the Tesla DC in Big Pine Key. Arrived with 44%, charged to 74%, which was the time it took for both of us to use the restroom in the nearby Winn Dixie.
Following morning I was up early, due to drinking early the night before
and drove over to the EA station in Key West after getting coffee. This was probably the 'worst' location as it's behind a Bank of America. I charged from 55% to 79% as I wasn't sure what the agenda was for the week and didn't want there to be any issues cruising around or whatever the wife wanted.
We ended up riding our bikes around Key West for the next couple days, but we did eventually cruise out of Key West and check out some parks, like the one by the 7 mile bridge. When we came back I went back to the EA charger in Key West where I charged from 55% to 80%. In this time I smoke a little bit of a cigar and let the dog use the bathroom. Ended up staying local and riding our bikes around for another couple days until we left.
So leaving we had about 79% and my plan was to stop at the Key Largo EA station and hope I was able to charge, if not I'd go back to the Miami spot. Ended up at the EA station in Key Largo and this was a pretty nice location as there was a Publix nearby. Charged from 52% to 82% as this was the time for us to walk across to the Publix and use the restrooms. I didn't mean to charge this much, but we weren't in a rush. This was enough to drive home and get home with about 27%. By the time we were getting close to home I was ready to stop again, so if we still had longer to drive, it wouldn't have been annoying to stop and charge and use the bathroom and stretch.
As we were getting close to home the wife mentioned how it wasn't really an issue taking the truck as it was usually about the same amount of time we normally stop when driving. We are getting older, so we aren't driving overnight or wanting to do 4+ hours without stopping.
Here is where I will share some thoughts:
Wife made mention how comfortable the truck is, and I agree. It was a very enjoyable ride.
We almost fit everything in the trunk/frunk, which left a buttload of space in the back.
The amount of cupholders is very well appreciated.
You can fit a full size roll of paper towels in the console. Not sure if anyone noticed this, but this is very handy for trips.
The amount of storage around the doors is kind of stupid, and I like it.
I used Apple maps the whole way and it's very conservative on the state of charge prediction, which is very nice. I didn't realize until after that you can choose which chargers to use. I did this the 'long way' when planning by putting addresses in Apple Notes (which lead to missing the Key Largo EA station).
I over prepared on this trip, but this was my first one. I should have went straight from my house to Key Largo, with knowing that I could have probably made it all the way to Big Pine Key if needed. It would have been close, but I think I could have made it.
The 0-60 is very stupid, but so is the 55-80 (or more). It's just stupid fast and also very handy. No down shifting or any of that nonsense. Just a joy.
Obviously tossing the bikes in the back and locking them to the cleats was really handy.
Again, the frunk. With my Gladiator we usually filled the back seat with our luggage, and sometimes needed to put a cooler in the back. Because the Frunk took up my 2 bags, cooler, and one of the wife's bags, this meant just one bag was in the back on the floor. So no problems throwing things from shopping or whatever in the back.
The truck is kind of too big for Key West. This was the only downside. Some of those streets are annoyingly narrow, but this is true in a lot of old towns. The offset was that we were able to bring our bikes and just bike around. It really made the whole trip that much more enjoyable. I'm able to put my dog in the front of my bike and smoke a cigar while cruising Duval and stopping in and out of the local bars.
Decided to take the Lightning to Key West. I bought an A2Z adapter as mine from Ford isn't going to arrive until November. We brought our bikes, so kind of made the decision to use the Lightning. Side note, definitely bring bikes to Key West as it's the best way to get around (and booze around).I passed the 1000 mile mark with this trip, so just to give you an idea that I'm very newb with this truck. I definitely over prepped, but I also didn't want to have any big issues as this was my first 'long' trip with my wife and dog.
In the week building up I looked at the charging stations with the Ford app and ended up finding a spot south of Miami that had 20 Tesla chargers that were almost always 10+ available, along with a few EA chargers. I charged up to 100% the night before via 120v. We left early in the morning to make sure to get to this location and not have any issues charging. We arrived and all the EA stations were full, with one person waiting, so went to a Tesla one and charged from 62% to 79% in the time it took for both of us to use the restroom (along with the dog).
I was pretty sure that I could make it all the way to Key West, but wanted to do some scouting
EA charger at Key Largo
Tesla DC at Big Pine Key
EA charger at Key West
I ended up messing up and missing the Key Largo station, but didn't find out until we hit up a little coffee shop a few miles down the road, so just skipped and went to the Tesla DC in Big Pine Key. Arrived with 44%, charged to 74%, which was the time it took for both of us to use the restroom in the nearby Winn Dixie.
Following morning I was up early, due to drinking early the night before
and drove over to the EA station in Key West after getting coffee. This was probably the 'worst' location as it's behind a Bank of America. I charged from 55% to 79% as I wasn't sure what the agenda was for the week and didn't want there to be any issues cruising around or whatever the wife wanted.We ended up riding our bikes around Key West for the next couple days, but we did eventually cruise out of Key West and check out some parks, like the one by the 7 mile bridge. When we came back I went back to the EA charger in Key West where I charged from 55% to 80%. In this time I smoke a little bit of a cigar and let the dog use the bathroom. Ended up staying local and riding our bikes around for another couple days until we left.
So leaving we had about 79% and my plan was to stop at the Key Largo EA station and hope I was able to charge, if not I'd go back to the Miami spot. Ended up at the EA station in Key Largo and this was a pretty nice location as there was a Publix nearby. Charged from 52% to 82% as this was the time for us to walk across to the Publix and use the restrooms. I didn't mean to charge this much, but we weren't in a rush. This was enough to drive home and get home with about 27%. By the time we were getting close to home I was ready to stop again, so if we still had longer to drive, it wouldn't have been annoying to stop and charge and use the bathroom and stretch.
As we were getting close to home the wife mentioned how it wasn't really an issue taking the truck as it was usually about the same amount of time we normally stop when driving. We are getting older, so we aren't driving overnight or wanting to do 4+ hours without stopping.
Here is where I will share some thoughts:
Wife made mention how comfortable the truck is, and I agree. It was a very enjoyable ride.
We almost fit everything in the trunk/frunk, which left a buttload of space in the back.
The amount of cupholders is very well appreciated.
You can fit a full size roll of paper towels in the console. Not sure if anyone noticed this, but this is very handy for trips.
The amount of storage around the doors is kind of stupid, and I like it.
I used Apple maps the whole way and it's very conservative on the state of charge prediction, which is very nice. I didn't realize until after that you can choose which chargers to use. I did this the 'long way' when planning by putting addresses in Apple Notes (which lead to missing the Key Largo EA station).
I over prepared on this trip, but this was my first one. I should have went straight from my house to Key Largo, with knowing that I could have probably made it all the way to Big Pine Key if needed. It would have been close, but I think I could have made it.
The 0-60 is very stupid, but so is the 55-80 (or more). It's just stupid fast and also very handy. No down shifting or any of that nonsense. Just a joy.
Obviously tossing the bikes in the back and locking them to the cleats was really handy.
Again, the frunk. With my Gladiator we usually filled the back seat with our luggage, and sometimes needed to put a cooler in the back. Because the Frunk took up my 2 bags, cooler, and one of the wife's bags, this meant just one bag was in the back on the floor. So no problems throwing things from shopping or whatever in the back.
The truck is kind of too big for Key West. This was the only downside. Some of those streets are annoyingly narrow, but this is true in a lot of old towns. The offset was that we were able to bring our bikes and just bike around. It really made the whole trip that much more enjoyable. I'm able to put my dog in the front of my bike and smoke a cigar while cruising Duval and stopping in and out of the local bars.
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