This will be my last attempt at a Lightning Road Trip

[Brons2]

I'm sorry brother. This really stinks. And I apologize for all the people above saying you, not the truck, is the problem. For a lot of people here, the Lightning (or EVs in general) is their hobby and way of life. It's definitely NOT for me. The reasons you have detailed, are the reasons I do not drive my Lightning on road trips. I'm not going to spend 20 minutes to "detail my driving route to ensure I have chargers on my route." Pffftt. I have more important things to do with my time. Why would I spend time doing that when I can jump in my ICE and go? w/o a second thought? I LOVE the Lightning for around town and short-range trips. It's awesome! Road trips? Not interested. I'm all about convenience, and right now, EV's (at least the Lightning) are NOT convenient for long range trips. But man, you can't beat it for around town and short trips. Especially if you have a charger at home.

Seriously, I've had many ICE trip stops longer than 20 minutes just taking a piss and waiting in line to buy food and drink. And woe to those who let the wife and kids loose in Buc-ees while filling up *or* charging. It might be an hour or more in that case.

Something that's not been said so far in this thread, also: If it's more than 4 hours away, we're probably flying anyway, wife hates road trips unless it's pretty scenic. In this case it really doesn't matter what the fuel is for the personally owned vehicle. We're going Jet-A.

Sponsored

 

[TaxmanHog]

For those who have asked .... digging through the OP's recent posts, it appears he has a Lectron NACS adapter as well as the level-2 NACS-J1772 adapter.

If he's a current / former Tesla enthusiast, then understanding the challenges of charging should be second nature.

Seems the frustration is with the cobbled nature of the various apps on a Ford that's the problem.

 

[TMND]

Within five days of owning my Lightning, I knew the Ford NAV was garbage and haven’t attempted to really use it since. Specially since you can’t effectively navigate while you’re on the highway you have to pull over. ?

that being said a combination of PlugShare and the FordPass app to confirm that the chargers are functioning has gotten me through the bleakest EV deserts you can find

 

[22legit2quit]

I do get the frustration but a little bit of common sense might help us all. Ford really did a lot going to the mme and the lightning keeping a similar build to the ice versions (sort of) the network is sort of a white noise type of thing. It’s nice to have it integrated into the vehicle, but like you I have found it to be unreliable.

I drove mostly diesels before this, while diesel is far more available than a charging station, you would be surprised at how many gas stations and townships have no real diesel demand in certain areas of larger cities.

Went a little off the rails, but I just started using certain stations like flying j or pilot who would always have the demand and in most places they always have a fast charger. Just my two cents and I know it sucks not having the best charging. Lastly, get the electrify America, PlugShare and many others. It could be something simple in your settings preventing you from seeing the simple stuff. The Tesla adapter is also a must on trips like this.

 

[Wendy]

I remember when I was a kid and my brother bought a Mercedes diesel car.

There were no regular gas stations with diesel. He had to know where the truck stops were and he kept 50-gallon drums in his garage. Can you imagine relying on ‘filling up’ your vehicle at home? ?

 

[Lightning Rod]

Not that it makes a huge difference (planningis everything), but which battery do you have... Standard, or ER?

 

[Henry Ford]

Obituary
@Rip, December 5, 2024 - January 24, 2025. @Rip was buried today by an epic pile on after stepping on the fork that is internet forum culture. Authorities expect the flaming to continue for most of the day. When asked about the incident the owner of f150lightningforum.com said, "there hasn't been a disaster like this since the October 2024 GOM tragedy when temperatures dipped slightly below freezing."

RIP @Rip

 

[TaxmanHog]

Hopefully we will have better news from @Rip once they complete todays leg of the trip, the last check in was this morning.

 

[Brons2]

Obituary
@Rip, December 5, 2024 - January 24, 2025. @Rip was buried today by an epic pile on after stepping on the fork that is internet forum culture. Authorities expect the flaming to continue for most of the day. When asked about the incident the owner of f150lightningforum.com said, "there hasn't been a disaster like this since the October 2024 GOM tragedy when temperatures dipped slightly below freezing."

RIP @Rip

Dude you are trying to get me fired! I started literally laughing out loud and then I had to take a terrified look at the meeting I was on. Thankfully I was muted!!!

LMAO!!!!

 

[John Becker]

After purchasing my first EV over 8 years ago, I came to realize that I won't use it for long trips. The thought of sitting for a couple of hours while charging is not for me. I use my EVs for round trips up to around 250 miles. I have not had to use a public charger so far. I have not used the new TESLA supercharger technology yet. That may make it more palatable to extend those trips to 500 miles. I have a hybrid, and an old fashioned ICE for really long road trips.

As a DCFC virgin and considering my tendency to overthink everything (I'm anal.), I am admittedly irrational about DCFC (especially now that I have my Tesla adapter).
That said, unless I NEED a pickup truck, why would I spend more time, money, and stress when I can drive ICE?
Money? Yes. Gasoline is substantially cheaper than electrons. However, that cost differential can be mitigated by memberships for frequent DCFC users. Also, for "short" road trips where you leave home with 100 percent SOC and return with close to zero.
Furthermore, I have the SR. I've never intended to take it on a road trip and never have (yet).

 

[JRT]

Ya the issue is Ford Nav, it is garbage when you just need chargers and no BS. Yes you can change settings, research trips and other ridiculous BS not required for any ICE road trip. The fact is jumping in an EV to drive more the 200 miles round trip just isn't good in many areas of the USA. In my observations since 2021 only access to Tesla has slightly improved the situation. Today I sat at a Tesla SC at a hotel, 10 miles away from my hotel, for 45 min to recharge. My winter trip was less then 200 miles.

 

[Jodokk]

Crickets ATM

 

[luebri]

My summary...

1) OP is 100% correct as others have also said. Ford should not get a "free pass" for their horrible NAV system. It's pathetic and they deserve criticism so hopefully they can address it in the future.

2) That said, do your research before buying a vehicle. I knew the NAV sucked, I knew the lack of DCFC especially back in 2022. I knew the deprecated range at high speed and cold. I knew all of those things because I did research. It's mind boggling to me how people pay this much money for a vehicle and have not done their due diligence.

 

[evowner]

Gasoline is substantially cheaper than electrons

Not for me. It costs between 10 to 15 dollars for me to fill up at home. I see you live in Cincinnati too. If you use the public chargers it is still cheaper than gasoline.

 

[Brons2]

Not for me. It costs between 10 to 15 dollars for me to fill up at home. I see you live in Cincinnati too. If you use the public chargers it is still cheaper than gasoline.

He was talking about DCFC.

That said it depends on what you're comparing.

It cost me $40.45 to drive my prior 13.3 MPG, similar sized vehicle 200 miles at $2.69 a gallon, which is the price I saw yesterday at the closest station to my house here in Central Texas. Plus other occasional maintenance costs like engine oil, etc, that aren't present on an EV.

Assuming I can average 2.0mi/KWh, it would cost me 100KWH to drive 200 miles. I averaged around that on a 165 mile trip last weekend. At the "rack rate" for the Electify America closest to my house, it's .53 per KWH thusly $53 for 200 miles. That's definitely more.

But if you buy a membership for a month for $7, you can get prices down into the .30s from a KWH standpoint. Then, the EV trip fuel is cheaper than gas. The breakeven on that $7 is pretty low, about 2 charges on a trip.

Of course, you throw in different vehicles and everything is different. Someone's probably saying right now, but my 2.7EB F150 gets 24mpg on the highway! Or, my Tesla Model Y gets 3.5mi/kwh! Or my Sienna hybrid van gets 35MPG! (experienced this personally when I rented one for 10 days).

That's why they say, your mileage may vary.

Sponsored