Would a F150 Flash work for me, or should I wait?

[topher10]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post and I am seeking advice on purchasing an electric truck. My current vehicles are a 20-year-old Miata (daily driver, keeping it) and my wife's newish SUV (road trips). My son drives a 2012 F150, but he has moved out of the house, so it's less convenient to use, plus it's starting to wear out. I am considering an EV truck for practicality, power, frunk, and tech. I also scuba dive, so having the truck would be nice for dive trips and wet gear, but here again there are some range concerns for long road trips.

Key consideration: I need to reach my family farm 200 miles away without local chargers. The nearest EA charger is 50 miles from home (so 150 miles on return). A Supercharger is halfway at 100 miles, but it seems not to support non-Tesla charging. The Lightning's range won't work for a 400-mile round trip, but a Silverado/Sierra EV might make it. Or I could install a charger at the farm (it has a newly built house) for overnight charging, though rural electrician availability is a concern.

I'm leaning toward the F150 Flash (aesthetics, price, free charger, 0% financing). Silverado's looks don't appeal to me, the Sierra is too new and expensive, and the Rivian seems nice but too expensive and the nearest service center is 5 hours away. The only issue is battery/range. I am in no rush and can happily wait until something better comes along, or I perhaps snag something at a reasonable price.

Plan:

• In December, contact all Ford dealers within 200 miles and indicate my interest in an F150 Flash for $55K. Do you think I will get any bites?
• If unsuccessful, wait for the end of 2025 model cycle, and repeat including the equivalent Sierra trim
• Wait for a potential Ford T3 or other options with better range. In other words, conceded that EV trucks are either too expensive or too impractical at this time.

Despite the steep depreciation curve, EV tax credit, 0% financing, and included charger make new purchases more attractive than used ones.

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[Quibbs]

If it were me I would get a Lightning (extended range) and install a charger at the farm assuming you can find an electrician. Otherwise it won't really work in a convenient way.
You could get the a GM or Chevy truck EV. Those should make it based on all the road test I've seen of those vehicles. There are lots of range test videos on Youtube you can watch.
I would not get a Rivian. I had a LE and it's the only vehicle in my life I sold due to how bad the service was. I've owned several dozen cars and this was the worst. It may have improved by now but it wasn't a great experience.

My .02

 

[RickLightning]

If you want a more accurate answer, supply the departing and destination cities and someone can look at the route.

It's highly unlikely that you can't support a level 2 charger at the farmhouse, and most electricians install 14-50 outlets (industrial outlet) without blinking an eye.

Your search strategy is very dated. December (year end) doesn't mean all the dealers are desperate to get rid of vehicles.

The utility at the farm may sell discounted chargers, or provide a rebate. There is also a 30% tax credit, location dependent, on the wiring and purchase of the charger.

The "free charger and installation" instead of $2,000 may or may not be a good idea for you.

 

[21st Century Truck]

Think of charging at home while the truck is parked and Your calculations amd Your choices will greatly expand.

FYI it is also possible or potentially probable that with some creativity You can overnight-charge at the other end as well. Electricity is everywhere and our vehicles tend to be parked (meaning "parked and AC charging") for the majority of their time.

Good Luck!

 

[Mach Turtle]

I'd recommend the Lightning Flash for value, or the big GM if you're made of money, if and only if you can get a level 2 charger at your farmhouse...and if and only if you're willing to put up with a few problems along the way, `cause {life} happens. We've dealt with waiting in line for chargers, getting stuck at the slow one, etc. occasionally but things have improved for us a lot during the last year or so. Totally worth it overall.

A look at Plugshare for Louisiana shows that DC fast chargers aren't very common there yet, though this seems to be changing for the better. But if you have Level 2 chargers at each end and stay overnight as suggested above, you can forget the public chargers, save time and money, and have the best possible trip. This is what we've been doing when visiting family 165 miles from my home in our short range vehicles, and we're really happy with that solution. We have permission to plug into their dryer socket with a cheap 16 amp portable charger.

Hope it works out well for you.

 

[21st Century Truck]

We are gasoline - trained over our lifetimes to think of "filling up" as filling a nearly empty bottle (i.e. a tank or battery) with "fluid".

I have found that a more practical way to think of our EV cars is to "harvest juice whenever the car is standing still", if at all possible. Then, even if the harvesting is at a 120V receptacle, the calculation and our mental process changes from "filling the bottle" to "might as well add a bit of juice for literally pennies at an AC receptacle because the vehicle isn't doing anything anyway while parked".

It also changes our time calculation from mentally being sensitive to "gas station time" to starting to notice the "parked while doing nothing" time. For EV usage, that second way of beginning to see our vehicles just sitting there parked, becomes a bit more useful and important.

 

[Henry Ford]

A charger at your farmhouse solves your problem relatively easily. A newly built house will have the infrastructure to support one.

Go drive all of the trucks you are interested in. If you've driven your son's 2012 F150 you'll recognize a Lightning. It's a quiet F150 that rides better and accelerates faster. Technology has improved a bit since 2012 too.

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