The F150 EV Lightning thread

dps214 said:

Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) said:

Right now it only works as a car that looks like a truck, that isn't used as a truck....

I mean trucks have a lot of uses that aren't medium to long distance towing. For hauling stuff around town or short distance towing (taking the boat to the local lake, etc) I'm sure it's just fine hauling Jaguars across country averaged 17 mpg towing at 70mph+ that's a 4200+ pounds plus all the extra spare parts For an MG I also hauled home with them. 
It was  the UHaul car trailer which is extremely heavy by itself. 
   I made the trip under 30 hours each way. San Diego

I still maintain that these are going to make a hell of a lot of sense for a lot of job site foremen.  They'll hold a 100 gallon diesel tank plus toolbox plus small tools, rigging, odds and ends in the bed.  The EV Silverado dropped the ball there by having sloped bed sides.  200 mile range is plenty for a lot of professionals who use their truck as a tool, even if they aren't towing.

They also make sense for a huge chunk of the current half ton market.  A lot of trucks are used for commutes and landscaping materials or small volumes of lumber.  Like it or not, this is a perfectly normal application, and the Lightning handles it easily.

In reply to bigeyedfish :

I desperately want this to work well for job site foremen (mostly because I AM one!)

Recharging at the job site is too big a problem for me to consider it right now. There is not enough available power at the vast majority of job sites I work at.
 

When we have serious power loads (like welders or industrial floor grinders), we bring in large generators. But they are generally only on site for the tasks they are used for. Not the duration of the project. 

My last project ran for about 7 months with only (2) 20A 110V outlets. No 240V at all.  I never would have gotten the thing recharged. 

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

dps214 said:

Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) said:

Right now it only works as a car that looks like a truck, that isn't used as a truck....

I mean trucks have a lot of uses that aren't medium to long distance towing. For hauling stuff around town or short distance towing (taking the boat to the local lake, etc) I'm sure it's just fine.

Yup, it'll do just fine for contractors, trips to home depot, towing a dump trailer or a landscaping trailer around town.

Hauling big trailers on 300 miles trips with an EV is going to need to wait til batteries are cheap enough that they can put 900 miles' worth of (unladen) range into the truck at a reasonable price point.  That's fine, there's plenty of market in trucks for people who don't do that.

 

Or willing to trade their time for the average savings over a year.  My calculations have me saving a lot of money for the extra time spent.  Even if I'm only 1/2 right $250/ hr is a lot of money to turn your nose up at. 

SV reX said:

In reply to bigeyedfish :

I desperately want this to work well for job site foremen (mostly because I AM one!)

Recharging at the job site is too big a problem for me to consider it right now. There is not enough available power at the vast majority of job sites I work at.
 

When we have serious power loads (like welders or industrial floor grinders), we bring in large generators. But they are generally only on site for the tasks they are used for. Not the duration of the project. 

My last project ran for about 7 months with only (2) 20A 110V outlets. No 240V at all.  I never would have gotten the thing recharged. 

Isn't Ford still offering a portable generator?  Actually would it have to be a Ford Generator?  How expensive would a Honda Generator be?  One sufficient to recharge the Ford during a work day  to get home?   Doubtless it would also come in handy for other uses as well. 
     OK, you probably don't trust the  range. But having a generator with you should provide the security needed.   Plus are some of the jobs you accept within round trip range?  

In reply to frenchyd :

I do large commercial work. I am never in round trip range. 
 

I own a generator. I wouldn't want to give up the bed space to permanently carry around a back-up plan.

Plus, you are now suggesting I give up gas for electric, but then carry around a gasoline based back-up system. Does that seem strange to you?

In reply to frenchyd :

I am fine with the range. Doesn't bother me a bit. But I'd have to recharge regularly at the job site, and can't. 
 

It's not a trust issue.

SV reX said:

In reply to frenchyd :
 

I own a generator. I wouldn't want to give up the bed space to permanently carry around a back-up plan.

Plus, you are now suggesting I give up gas for electric, but then carry around a gasoline based back-up system. Does that seem strange to you?

Put a wind turbine on the roof.  It could charge while you drive!

Hook a generator head to the driveshaft and that way you can recharge using the energy you otherwise waste moving the truck.

In reply to dculberson :

Driveshaft??

Region_Rat said:

In reply to dculberson :

Driveshaft??

Haha!

You win an internet cookie!

There are/will be solar panel tonneau covers that charge up to 900w/hr.

In reply to llysgennad :

I like that!

In reply to SV reX :

I'm in highway construction, so I'm in the same boat.  It won't quite work for me.  We have crews that are always local though, so they go home every night and wouldn't have to charge on the road.  I think EV's would work well for those guys.

Lots of small time landscaping crews could do it too.  We're still not to a point where they make sense for most crews, but I think Ford is going to take a good chunk of the market over the next couple years if they can follow this with an even better Lightning 2.0.

In reply to bigeyedfish :

I agree. But the price point could impact that.

Im seriously doubting they will be selling very many of these for less than $75K

I know what the marketing hype says. Just don't expect it to happen.

SV reX said:

In reply to frenchyd :

I do large commercial work. I am never in round trip range. 
 

I own a generator. I wouldn't want to give up the bed space to permanently carry around a back-up plan.

Plus, you are now suggesting I give up gas for electric, but then carry around a gasoline based back-up system. Does that seem strange to you?

Yeh I questioned that as I typed it.  But what about charging at some of the places like Tesla's?  The ones I've seen are close by places to grab a breakfast or dinner and while you're eating it's recharging?  
I realize they may not be as common there as I see them up here but won't that change as EV's make a bigger part of the market?  
        

In reply to frenchyd :

Those are great ways to travel, but not the way most job site foremen travel. That's a salesman's life. 
 

Most job site foremen are either the type who want to grab a bite they can eat while they are driving, or the type that want to save money and bring their own so they don't have to buy at restaurants. 
 

Plus, we typically work really long days at the job site.  Sometimes sunup until sundown.  That doesn't leave much time for sitting at a restaurant. 
 

Great products. Just not quite a good fit for job site foremen yet.

Region_Rat said:

In reply to dculberson :

Driveshaft??

My perfect plan - foiled by modern nonsense! Argh!

llysgennad said:

There are/will be solar panel tonneau covers that charge up to 900w/hr.

That isn't all that much in the scheme of things, is it?

I used to drive 65-80,000 miles a year and drive through was 90% of what I ate.  ( my stomach size looks like it too) 

     I mentally ran through my "route" and put together a line of places to charge, eat, bathroom.  Allotting  10 minutes per 100 extra miles.   It was fairly easy even without adding much time or subtracting any miles. 

  Now that was with a Tesla Model 3 which has up to 320 miles range.  A truck would  change the calculations. But the savings is shocking.  It's got to wrong!  But even if it's 50% wrong. It's still serious money.  
     Regarding  your situation.   Since you're working out of town. I'm assuming you'll be recharging on the road.   If the circumstances are right perhaps you can recharge just before you arrive in town, have a meal and bathroom break and leave with a fully charge vehicle. 
  If like me you need to spend a week or so in town going to and from the site  chances are you won't put that many miles on.  
      
    

In reply to frenchyd :

This truck will work for some, won't work for others. It does not matter how many magical scenarios you toss out, some people need a different truck. 

In reply to Steve_Jones :

Fair enough for now. See you in the future. 

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

llysgennad said:

There are/will be solar panel tonneau covers that charge up to 900w/hr.

That isn't all that much in the scheme of things, is it?

The small battery on the Lightning is 98 kwh.  At 900 watts, you'd need 108 hours of sunlight to fully charge it from zero.  That's at least a week.

The surface area on a car or truck just isn't big enough for solar charging on the vehicle to make a significant difference in charging/range/etc.

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

There are times my truck sits in the sun all weekend without moving. Then it's 23 miles to work and it remains in the sun for 10 hours before it's driven 23 miles home.  Hmmm sounds like a fair amount of charging without a whole lotta cost.  

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

If the battery had a 300mi range, then every hour in the sun gets you an extra two miles of driving, give or take.