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1,230 mile road trip from SoCal to Reno, NV and back

7K views 30 replies 22 participants last post by  Obi66 
Hello all,

On Friday, I completed a pretty good road trip in my 2022 Lightning Lariat ER. I thought I'd provide a few note and observations for others who may be contemplating longer trips and are maybe uneasy about how it will go. So, here is what my experience was...

Quick background, I sold a 2017 Ford Raptor when I took delivery of the Lightning. I loved my Raptor, but have been intensely curious about how life with a full-sized EV truck would be, so took the plunge.

I have made this drive several times due to work, so I knew the road really well already. My Raptor had an ER full tank, so if I filled it up, and if I kept my speed in the Raptor on the highways to 70 mph generally, I could make the entire drive without needing to stop for gas. If I drove faster, like 80 or more, I would have to stop for gas for sure. So, for that drive, and for that truck, you could slow down to make the drive shorter by a bit, and save a little gas money. For me, if driving the route solo in the Raptor, it would generally take me 9-10 hours, depending of LA/SoCal traffic and how many quick stops I may need to make. So, given all that, for this trip, here is what I learned:
  • Seek out Level 3 chargers only, and check the specs in the Ford Pass app to make sure the ones you are going to visit are 150 kW if at all possible. When hitting these chargers, times for charging are very manageable.
  • Check the chargers the FordPass app selects for you if you use the Trip Planner! I was routed to Rivian Adventure Network chargers twice, even though you are unable to use the Level 3 Rivian chargers if you are not in a Rivian. Their Level 2 chargers are basically like a 220v home chargers, so you will not like the results. Fortunately, in the app, you can see the chargers the app selected, and when you click on it to see the details, there is an option to choose another charger location. Use this to be able to search that area for a Level 3 option.
  • Electrify America seems to be the most plentiful option for good Level 3 chargers. At every location I stopped to charge, at least one of the chargers was unavailable, so keep that in mind as you are making your plans. Pay attention to the description details for the chargers, because many times there were both 150 kW and 50 kW chargers in the same location. If you are at a fairly busy location, choosing the wrong charger can cost you both charging time, and potentially a place in line that could cost you even more time.
  • The free 250kWH of charging disappears very quickly! Plan ahead and go ahead and sign up for an account with Electrify America, and potentially EVgo, and Plugshare. This helps you see your options open, and can give you another option if the Blue Oval Network is not coming through for you.
  • On this note above ^^^, sometimes the Blue Oval Network did not come through for me. I was unable to activate a charger via FordPass, but could plug it in to the truck, hold my phone near the card reader, and get a session going directly.
  • If your app says a charger is available, but you are unable to start a session and get error messages, you can call Electrify America (maybe the others as well...) and they can try to reset the charger, or remotely start the charging session for you over the phone.
  • At one station, I was unable to get a charger started, and they were unable to reset it over the phone, so I moved to another charger when it came open. 15 minutes later, after one other driver was unsuccessful at the same charger, the third time was a charm and the next driver was able to connect and charge. So, sometimes chargers drop off the network and are unavailable, then come back online a little while later and are good to go. So, even if somebody tells you "that one doesn't work--I just tried it.", if the charger looks like it could work (no obvious error messages, not completely off, not physically broken...), then go ahead and give it a shot anyway if there isn't another open one easily available--you may get lucky like the third person to try the one I could not start was.
For me, there was a bit of range anxiety, but as the trip went on, it got less and less. Anticipating this, on this trip, I drove up I-5 to Sacramento, then I-80 to Truckee, then into Incline Village, where I was staying. I knew there would be far more chargers along that route than going up US 395. I also knew climbing up the mountains would impact range, as would the cold. However, to see the impact of both of those as I was headed up I-80 was a little concerning. My GOM was dropping miles like they were going out of style. I had charged up in Sacramento, so I had plenty of range, but it made me really think about planning ahead for any winter mountain driving. When I got to Truckee, I topped up again because there are no Level 3 chargers in the north Lake Tahoe area that I could find, so I wanted to have as many electrons onboard as I could. I spent 5 days in Incline Village, with 2 trips down the mountain into Reno during the week. The miles you see disappearing quickly driving uphill reappear quickly driving downhill! So, don't stress too much on uphill climbs, unless you are only going up and have no good charging options when you get to the top of the mountains you are driving in. As long as you have rolling terrain, or uphill and downhill driving, it all seems to come out in the wash, so to speak... On the drive back, I took US395 South, and it was a beautiful drive, and I had no issues with chargers along that route either.

Across my entire trip, I averaged energy usage of 2.0 miles/kWH, so all the cold, and uphill, averaged pretty well with the warmer temps lower, and the downhills, to keep me in a decent range reality. When on th open road, I averaged about 70-75 mph, and I did not need to use much energy for climate. I warmed the truck before I started driving, even if not plugged in, so I could then turn seat and steering wheel heat off, and keep the truck temp around 68-70 when it was cold. Overall, the amount of energy I used for climate was minuscule, and the bulk went to driving, which I was happy with.

Overall, each trip of the round trip took me around 11-12 hours. That's a bit more than my Raptor drives, for sure. But, here's the thing...I ate my meals sitting at a table, and drank my coffee in a shop. I walked around a few shopping centers, and even did the grocery shopping I normally do after I arrive at my destination, all while the truck was charging. Despite my drives being longer, I felt a lot better and not as tired when I arrived. Who knew?

This truck is rock solid on the road! When you want to pass a big rig, or another driver who is in less of a hurry than you, it is laughably easy to shoot by those people and be back in your lane. The acceleration to pass seems as quick and readily available at 70 mph as it is at 30 mph--there is no "top end" to the acceleration on demand before you hit the speed governor (not that I would do that...). I really enjoyed the drive both directions and was far less botherred by having to stop and charge than I thought I would be. This truck changes how I road trip, and in a good way I think!

So, final thought is if you are considering a road trip, go for it. Plan ahead, pay attention to the charging station details, watch your actual energy use if you're in really cold or mountainous areas, and have fun!


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Great post! It reminded me of the time years ago that Orbitz messed up our rental car reservation in Oakland and most cars in our reserved type were unavailable. Thrifty Rental had a sign for "making the rental experience an adventure and rent a Model S Tesla", so we decided to try it, knowing nothing of charging station availability on our way to Tahoe. I had owned a EV for a few years (not a Tesla) so I knew the challenges of charging and since we were not in a hurry, we jumped at the offer. I have to say it was the best road trip that we have ever done (we do that drive every summer). We found the Tesla charging stations that were fast and gave us time to walk around, eat and shop while the car was charging. We arrived refreshed and relaxed due to the quiet, smooth ride that almost all electric vehicles have. We liked it so much that we seek out EVs to rent from car rental agencies and even Turo every summer. The number of EVs on the road has grown but so has the number of charging stations and I expect that will continue. I did see a Rivian at the charging station in South Lake Tahoe and talked with the owners a bit about their experience. It is nice to talk with other EV owners since they often have knowledge about charging stations in the area.
 
Hi everyone, I'm new here, and I don't like to text much so bear with me, please. I've had a small one-man pest control company for 10 yrs now and have had a reservation for a Ford lightning for a year now. I wanted a Pro but I guess that's not possible now, So I'm going to have to order an XLT or higher. I expect to get an invite to order soon. Here's my dilemma. I'm having a hard time justifying paying around $64,000. I love the Ford lightning but it is going to be a work truck. I don't need carpet or heated anything or any of that comfy stuff. Just 360 pilot and all that cool safety stuff and gas savings are needed badly. 2 years ago I hired an applicator to help with the load. She had a baby and the baby seat would not fit in the other truck. Used truck prices were ridiculous. So I recently got her a Maverick hybrid, I had to pay $7000 over MSRP but I had to get something. I'm now paying $50 dollars a fill-up instead of $90 and only once a week instead of twice a week. She covers a 50-mile radius in her route. The Maverick is getting about 38 MPG on average. I figure that is saving enough for the truck payment. I could get 2 Mavericks for the price of one Lightning. As far as the Lightning for me. I don't want to give up my reservation ( I love that frunk and all-electric ) but I could get 2 Mavericks for 1 Lightning. And I may not even be able to order an XLT, there is a better chance of my order going through faster if I get a Lariat. $80,000 is way out of my budget and so is $64,000. What to do ???
Since you are using the truck as a work truck, there are tax codes that can help you. I plan to use section 179. Hope that helps!
 
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