Upgrade just for the bigger battery?

[K6CCC]

I have no trouble charging to as much as 100% on L2 chargers (mostly my FCSP at home and a 6.6KW charger at work). But never had a DCFC go beyond 90%.

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[scoobybri]

I almost certain that Ford EVs default to a 90% charge limit when you plug into a DCFC. It's the car that is stopping the charge at 90%. Once plugged in, you have to then go into the charging screen and manually move the slider above 90% if you need more than 90%. That's what I have done on the occasion that that I need more than 90%, which is rare. If you need more than 90% to get you your destination safely, the chargers won't stop you. You just need to force the car to charge more than 90% manually.

 

[johnnyonetime]

I have no trouble charging to as much as 100% on L2 chargers (mostly my FCSP at home and a 6.6KW charger at work). But never had a DCFC go beyond 90%.

You can set the charge limit above or below the default of 90% for DCFC. 1% increments on the charging screen then save.
Reverts back after each session.

 

[Marc]

I would stay with the current truck. Why take the hit and roll the negative equity. Our Lightnings, that we all love are old technology. If anything, I would wait to see what the next generation Is like in a few years. The amount of times your going to use the pop up are not worth the extra 30k for the bigger battery. See what it like for now, how the pop up effects your camping experience then decide. Also with the massive depreciation these vehicles have you can find preowned units that are a much better deal. I personally went to buy the Flash when it first came out. I ended up with a preowned year old loaded Lariat for $20,000 less!

 

[jamiemarisa]

You may want to thoroughly question your dealer about the 30D $7500 tax incentive and the eligibility for the 2025 Flash. The attached screenshots were shared earlier today in the Facebook Ford F-150 Lightning Owners Group.

From my understanding (which could be flawed), 2025 mid-range (Flash) and extended-range (Lariat and Platinum) no longer qualify for the 30D incentive.

I just wanted to give you a heads up in case this were a factor in your decision making.

I just bought my 2025 Flash yesterday and got the $7500 federal incentive at the point of sale. At first my dealer was having to search to find a Flash that qualified, because some of them do and some of them don't, based on the battery components. But then he let me know that Ford was going to discount the non-qualifying vehicles by $7500 to make them equal in price to the ones that do qualify. I haven't seen any official announcement about that though. Seemed to apply to all trims except the Pro.

 

[K6CCC]

You can set the charge limit above or below the default of 90% for DCFC. 1% increments on the charging screen then save.
Reverts back after each session.

I don't remember ever seeing a "Charging" screen on the truck, but I'll see if I can remember that next time I DCFC (seldom). I will point out that almost every DCFC station I have ever used has said in the app for that charger network that it limits to either 85 or 90%.

 

[Henry Ford]

Drive your current truck until it becomes a problem. You are talking about spending $30k for a potential problem.

 

[PJnc284]

I haven't run into any superchargers that physically limit you here in NC on the east coast. Maybe some in CA are different. They will have congestion or idle fees based on how busy it is though but don't physically shut you off. I charged from 49%-94% at one since it took forever to get our food and figured it'd save me from having to stop again. Just bumped up the default 90% in the app but you should also be able to change it on the center screen also as mentioned under Charging. Think there was maybe 1 other person that charged during that entire time at a 12 stall location otherwise I would've disconnected at 80%.

 

[FloridaMan655321]

Unfortunately you eat a big loss on the previous truck. If it were me, I would get the bigger battery - oh wait, I did... If I had the smaller battery, it would be hard to pay the price to make that upgrade.

I specifically wanted the Flash to get the bigger battery and I wanted the 9.6 KW PPO. I don't use it a lot, but I sure do use it... For my 66 year old body, the tailgate step is a Godsend. There was noting in the Lariat that I wanted (and a few things I specifically did not want), so the Flash was perfect for me.

I'm really glad they came out with the Flash model. It's so perfect in that I also didn't want a lot of extra stuff in the upper trims.

 

[mgmessner89]

I recently had this dilemma but because of a potential buyback. My 23 XLT has been great and the SR has never been an issue for me. Ford RAV gave me their Buyback offers and Keep offer. I did my due diligence and even with their offer I wouldn't have found a similar deal (speaking comparatively). If this would have happened during the employee pricing I might have felt differently but the offer sheets I got drawn up were laughable or non existent.

I had dealers that wouldn't even send me offers and wanted me to come in...from 200 plus miles away...to drive a truck I already own. Ford dealers made it really hard to even entice me. So I kept my 23 SR and will be happy. I told them exactly the situation, my cash down, what I wanted down to the stock # and I got the "we find it better if you come down to the dealership to see if you like the car".

Pulling up in a lightning or being followed by my fiances lightning to buy a lightning would have been like the 3 spiderman pointing memes

 

[electricpig]

FWIW, I was considering this same trade. Was really looking hard, and talked to a couple dealers, but something stuck in the back of my mind that kept me from really going at it. Trading offer was way way low, but something more.
Then I realized what was bothering me. The now much faster charging on my SR greatly improved use on a longer trip.ost of my fast charging is now in the 20-25 minute range with peak rates around 180 kwh instead of the 125 kwh rate originally advertised. So next I calculated number of charges a 500 mile trip at 2 miles/kwh and using 70% (keeping between 10-80%). result was likely 1-2 extra charging stops in the SR depending on charger spacing, with 3 in worst case. In short, not a hugh penalty IMHO. But to be fair we stop around evey 2 hours anyway. It just not work starting the clock over again on the payments, and paying sales tax again. Also be aware, that nearly all 2025 have a 123 kw battery, and not the 131 kw battery. There a few that slipped through, but they are hard to find. The smaller Flash battery makes it REALLY.not worth it IMHO. This even with a local dealer selling them for $10K off MSRP. A friend bought one and the deal was real.
Do what is right for you, but unless I come across a deal you just can't say no to, I'm staying SR.

 

[WaterboyNorCal]

Drive your current truck until it becomes a problem. You are talking about spending $30k for a potential problem.

Exactly this. It’s your money of course, but this “trade up” makes zero financial sense.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I guess the questions I would ask myself are whether the trailer is worth $30k and if I was already planning to drop $30k on a trailer. If both answers were “yes,” then I would definitely spend the $30k on an upgraded truck and accept the free $30k trailer. If either answer is no, then I would stand pat.

 

[CD4TNF]

What I'm not seeing in this discussion is:

• How far is OP towing for camping trips?

A 50 mile trip to a RV site with power is different than a 100 mile trip over landing.

• How many hours is OP wanting to drive/tow for a camping trip?

Hypothetically:

• An 6 hr trip with an SR means: 2 hr driving (100 miles 100%-20%), 1 hr charging, 2 hr driving (80 miles 80%-20%), 1 hr charging, get to camp site. Total 180 miles.

• An 7 hr trip with an ER means: 2.5 hr driving (140 miles 100%-20%), 1 hr charging, 2.5 hr driving (110 miles 80%-20%), 1 hr charging, get to camp site. Total 250 miles.

Distance and time are linked and the limits of what we can do.

-----

Aging Wheels just did a good video on EV towing. Summary: aerodynamics matters more than weight.

 

[scoobybri]

Keep in mind that the OP is towing a pop-up camper, not a 30ft 2 axel toy hauler. In my XLT ER, I get 1.7 m/kw on average pulling a hard sided Trailmanor pop-up camper which mirrors what others have seen towing popups. That gives a SR a 135ish mile range leaving a 20% charge buffer. An ER gets about 180 miles of range in the same circumstance. Is 45 extra miles per charge worth the hassle and expense? Probably not for someone who camps only a handful of times a year.

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