[1337ross]

Hello from Ontario Canada

Just put in my reservation and I know it will be a long wait.
I've been following electric vehicles for quite some time.

In fact I worked (retired 2017) in the Advanced Engineering group in Volvo Construction and led teams developing electric vehicles for construction equipment. Check out this video

Ever since I've been itching to get my hands on just the right EV ...and the Ford Lighting fits the bill.
Planning to sell the RV, Jeep and utility trailer and clear my driveway for the Lightning.
Also planning to put in a solar installation to feed this puppy with green energy

Very excited to start this journey

BUT - Very interested to know the KWH battery size to understand towing range - related to long distance towing campers etc
Currently hear that published ranges are with 1000 lb load in the bed.
Would like this confirmed.
Would like to hear what others know about towing range.

I believe towing capacity is currently set at 10,000 lbs
If so what will the range fall to? ... I'm guessing about 40% reduced range towing 10,000lbs

Any thoughts?

 

[918Nate]

That autonomous hauler looks amazing! I bet that was a fun project to work on.

I’ve heard the same thing that the range was with 1000 lb payload from several videos, including at least one (I think) confirmed by Ford folks. The 10,000 lb towing capacity is with the max tow package but it’s looking like that won’t be too brutal of a hit to the wallet to add on.

I believe I’ve seen the towing and payload ranges diminished slightly with the extended battery to make up for the extra weight but I think this is only a couple of hundred lbs if memory serves.

 

[larry.james807]

I'm guessing it will be similar to both my gasoline and diesel. I lose about 40-50% range when pulling at max weight. At half-max weight pulls, I lose about 30-40% range (mpg). I'm really hoping the range of the extended range battery is closer to 400 miles vs 300.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I'm guessing it will be similar to both my gasoline and diesel. I lose about 40-50% range when pulling at max weight. At half-max weight pulls, I lose about 30-40% range (mpg). I'm really hoping the range of the extended range battery is closer to 400 miles vs 300.

The good news is that for non-interstate travel the loss may be less due to regenerative braking.

 

[1337ross]

The good news is that for non-interstate travel the loss may be less due to regenerative braking.

For all you engineering geeks out there.
I found this very interesting YouTuber called "Engineering Explained" video where he basically shows on the white board why current electric vehicles (2019) are not that good at towing.

The conclusion is that todays batteries just don't have the same energy density as diesel or gasoline and therefore for the sizes being used today they fall far short when towing large loads long distances.

IF battery energy density increases with development (at least 2x) then towing longer distances would become more acceptable. This is one reason the TESLA haul truck is slightly delayed. Elon is waiting on his new higher energy dense battery - the 4680 cell.

Apparently FORD knew this and has sourced the most powerful Li Battery possible from a Korean company called SK Innovation. This is a high nickel content battery much like the Tesla 4680 which is good news for towing.
Check out this article:

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Will Have the Most Powerful Li-Ion Cell Available

SK Innovation managed to escape from a U.S. ban to pull off something extraordinary. One of the cars it plans to power, the Ford F-150 Lightning, will receive the most powerful lithium-ion battery to date. Called NCM9, it has a proportion of nickel that reaches approximately 90% of its...

www.autoevolution.com

 

[FinalStar]

Another video I love that explains it in a easy to understand way is this

 

[1337ross]

Another video I love that explains it in a easy to understand way is this

Yes that was also an excellent video that explains towing range effects.
I guess the key aspect will be the battery energy density numbers in the Ford. Lets wait and see.

Thanks

 

[CS-in-SoCal]

New poster here. I reserved my Lightning back in May. We have a 9,000lb GW toy hauler with an 800lb tongue weight. Hoping that the Lightning will be able to tow her ok.

 

[FinalStar]

I bet with the power and torque you will hardly even notice it's back there, but I will be interested in what the range ends up being

 

[CS-in-SoCal]

I’m hoping the torque on these will make towing a breeze. I wonder how easy it will be to add airbags to the Lightning. I currently tow my TH with a 5.3L Tahoe, and without airbags it’s a low rider.

 

[ChasingCoral]

New poster here. I reserved my Lightning back in May. We have a 9,000lb GW toy hauler with an 800lb tongue weight. Hoping that the Lightning will be able to tow her ok.

With the extended range battery and Max tow package you can tow 10,000 lb and carry 1,800 lb of payload.

 

[CS-in-SoCal]

I can’t wait. Now I need to plot out where to recharge while towing my TH. I just saw a Chargepoint Station on my way to Ocatillo Wells out here in So Cal. I didn’t investigate how easy it would be to charge there (pull-thru vs pull-in), but if it was either a) run out of juice, or b) fumble through about an hour of apologizing to people for my big ‘ol TH, I’ll take Option B.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I can’t wait. Now I need to plot out where to recharge while towing my TH. I just saw a Chargepoint Station on my way to Ocatillo Wells out here in So Cal. I didn’t investigate how easy it would be to charge there (pull-thru vs pull-in), but if it was either a) run out of juice, or b) fumble through about an hour of apologizing to people for my big ‘ol TH, I’ll take Option B.

Then I encourage you to plan out your routes using A Better Route Planner and PlugShare. You can check out charging station layout using photos on Plugshare and "satellite" view on Google Maps.

 

[CS-in-SoCal]

Thank you. I’ll remember that.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Here's the first realistic data, not with a Lightning but a Rivian R1T:

The owners/drivers of Gideon the Rivian were pulling a trailer with a Mustang Coupe (trailer weight about 6,500 pounds) across country. In the first leg, TFL Truck identified about 7 stops in 700 miles from Gideon's Instagram account. The owners confirmed this and indicated they kept charge levels in the 16-80% range.

~100 miles between charges while towing
equates to ~ 165 miles total range while towing (100 / 0.6)
equates to ~ 45-50% range reduction from EPA range due to towing (314 mile EPA range)

Note that this is the reduction from overall EPA range. I haven't seen the EPA highway listing or an independent highway test. The YouTube discussion also didn't include what speed Gideon was traveling.

All in all this suggests we may see a 40-50% reduction from the Lightning's overall EPA range rating as well.

 

[CS-in-SoCal]

Here's the first realistic data, not with a Lightning but a Rivian R1T:

The owners/drivers of Gideon the Rivian were pulling a trailer with a Mustang Coupe (trailer weight about 6,500 pounds) across country. In the first leg, TFL Truck identified about 7 stops in 700 miles from Gideon's Instagram account. The owners confirmed this and indicated they kept charge levels in the 16-80% range.

~100 miles between charges while towing
equates to ~ 165 miles total range while towing (100 / 0.6)
equates to ~ 45-50% range reduction from EPA range due to towing (314 mile EPA range)

Note that this is the reduction from overall EPA range. I haven't seen the EPA highway listing or an independent highway test. The YouTube discussion also didn't include what speed Gideon was traveling.

All in all this suggests we may see a 40-50% reduction from the Lightning's overall EPA range rating as well.

Thanks for sharing. That's about what I figured; a 50% reduction in range. The Lightning, with the extended battery, is supposed to have 300mi range to it, so, we will just need to plan our camping trips around available charging stations, and pray that they start adding them to Pilot or Flying J stations.

 

[skateguy50]

I'm betting I wouldn't want to tow a camper with this, but currently I have a 6x12 enclosed trailer that can hold 4,000lbs I use for large projects and small utility trailer rated for around 500lbs that I setup for carrying 4 kayaks and paddleboards. I'm hoping for local trips it will do fine but gonna keep my wife's hylander for long distance camping trips. Also we camp in really remote areas that are not ready for electric, favorite is Baxter State park in Maine, its 45 minutes to the gate from nearest town and the park is huge with zero electricity in the park.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I'm betting I wouldn't want to tow a camper with this, but currently I have a 6x12 enclosed trailer that can hold 4,000lbs I use for large projects and small utility trailer rated for around 500lbs that I setup for carrying 4 kayaks and paddleboards. I'm hoping for local trips it will do fine but gonna keep my wife's hylander for long distance camping trips. Also we camp in really remote areas that are not ready for electric, favorite is Baxter State park in Maine, its 45 minutes to the gate from nearest town and the park is huge with zero electricity in the park.

I plan to pull my 4,000 pound travel trailer with my Lightning.

 

[skateguy50]

I plan to pull my 4,000 pound travel trailer with my Lightning.

How far do you plan to tow? I do most my trailer and towing within 100 miles of home so really not worried about range and loss of distance with towing.

 

[ChasingCoral]

How far do you plan to tow? I do most my trailer and towing within 100 miles of home so really not worried about range and loss of distance with towing.

Most trips will probably be within a few hundred miles but we plan a cross country trip in the first year after we get the Lightning.