This will be my last attempt at a Lightning Road Trip

[Rip]

I missed your thread back in January because I was on a [cough, cough] roadtrip. In all fairness to you, it wasn't the same as yours, it was HARDER. I drove from Michigan to Montana, going through NORTH DAKOTA, the land of "wait, there are EV chargers?" Then we drove back via Montana, that has one route with EA chargers that you must charge at.

This is 100% a lack of planning and understanding. We have driven tens of thousands of miles between our Mach-E and Lightning, and have now been to 31 states and 1 province.

Sorry you haven't had a good experience.

My point is that (a) planning doesn't help when the apps give you incorrect information (e.g., which chargers are compatible), and (b) you shouldn't have to spend so much time planning. I love the Lightning, and would not go back to another Tesla, but the tech in the Ford is just not mature yet. While Tesla's quality and customer service suck, they had developed their tech to a higher degree, which made road trips easier. You just plugged in your destination, and it gave you chargers at reasonable intervals. If you wanted to change a software-selected charger, you just pushed a button and all the chargers within 100 miles or so would come up, and you could select a different one. I don't know whether Ford engineers are working on it or not...I do see updates occasionally, but they seem to be minor.

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[CavRider]

My point is that (a) planning doesn't help when the apps give you incorrect information (e.g., which chargers are compatible), and (b) you shouldn't have to spend so much time planning. I love the Lightning, and would not go back to another Tesla, but the tech in the Ford is just not mature yet. While Tesla's quality and customer service suck, they had developed their tech to a higher degree, which made road trips easier. You just plugged in your destination, and it gave you chargers at reasonable intervals. If you wanted to change a software-selected charger, you just pushed a button and all the chargers within 100 miles or so would come up, and you could select a different one. I don't know whether Ford engineers are working on it or not...I do see updates occasionally, but they seem to be minor.

I would argue that Ford engineers have no business whatsoever investing development in navigation software. They are an automotive company, not a software company. They should instead enter into a licensing agreement with ABRP or similar and concentrate on stuff they are actually good at.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Rip]

Interesting story. We were going to go pick up a puppy. It was about a 230 mile trip to the breeder. Then 230 miles back. Figured I could hi the superchargers in the metro and then get out into the country. Well from the metro , to the breeder, then back to the metro exceeded my range now in winter. Plus no chargers what so ever out buy the breeder. So, the solution, Enterprise Rent-A-Car. $47.00 for a compact for all day Saturday. Problem solved.

We have picked up two puppies, taking road trips from Northern Virginia to Indiana and back for the first one, and from Maine to Indiana and back for the second one. Both in a Model Y. The ride wasn't as quiet or comfortable in the Model Y as it is in the Lightning, but we were able to use the onboard tech seamlessly and find chargers when we needed them. I don't understand why Ford decided not to benchmark that system and build something even better.

 

[Rip]

I would argue that Ford engineers have no business whatsoever investing development in navigation software. They are an automotive company, not a software company. They should instead enter into a licensing agreement with ABRP or similar and concentrate on stuff they are actually good at.

Just my $0.02.

Amen, brother...whatever it takes. One of Tesla's problems is that they see themselves as a tech company, not a car company. So they build pretty good tech, but the quality in their cars (and service) suffers as a result. They are probably both going to be swallowed up by whatever org decides to be good at both.

 

[CavRider]

Amen, brother...whatever it takes. One of Tesla's problems is that they see themselves as a tech company, not a car company. So they build pretty good tech, but the quality in their cars (and service) suffers as a result. They are probably both going to be swallowed up by whatever org decides to be good at both.

If you want to feel better about the Ford effort then take a look at the proprietary navigation software architecture being pushed to consumers by BMW Motorrad. (That is the motorcycle division of BMW) A colossal Cluster F$64k. It makes Ford Nav seem magical. And in the last several years on at least one of the global consumer forums we have more or less collectively decided that these manufacturers want to roll their own so that they can maintain ownership and control of YOUR location data. It can be monetized.

At least Ford integrates CarPlay and AA. BMW Motorrad is not nearly that consumer friendly.

 

[Rip]

Idk where you are/went, but I’ve done a lot of trips in my Lightning.

She’s visited multiple state and national parks.
Ive driven her cross country.
I’ve taken her a thousand miles on business trips.
I’ve taken her snowboarding.
Shes launched a boat off a dock.
Shes gone “off roading” (not really) on really light trails.
Shes carried a Roof Top Tent
I’ve helped friends move.
I’ve picked up lawn tractors from two states away and driven them back in the bed.
We’ve watched outdoor movies out of the bed.
Shes even cleared out a foot of snow using a rear plow…

There isn’t much this truck can’t do…long distances haven’t been much of a challenge for me. I don’t find it much harder than traveling in any other electric vehicle - including my Tesla.

Compared to gas though? Ford isn’t the only one who needs to get their act together..

Sounds like you've been lucky. Maybe as I get more experience, I'll get better at juggling all the apps and stuff. I have found the Lightning to be a great vehicle, but definitely more difficult to navigate on this recent trip than my Model Y ever was. I have regularly taken a 400-mile trip to Boston from Maine without any trouble (because I know this route and where all the best charging stops are). However, I had a LOT of trouble on this recent trip to Florida from Maine.

 

[Rip]

If you want to feel better about the Ford effort then take a look at the proprietary navigation software architecture being pushed to consumers by BMW Motorrad. (That is the motorcycle division of BMW) A colossal Cluster F$64k. It makes Ford Nav seem magical. And in the last several years on at least one of the global consumer forums we have more or less collectively decided that these manufacturers want to roll their own so that they can maintain ownership and control of YOUR location data. It can be monetized.

At least Ford integrates CarPlay and AA. BMW Motorrad is not nearly that consumer friendly.

Wow...Motorrad must really be bad.

 

[CavRider]

Wow...Motorrad must really be bad.

Not enough 'o's in "Suck" brother. Bad enough to force owners to invest in a standalone navigation device like a Garmin Zumo. BTW, there is another company that seems to know a thing or two about navigation. The aerospace industry seems to trust them. The maritime industry seems to also. Maybe the auto industry can...

 

[RickLightning]

My point is that (a) planning doesn't help when the apps give you incorrect information (e.g., which chargers are compatible), and (b) you shouldn't have to spend so much time planning. I love the Lightning, and would not go back to another Tesla, but the tech in the Ford is just not mature yet. While Tesla's quality and customer service suck, they had developed their tech to a higher degree, which made road trips easier. You just plugged in your destination, and it gave you chargers at reasonable intervals. If you wanted to change a software-selected charger, you just pushed a button and all the chargers within 100 miles or so would come up, and you could select a different one. I don't know whether Ford engineers are working on it or not...I do see updates occasionally, but they seem to be minor.

If you thought that Ford (or GM or ___) had software anywhere near the level of Tesla, your research was severely lacking.

You have to do time planning, period. That's the way it is, and has been since 2021 when the Mach-E came out. I suspect that 2 years from now it won't be much different.

a) The apps, when used properly, give you perfectly correct information.

- FordPass will only show you compatible SuperChargers.
- Tesla app, when you enter vehicle and that you have an adapter, will only show you compatible SuperChargers.
- PlugShare, when you select "Hide Tesla Only locations" will only show you compatible SuperChargers.
- ABRP, when you enter your vehicle and that you have an adapter, will only show you compatible SuperChargers.

Caveat - some Tesla SuperChargers, when first opened, are in fact "compatible", but the apps don't yet reflect that. I charged just fine at one.

 

[RickLightning]

I would argue that Ford engineers have no business whatsoever investing development in navigation software. They are an automotive company, not a software company. They should instead enter into a licensing agreement with ABRP or similar and concentrate on stuff they are actually good at.

Just my $0.02.

Umm... Who owns ABRP? Rivian. Why would they license it to any other car company?

 

[carys98]

Umm... Who owns ABRP? Rivian. Why would they license it to any other car company?

and why would they need to? I already have my own license to use ABRP and it shows up on the screen in my truck. There’s no value that Ford can add to that deal.

 

[carys98]

There are a lot of posts in this thread about charging deserts. Just for reference, this is where the OP got stranded because he couldn’t find a DC charger.

 

[Rip]

If you thought that Ford (or GM or ___) had software anywhere near the level of Tesla, your research was severely lacking.

You have to do time planning, period. That's the way it is, and has been since 2021 when the Mach-E came out. I suspect that 2 years from now it won't be much different.

a) The apps, when used properly, give you perfectly correct information.

- FordPass will only show you compatible SuperChargers.
- Tesla app, when you enter vehicle and that you have an adapter, will only show you compatible SuperChargers.
- PlugShare, when you select "Hide Tesla Only locations" will only show you compatible SuperChargers.
- ABRP, when you enter your vehicle and that you have an adapter, will only show you compatible SuperChargers.

Caveat - some Tesla SuperChargers, when first opened, are in fact "compatible", but the apps don't yet reflect that. I charged just fine at one.

So, I didn't really expect them to be the same, and you are right. My expectations were not predicated on a lot of research into Lightning specifics. My disappointment is just general, I guess, based on several decades working in quality improvement. One of the major case studies we all learned back in the '90s was Ford; how they ignored the threat from Japanese automakers, didn't understand how to produce the level of quality coming out of Toyota and others, and took a long time to catch up again.
I had hoped, I guess, that they might have learned from that, and understood that if you want to lead the market, you have to beat the market leaders at the things those leaders excel in. I was happy to see that the standards for vehicle quality are still high, just disappointed that they apparently forgot the lessons of the '80s.
When it comes to the apps, I can use them. They are a workaround, though, and not a great one. FordPass does show chargers, and its advantage is that it (usually) only shows compatible ones, and includes non-Tesla chargers. The Tesla app is OK, and I joined up and re-installed it. The displays on both of those apps are very poor, though...they show roads as gray lines against a black background with no labels, so it's not easy to identify how close any of the displayed charger are to your route. I mostly use them just to verify that the chargers identified in the Android Auto Google Map are actually compatible. I have Plugshare, and EVgo, and Electrify America, too. I'm not sure what ABRP is; maybe I don't have that one.
I'm not saying that the Tesla nav system was perfect; it had some flaws (e.g., you couldn't set up optional routes as you can with Google Maps), but it didn't require a huge amount of planning time up front, and you could alter charging stops easily while driving. Ford customer research should have identified some of these requirements up front before turning them over to design engineers.

 

[RickLightning]

So, I didn't really expect them to be the same, and you are right. My expectations were not predicated on a lot of research into Lightning specifics. My disappointment is just general, I guess, based on several decades working in quality improvement. One of the major case studies we all learned back in the '90s was Ford; how they ignored the threat from Japanese automakers, didn't understand how to produce the level of quality coming out of Toyota and others, and took a long time to catch up again.
I had hoped, I guess, that they might have learned from that, and understood that if you want to lead the market, you have to beat the market leaders at the things those leaders excel in. I was happy to see that the standards for vehicle quality are still high, just disappointed that they apparently forgot the lessons of the '80s.
When it comes to the apps, I can use them. They are a workaround, though, and not a great one. FordPass does show chargers, and its advantage is that it (usually) only shows compatible ones, and includes non-Tesla chargers. The Tesla app is OK, and I joined up and re-installed it. The displays on both of those apps are very poor, though...they show roads as gray lines against a black background with no labels, so it's not easy to identify how close any of the displayed charger are to your route. I mostly use them just to verify that the chargers identified in the Android Auto Google Map are actually compatible. I have Plugshare, and EVgo, and Electrify America, too. I'm not sure what ABRP is; maybe I don't have that one.
I'm not saying that the Tesla nav system was perfect; it had some flaws (e.g., you couldn't set up optional routes as you can with Google Maps), but it didn't require a huge amount of planning time up front, and you could alter charging stops easily while driving. Ford customer research should have identified some of these requirements up front before turning them over to design engineers.

ABRP is for planning your trip. Use it on the desktop, then open it on the phone for the trip.
PlugShare to check the chargers before and day of trip.

Don't become a $12.99 member of Tesla until morning of a trip. Immediately downgrade, takes effect 30 days later.

Your argument misses one key thing - speed to market. Ford beat everyone with the Mach-E, and then the Lightning. Yes, they've tripped, many times, but had they spent time perfecting everything they wouldn't have beaten the competition.

 

[Rip]

There are a lot of posts in this thread about charging deserts. Just for reference, this is where the OP got stranded because he couldn’t find a DC charger.

Cool...I'm curious. How did you get the picture on the right? I haven't seen that on my Android Auto Google Map or my FordPass app. It looks almost like my FordPass app, but mine doesn't show the Google Map picture, just a dark background with gray lines for roads.

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