Tonneau cover $600 CAD for hard trifold.

 

Truck doing TRUCK STUFF

 

Welcome to Lightning ownership and the forum!

 

Nice work truck! Welcome and enjoy

 

Subscribe to this thread if you want updates on our 4000 km road trip from Ontario to Nova Scotia in a few months time.
Planning it now. Will be towing an 8000 lb trailer and charging at campsites.

 

2023 Ford Lightning Lariat extended range road trips


Completed : June 2024 (entire month)

5550 km road trip from Toronto to New Brunswick, picking up rental 27' travel trailer driven around Cabot Trail Nova Scotia and back to Toronto.
Zero issues with the truck.

With 1900 km of towing I logged every single trip segment, speed, efficiency, battery percent, etc and have this summary:
Towing range with 9000 lb 27' travel trailer is
230 km at 60 km/h
200 km at 75 km/h
180 km at 90 km/h
150 km at 110 km/h

Logged every charge site, speed, plugshare entry and have this summary:
Charged 1600 kWh (YES, 1.6 MWh) on free 14-50 campsite, hotel L2 or destination L2 chargers.
900 kWh on paid charging, mostly FLO, average 40c/kWh.
Charging speed was 177 kW max (seen at EC and Tesla) and average >110 kW for a typical 40 minute charging stop.
Never once unhooked trailer to charge the truck. Front charging port for the win.

Universal positive feedback on the Lightning. Was "interviewed" by an RCMP officer at a charging stop. He passed us on the highway, slowed down and followed us into the FLO charging station and proceeded to talk to us for a half hour. Couple travelling in Model Y and very small trailer chatting with us about the truck and it's towing capability. Couple biking the entire loop (HARD!) were "sold" on the Lightning after discussing with us at length. Added new four (!!) 60A 240V L2 chargers discovered at a campsite to Plugshare.

LOTS of truck owners at RV campsites asking about the power, range and cost of the truck.

Completed : July 2024 (one week)

2400 km road trip and day trips around Cape Cod MA, guys long weekend trip, no towing, almost entirely on Tesla supercharger network.
1050 km return trip was done in 12 hours door to door, three Tesla charging stops and almost entirely hands free blue cruise.
Used Waze and typically drove 130+ km/h for the entire trip home.
Lightning sustained 150 kW speeds on Tesla chargers in 32C humid conditions coming in hot from long duration high speed highway driving.
Summary : battery and drive motor systems very capable of fast driving and supercharging road trips.

 

Re: towing with an EV pickup truck on the Cabot Trail, notorious for it's steep inclines.

Scenario:
The most significant (450 meters or so) climbs/descents are French Mountain (11% slope), and North Mountain (13% slope).
They are 3-5 km long and are one right after the other.

Setup:
The 9000 lb travel trailer was on a weight distribution hitch and trailer brake was set for 8.5 boost which is sufficient to lock the trailer brakes on full application of brake pedal.

The efficiency climbing was 1 km/kWh and descending was 12 km/kWh. Overall, on a 60 km drive from sea level and rise to the peak and back to sea level, we got 1.9 km/kWh, effectively 250 km range with full battery in these conditions. Many of the turns had 30 km/h limit, and the truck had no issue regenerating with "one pedal" driving mode selected to maintain that speed on any slope encountered.

To test the power of the truck, I floored it on a 10% incline from 20 km/h and the truck used maximum power for about 10 seconds to get to 100 km/h where I let off. The power is instant and quiet, even with 9000 lb behind you. I have driven tens of thousands of km in massive RV's and can tell you, NOTHING touches the Lightning for the experience. It's BY FAR the best towing rig / RV.

 

This was one of the few sites without 50A outlet, and because the cabot trail loop has a low speed limit (for good reason!!!), didn't need to charge here.
We made it to the next campsite with 30% SOC.

Camping Cape Breton - Hideaway Campground and Oyster Market

We took a day trip to "meat cove", which is a stunning drive to the top of the island:

 

This was a BIIIG trailer on a HIIIGH road. Top of cape breton trail loop.

 

Electrify Canada woodstock New Brunswick.
This was the single "fast" 160 kW+ charge we did on the entire east coast, completed so quickly my wife wasn't done shopping for food.
I researched the locations to charge on plugshare to confirm the site had room for the trailer.
We never had to unhook to charge.

 

How did you find the charge station in Woodstock NB? I had a hard time getting it to initiate a charge.

 

This charging stop was typical, 50 kW (some 70 kW) FLO site in the middle of no where, always far away from the busy parking spots at the gas bar site.

Note the F150 Lightning has a FRONT charge port location, which is absolutely necessary when towing or you will be forced to unhook! The Cybertruck and Chevy have rear charge ports, which is dumb for a pickup truck in my opinion.

There were a handful of these charges required, as most days I planned 180 km maximum distance between sites, remember folks, we're retired, and enjoy the RV life, so we like to spend time at our destination instead of road road road.
This site was conveniently located and we used it twice on the trip, there and back.
The maximum day we did was 300-400 km, and we did those longer legs twice, once from Frederickton NB to Elm River, and from Shediac NB to Frederickton NB.

 

Note how the F150 Lightning appropriately squats flat when towing, the weight distribution bars help minimise sway, and the independent rear suspension soaked up the road imperfections, which in some parts of the east coast were horrible, easily some of the worst paved roads I've experienced in Canada, and that's saying a lot as I grew up in rural Ontario. The top of the Cape Breton trail had bridge construction, and the trailer had literally a few inches on each side to make it through the one lane that was opened to traffic.

 

And that’s just the main roads. Try getting of the beaten path a little. Many roads are simply impassible

 

We often stopped and enjoyed the view. If you take your time and don't drive like a maniac, you might enjoy the scenery.

 

Typical campsite setup on the east coast, ocean view from the panoramic rear window of the trailer.
The natural drive through was from the opposite direction, but I switched it up to ensure we had the rear window viewing the ocean.
This was Cabot Beach PEI, and this view was the least nice, the beach (200 m walk) was spectacular with red cliffs and sand for days.

 

Here we are fully connected, trailer on 30A, water and drain.
Truck parked next to 50A outlet, parked in a way to not "give away" that I was plugged in overnight.
I found that if you don't advertise you're charging, no one cares.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience! I live on the east coast and can confirm that some of the paving is shockingly bad!

I am looking at getting a small travel trailer (around 20’) and doing some camping in NS and NB, and this is definitely useful information for me!

 

Great work! I am loving towing out 7300lbs Airstream and have a very similar experience to you.

We also share the same mindset. No need to drive 80mph for 5 hours. That is a waste of time, there is so much to see and do on the way to your destination, don't let those experiences pass you by un noticed.

We have he same taste in color for our trucks too, Antimatter Blue for the win!

Keep the pictures coming.

 

What's it like to tow a 9000 lbs travel trailer 175 km on the trans Canada highway in New Brunswick arriving at a 50 kW "fast" charger in Moncton NB on 6% battery remaining?

1. Frustrating! I had "trusted" the "A Better Route Planner" integration with the OBD III bluetooth dongle for a few trips prior to this 5000 km road trip and had no issues. BUT, in New Brunswick, when cell service was spotty, the Apple Carplay ABRP application failed to update properly and "forgot" that a destination existed and we drove past the highway exit for our planned mid-way charging stop.

2. The last 20 km coming into Moncton at 60 km/h, Ford navigation predicted we'd run out of charge on the outskirts of the city. We made it to the charger and as you can see, it was not designed for 60 feet of truck + trailer. BUT, it was the closest working charger on the plugshare listings. We took a chance and lucked out.

3. All future trips we put the actual charging destinations into the Ford navigation when we are in areas of the country that are known to be poor in terms of cell service for the Apple Carplay integration. Lesson learned. I've found Carplay itself to be exceptionally buggy, and routinely reboot the Ford screen to get it working.

4. The drivers display showed reduced power available for the last 10 km or so, but at no time did we have issues maintaining the speed we intended to drive, which was FAR reduced due to the distance travelled being at the maximum towing range of 186 km on a full 100% charge.

 

IN PLANNING STAGE:

2025 road trip from Toronto Ontario to Victoria BC.
Predominantly truck only.
Plan is to rent the trailer near Victoria, but we might end up renting a trailer in Alberta depending on what I find.
4500 km one way. 40 hours driving. 10 hours charging across 18 charge stops, average 33 minutes per stop.
$700 CAD in charging costs, which requires $15 Tesla monthly subscription.

Our Cape Breton NS trip in 2024 was 5000 km total. This will be double the distance, and FAR more fast charging.
All but one of the charging stops I am planning is a Tesla supercharger.
(Side Note : I have tons of experience on CCS and would use alternatives IF they were more convenient, cheaper and reliable, I'm almost laughing at writing this with a serious tone...)

I've driven across Canada and US 6 times, various routes, but this time, Canada only.
Recent anti-Canada rhetoric/tariff threats may challenge our country, so I'll do my little part supporting Canadian hotels, restaurants, RV parks and destinations.

Hope all you US Lightning owners decide to vacation up here in Canada, the dollar is cheap, and we'd love you to visit! The water is clear and the sights are beautiful.
Keep on truckin' folks.

RANT : We love our Detroit made Ford Lightning with Canadian auto-parts, and our California made Tesla with Japanese battery cells. Tariffs aren't a one sized fits all solution to the problem of globalisation shifting manufacturing to other locations...

 

Your journey with EVs sounds amazing, from the 2013 Smart to the 2023 Ford Lightning! I’ve also wanted a similar vehicle, but the price tag can be tough to manage. That’s why I’ve been considering Big Motoring World reviews for a potential deal. It's always helpful to explore reviews before making a big purchase, and Big Motoring World seems like a good place to look into, as they offer a variety of vehicles that might suit different needs and budgets. Checking their reviews could help me make a more informed decision on getting the right car at the right price.

 

Truck stuff. Two bed loads of soil this week. Saved the $200 delivery charge.

 

May - July 2025 : 2023 Ford Lightning ER + max tow road trip, 11000 km total driving.

Road trip summary (detailed follow up posts will document highlights of the trip).

40 day 2025 summer vacation cross Canada in 2023 Ford Lightning Lariat ER + max tow
11000 km Toronto <-> Vancouver Island
600 km towing a 9000 lb trailer on the island
30 DC charging stops, max 185+ kW seen often, averaged 140 kW over 25 minutes most times
900 km in a single day to race through the forest fire smoke on the prairies
10 free full charges at hotels and camp sites
190 hours of "seat time", wife augmented comfort with a soft throw pillow
1000 km BlueCruise hands free
9000 km adaptive cruise (radar + lane keeping) with feather touch on steering wheel
$1200 (rough guess) charging costs, 75% of that Tesla supercharging (using Canadian designed A2Z adaptor)
600 km single day with no fast charging tour of Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan (18 kW L2 charging at the park office)
100+ fellow Lightnings seen, mostly in Victoria BC where they are everywhere

Working up spreadsheet with specifics. Truck handled the trip perfectly. Bugs and grime cleaned off with some effort. Not a squeak or rattle. A few software glitches.

Ford marketing called us while we were on a 900 km day driving through the wildfire smoke in Manitoba. They wanted to know more about our trip after they saw my Lightning forum thread.

I have NEVER owned a better vehicle. Ford has made a standout product.

 

BlueCruise 1.4 update finally came to my 2023 Lariat ER this evening.

In spring 2025, Ford posted a service bulletin that I presented to my dealer, where they freely updated my trucks firmware/software to the newest level prior to my trip across Canada (Toronto to Victoria). That firmware enabled 500A DC charging peak (vs 450Amp), but did not enable BlueCruise 1.4.

Recently many 2023 owners were reporting receiving BC 1.4 here on the Lightning forum.
In the past few weeks, I researched what could prevent a truck from updating, and followed this procedure.

1. Recently installed a new ODBII BTLE device that integrates with Car Scanner phone app.
2. Monitored 12V battery SOC/health. My 12V battery wasn't charging fully, averaging 60% or so when I drove around for a week.
3. Performed "Ford F150 12V battery reset procedure" (google for details) earlier this week.
4. Plugged in truck on 120V 15A J1772 charging cord and let it run for 4 hours. Came back and found 12V battery reading 91% SOC.
5. Manually engaged parking brake in driveway.
6. Rebooted center console twice in a row based on a YouTube video which claims truck will phone home and check for updates.
7. Checked Ford software update section of settings and the BlueCruise update was listed as "downloading" and seconds later offered "Update now" button which I pressed.
8. Powered truck off, locked and closed doors.
9. 30 minutes later, update was listed as complete on Ford Pass phone app.


I am certain the 12V low battery issue was at least partially responsible for the delay in receiving updates.
The fix was the reset procedure, and J1772 slow charging to top up the 12V over many hours (to 91% SOC as I noted).
Once I enabled the manual parking brake (which I very rarely use by the way) and rebooted the console with a 12V topped up, the update came through immediately.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

Okay here's a question for you. When you plug in the 50 amp at a campground, you can then plug the camper into the lightning, correct? So do the electronics on the lightning do power distribution priority? As in, if the camper needs power will it route it there first and wrote any remaining power to charging the lightning? So if I'm just running my furnace lights fridge which is very minimal, then the majority would go to charging the lightning? If I'm running a season such which would pretty much eat up my 50 amps, then very little would go to charging the truck. Does it work that way? The lightning handles where the loads go?

 

Not exactly. It doesn't route AC power back out. Your EVSE will charge the lightning at its maximum rate, and then the inverter on the lightning will provide power to your load. As long as in is greater than out, your level of charge will increase.