F-150 Lightning EV Pickup & Camping

TNOutback · May 2021

I just watched the F-150 Lightning reveal video, and that’s got me thinking about the future of camping in an EV world and how different that will be! I’m sure battery technology will improve and ranges will extend, but I can’t get very excited about having to stop every 100 miles or so, for an hour or more, to recharge the truck’s batteries; that’s going to make for much longer travel times, and that’s only when you can find DC fast chargers. On the flip side, no more noisy campgrounds with people running generators, as your EV will power your boondock or primitive camping site. I can also imagine the campgrounds with hookups will have to upgrade their infrastructure for the extra demand (or forbid vehicle charging), and possibly start metering usage at each campsite. When the battery technology catches up with the towing range I have now in my F-150 (over 400 miles with the 36 gallon fuel tank), it might have my attention.

Dutch061 · May 2021

I agree that the battery technology has a ways to go, but I know a guy who says that he and his colleagues have cracked that code and solution and are just waiting on patents. He will not discuss anything further with me at this time, so I am not sure what they have figured out. Elon Musk and Tesla has certainly done a lot in helping develop this technology and it is just a matter of time before we see EV's that will overcome these limitations. With that being said, I don't believe that internal combustion engines will disappear anytime soon.

I don't see the campgrounds upgrading their infrastructure to support Fast Charging due to the 480 Volts required. There are several areas that don't have access to 480 3 Phase power, especially the places we like to go. But I could be completely wrong about that too, because I quite often am. Otherwise plugging into a standard 110 volt outlet to slow charge is really no different than having your RV plugged in to support that. However, it would take days to fully charge a very low state of charge EV.

Brad

CharlieRN · May 2021

Range - or more specifically, range anxiety - is the biggest impediment to wider EV acceptance. This is particularly true when it comes to EV's for the RV world. There are two aspects to range anxiety: BEV storage capacity and the charging network. Looking at capacity, for an EV to be useful as a TV, it needs to have a range of 200 - 250 miles with the trailer. This means that the EV must have a nominal range of something around 425 miles. We unfortunately don't have any real data on the impact of trailer towing on range at present.

The only true towing testing I'm aware of is by Rivian with their R1T pickup. The tests were at the truck's maximum tow capacity of 11,000 lbs, and indicated a 50% drop in range. Smaller, relatively aero trailers like the T@B 320 and 400 will have less of an impact, but we are just guessing what it is is at this point.

Since the F-150 is not presently available and will have a max range of only 300 miles when released, let's do some speculation using the Rivian R1T with the Max Battery pack, which will have a nominal range of at least 415 miles. Let's assume that the range impact is a 25% decrease, a hopefully conservative estimate since either T@B model is much lighter and far more aerodynamic than the test trailer Rivian used. That reduces range to about 311 miles.

Like the batteries in our T@B's, the EV battery pack should not regularly be run down to zero State of Charge, nor should it be fully charged to 100%, except on occasion. Let's assume 80% and 20% for now (the battery management system of EVs will select the optimum for you, and route your accordingly, but we need to make some assumptions here).

Applying the 80/20 parameters above to the 311 mile max range yields an effective range of about 200 miles. That in turn means stopping to recharge about every 4 hours. A recharge to 80% SoC at a Level 3 charger should be relatively quick, maybe 30 - 40 minutes. This is a bit of a pain, but certainly tolerable. The issue right now is that there are parts of North America, like WY, KS and larger swathes of the western Canadian provinces, with very few Fast Chargers.

No one worries about running out of fuel on ICE TVs, mostly because there are so many filling stations. In fact, I bet that few us actually know what the effective range of our vehicles when towing are Why should we? Once the fuel gauge gets to 1/4, we start looking for a filling station and are confident (98% of the time) that there will be one available. That's not presently the case for charging stations, and hence the range anxiety. Of course, you don't absolutely need a fast charger; EVs can connected to a household 110v A/C line. Charging will take a very long time this way however.

Bottom line, at least for me, is that we are really close to EV viability for RV use. While the charging network for other than Tesla vehicles is fairly thin right now, that's changing quickly. Electrify America, as part of the VW diesel fuel fraud settlement, is in the process of opening thousands of new charging stations. Rivian has committed to hundreds of charging stations located in/near national parks and forests as part of their Adventure Network.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll confess to having a pre-order in place for both the Tesla CT (which may have a nominal range 500+ miles) and an R1T with a Max pack. The Launch Edition of the R1T will start getting to customers next month, but Max pack deliveries are at least six months away. Neither the CT nor the Max R1T are likely to be in general use until 2023, but that may not be such a bad thing if it gives time for a much expanded charging network to be in place.

Kentsb · May 2021

I worked for a company that makes auxiliary fuel tanks for trucks and RV’s. They have a show truck a F250 diesel that was equipped with an auxiliary tank in the bed. This truck could go from LA to Chicago on Route 66 on a single tanks of fuel. The company is very aware of the future and is not going to be left behind on the move to electric. They are already working on auxiliary battery packs for just this situation. I have not seen any stats but I am guessing that the range stated is based on no payload and no passengers.

Pintoplumber · May 2021

This was posted on a truck site.

Denny16 · May 2021

We are in the same situation as the transportation revolution at the start of the 20th Century when gas vehicles were replacing horse drawn vehicles. Blacksmith shops and livery stables gave way gas (petrol) stations and garages. My great grandfather converted is blacksmith shop to a gas station/garage, and is oldest son his buggy upholstery shop became an automobile upholstery shop.

Gas buggies are going to be replaced by electric ones, in the next 10 years, and gas pumps will give way to charging stations. We are a little behind where this revolution was in the 1920s as more gas vehicles were on the road then, than electric vehicles are today, but they are catching up as technology improves.
cheers

N7SHG_Ham · May 2021

IMO and experience, the Tab is not very aerodynamic at all, despite the sort of rounded shape. I expect no better than 50% range with an EV towing a Tab.

Kentsb · May 2021

I only get about 60% with my Honda Pilot when towing. Distance does not seem to be the issue. It is the time required to recharge. I just read someone has a quick charge system that will get you to 80% in 20 minutes. I can live with that. Just how long before that will be generally available is the next question.

wolfeel2000 · June 2021

I have been following the development of the Atlis trucks. They are getting close to production. The things they were working on was the fast charging and the charging network. Primarily along interstates with the ability to add solar tanneau covers. I am hopeful that their vehicles can meet my needs. They seem to be targeting the average/work truck market so maybe their price point will be acceptable.

SpudLime · June 2021

I read an article that the 300 mile range is with 1000 lbs in the truck bed. Ford did this thinking the average payload would be 1000#'s. So if the bed is empty, you could get further range. That being said, the same article estimated about 100 miles for the lightning pulling at full towing capacity.

While I love the truck, the battery range isnt there yet.

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F-150 Lightning EV Pickup & Camping

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