After all the electric vehicle talks last year, from when Rivian first launched to when other automakers ramped up production. All the talks about Ford F-150 Lightning are finally being tested. A new owner who received the vehicle recently shared real-world data and also its towing capabilities.
If the electric pickup truck owners want to tow over long distances, there is some prior planning required. The owner shares the experience of towing a 23-foot Airstream trailer for 30 miles. It was a test to see the capacity of the vehicle, seeing how the 6,000-pound trailer could be towed. The route was flat and while towing the speed was maintained at over 65mph. As said in the video, the experience seems to be great for the owner. Instant torque from the electric pickup truck made the towing process easy.
Another major challenge is maintaining the range with towing. As noted by the owner, around 0.8 miles per kWh was seen during the test. It is a notable difference from the 1.5miles to 1.8 miles kWh, obtained without any trailer. Roughly 50% of the original range went down with towing. Once the owners plug in their trailer’s specifics, the impact is calculated on trailer range. It was observed that the plugged-in trailer with 85 miles range left, had 54 miles after the attached trailer.
Other capabilities
The Lightning owner observed several interesting things about the all-electric truck when it towed the 23-foot Airstream. For one, several BlueCruise capabilities were reportedly disabled as soon as the vehicle’s tow/haul mode was activated. Regen braking worked just fine as well.
Overall, the EV driver noted that the towing experience with the F-150 Lightning was actually very similar to that of a regular combustion-powered F-150. This should benefit the vehicle, as it would make it easier for Ford owners to transition from an ICE F-150 to the Lightning. The range hit is the only issue so far since towing essentially cuts the vehicle’s range in half. But with rapid charging networks being expanded and Tesla possibly opening up its Superchargers to other EVs in the near future, Lightning’s range adjustments when towing may soon be a nonissue.
Early May, the vehicle engineering manager Dapo Adewusi said, “We were seriously focused on raising the bar on this truck, including after we revealed it, so we can deliver more for our customers. And our drive for continuous improvement will get a big boost when we start getting feedback and ideas from customers when they receive their Lightning.”
