Did a Test Tow with my 26' Camper/Trailer/Toy Hauler

[WXman]

Everybody has their own specific trailer, their own terrain to drive, their own weather, etc. So I just wanted to see for myself how this was going to go for planning purposes. I needed to know how the efficiency was going to be so that I can map out a route to get to our favorite campground 225 miles away.

The weather is picture perfect in Kentucky right now, which is typical for September. But any other time of year we’d have some wind, and maybe some rain, so I figure I will end up at 0.7 mi/kWh give or take 0.1 when it’s all said and done. Not what I was hoping for, and confirms that I will have to stop and charge at least 3 times to make it to the campground on the shore of Kentucky Lake. This equates to a 75% (!) decrease in range while towing, compared to 41% with the diesel truck I traded for this one. Ouch.

This is the ONE drawback to these trucks. Well, one of two. The exorbitant cost of battery packs if a guy decided to keep a truck like this forever being number two. But the towing range being number ONE.

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[21st Century Truck]

Apart from factors beyond the driver's control like distance, temperature, elevation (climbing) and weather, I've found while towing thru many states that the one consistent factor we can always adjust as we choose to our advantage is our vehicle's speed. Sometimes it makes all the difference when it really counts.

Although this is of course a more impactful factor when towing with EVs, it is an ever-present factor whether we tow with a gasoline-, a diesel- or even a hydrazine-powered vehicle.

 

[ElectrifyingMe25]

Everybody has their own specific trailer, their own terrain to drive, their own weather, etc. So I just wanted to see for myself how this was going to go for planning purposes. I needed to know how the efficiency was going to be so that I can map out a route to get to our favorite campground 225 miles away.

The weather is picture perfect in Kentucky right now, which is typical for September. But any other time of year we’d have some wind, and maybe some rain, so I figure I will end up at 0.7 mi/kWh give or take 0.1 when it’s all said and done. Not what I was hoping for, and confirms that I will have to stop and charge at least 3 times to make it to the campground on the shore of Kentucky Lake. This equates to a 75% (!) decrease in range while towing, compared to 41% with the diesel truck I traded for this one. Ouch.

This is the ONE drawback to these trucks. Well, one of two. The exorbitant cost of battery packs if a guy decided to keep a truck like this forever being number two. But the towing range being number ONE.

You need the charge while driving option that is in the process of being developed by an electrical engineer on this Ford Forum. It should solve your problem. Look it up on this forum. I plan on getting one myself.

 

[MidAtlanticLightningClub]

Apart from factors beyond the driver's control like distance, temperature, elevation (climbing) and weather, I've found while towing thru many states that the one consistent factor we can always adjust as we choose to our advantage is our vehicle's speed. Sometimes it makes all the difference when it really counts.

Although this is of course a more impactful factor when towing with EVs, it is an ever-present factor whether we tow with a gasoline-, a diesel- or even a hydrazine-powered vehicle.

Agreed. 70mph is going to have serious impacts on your range. Keep it to 55 and you'll be much more efficient.

 

[Grumpy2]

This equates to a 75% (!) decrease in range while towing, compared to 41% with the diesel truck I traded for this one.

You must only tow this monster a couple of times per year, either that or only move it a few miles at a time? Otherwise Diesel was clearly the better tool for the job.

 

[Timeless Epoch]

Combustion engines are more efficient when operating near peak torque (energy in/energy out). So you get more out of your fuel when under load.

Whereas electric motors hum along at about the same efficiency regardless.

A related fun fact, our ER (131KWh) battery packs are equivalent to about 3.4 gallons of #2.

 

[RickLightning]

Lots of good comments, most importantly speed.

I'll add another. Make sure you enter your trailer's info in the setup section, because as you tow it will build history for you, and that history will then more accurately predict your range.

The default for trailering is 1.0, in looking at that trailer I'm not surprised you're getting less. I suspect your actual results over time will move up from 0.7 though.

 

[WXman]

You must only tow this monster a couple of times per year, either that or only move it a few miles at a time? Otherwise Diesel was clearly the better tool for the job.

Yep, I talked about that in the video. Basically we only tow this a handful of times per year which is why it'll be manageable for us. If I was retired and going on trips all the time I would have never let the diesel truck go.

Lots of good comments, most importantly speed.

I'll add another. Make sure you enter your trailer's info in the setup section, because as you tow it will build history for you, and that history will then more accurately predict your range.

The default for trailering is 1.0, in looking at that trailer I'm not surprised you're getting less. I suspect your actual results over time will move up from 0.7 though.

I did set this trailer up in the onboard towing screen. One interesting thing I noticed was that I got messages along the way about "range revised due to ambient temperature" but the ambient temperature was around 66°F which is perfect. Nearly "room" temperature. So I assume that if it was cold outside I would REALLY take a hit.

 

[RickLightning]

I did set this trailer up in the onboard towing screen. One interesting thing I noticed was that I got messages along the way about "range revised due to ambient temperature" but the ambient temperature was around 66°F which is perfect. Nearly "room" temperature. So I assume that if it was cold outside I would REALLY take a hit.

I'm surprised it said "due to ambient temperature" also.

Yes, if it's really cold you will take a further hit.

Remember to disconnect while the truck is running so that it recognizes it has been disconnected.

 

[flux capacitor]

I currently tow nothing. I am semi retired and use my truck for all my errands and small trips of 200mi round trip and have 23k miles on it. I charge at home at the lowest cost time. The fun part is that I have an adequate 4 x 4 that I can take almost anywhere at fraction of the cost of an ICE equivalent. I do plan to get a pontoon boat to use in a lake a mile away from my house and I have thought about a small cargo trailer of about 14'. If I do take a long trip it is no big deal to stop and charge it. I'm in no hurry. It is the best all around vehicle I have ever had. I two of the most favorite things I love about this truck is I live in FL and right now every time I go to Lowes or Home Depot I can leave my truck running or if I forget I remote start my truck a few minutes before I check out and have a nice cool truck to get into. When my power goes out from storms I have used my truck to power all my essentials and one time when out for 3 days of no power I still 70% charge left. There are so many things this truck can do it is amazing.

On the battery replacement the odds of having to replace a whole battery are highly unlikely. Ford designed it right with the battery in modules so if you have a problem it is most likely a module. A month after I got my truck I had a module go bad and had to have it replaced. While it was in the shop I did some research on batteries and found a module costs about 5k and about 5k to install it, which if having to replace an engine or transmission in an ICE equivalent you would be in the same ballpark. The lightning has an 8yr or 100k mile warranty on the battery so not something I feel is a short coming. I saw on this forum or another one someone that has 137k on his truck and got a battery capacity evaluation and he is still at 95% capacity. I don't know of many ICE's that would be still at that efficiency after 137k miles. I figure if the rest of my truck lasts as long as the battery by that time battery tech will be better and the cost will be much lower. I see some people are upgrading Nissan Leaf's with bigger batteries now so who is say when I 200k I can replace the whole battery pack for one with twice the amount of kwh.

Something I think about is what is the percentage of people that have F150's use the majority of their usage towing or just commuting? I have a feeling it is commuting and that would be a significant savings over a ICE and to me worth the disadvantage of towing long distances few times hear and there.

 

[Firn]

I'm quite surprised by the low efficiency with that setup. Pulling our dutchman i was up closer to .95 and although that has more weight it looks much better from an aero standpoint.

I wonder how much bearing servicing has. And of course tire pressure.

 

[RickLightning]

I'm quite surprised by the low efficiency with that setup. Pulling our dutchman i was up closer to .95 and although that has more weight it looks much better from an aero standpoint.

I wonder how much bearing servicing has. And of course tire pressure.

Do you drive 70mph? Speed has a significant impact.

 

[Firn]

Do you drive 70mph? Speed has a significant impact.

Yes

 

[WXman]

Tire air pressure and its affect on MPG/MkWh has been over-rated for years. Once I did testing on a Jeep by running tires at 25 PSI, 35 PSI, and 45 PSI for a few weeks at a time for each pressure. I hand calculated mileage numbers. Saw no measureable difference.

But, for kicks and giggles the trailer in my video was built in April 2025 and the bearings, axles, tires, etc. are literally brand new. Mechanically it's brand new.

It should be noted again for those who didn't watch that the weather right now is picture perfect. It was "room temperature" outside at 66-68 degrees F during the test. There was no wind. Conditions were sunny and dry. Also, we didn't have our usual load of coolers, camping gear, etc. on the truck. And the wife/kids were not with me. So in an actual trip to the camp site, my efficiency will be below what was seen here. Probably in the 0.5 to 0.7 range. That will essentially be an 80% decrease in efficiency compared to what my last 1,000 miles of non-towing has shown. Woof.

I will also reiterate though that the truck towed this 26' trailer like a champion from a performance standpoint. Felt exactly like the 6.7L Powerstroke that I traded for it. Tons of power on tap. So if the next generation of Lightning simply can address the range issue….it will be an amazing truck.

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