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

[SpaceEVDriver]

There's a myth that 120v isn't "good enough." That's only true in certain circumstances, mostly related to very cold temperatures. We went for two years on Level 1 charging with our Mustang before I got off my duff and installed our L2 charger. It is true that it's far, far more convenient to have a L2 charger wherever the vehicle spends its nights.

If you get the extended range, you'll have around 320 miles range of mixed speed driving. If you take a slightly slower route, you'll have more like 350-370 miles range.

Let's say you arrive at the farm and need 80 miles of additional range to make the return trip. Also assume you're not towing. I can get 2.8 miles/kWh on the freeway doing 70-73 mph, but if I'm on country roads doing 45-55 mph, I can get closer to 3.5 miles/kWh. However, let's be pessimistic and assume 2.4 miles/kWh.

A 120 volt charger will provide you with ~1 to 1.4 kW of power. Assume 1 kW to make this really pessimistic. If you arrive at the farm on Friday night at 1900 and plug in right away, then don't use the truck until Sunday morning at 0700, that's 36 hours and you'll regain 36 kWh. If you can get 2.4 miles/kWh average efficiency, that's an additional 86 miles gained while the truck is sitting, charging at the farm. That should be enough to get you home. If you can wait a few more hours before heading home on Sunday, then you can improve that even more. If you stop for a meal on either leg of the drive, find a place where you can charge on a L2 charger for the 30-60 minutes you're having lunch. The Love's on the 55 just south of McComb has L2 chargers and is installing fast chargers.

If you can put in a 240 volt outlet or a level 2 charger, you can, at minimum, double the charge rate and more likely bring it up to 7 kW or even 11 kW. I got the Ford Charge Station Pro with the purchase of my ER Lariat, so I can get at least 16 kW and sometimes up to 19 kW charge rate. A L2 will easily bring you to full before you head home.

We've driven >50,000 miles with our EVs, more than half on long road trips (200 miles is a day trip to us). We have gone from the mountains of Arizona to Houston, TX to Redding, CA, and all over the US Southwest, where charging stations are sometimes few and far between.

If you approach the idea of the road trip as being about the journey, then you'll find that the stops to charge work out great for getting up and moving around. We don't sit in the car while it's charging--we go use the restroom, get lunch, for for a walk, go shopping, get a haircut, whatever. Usually the truck has charged to a higher % than we'd intended by the time we're done. Charging is not at all as big an inconvenience as many people think.

One of my regular stops in Los Angeles is usually a two or three day stop and I charge on an L1 charger there. Because I usually also drive around the city on these visits, the L1 almost never brings me to 100% charge, but it's enough to get me back on the freeway headed home--this drive is usually about 550 miles one way.

Sponsored

 

[21st Century Truck]

If you approach the idea of the road trip as being about the journey, then you'll find that the stops to charge work out great for getting up and moving around. We don't sit in the car while it's charging--we go use the restroom, get lunch, for for a walk, go shopping, get a haircut, whatever. Usually the truck has charged to a higher % than we'd intended by the time we're done. Charging is not at all as big an inconvenience as many people think.

^^^ This ^^^. I have learned the same lesson in my past two Ford EVs, although I didn't have the clear head to summarize it so succinctly in a previous post on this thread.

 

[rhscnative]

I have a very similar scenario - I drive to the SC coast on the weekends and it's about 200 miles. With a long range you won't have to worry about it one way, especially if you prepare the truck for departure before you leave and keep the speed down to 70 or below but probably won't need to do that - I would on the first trip just to see how you do but after that you can probably drive as fast as you want. All you need is a 240V receptacle at the farmhouse and you can get a level 2 charger and you are good to go - the Ford portable charger would work fine. I have a charge station pro installed at my other place but that's almost overkill. L1 charging won't cut it though because you will be at 25-40% when you get there and it will take too long to charge back up. Level 2 will work fine though.

 

[MrLoganRoss]

As a reference, I just went from 20% to 100% overnight at 40 amps (L2 charging). It cost me $14.66. Just add an L2 charger at the farm and be done with it

 

[TaxmanHog]

As a reference, I just went from 20% to 100% overnight at 40 amps (L2 charging). It cost me $14.66. Just add an L2 charger at the farm and be done with it

Not to side track the conversation, but the Fordpass charging record reflects about 91% of actual total energy consumed from the grid, ex. 108 kWh net to the traction battery converts to about 120 kWh from the grid, 9% loss.

This has been my experience measuring the total energy with an Emporia Vue 2 on the circuit feeding my FCSP

 

[MrLoganRoss]

That Dollar amount in my post above is from the Wallbox app which better accounts for the full amount of energy that it pulls from the grid. In my case, I lose about 4.5% going from grid to car battery. That has been consistent for me across both my Ford EVs.

 

[Lomilar]

Context: I have a '24 Flash. It's great, and with some seat covers and a couple other bits and bobs, I really don't see myself having needed the Lariat. I prefer no sunroof (absurd amounts of rain here) and the only thing I could have enjoyed from the Lariat was phone-as-a-key. Bluecruise is great.

Others have said if you can charge at the ranch, do it. I'll add in that the dryer outlet should work while you're looking to hire an electrician if it is remotely close to a garage or the front door. You might need a J1772 extension cable.

With regards to range, 200 miles is very doable, but you'll be wanting to charge to 90-100% on those days you're heading over. There are two major risks: 1) Freeway speed and 2) Winter. I don't think winter really matters for you, so the only risk I can see is if you enjoy driving 85mph on the freeway (the whole way), then your maximum range is about 200 miles with a full battery. If you're going 65mph the whole way, then it's 300 miles.

Checking your route (Baton Rouge, LA to Utica, MS), it's only 170 miles, so no worries there. There's a Tesla stop, as you said, that will not work for you (150kw, wrong hardware), but nearby (Fernwood / McComb) there's a Love's installing some CCS stations. You shouldn't need them, but it's nice to have a backup. https://www.plugshare.com/location/645864

 

[Mmiketa]

I can get 2.8 miles/kWh on the freeway doing 70-73 mph, but if I'm on country roads doing 45-55 mph, I can get closer to 3.5 miles/kWh. However, let's be pessimistic and assume 2.4 miles/kWh.

This seems incredibly optimistic to me. The absolute best range I have gotten at highway speed has been 2.3m/kWh, on trips it'll often drop down to 2.0.

Sponsored