From my inbox:
I have been following you for year from the old Tundra days and now on Youtube. I currently have a 2017 Tundra and a 2022 GMC AT4 Duramax 1500. I am currently doing a Lemon Law on the GMC as I had extensive electrical issues (Covid Truck) As you know it a great truck mine was just a lemon. I currently have almost 40,000 miles on it and have owned it just over a year. I get about 28mpg highway running KO2 or are they 3’s now?
I was offered an opportunity to test the towing range of a 2023 Ford Lightning. The goal with this test was to see how far the F-150 Lightning, long range (131 kWh) battery could tow my Yamaha Umax Rally and aluminum trailer.
My trailer is on the heavy side for an aluminum trailer, I would estimate my trailer and Umax combined to be about 3,000-3500 lbs. As you can see from the photos it is not a very aerodynamic setup but should be a good test for the average small camper, ATV, snow mobiles, boat etc.
A few other specifics to note. The test Lightning had 5,750 miles on the odometer, not sure it makes any difference, but it was not a new vehicle. The battery should be at peak capacity as it was almost new. The test included myself and my wife, I wanted real world numbers so I drove it like I would any other truck I have owned while towing. I avoided using the full acceleration potential of the very quick Lightning but did not drive it like an old man either. Climate controls were set for the heater to maintain the cabin at a comfortable 72 degrees. Regenerative braking was set to on (Which is an option to have turned on/off).
Other conditions for the test, one heated seat was on, heated steering wheel was on, and the radio was on. The Lightning had a vinyl tonneau cover over the bed which should assist the aerodynamics slightly. Outside temperature was 36-38 degrees, it was a damp December 2nd. We had a little light misting but no snow or rain during the test. The planned route was a round trip from my home located near Middleton Wisconsin, then north to the Wisconsin Dells.
The speeds were mix of slow city driving at 25 mph, and highway speeds ranging from 60 to 70 MPH. The roads traveled were hilly thru the Baraboo bluffs the remainder of the route was flat and rolling hills common in south central Wisconsin. I wanted real roads, typical driving habits and a worst-case scenario with the cold temps.
The trip concluded at 102 miles, time was just over 2 hours giving an average speed of about 50 mph.
The long-range lighting is estimated to have 320 total miles of range when charged to 100%. Since this was intended to be a real-world test, I started with what a typical charge of roughly 90%. I am not sure what Ford recommends for day to day charging but most companies recommend 80-90 % charge for daily use to optimize battery life. EV batteries last longer if not charged to 100% everyday, however if I was making a trip of a longer planned distance, I would charge the night prior to 100% getting all the potential range available for the trip.
The test Ford Lightning was a Lariat package well equipped with an MSRP window sticker of just over $89K. Currently Ford is offering an incentive of $7,500 off and if a person’s income qualifies a federal tax incentive and an additional $7,500 off Ford promotion. The truck used for the test likely would not qualify for the federal tax rebate as the price was over the $80K threshold.
My general driving experience was very positive. The Lightning offered a comfortable quiet ride. The truck had enough technology and features to meet the expectations of nearly everyone looking for a “luxury” truck. The truck as one would expect from an EV was very quiet. Most of the noise was from passing cars and a little wind noise. The truck was very quick, my estimate would say a little quicker than a Tesla model Y long range but overall comparable.
While towing, the load was more apparent than in my 2022 GMC AT4 half ton. I would say it was comparable to my Tundra but with more bounce and push-pull of the trailer. After a few minutes of adjusting to the towing experience the bounce and push-pull became less apparent. The Lightning accelerated with ease and really did not make any difference with the extra weight, easily beating the performance of my other trucks.
After connecting the trailer and Yamaha the Lightning has a menu for trailering which asks for some user inputs for trailer, length, width, height, and weight.
You can save multiple trailers. I entered 10’ length, 7’ wide, 7’ high and 4000 pounds weight as I wanted it to be worst case and they are just estimates used for the truck to recalculate the range available. Prior to connection of the trailer the Lightning was charged to 92% battery and an estimated remaining range of 290 miles.
After connecting the trailer, the system recalibrated the range to an estimated 141 miles and battery, as expected, was still at 92% charge.
Driving results, after 10 miles of driving the trip screen indicated an average consumption rating (efficiency) of 1.4 mi/kWh and had elapsed 20 minutes of time. The range remaining had adjusted to 131 miles and battery was now at 86%. I was impressed with the initial results as range was pretty accurate considering I had driven 10 miles, and it adjusted the remaining range to 10 miles less.
My experience with Tesla’s is the range remaining is not always accurate 10 miles driven often will result with more than 10 miles less range in
the Tesla calculation estimates. Tesla owners often complain about the range they advertise is not real, often getting less than advertised. The other thing we have noticed with the Tesla is that that like ICE (internal combustion engines) engines they show better range at the beginning of the trip and then have a more rapid decline as your trip continues.
After 20 miles of driving the range remaining was now at 122 miles and battery was at 81%, I was doing slightly better than the original estimate. Average consumption was at 1.4 million/kWh, time lapsed was 30 minutes. After 36 miles traveled, the efficiency had dropped to 1.3 miles/kWh, time lapsed of 48 minutes range dropped to 102 miles and battery was at 71%. I was just past the Baraboo bluffs and the cruise control was set at 70 mph, I assume the steeper hills and increased speed 970 MPH) contributed to the decline in efficiency to 1.3 mi/kWh.
My next check in was at 50 miles, this was my halfway point of my planned drive. Efficiency was now 1.2 mi/kWh, time lapsed was 1:01, remaining range was down to 82 miles and battery was at 61%.
At the end of my test, I traveled 102 miles, 2 hours 10 minutes of total time. I ended up with an efficiency average of 1.3 mi/kWh, I had
43 miles of estimated range remaining and battery level was at 30% remaining. Considering the original estimate was 141 miles of range at the beginning of the test real world numbers were better than what the Ford display estimated. I did not want to risk running the truck down to zero, and I felt I had the numbers needed to make a good conclusion of the worst-case range for my typical towing. Using the average efficiency of 1.3 mi/kWh we can get a
good estimate of total range towing a setup like used for the test. Calculation is average consumption (efficiency) and multiply that by the total battery capacity of 131 kWh a total calculated range would be 170 miles assuming battery is charged to 100%.
My test run would agree with those numbers the real range towing under today’s conditions is about 170 miles. My personal guesstimate prior to testing was the range towing would be about 1/2 the range of the truck without towing. I would estimate summer months with conditions being better for an EV could possibly extend that and additional 10 miles. Prior to connecting the trailer my test driving was showing about 2.3 miles/kWh, using the same calculation would give a winter (not super cold but cold enough at 37 degrees) range of 300ish miles, summer driving would likely be close to the EPA range of 320 miles, better if in town as EV’s get worse mileage on highway as the use of regenerative braking in stop and go city improves the range. If you are not familiar with regenerative braking basically it breaks down to this (no pun intended). An EV has a motor that operates two ways. One way propels the wheels of the vehicle forward during acceleration. The other way an EV motor works allows the wheels to power the battery by restoring some of the kinetic energy back
to the batteries.
I have been following you for year from the old Tundra days and now on Youtube. I currently have a 2017 Tundra and a 2022 GMC AT4 Duramax 1500. I am currently doing a Lemon Law on the GMC as I had extensive electrical issues (Covid Truck) As you know it a great truck mine was just a lemon. I currently have almost 40,000 miles on it and have owned it just over a year. I get about 28mpg highway running KO2 or are they 3’s now?
I was offered an opportunity to test the towing range of a 2023 Ford Lightning. The goal with this test was to see how far the F-150 Lightning, long range (131 kWh) battery could tow my Yamaha Umax Rally and aluminum trailer.
My trailer is on the heavy side for an aluminum trailer, I would estimate my trailer and Umax combined to be about 3,000-3500 lbs. As you can see from the photos it is not a very aerodynamic setup but should be a good test for the average small camper, ATV, snow mobiles, boat etc.
A few other specifics to note. The test Lightning had 5,750 miles on the odometer, not sure it makes any difference, but it was not a new vehicle. The battery should be at peak capacity as it was almost new. The test included myself and my wife, I wanted real world numbers so I drove it like I would any other truck I have owned while towing. I avoided using the full acceleration potential of the very quick Lightning but did not drive it like an old man either. Climate controls were set for the heater to maintain the cabin at a comfortable 72 degrees. Regenerative braking was set to on (Which is an option to have turned on/off).
Other conditions for the test, one heated seat was on, heated steering wheel was on, and the radio was on. The Lightning had a vinyl tonneau cover over the bed which should assist the aerodynamics slightly. Outside temperature was 36-38 degrees, it was a damp December 2nd. We had a little light misting but no snow or rain during the test. The planned route was a round trip from my home located near Middleton Wisconsin, then north to the Wisconsin Dells.
The speeds were mix of slow city driving at 25 mph, and highway speeds ranging from 60 to 70 MPH. The roads traveled were hilly thru the Baraboo bluffs the remainder of the route was flat and rolling hills common in south central Wisconsin. I wanted real roads, typical driving habits and a worst-case scenario with the cold temps.
The trip concluded at 102 miles, time was just over 2 hours giving an average speed of about 50 mph.
The long-range lighting is estimated to have 320 total miles of range when charged to 100%. Since this was intended to be a real-world test, I started with what a typical charge of roughly 90%. I am not sure what Ford recommends for day to day charging but most companies recommend 80-90 % charge for daily use to optimize battery life. EV batteries last longer if not charged to 100% everyday, however if I was making a trip of a longer planned distance, I would charge the night prior to 100% getting all the potential range available for the trip.
The test Ford Lightning was a Lariat package well equipped with an MSRP window sticker of just over $89K. Currently Ford is offering an incentive of $7,500 off and if a person’s income qualifies a federal tax incentive and an additional $7,500 off Ford promotion. The truck used for the test likely would not qualify for the federal tax rebate as the price was over the $80K threshold.
My general driving experience was very positive. The Lightning offered a comfortable quiet ride. The truck had enough technology and features to meet the expectations of nearly everyone looking for a “luxury” truck. The truck as one would expect from an EV was very quiet. Most of the noise was from passing cars and a little wind noise. The truck was very quick, my estimate would say a little quicker than a Tesla model Y long range but overall comparable.
While towing, the load was more apparent than in my 2022 GMC AT4 half ton. I would say it was comparable to my Tundra but with more bounce and push-pull of the trailer. After a few minutes of adjusting to the towing experience the bounce and push-pull became less apparent. The Lightning accelerated with ease and really did not make any difference with the extra weight, easily beating the performance of my other trucks.
After connecting the trailer and Yamaha the Lightning has a menu for trailering which asks for some user inputs for trailer, length, width, height, and weight.
You can save multiple trailers. I entered 10’ length, 7’ wide, 7’ high and 4000 pounds weight as I wanted it to be worst case and they are just estimates used for the truck to recalculate the range available. Prior to connection of the trailer the Lightning was charged to 92% battery and an estimated remaining range of 290 miles.
After connecting the trailer, the system recalibrated the range to an estimated 141 miles and battery, as expected, was still at 92% charge.
Driving results, after 10 miles of driving the trip screen indicated an average consumption rating (efficiency) of 1.4 mi/kWh and had elapsed 20 minutes of time. The range remaining had adjusted to 131 miles and battery was now at 86%. I was impressed with the initial results as range was pretty accurate considering I had driven 10 miles, and it adjusted the remaining range to 10 miles less.
My experience with Tesla’s is the range remaining is not always accurate 10 miles driven often will result with more than 10 miles less range in
the Tesla calculation estimates. Tesla owners often complain about the range they advertise is not real, often getting less than advertised. The other thing we have noticed with the Tesla is that that like ICE (internal combustion engines) engines they show better range at the beginning of the trip and then have a more rapid decline as your trip continues.
After 20 miles of driving the range remaining was now at 122 miles and battery was at 81%, I was doing slightly better than the original estimate. Average consumption was at 1.4 million/kWh, time lapsed was 30 minutes. After 36 miles traveled, the efficiency had dropped to 1.3 miles/kWh, time lapsed of 48 minutes range dropped to 102 miles and battery was at 71%. I was just past the Baraboo bluffs and the cruise control was set at 70 mph, I assume the steeper hills and increased speed 970 MPH) contributed to the decline in efficiency to 1.3 mi/kWh.
My next check in was at 50 miles, this was my halfway point of my planned drive. Efficiency was now 1.2 mi/kWh, time lapsed was 1:01, remaining range was down to 82 miles and battery was at 61%.
At the end of my test, I traveled 102 miles, 2 hours 10 minutes of total time. I ended up with an efficiency average of 1.3 mi/kWh, I had
43 miles of estimated range remaining and battery level was at 30% remaining. Considering the original estimate was 141 miles of range at the beginning of the test real world numbers were better than what the Ford display estimated. I did not want to risk running the truck down to zero, and I felt I had the numbers needed to make a good conclusion of the worst-case range for my typical towing. Using the average efficiency of 1.3 mi/kWh we can get a
good estimate of total range towing a setup like used for the test. Calculation is average consumption (efficiency) and multiply that by the total battery capacity of 131 kWh a total calculated range would be 170 miles assuming battery is charged to 100%.
My test run would agree with those numbers the real range towing under today’s conditions is about 170 miles. My personal guesstimate prior to testing was the range towing would be about 1/2 the range of the truck without towing. I would estimate summer months with conditions being better for an EV could possibly extend that and additional 10 miles. Prior to connecting the trailer my test driving was showing about 2.3 miles/kWh, using the same calculation would give a winter (not super cold but cold enough at 37 degrees) range of 300ish miles, summer driving would likely be close to the EPA range of 320 miles, better if in town as EV’s get worse mileage on highway as the use of regenerative braking in stop and go city improves the range. If you are not familiar with regenerative braking basically it breaks down to this (no pun intended). An EV has a motor that operates two ways. One way propels the wheels of the vehicle forward during acceleration. The other way an EV motor works allows the wheels to power the battery by restoring some of the kinetic energy back
to the batteries.
