Battery structure design, debris and future rust

[pseudonym]

I've had my XLT for about a month and love it. Last weekend, I crawled under the truck to oil it up with Lanox as a preventative measure against corrosion and rust. I live in the northeast where salted roads are a factor and I drive on the beach a lot. Btw, the Lightning is excellent in the sand as long as you're mindful of the ground clearance. Instant torque and a locking rear "differential" are wonderful.

While I was under there, I took note of the battery support structure and just how many horizontal surfaces and crevices exist therein to trap debris: dirt, sand, dust, etc. Debris inhibits drying and promotes corrosion over time. That's certainly the case with every truck on the road, but I would contend that there are relatively more places to trap debris in our EV than a comparable ICE truck because of both the battery and the battery's support structure frame, which is full of little crevices and only 8" off the ground.

I expect we'll also accumulate debris on top of the battery itself overtime because of the gap between the cab and bed. I parked under a choke cherry tree for a few days and the bed filled up with little cherries. Certainly a number of cherries fell between the truck bed and cab, landed on top of the flat battery and will remain there forever unless I actively remove them with a leaf blower or something like that. The same will happen with leaves in the fall. I wonder if years from now we'll see battery packs failing from corrosion from above. I may just wedge a little black foam pipe insulation into that gap.

No vehicle is perfect and they all rust, but I wonder if perhaps the battery skateboard will engender more EV trucks to be designed as unibodies in the future to eliminate the gap between the body and bed.

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[ivan256]

I'm adding you to my short list of people I'd be happy to purchase a used vehicle from.

One of the reasons I picked the Lightning over the Rivian was that at the expected production volumes I think that we will have good aftermarket part support. I'm envisioning this tray as a Dorman part similar to the bed rail kits for older F-150s.

The steel looks pretty beefy compared to a body panel though. There's a good chance it could last until about the time you need a new battery too.

I'm more worried about some of the newer "advancements" in EV manufacturing. Structural batteries. Unibodies. That mega-casting that Tesla just announced.... Our trucks are built like trucks. When that part rusts out you can unbolt it (with a torch, probably, 'cause that's how you remove 15 year old bolts in New England) and bolt on a new one. When your unibody rusts out your car is trash.

All these changes to the designs really are going to do - at best - a small amount to fend off rust. And they'll be a huge boon to manufacturability and profits (and hopefully prices), but they're going to make the vehicles more disposable. Not less.

 

[Lytning]

I'm adding you to my short list of people I'd be happy to purchase a used vehicle from.

One of the reasons I picked the Lightning over the Rivian was that at the expected production volumes I think that we will have good aftermarket part support. I'm envisioning this tray as a Dorman part similar to the bed rail kits for older F-150s.

The steel looks pretty beefy compared to a body panel though. There's a good chance it could last until about the time you need a new battery too.

I'm more worried about some of the newer "advancements" in EV manufacturing. Structural batteries. Unibodies. That mega-casting that Tesla just announced.... Our trucks are built like trucks. When that part rusts out you can unbolt it (with a torch, probably, 'cause that's how you remove 15 year old bolts in New England) and bolt on a new one. When your unibody rusts out your car is trash.

All these changes to the designs really are going to do - at best - a small amount to fend off rust. And they'll be a huge boon to manufacturability and profits (and hopefully prices), but they're going to make the vehicles more disposable. Not less.

About those aluminum mega-castings ... it has been a while since I have seen the technical data, but a weld in aluminum is usually weaker than the parent metal. So, if the original casting breaks due to stress, a weld repair is almost certainly to break under the same stress. It is entirely possible the entire mega-casting would require replacement if it breaks. I hope the T3 does not go that route. I like the modular aspects of the current Lightning, but understand Ford has to make changes to reduce the price. I don't think Ford can take many more hits on product quality, so they surely need to do it right.

 

[Adventureboy]

Last weekend, I crawled under the truck to oil it up with Lanox as a preventative measure against corrosion and rust.

Where did you find the Lanox? I've really struggled to find this stuff in Canada and I'd like some for various uses including the Lightning and marine.

 

[Heliian]

Lanox

Fluidfilm, woolwax and other lanolin based undercoatings are available in Canada.

 

[Adventureboy]

Fluidfilm, woolwax and other lanolin based undercoatings are available in Canada.

Thx. I have Fluidfilm and it is pretty good. I didn't know it was lanolin-based.

 

[pseudonym]

Where did you find the Lanox? I've really struggled to find this stuff in Canada and I'd like some for various uses including the Lightning and marine.

I had trouble finding it too and ended up ordering it online at a premium. Given that, I don't think I'll do so again and will use one of the alternatives mentioned by Heliian.

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