Driving an EV pickup

[Coyote Spooner]

It would be helpful if there was a website or app, that rates the access for charging stations. Maybe a google maps link plus an aerial image and street view. That way you know how to approach it and decide which ones to focus on, while towing.

 

[chris73]

The Plugshare App has a comments list and if all boaters/fishers were to leave a note whether a station is useful or not for trailer rigs that could help with that!

 

[sly_karma]

I've seen some comments re trailer accessibility on Plugshare, but there's no formal process there.

 

[sly_karma]

Did the trailer setup and towed the boat to the lake to flush motors after their salty trip a week ago. It asks for trailer length, width, height and weight and saves that info in a profile. When it detects a trailer, it uses this info to make an estimate of towing range. For my 1300 kg 19 footer, it knocked off a third of the range that was available before hitching up. A message pops up on the screen to let you know it will get more accurate as you do more towing trips with that trailer.



Lots of other towing features, which would guess are on all the F150 series with tow packages. Camera pointing straight down at hitch, another that can view the box and trailer any time (or all the time), cross traffic sensors are automatically disabled. There's even a nifty trailer lights check that cycles through all the stop and turn signal functions while you visually check them.

 

[sly_karma]

Actual towing was easy and smooth. All of the motor torque is available right from stationary, no revving to bump it up over a driveway or reversing uphill. The extra load going downhill is easily handled by the regenerative braking, even down a hill I would normally shift down into second in my gas rig. The actual brake pedal is only rarely used, speed is completely controlled by the accelerator pedal.

Added bonus: the trailer weight caused the truck to actually gain 3 km of range going down the hill to the lake. Of course it consumed all that back towing it uphill going home.

 

[Bifmalibu]

Actual towing was easy and smooth. All of the motor torque is available right from stationary, no revving to bump it up over a driveway or reversing uphill. The extra load going downhill is easily handled by the regenerative braking, even down a hill I would normally shift down into second in my gas rig. The actual brake pedal is only rarely used, speed is completely controlled by the accelerator pedal.

Added bonus: the trailer weight caused the truck to actually gain 3 km of range going down the hill to the lake. Of course it consumed all that back towing it uphill going home.

do you know anticipated brake replacement mileage? Do you expect it to be more frequent than ice trucks due to the regenerative breaking? Is it just pads on rotors acting as a generator?

 

[Salmon Seeker]

do you know anticipated brake replacement mileage? Do you expect it to be more frequent than ice trucks due to the regenerative breaking? Is it just pads on rotors acting as a generator?

Should be less frequent because the regenerative braking uses magnetic forces, not friction. So you end up using the pads and rotors much less

 

[triplenickel]

do you know anticipated brake replacement mileage? Do you expect it to be more frequent than ice trucks due to the regenerative breaking? Is it just pads on rotors acting as a generator?

Probably uses the drive motors for regen.

 

[sly_karma]

Should be less frequent because the regenerative braking uses magnetic forces, not friction. So you end up using the pads and rotors much less

Probably uses the drive motors for regen.

Both correct. Ford offers "one pedal driving" mode, which means regenerative braking. It's very like driving an electric golf cart, lift your foot off the accelerator it immediately begins to slow. That energy is returned into the battery.

Too soon for real life data, as the first Lightnings have been on the road barely a year, but there are Tesla owners reporting first brake pad replacement at 400,000 km. The regenerative braking takes longer to slow on really steep grades or with a load on board, but generally the brake pedal is rarely needed. You just feather the loud pedal until you're at the speed you want. Approaching a stop light, lift off the accelerator, and the truck will slow to a halt, no brake pedal needed. The vehicle remains stationary without brake too.

What I would anticipate, though, is slightly increased tire wear. Instead of simply rolling down hills, now those tires have a bit of resistance as they turn the motors backward to generate power. Traction engages which will use some rubber over time.

 

[Bifmalibu]

I found the one pedal on my buddies Tesla pretty awesome. It made my 2014 F150 feel like a dinosaur.

 

[sly_karma]

This is the big EV weapon in city driving efficiency. A good chunk of the energy used to get you rolling off the stop line is recovered and re used at the next set of lights.

 

[Newf]

I was just reading an article a couple of days ago on regenerative braking. It was talking about EV cars and it was pointing out that some cars have different modes of braking from slight braking to very aggressive. They also pointed out that for some vehicles no brake light comes on so for those that have the mode set to an aggressive braking it can create safety issues for tailgaters that are up your butt on the highway. You take your foot off of the gas and the vehicle is braking but they don't know it's breaking until it's too late. Can't remember which vehicle but I believe they said that Chev/GM has something in their EV's that address this issue. Does your truck have different settings for the braking and do the brake lights come on with any of the different modes?

 

[CiscoCat]

Brake lights always come on every time you let off in one foot mode. This mode is fantastic. Just need to adjust your driving habits on how the play the “gas” pedal. There is also a brake coach icon that tells you how much regen was produced on a complete decel to stop. This is fun to always try and get 100%.

 

[sly_karma]

I was just reading an article a couple of days ago on regenerative braking. It was talking about EV cars and it was pointing out that some cars have different modes of braking from slight braking to very aggressive. They also pointed out that for some vehicles no brake light comes on so for those that have the mode set to an aggressive braking it can create safety issues for tailgaters that are up your butt on the highway. You take your foot off of the gas and the vehicle is braking but they don't know it's breaking until it's too late. Can't remember which vehicle but I believe they said that Chev/GM has something in their EV's that address this issue. Does your truck have different settings for the braking and do the brake lights come on with any of the different modes?

Tesla and BYD have several settings of regen available for driver to select. With Ford it's either full one-pedal or no regen at all, just like a normal auto transmission setup. I have yet to tailgate myself in the Lightning, so I'm not sure at what point the brake lights come on.

ICE vehicles for decades have allowed drivers to slow themselves by gearing down, which doesn't trigger the brake lights. I habitually geared down in my Silverado and the trucks that went before it. Semi trailer drivers do it, and if they're going significantly slower than general traffic, they use their hazard lights. If EVs are triggering brake lights as they slow, that sounds like an improvement over the past.

 

[sly_karma]

I bought this as a work truck, so work it must. Haven't had a free minute to install the headache rack yet, but I figured some soft insulation would be ok against the rear window.



I wish, I wish, it had a box longer than 5'6, but this is the only cab/box configuration for all Lightnings. Once they get the new T3 platform into production, that will probably change, but that's another 2-3 years away. So I'm stuck with a shorter box than anything I've ever owned. We still have trucks with 6'8 and 8 ft boxes and racks in the fleet, so it's not the end of the world.

To make up for this to some degree, there is the frunk. Loads of storage up front, up to 400 lbs. It's weatherproof, lockable and out of sight of scumbag eyes. It also has four 120V power outlets. I actually charged a Makita 18V battery this morning on the 30 minute drive to the job site.

 

[sly_karma]

Guess I should talk about charging. Most of the time, my truck will charge at home, for convenience and lowest power costs. I can charge at Level 1 (120 volts AC) or Level 2 (240 volts AC). Ford supplies a charge cable that can handle either, mainly intended for use when away from home.

Level 1 is pretty slow, as you're limited to the very modest power throughput offered by a standard outdoor power outlet. Charging from 15% to 85% would take about 46 hours. I would only use this when away from home where I could plug in at the destination and leave it charging for a couple of days.

Level 2 is what most people use at home. My electrician wired up a NEMA 14-50 plug in a location within reach of both driveway spaces. This is a 240 volt AC circuit on a 40 Amp circuit breaker, the same as used for a clothes dryer or a kitchen range. Charging from 15% to 85% takes about 10 hours - ie, overnight.

I could just use the Ford cable at home, but I want to keep that in the truck so I don't forget to take it with me on out of town trips, and I wanted better power consumption tracking, so I bought a Chargepoint home charger. It's connected to phone app which can produce weekly/monthly/yearly reports detailing power use, so I can be reimbursed for business use and provide documentation to CRA.



The charge port on the truck is concealed behind the F150 nameplate just forward of the driver's door. AC power connects via the 5 pin circular connector. The little collection of white indicators light up while charging to indicate charge level at a glance.

 

[turbomack]

Do you have to get a rider on your home insurance for charging/parking the truck in the garage ?

 

[sly_karma]

Good question, I hadn't thought about that. The truck parks in the open, as the two carport spaces belong to the wife's car and my boat - priorities, right? The charger is covered above but has lots of air circulation in the open sided carport.

The only heat I've noted during charging is when the connector or cord are in direct sunshine. Other than that, they don't warm up as much as a cell phone on fast charge.

 

[sly_karma]

Poking around on the screen. Owners manuals are all digital these days. The Lightning maintenance schedule is pretty sparse. Inspect a few items, change cabin air filter.

 

[Bifmalibu]

Dealers must hate these. Are we going to see dealer service centres obsolete in another 20 years?