Driving an EV pickup

[sly_karma]

I drove my F150 Lightning home yesterday. It was a long road to ownership:
- reservation placed 5/25/21
- order placed 2/1/22 (for a 2022 model)
- order placed 8/15/22 (for a 2023 model)
- "in production" 5/1/23
- built 6/4/23
- shipped 6/16/23
- at dealer 7/14/23

This thread is going to be about owning, driving and USING an electric truck. No EVangelising, just an honest appraisal of a type of vehicle both new and familiar to most of us. If it does stuff I don't like, I'll say so. Promise.

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After a recent reduction, Lightnings are almost back to their original 2022 prices. I paid $69,000 plus on road costs for the XLT trim level with a Standard Range battery with official range of 390 km.

I drive 24,000 km annually, with 85% of that being around the Okanagan for work and local recreation. The truck will charge at home at night for the great majority of its use, so I didn't see value in a further $16,000 for the Extended Range battery with just 100 km more driving. Not to mention the additional weight carried around all year, needed or not.

 

[sly_karma]

First impression: so quiet. Modern gas vehicles have good mufflers, but this is next level. A touch of motor whine off the line, and then... nothing. Can't hear tire noise, not at street speeds anyway. Likewise, no wind noise. I think I'll use cruise control around town for the first week or so to avoid getting a speeding ticket. I hadn't realised that we use engine noise as a subconscious cue for speed until it's not there.

Second impression: quick. I didn't go out and attempt quarter mile passes, but let's just say it's pretty spicy off the mark or in a roll-on situation. Street bike type acceleration, in a pickup. And it just goes, no noise. Very intriguing.

 

[kaelc]

Congrats and nice that the price came back to a reasonable amount! I’m not a big fan of my deleted diesel noise, despite how it makes the kids fall asleep, which is pretty nice because I only use it for road trips! Otherwise we are on the electric bike.

 

[CiscoCat]

Ive had mine since October. Loaded XLT extended range and tow package. To say I love this truck is an understatement. Everything from the onboard power supplies, hands free driving to the exterior lights is awesome. Probably my favorite part is the Frunk. This provides so much storage space.

My Chevy duramax 2500HD is in for service and I had to get my Whaler in for service yesterday. So figured to try the Lighting. I just went probably 20km but it towed amazingly. Im not going to try any further than that. Some things you just need good old Diesel to do right. For smaller boats and trailers the lightning is perfect.

 

[zurk]

curious as to your reasons for buying it. $70k would have got you a https://shop.ford.ca/configure/f150/model/customize/lariat?gnav=shopnav-bp f150 lariat with a v8 and all the options including copilot 360.

 

[ChilliSpoons]

I’m curious about the costs of charging.

 

[kaelc]

Ive had mine since October. Loaded XLT extended range and tow package. To say I love this truck is an understatement. Everything from the onboard power supplies, hands free driving to the exterior lights is awesome. Probably my favorite part is the Frunk. This provides so much storage space.

View attachment 95347View attachment 95348 My Chevy duramax 2500HD is in for service and I had to get my Whaler in for service yesterday. So figured to try the Lighting. I just went probably 20km but it towed amazingly. Im not going to try any further than that. Some things you just need good old Diesel to do right. For smaller boats and trailers the lightning is perfect.

Nice! What is the tow limit on her?

 

[wildmanyeah]

what do you have install at home for a charger

also thanks for starting a interesting thread to follow

 

[tinboatrobb]

Friends of mine just got home from a 19,000km tip across Canada in their new f150 lightning. A few minor charge station glitches but they said the truck performed perfectly.

 

[wildmanyeah]

curious as to your reasons for buying it. $70k would have got you a https://shop.ford.ca/configure/f150/model/customize/lariat?gnav=shopnav-bp f150 lariat with a v8 and all the options including copilot 360.

I just got this bare bones fleet tuck one the most fleetly of fleet trucks one could get at work for 63k.

 

[kaelc]

curious as to your reasons for buying it. $70k would have got you a https://shop.ford.ca/configure/f150/model/customize/lariat?gnav=shopnav-bp f150 lariat with a v8 and all the options including copilot 360.

With only the max tow package option, I get $76,920 after a - $4,750 delivery allowance. Frankly, if I'm paying 75k for a half-ton, I would want to get my fuel costs down.

Nice to see some members be on the leading edge of buying electric trucks. I'm torn about how long to keep my F350 knowing maintenance costs will just rise over the next couple years. Hopefully, there will be some electric trucks with decent payloads in the near future.

 

[sly_karma]

curious as to your reasons for buying it. $70k would have got you a https://shop.ford.ca/configure/f150/model/customize/lariat?gnav=shopnav-bp f150 lariat with a v8 and all the options including copilot 360.

I promised myself I wouldn't put another gas engine on the road. I wanted to make a change that was within my power. I've already upgraded insulation and airtightness on my house, which is the other major change I can do as an individual. I was starting to look at a new truck for the business, Ford announced the Lightning around same time. It all fit.

Then as the first trucks hit the road about 16 months ago, I started reading on the Lightning Owners forum and looking at energy consumption encountered by actual working people. Did some math and realized I would be saving serious money by going electric. I've been spending an average $600/month between gas and oil changes. That's more than half the monthly payment on the new truck. Estimate on electricity use is $70/month.

I said I wouldn't preach. Everyone uses their vehicle in different ways, and what works for me (I hope), won't necessarily work for everyone else. Thanks for the questions and comments, I'll do my best to respond as I learn more.

 

[sly_karma]

what do you have install at home for a charger

also thanks for starting a interesting thread to follow

My electrician installed a 240V 40A circuit out in the carport, same setup you'd use for a clothes dryer or a kitchen range. I could plug the truck directly into that, but I've purchased a Chargepoint Home Flex so I can document EV power consumption and claim it as business expense. Wifi so it all goes to phone or laptop.

 

[Tips Up]

I would be interested in hearing towing capacity and how the energy consumption changes when towing?

 

[sly_karma]

I’m curious about the costs of charging.

Power is cheap and completely renewable in BC, no wonder we have the most EVs in Canada. The home rate for most of us is 9.5 cents per kilowatt hour. Battery in my Lightning is 98 kWh. So a complete 0-100% charge would cost $9.31. A more likely scenario is charging from 20% to 85% (most auto makers say to cap everyday charging at 80-90% to extend battery lifespan). That would cost $6.05 (98 × 65% × $0.095)

Out on the highway it's a different story, just like eating at home is a lot cheaper than eating at a restaurant. The DC fast chargers that most people will seek out to minimise their charging time aren't cheap to build or maintain.

Petro Canada is 50 cents/minute for their 150 kW chargers. That same 20% to 85% charge equals 64 kWh. 64 kWh @ 150 kW = 0.42 hours, or 26 minutes. @$0.50/min, charge cost would be $13.

BC Hydro charges 27.4 cents for its DC fast (ish) chargers. For that 20-85% charge consuming 64 kWh, you'll pay $17.55.

So the cost to charge at a public station is about 2-3 times more than at home. Energy costs over time are going to be higher if you do a lot of highway driving.

Once at the destination, though, you could well find free places to charge. Lots of city councils and businesses have installed free or cheap AC chargers to encourage people to visit their tourist info centre, eat at their restaurant, stay at their hotel, shop at their mall, etc. Slower than the DC facilities but perfect for overnight ingredients or eating dinner, grocery shopping, walking dog, etc.

And remember you shouldn't expect to arrive at the end of a trip with a near-full charge. Not the usual practice with gas or diesel vehicle.

 

[kaelc]

You've thought it through! The nice thing about an electric bike is it plugs in anywhere and when you run out of juice you have "dad bod" horsepower. Anything under $20 for a fill-up is pretty amazing considering most of us are dropping over $150.

When upgrading it is nice to have half your costs covered by fuel to electricity savings, but also you will have maintenance savings if your last truck was over 3 years old. From tires to brakes, it also takes the edge off those expensive car payments.

 

[CiscoCat]

Nice! What is the tow limit on her?

10000lbs with the tow max package. So im probably 3000lbs over

 

[CiscoCat]

My electrician installed a 240V 40A circuit out in the carport, same setup you'd use for a clothes dryer or a kitchen range. I could plug the truck directly into that, but I've purchased a Chargepoint Home Flex so I can document EV power consumption and claim it as business expense. Wifi so it all goes to phone or laptop.

Mine came with the procharger from Ford. Its 240v 100amp. Im an electrician so install was cheap. Plus I have it setup to power the house in outage through a transfer switch.

 

[kaelc]

Mine came with the procharger from Ford. Its 240v 100amp. Im an electrician so install was cheap. Plus I have it setup to power the house in outage through a transfer switch.

Nice, how much was the transfer switch? Any code issues setting that up?

10000lbs with the tow max package. So im probably 3000lbs over

Do you have a 285 Conquest? Nice you have the right trailer for it. Takes some of the edge off when towing on the margins. Doesn't look like much squat so you won't get rubber-necking cops as I will with my dam "leveling kit" in the front, making it look like I'm thousands of pounds overweight with the truck and camper and boat.

 

[CiscoCat]

The Ford app has a great trip planer. It takes into account your range and charging needs. Also when you tow a load, the truck requires you to make a load profile so it can track your usage and effectively estimate range. It also links the trailers to your trip planner.

I just did a route from my home in Delta to Tofino. If I left my home right now with 64% towing my Whaler, I would need to charge in Nanoose Bay for 29min. Would arrive in Tofino with a 23% reserve.

Thats pretty nice if you ask me.