What the coming F-150 Lightning EREV needs (per Motor Trend)

[MidAtlanticLightningClub]

People like convenience. Time is convenience. Having to stop and charge for an hour or two, vs. a 15 minute fill defeats convenience. When those reach parity, then you will feel success.

Who has to charge for an hour or two?

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[Shawnson]

If only Ford actually made this solution……

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a34277725/ford-f-150-range-extender-ev-pickup-patent/

So they thought of it, hopefully they actually do go through with it. Because that is undoubtedly the answer to keep costs down.

@Ford Motor Company hear me out. You take whatever battery size you would feel comfortable with on an erev. Let’s say 70kwh. That will have no problem getting you through a whole day of city driving. Then you simply just sell the vehicle as is with the outlet in the bed. At the dealer you offer this as a dealer installed option that can be combined into your financing. You keep your up front base costs low, if any incentive came back you might be able to hit it. And then you sell a butt ton of range extenders to those who need it. As time goes by people will become more and more comfortable with taking it out as they know that most days they might not need it. In the future maybe at some point battery tech gets to the point where owners would instead be able to get a secondary battery pack similar to what Tesla thought for the cybertruck. The idea to NOT make it modular is insane. Don’t steal the frunk, I use mine 5x more than I use the bed.

 

[Shawnson]

Who has to charge for an hour or two?

People who are not Lightning owners but are on here hahaha

 

[ClevelandBeemer]

So they thought of it, hopefully they actually do go through with it. Because that is undoubtedly the answer to keep costs down.

I do wonder if they were unable to get the generation needed out of such a small package. When towing what would a generator need to output to meaningfully extend range? 40kw? 60kw? 100kw? Just thinking of residential generators, I think the average 20kw wouldn’t fit in that form factor, let alone something with 3x the output. I could be wrong though.

 

[Shawnson]

I do wonder if they were unable to get the generation needed out of such a small package. When towing what would a generator need to output to meaningfully extend range? 40kw? 60kw? 100kw? Just thinking of residential generators, I think the average 20kw wouldn’t fit in that form factor, let alone something with 3x the output. I could be wrong though.

Form factor, noise and size are definitely the issue. If you think of modern engines, the complexity of the emissions systems add a lot to the overall NVH targets they are able to hit. Shoving all that in to a small form factor isn’t cheap. I think instead of putting it behind the window, it should target an under bed area similar to what we see on R1Ts, cybertrucks and Honda Ridglines haha. This can move it further from the cabin, less space in the box itself and keep the weight lower as well. However you may argue that’s the best place to put the fuel… I suppose maybe if you design the frunk correctly, it could fit into the frunk area, but I think the bed is more optimal as you could use a hoist to help get it in without worrying about what is overhead.

as for charging speed, if you don’t wait for the pack to hit a specific threshold when in tow mode, but go balls to the wall the second you put it in tow mode, you can try to keep up, but I still think you’d need to stop for a charge, I am not sure any erev HALF TON truck makes sense where it can run ON GENERATOR POWER ALONE. But for HD trucks, absolutely yes.
I think until they come out with an EREV HD we will face this made up argument that half ton EVs need to be long distance towing champs.
Which is just ridiculous, if that’s your use case, go HD for 10001 other reasons.

 

[ClevelandBeemer]

I am not sure any erev HALF TON truck makes sense where it can run ON GENERATOR POWER ALONE. But for HD trucks, absolutely yes.

Totally agree. I’m very surprised Ford hasn’t released a 3/4 ton EREV variant with the 131kWh battery. It would also help pad the margins that Ford is looking for from its EV segment. That said, even if Ford made it they would fail to execute from a marketing and sales perspective.

 

[Shawnson]

Totally agree. I’m very surprised Ford hasn’t released a 3/4 ton EREV variant with the 131kWh battery. It would also help pad the margins that Ford is looking for from its EV segment. That said, even if Ford made it they would fail to execute from a marketing and sales perspective.

3/4 ton is also where you are going to impress fleet customers with reduced maintenance if you can achieve it and reduced operating costs if you can grantee them their staff a) will never run out of range, b) they start every day with a “free” 131 kWh or whatever it is.

I also said this before. After the pre-order numbers came in originally, Jim Farley tried to ensure that it would fail by immediately starting to talk about the next gen truck (T3). I don’t believe he was stupid enough to do that by accident, it was sabotage.

 

[DavidS]

As soon as you put a generator in the bed you’re going to lose at least two feet of bed space bringing you down to 3 feet of usable capacity. Also, there’s got to be safety regulations around fuel tanks and crash protection that are going to complicate any installation. Also with considerations for cooling , repairability, and reliability, I think you are losing the frunk to get a generator and it’s going to be a permanent installation.

 

[Shawnson]

As soon as you put a generator in the bed you’re going to lose at least two feet of bed space bringing you down to 3 feet of usable capacity. Also, there’s got to be safety regulations around fuel tanks and crash protection that are going to complicate any installation. Also with considerations for cooling , repairability, and reliability, I think you are losing the frunk to get a generator and it’s going to be a permanent installation.

No crash regulations for an aftermarket slip tank… ahem ahem

 

[ClevelandBeemer]

As soon as you put a generator in the bed you’re going to lose at least two feet of bed space bringing you down to 3 feet of usable capacity.

Not sure if bed capacity matters much while towing.

 

[Grumpy2]

This topic has been kicked around for quite awhile in several posts. One example:

Charging While Driving w/ Gas Generator in Bed (Range Extender for F-150 Lightning) - Testing | Page 12 | Ford Lightning Forum For F-150 Lightning EV Pickup: News, Owners, Discussions, Community

Using a "portable" generator just doesn't produce enough energy unless it is so big your load capacity takes a huge hit. A permanent mounted generator seems to be the only real solution to stopping often to charge while towing with our current technology here in America.

 

[K6CCC]

Not sure if bed capacity matters much while towing.

Unless your trailer is a 5th wheel and you need the hitch attachment in the bed.

 

[Shawnson]

Unless your trailer is a 5th wheel and you need the hitch attachment in the bed.

Who’s towing a fifth wheel with a half ton.

 

[MidAtlanticLightningClub]

Who’s towing a fifth wheel with a half ton.

People with the small fifth wheels designed for half-tons.

 

[MidAtlanticLightningClub]

Not sure if bed capacity matters much while towing.

It depends on how much of your stuff you carry in the trailer and how much you carry in the bed. Some folks carry significant camping supplies in the bed, especially under a tonneau or topper. Some carry bikes in the bed as their trailer bumpers won't handle loads.

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