Unlimited access >

New Ford F-150 Lightning electric?

FFS of course it’s not. But when the title of the thread is about hauling with a “Ford Lightning” without any additional information, us old people think the one that’s like… actually been produced.

I changed the title to be more specific.

While I am far from young, I had no idea that there was another vehicle with the same name.

Thanks to all who have brought up interesting points regarding using an all electric vehicle for a tow vehicle.

3 Likes

in heat there is a similar loss of range, but not as dramatic, closer to 20% when temps are in the 90s and above

1 Like

For all you non-Ford fans:

In 5 years there should be plenty of electric truck options of all kinds. If you can wait.

There are even a couple of new companies so soon you will have your pick.

On the range end, Ford says most of their F-150s are sold in fleets and they don’t do more than 200 miles a day so that is what they are aiming at.

2 Likes

I’ve never understood the hate on certain brands of trucks. These days most are actually very similar in terms of quality.

Guess it’s just a pet peeve of mine.

FIL has a 1996 F250 that is in fantastic shape. DH’s work (construction) regularly gets 300,000+ miles on their Ford trucks. My trainer growing up had GMCs that lasted a long time. I have some friends who swear by their Dodges. Point is, some trucks will break down no matter the brand and some will last a long time no matter the brand.

14 Likes

It gets a little more gritty with diesels, whose engines and transmissions are designed by other companies. Just recently Ford took ownership of their diesel engine again.

Cummins, Allison, International…

There’s a reason we are loyal one way or the other.

And sometimes, the dislike comes from another area of the brand - ie, LS engines versus… ahem, others.

1 Like

You and me both.

I get liking something. I don’t get the hate on what others like.

Since I have to truck about an hour for some lessons and other basic horse things, I would be really worried about depending on having enough charge for even the most basic horse outing.
The fun things that are over two hours away, where I am parking in a field for a few hours would for sure be out of the question.

4 Likes

Hey man, my dad’s diesel VW Jetta has over 400,000 miles on it. The electric is iffy sometimes but it is still is very mechanically sound. Too bad they don’t have a truck for hauling. :rofl:

4 Likes

I agree that the charge length is a concern for sure. Our current truck only has 28,000 miles so we won’t be upgrading anytime soon anyway (hopefully!). But maybe by the time we are ready the electric trucks will be more viable as hauling vehicles. I think it’s a great thing in general!

Oh it’s all in good fun. And sometimes for money. :wink:

Yes. This is my third or fourth Ford and obviously, the one I’ve had the most trouble with. Thank god for my mechanics!

I’ve driven Ford trucks since 1984.
84 Ranger
90 Ranger
96 Ranger
2003 F 150
2017 F150

Husband had a 2001 Expedition which I loved.
Upgraded to a 2003 Expedition when they restyled and retooled everything and it was a nightmare.
I guess my point is that I adore Ford trucks but having driven them over a lifetime I think that I would not be an early adopter of new technology. They do the tried and true stuff well but in my experience when they pivot there’s a big learning curve and their service/recall issues on new tech can suuuuuuuuuuuck. YMMV

2 Likes

@ThreeWishes I think that is great advice for all of the major brands. Unless you are one of those lucky people that almost nothing seems to go wrong for (we all know one of those people), wait until the fancy new vehicle things have all the kinks worked out.

3 Likes

These “new technology” comments are amusing! Locomotives have been driven with electric motors for years and years. Electric motors have been around a while. So much LESS complicated than an internal combustion engine. The EVs have no spark plugs, no oil to change, no nothin!

1 Like

New tech for the Ford Motor Company is what I mean. Trust me …. Mass production of new tech from Ford can often go awry.

1 Like

the train engines that I am aware all use a diesel engine as the power source for the electric motors in the drive… I am not aware of a long haul engine that uses a battery pack

5 Likes

Bingo. They use the electric motor because of the torque capability, and that giant diesel engine is always running…

My family makes the rewind kits for the motors in the locomotives. So… very familiar with the technology there. Its is not remotely comparable.

1 Like

without that 4,000 horsepower diesel engine running those electric motors would not run

there are fully electric rail lines, but none are on battery backup

1 Like

So you remove the diesel engine and use batteries instead? You are telling me that is “new technology”?

A far far more simple technology. Using electric motors to drive a vehicle? Nothing scary here. The motor doesn’t care what is driving it. All it wants is the energy it needs for a given output. So simple.

Yeah, go buy a new PCM or ECM, and tell them it should be cheaper because its so simple.

Or the battery pack - should be cheaper! We’ve been running flashlights on them for ages.

Screw it, we’ve had submarines and aircraft carriers on nuclear power forever, let’s put one in a car. Simple! :wink:

The sensors, the jump instructions… anything new is not simple.

2 Likes