Ford has been taking some hits within the media on the F-150 Lightning towing vary, so we thought it might be good to check it ourselves after which get the background from the individuals who constructed the Lightning, particularly as we head into winter. Together with Ford’s PR staff, we had been joined by:
- Dapo Adewusi, F-150 Lightning Engineering Supervisor
- Gitanjli McRoy, Chief Engineer, EV Vitality Administration Methods
Right here’s the dialogue together with firsthand towing impressions in each New York and Detroit.
I needed to see how a lot vary I’d lose whereas towing as a result of there have been some current movies exhibiting solely low double-digit-mile ranges popping out of the Lightning.
It’s arduous to quantify how a lot vary you’d lose due to a ton of great components, like trailer weight, aerodynamics, and effectivity in addition to regular EV vary components like elevation, local weather, velocity, and many others., that are magnified whereas towing a trailer.
So I did two totally different tows: one with an open hauling trailer with a good friend in New York and one with a closed trailer in Detroit – each very totally different experiences.
F-150 Lightning towing within the New York hills
After receiving the F-150 Lightning loaner, I instantly went to a good friend’s place to attempt some towing. He’s bought a tiny home Airbnb north of New York Metropolis, which requires hauling a great deal of firewood into the mountains. Because the climate will get colder, the tiny home mini cut up heating requires 240V energy, and we needed to see if the Lightning may energy it.
His trailer is about 7×5 toes and weighs about 5,000 kilos loaded. Utilizing the rear and above digicam views makes hitching the trailer a breeze.
With none outdoors instruction, we had been in a position to enter the information into the Lightning’s towing configurator and had been off in a matter of minutes.
The journey was principally uphill, and after about six minutes, our already dropping quick vary dropped by about half, which was initially very scary. I had began the journey with about 180 miles of vary and inside just a few miles of uphill street, we had been at about 140 miles of vary. The truck recalibrated us right down to 68 miles of vary, which was a bit scary since we had deliberate to attempt powering the home whereas we had been there and needed to make it again as properly.
The truck continued to lose vary faster than we had been utilizing it till the highest of the mountain the place it equalized with the vary. That gave us quite a lot of confidence to attempt powering the home since many of the return journey was downhill and we’d be with out the load of wooden.
Lightning powers a tiny home, together with heating, simply
This train doesn’t actually must do with towing, however whereas we had been on the Tiny Home, we determined to attempt to energy the entire home, together with mini cut up heating, utilizing the F-150 Lightning’s Professional Energy on board and 240V generator plug.
It simply works. Normally, this requires a generator or a really massive photo voltaic/battery setup, however not solely are you able to tow a Tiny Home (or Airstream/camper) to the center of nowhere, you too can energy it and warmth it with the F-150 Lightning. I believe I’ll have offered just a few F-150s on this alone.
With the warmth on full blast, the 2 energy outputs stabilized at simply over a kW, that means we may have powered this factor for a full day utilizing about 25kWh of battery.
The attention-grabbing factor concerning the journey again is that we ended with nearly the identical vary as we’d began with, so we should’ve regenerated near the ten miles of vary of the journey going downhill.
F-150 Lightning towing on flat floor
In Detroit, we drove an 8,000-pound trailer, 8×8 toes entrance finish, about 15 miles on the freeway, with about 5 miles of metropolis driving, then 15 miles to return. Initially, whereas on the freeway, I saved it at about 55-60mph (just below 100kmph). Many of the Detroit space is kind of flat, so elevation isn’t an element right here, and it was about 40 levels with rain. Throughout this time, I noticed power utilization at 1 mile/kW, which implies we are able to extrapolate 130+ miles from the 131kWh usable battery. I might use this determine as a baseline for towing. You would possibly get higher in hotter, dryer circumstances with a smaller trailer, however beginning right here is straightforward and efficient, and you’ll at all times drop right down to this velocity when towing on the freeway.
Whereas driving within the metropolis with stops and begins, I noticed the mi/kWh go right down to .9, so remember the fact that metropolis driving with an 8,000-pound load received’t essentially prevent vary.
On the return journey, I attempted hitting 65-70mph for temporary durations, and that took the ability utilization right down to .8 miles per kWh. So by driving simply 10 mph sooner, the vary went from roughly 130 miles to about 100 miles.
Conclusion: Pace kills vary, but it surely kills it even tougher with a 64-square-foot entrance trailer. I think about the movies the place the F-150 Lightning will get solely a low double-digit vary are staged or at finest poorly deliberate.
I completed with the next numbers after blended driving:
F-150 Lightning Towing Observations
- Most likely the largest takeaway for me is that towing is very depending on outdoors variables, a lot of that are controllable by the motive force. Simply dropping from about 67mph to about 57mph, for example, added round 30 miles of towing vary. The off-roading trim on my F-150 Lightning drops about 50 miles from the nontowing vary, so prioritize accordingly.
- Preconditioning the automobile in chilly climate can save virtually all losses from the climate. Towing does put a better pressure on the batteries, however that warmth retains the pack heat and helps warmth the inside of the automobile.
- One attention-grabbing factor I famous in hilly New York was that you simply lose lots going uphill, however the regen going again down usually principally makes up for it (one thing that isn’t the case for ICE vehicles).
- On freeway driving, so long as the trailer is constructed and maintained properly, weight IS NOT an enormous consider flat street driving however aerodynamics IS. It is smart since when you get the inertia going, weight doesn’t actually put a drive on the automobile (so long as the velocity is constant), however the drag from the trailer is a continuing and powerful drive, which will increase exponentially with velocity.
- Plows (would impede the frunk) and camper backs aren’t at present supported formally on the F-150 Lightning, however Ford is taking this into consideration for the long run. Ford additionally notes that it’s your truck, and you are able to do what you need with it. Additionally, Ford formally helps placing 400 kilos within the trunk, which is lots lower than most plows.
- The general towing expertise is so clean and easy in comparison with ICE that drivers would possibly overlook they’re towing. There’s no audible cue of upper revving and struggling motors. The electrical drive system makes slowing down and rushing up seem to be a traditional drive. Satirically, forgetting you’ve gotten a trailer can truly be a priority when maneuvering/cornering, so keep alert!
- There’s no method to sugarcoat it: The Lightning’s towing vary isn’t as strong as its ICE counterparts. In case you are towing a tiny home up a distant mountain, you would possibly need to look elsewhere. Nevertheless, for over 90% of towing use instances, the Lightning suffices, particularly if deliberate accordingly with charging stops.
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