Ford F-150 Lightning: Truck of the future? We bought one to find out

Just how bad of an idea is buying and living with an electric truck? We bought one for ourselves to find out–you know, for science.

More specifically, back in June 2023 we bought a 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning XLT Extended Range. Original MSRP was $77,269, though we picked up our Lightning–fitted with some $22,000 of options and showing 6000 …

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I love my ICE cars, but this EV truck intrigues me. I'm looking forward to seeing what adventures Tom has with this one.

I have a dream of pre-retirement in something like this or a Rivian with a teardrop camper with Tunawife traveling around. Watching with interest.

Short answer:  No.

Long answer: Nooooooooooooo.

Anywho, just drove up to northern Wisconsin and back to Milwaukee for the weekend(350 miles each way)

Was home for about 2 hours, enough time to get vacation stuff unloaded and get work tools loaded up.

Drove to Greencastle, IN (275 miles)

Stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, I dont think there was an EV charger within 100 miles of the place.  Flyover states are not real good about their EV chargers.

Worked 12s, started at 4:00 AM.  No desire to try to find a charger during the few hours I was snoozing.

Drove about 30 miles each day while I was working - 120 miles give or take there.  

Drove home yesterday (another 275 miles)

That's typical truck stuff for guys who actually use their trucks for work and there is 0 percent chance of doing it in the same timeline and lack of stress with an EV.  EVs are niche use case vehicles at best, boondoggles at worst.

And this is coming from a guy with a PHEV in the fleet and at-home fast charging.  

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

There are two charging locations in Greencastle, IN. Both are Level 2, so they're about what you'd have at your home garage. And there are a whooole bunch of chargers in a 100 mile radius.

My wife's construction company leased two Lightnings last year as an experiment. One for a parts runner, one for a sample runner. They cover a good portion of the state, not just back and forth across town. This year, they're leasing three. So I guess it wasn't a complete failure :)

93gsxturbo said:

Short answer:  No.

Long answer: Nooooooooooooo.

Anywho, just drove up to northern Wisconsin and back to Milwaukee for the weekend(350 miles each way)

Was home for about 2 hours, enough time to get vacation stuff unloaded and get work tools loaded up.

Drove to Greencastle, IN (275 miles)

Stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, I dont think there was an EV charger within 100 miles of the place.  Flyover states are not real good about their EV chargers.

Worked 12s, started at 4:00 AM.  No desire to try to find a charger during the few hours I was snoozing.

Drove about 30 miles each day while I was working - 120 miles give or take there.  

Drove home yesterday (another 275 miles)

That's typical truck stuff for guys who actually use their trucks for work and there is 0 percent chance of doing it in the same timeline and lack of stress with an EV.  EVs are niche use case vehicles at best, boondoggles at worst.

And this is coming from a guy with a PHEV in the fleet and at-home fast charging.  

Based on many year of observation and time in the car industry I'd say people who use their pickup for "truck stuff for guys who actually use their trucks" is in a significant minority of the truck market.  Many of them are used as extra-capable daily drivers. If they live in or near a city they don't venture that far from home or work frequently like your case.  It may not work for you and people like you but there's an ample market for whom it does. Whether they want to pay the price is another question. 

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

There are two charging locations in Greencastle, IN. Both are Level 2, so they're about what you'd have at your home garage. And there are a whooole bunch of chargers in a 100 mile radius.

 

You missed the part about working 12s and not wanting to wait around at a charger during my very minimal free time - or having to deal with finding the charger in a strange city - or the inevitable broken charger.  Lot more better to just gas up in 5 minutes and get a Coke Zero for my troubles.   

If all my trips were within the radius of a known good charger it would almost make sense...until I have to haul something of significant weight or run 300 miles into a 30 MPH headwind and kills my MPE.

Msterbee said:

93gsxturbo said:

Short answer:  No.

Long answer: Nooooooooooooo.

Anywho, just drove up to northern Wisconsin and back to Milwaukee for the weekend(350 miles each way)

Was home for about 2 hours, enough time to get vacation stuff unloaded and get work tools loaded up.

Drove to Greencastle, IN (275 miles)

Stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, I dont think there was an EV charger within 100 miles of the place.  Flyover states are not real good about their EV chargers.

Worked 12s, started at 4:00 AM.  No desire to try to find a charger during the few hours I was snoozing.

Drove about 30 miles each day while I was working - 120 miles give or take there.  

Drove home yesterday (another 275 miles)

That's typical truck stuff for guys who actually use their trucks for work and there is 0 percent chance of doing it in the same timeline and lack of stress with an EV.  EVs are niche use case vehicles at best, boondoggles at worst.

And this is coming from a guy with a PHEV in the fleet and at-home fast charging.  

Based on many year of observation and time in the car industry I'd say people who use their pickup for "truck stuff for guys who actually use their trucks" is in a significant minority of the truck market.  Many of them are used as extra-capable daily drivers. If they live in or near a city they don't venture that far from home or work frequently like your case.  It may not work for you and people like you but there's an ample market for whom it does. Whether they want to pay the price is another question. 

In my experience most people use their trucks to haul large quantities of air back and forth on the roads to Starbucks and Walmart and to display their respective detailed reasons why their particular engine family is better than the others with helpful stickers on the back, sides, and sometimes front.

Please buy a Tesla Cybertruck and do a side-by-side comparo.

93gsxturbo said:

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

There are two charging locations in Greencastle, IN. Both are Level 2, so they're about what you'd have at your home garage. And there are a whooole bunch of chargers in a 100 mile radius.

 

You missed the part about working 12s and not wanting to wait around at a charger during my very minimal free time - or having to deal with finding the charger in a strange city - or the inevitable broken charger.  Lot more better to just gas up in 5 minutes and get a Coke Zero for my troubles.   

If all my trips were within the radius of a known good charger it would almost make sense...until I have to haul something of significant weight or run 300 miles into a 30 MPH headwind and kills my MPE.

You are certainly an extreme use case. EV definitely not for you. Most people drive about 40 miles per day(15k/yr). 

The occasional road trip of 300+ miles is easily handled with a 20-30min charge atop(in civilized parts of the world). 

93gsxturbo said:

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

There are two charging locations in Greencastle, IN. Both are Level 2, so they're about what you'd have at your home garage. And there are a whooole bunch of chargers in a 100 mile radius.

 

You missed the part about working 12s and not wanting to wait around at a charger during my very minimal free time - or having to deal with finding the charger in a strange city - or the inevitable broken charger.  Lot more better to just gas up in 5 minutes and get a Coke Zero for my troubles.   

If all my trips were within the radius of a known good charger it would almost make sense...until I have to haul something of significant weight or run 300 miles into a 30 MPH headwind and kills my MPE.

I didn't miss it, I just addressed the clearly incorrect statements about charger availability. I think your use case is the niche, we're seeing in the overall market that EVs do address a large number of use cases. I'm not even sure you'd be legal under hour of service regs for a commercial driver.

We also have many people who have structured their habits around how ICE vehicles work, such as the need to refuel them at a third party location (it doesn't really take 5 minutes, especially if you're wandering into the convenience store to buy drinks) instead of finding a way to charge overnight or during other stops so many refueling stops are completely eliminated. Habits will adapt if needed. 

Keith Tanner said:

93gsxturbo said:

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

There are two charging locations in Greencastle, IN. Both are Level 2, so they're about what you'd have at your home garage. And there are a whooole bunch of chargers in a 100 mile radius.

 

You missed the part about working 12s and not wanting to wait around at a charger during my very minimal free time - or having to deal with finding the charger in a strange city - or the inevitable broken charger.  Lot more better to just gas up in 5 minutes and get a Coke Zero for my troubles.   

If all my trips were within the radius of a known good charger it would almost make sense...until I have to haul something of significant weight or run 300 miles into a 30 MPH headwind and kills my MPE.

I didn't miss it, I just addressed the clearly incorrect statements about charger availability. I think your use case is the niche, we're seeing in the overall market that EVs do address a large number of use cases. I'm not even sure you'd be legal under hour of service regs for a commercial driver.

We also have many people who have structured their habits around how ICE vehicles work, such as the need to refuel them at a third party location (it doesn't really take 5 minutes, especially if you're wandering into the convenience store to buy drinks) instead of finding a way to charge overnight or during other stops so many refueling stops are completely eliminated. Habits will adapt if needed. 

Next time I am pumping 20 gallons of freedom juice into my F150 (gets me about 400-440 miles in mixed driving), I will time it.  5 minutes is not too far off the mark.  

Take a look here, Keith, and tell me that *you* would put *your* timeline and reputation on taking an EV here for the better part of a week.

https://www.way.com/ev-chargers/indiana/cloverdale

While there are chargers on the maps, two of the 4 close by do not exist (coming soon) one is at a private business and one is at the university.  Neither have any reviews so no idea if they even exist or work, what their hours of operation are, etc.  Can't charge at work, can't charge at the hotel.  

Even if you stop in the booming metropolis of Lafayette, IN, an F150 Lightning owner would need to sit there for 18 hours to get enough battery to run to Cloverfield and drive back and forth to the jobsite, then back to Lafayette where you get to sit for another 18 hours because you coasted in on your one last electron of energy. 

ASSuming you can find a DC Fast Charger, you would still get the pleasure of sitting in Lafayette, IN for two office jerk workdays (8 hrs each time) just to have enough electrons to make your vehicle useful.

Now the general rattling from some folks is this is isolated use cases and anyone can find anything to support their line of thinking.  The fact of the matter is  the majority of this country does not have any EV infrastructure of substance, nor will it have any in the near future, making EVs a nonstarter, a meme, or a boondoggle for the bulk of the population.  

You may also have missed it but please bear in mind that I actually *do* own a PHEV, paid a premium to get it, totally understand how they work and the benefits to electrificiation, have a level II charger at home, would totally rock a Cybertruck (but just for jerking around, not for truck stuff), and here I am, telling you and everyone else and even Jesus himself that its not ready for prime time.  

93gsxturbo said:

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

There are two charging locations in Greencastle, IN. Both are Level 2, so they're about what you'd have at your home garage. And there are a whooole bunch of chargers in a 100 mile radius.

 

You missed the part about working 12s and not wanting to wait around at a charger during my very minimal free time - or having to deal with finding the charger in a strange city - or the inevitable broken charger.  Lot more better to just gas up in 5 minutes and get a Coke Zero for my troubles.   

If all my trips were within the radius of a known good charger it would almost make sense...until I have to haul something of significant weight or run 300 miles into a 30 MPH headwind and kills my MPE.

Been there, done that.  I get it.  Not sure why you're getting downvoted so much your comments aren't even coming through.  It can be a bit frustrating on here at times.

1988RedT2 said:

Please buy a Tesla Cybertruck and do a side-by-side comparo.

No, don't.  The less I see of those hidious things, the better.  

I won't wade into the argument, other than to say please play nicely, and to agree that these won't work for everybody. But, anecdotally, it's been working perfectly for me. I couldn't imagine going back to adding 15 minutes (and $80) to every single trip to the race track, nevermind all the pointless errands to get gas in my day-to-day life.   

If you want to spoil the next few updates about the Lightning, you can read through my past 17,000ish miles here: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/is-an-electric-pickup-truck-a-terrible-idea-my-2022-ford-f-150-lightning-build-thread/256780/page1/

Even in rural Kentucky, Texas, upstate New York, etc, charging hasn't been an issue for me. Again, every situation is different etc etc. I'll write more in the coming weeks about the pros and cons. 

Please E36 M3 someplace else and don't Frenchy the EV topics.

Uhh, Tom Suddard did just that (1150 mile 2 day trip) when he bought his Lightning.  It's in his build thread.  We get it, there will be no electric trucks in your future.  Don't have to E36 M3 on everyone else who might get one, or already has one.

OHSCrifle said:

Please E36 M3 someplace else and don't Frenchy the EV topics.

I only see one post that fits that description.  

93gsxturbo said:

Now the general rattling from some folks is this is isolated use cases and anyone can find anything to support their line of thinking.  The fact of the matter is  the majority of this country does not have any EV infrastructure of substance, nor will it have any in the near future, making EVs a nonstarter, a meme, or a boondoggle for the bulk of the population.  

 

Land is different than people.

I am looking forward to seeing tracks set up level 2 chargers or at least 50 amp outlets.  I can hardly tell there is anything behind me when towing my Exocet on a 16 foot alumatlt with my Rivian.  However I would love to be able to get to Sebring or FIRM and charge while out on the track.  Save a lot of time for the return trip.  Towing 200-300 miles isn't bad.  However if you have an enclosed trailer and need to go 300+ miles plan for a lot more time.  Had a miserable time towing a box trailer from Stuart to Atlanta, particularly through the wasteland (lack of good chargers) of central Florida.  With so much power it felt like nothing was behind me but range took a huge hit.

06HHR (Forum Supporter) said:

Uhh, Tom Suddard did just that (1150 mile 2 day trip) when he bought his Lightning.  It's in his build thread.  We get it, there will be no electric trucks in your future.  Don't have to E36 M3 on everyone else who might get one, or already has one.

Shhh, you're spoiling the next update. Sorry for repackaging that forum thread, but figure this format is a little easier for everybody to find. I also road tripped the truck from Washington DC to Daytona Beach in a day, which is 800 miles.

93gsxturbo, you seem to have pretty strong opinions on this, and I totally respect that. I even agree with some of your conclusions on a theoretical future where every single car currently driving on American roads is scrapped and instantly replaced with an EV.

But you're operating on some wrong assumptions about what life with a modern EV is like, and if you keep an open mind as I share my experience you might find some more nuance than you thought.

dr34994 said:

I am looking forward to seeing tracks set up level 2 chargers or at least 50 amp outlets.  I can hardly tell there is anything behind me when towing my Exocet on a 16 foot alumatlt with my Rivian.  However I would love to be able to get to Sebring or FIRM and charge while out on the track.  Save a lot of time for the return trip.  Towing 200-300 miles isn't bad.  However if you have an enclosed trailer and need to go 300+ miles plan for a lot more time.  Had a miserable time towing a box trailer from Stuart to Atlanta, particularly through the wasteland (lack of good chargers) of central Florida.  With so much power it felt like nothing was behind me but range took a huge hit.

Both tracks actually have chargers! The FIRM has a 10kw Tesla level 2 wall connector by the starter stand, and Sebring has RV outlets. Both work great for truck charging. 

93gsxturbo said:

 

Bro asked if it can do everything a truck with a conventional powertrain can do.  The answer is, no it can not.  There is absolutely no way to put over 550-575  miles on a Lightning in a 24 hour period, even starting with a full charge.  550 miles a day is not a huge or unrealistic number and it would be a major inconvenience in a Lightning to even attempt it(5 hours drive, 8 hours rest, 5 hours drive, ad nauseum).  In comparison, a regular F150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost can do 500 miles with the baby tank or something silly like 750 miles with the big boy tank, with a total replenishment time of 5-15 minutes, depending on how many Coke Zeros you need to buy.  The electrical trucks also take a relatively significant hit to effective range in hot or cold weather or when loaded, something a gas powered or diesel powered vehicle is not as heavily impacted by. 

The maths - 

Published range: 300 miles

Average speed: 60 MPH

Time to Empty:  5 hours

Time to Recharge: 8 Hours

Miles Per Hour Incl Charge Time: 23.07

Theoretical max miles (sustainable) in 24 hours: 553

The 8hr charge time might apply to certain Level 2 chargers, but if you pull into a Level 3 DC fast charger with 15-80% charge, the Lightning can add 4-6 miles of range per minute that it's charging.

15% of 320 miles is 48 miles of range.

80% of 320 miles is 256 miles of range.

So you can gain 208 miles of range in around 40 minutes on a DC fast charger.

Yes, that's slower than filling a tank with liquid fuel. But it's also much faster than your 8hr estimate.

*I understand that charging infrastructure needs to improve, and that there may not be a Level 3 DC fast charger available every couple hundred miles no matter where you are. Just trying to illustrate that it may not be as bleak as you're making it out to be either.

93gsxturbo said:

Keith Tanner said:

93gsxturbo said:

 

Next time I am pumping 20 gallons of freedom juice into my F150 (gets me about 400-440 miles in mixed driving), I will time it.  5 minutes is not too far off the mark.  

  

 

 

 

Of late, I've noticed gas pumps pumping slower. Conspiracy theory me thinks that the government is slowing down the gas pumps to make refueling times more similar to charging times.........