Adventures of our 2023 Carbonized Gray Metallic Lariat Lightning ER — Now 2024 Silverado RST

[SpaceEVDriver]

The main takeaway from this 4700 mile road trip? The Lightning would have been a better truck to do this trip with. The range benefits just weren’t strong enough to overcome the comfort, storage, and other benefits of the Lightning.

• The rear seats in the Silverado fold forward instead of back and out of the way. So we couldn’t make efficient use of the rear cabin space for the soft camping gear (sleeping bags, pillows, duffel bags, etc).
• Although the two trucks have about the same overall width, the Silverado is skinnier in the cabin, so there was less room overall in the cabin.
• The Silverado RST is less comfortable than the Lightning Lariat. The air suspension does not make for a better ride when the mass of the truck is so much more.
• The seats aren’t nearly as good.
• The software was annoying. I would rather go back to Android Auto than have Android Automotive in my vehicle. I’d rather go back to simple bluetooth streaming and use my phone for everything.
• The truck’s navigation (Google Maps for Android Automotive) was inferior to our phone’s navigation (Google Maps) and several times took us at least 30 minutes off course from the better route. I have kept my phone from upgrading since Google started pushing ai nonsense heavily. My phone’s older mapping application is significantly better than the garbage in its most recent releases. It feels like Google has embraced enshittification of their mapping application as a way to drive people to their inferior product built on generative ai, which is even more enshittified, but drives more fake revenue.
• The 2024 Silverado that we have does not engage its 800 Volt charging, so we had a bigger battery that did charge faster, but we didn’t get the blazing-fast charging speeds we should have gotten.
• The emotional support battery of the Silverado was not enough to make it a better truck to take on a long road trip. If we can get the camper ready before our next trip, and if we can get the charging speeds doubled, we may feel differently.

Overall, the Silverado may be a better long-distance tow vehicle, but it's not a better truck. The rear charge port could make it a pain for towing. The Lightning with a slightly higher capacity battery would be my preferred full-sized truck.

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[flyct]

Thanks for the writeups @SpaceEVDriver.

Further proof that Ford needed to do a refresh of the Lightning with better charging speeds, modern higher specific energy/lower internal resistance cells, and to cleanup all of the little messes that rushing this to market has caused. Cancelling the Lightning was yet another of Farley's Often Reprehensible Decisions.

For some of us the Lightning is almost perfect. At 79 years old I’m thankful that Ford didn’t wait another few years to bring it out. I don’t think it was rushed.

I’m on my 2nd Lightning. I never have the need to use a DC fast charger so I don’t need another battery type. It’s fully charged every morning when I get up.

The propower has supplied my cabin with backup power multiple times. It was a lifesaver after losing power after hurricanes.

The wife LOVES the massaging seats.

It tows my enclosed trailer the 125 miles between my home and cabin perfectly

I have no need for additional range.

It’s so comfortable and drives so well.


My friend with his Silverado EV routinely drives a 400 miles between round trip. He also tows his horse trailer with 2 horses. The Silverado works well for him.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

For some of us the Lightning is almost perfect. At 79 years old I’m thankful that Ford didn’t wait another few years to bring it out. I don’t think it was rushed.

I’m on my 2nd Lightning. I never have the need to use a DC fast charger so I don’t need another battery type. It’s fully charged every morning when I get up.

The propower has supplied my cabin with backup power multiple times. It was a lifesaver after losing power after hurricanes.

The wife LOVES the massaging seats.

It tows my enclosed trailer the 125 miles between my home and cabin perfectly

I have no need for additional range.

It’s so comfortable and drives so well.


My friend with his Silverado EV routinely drives a 400 miles between round trip. He also tows his horse trailer with 2 horses. The Silverado works well for him.

I think the point isn’t that they needed to replace what was working well. If Ford had simply created an HD version with a larger battery option (say an F-250 Lightning with a ~200 kWh battery), while keeping the F-150 version of the Lightning, they would have stepped up their game. Instead, they backed out and now have nothing to offer.

 

[B177y]

@SpaceEVDriver ,

Do you feel or have any comparison of the unibody Silverado vs the 2-piece Lightning?

I remember when the Honda Ridgeline came out, and the Chevy Avalanche, that they were both touted as having a better ride due to a stiffer body.

Any real world differnce that you can feel?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

@SpaceEVDriver ,

Do you feel or have any comparison of the unibody Silverado vs the 2-piece Lightning?

I remember when the Honda Ridgeline came out, and the Chevy Avalanche, that they were both touted as having a better ride due to a stiffer body.

Any real world differnce that you can feel?

I find the Silverado RST to wander a bit more under hard acceleration. However, this might be due as much to the rear steering as to the construction method.
The Silverado handled like crap on a minor axle-cross situation on a minor dirt road near Moab. The air suspension also got confused and required a vehicle reboot as well as full-range suspension reset for it to figure itself out again.

That said, the Silverado EV is a 3/4 ton truck hiding behind a 1/2 ton truck label. It has axles with 8 lug hubs; the WT can easily handle 12,500 pounds towing; the RST can also, but because of various
regulations, GM decided to keep the vehicles labeled for 1/2 ton use.

I have not had the opportunity to load the bed with anything especially heavy.

I wanted a used Work Truck, but the closest to me was a flight to Portland and a 2- or 3-day drive home. The dealership would not allow me to send them a non-refundable deposit, so I could have easily ended up flying to Portland to have the truck sold out from under me. I should have waited; I’m paying for my impatience.

The longer bed on the Silverado is also a plus.

The air suspension deletes the spare tire, which is nonsense. There’s plenty of space for the air compressor and reserve tank between the body panels and the bed of the truck.

The midgate is a gimmick, as is the rear steering and the “sidewinder” steering.

The very, very few bed accessories for the Silverado is also a negative. The Lightning having identical bed dimensions to other F-150s was ideal. Chevrolet should have done that too. There are no easy-to-find bed caps for the Silverado.

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