Can Ford mitigate tow range anxiety with a loaner program?

[DanielM92563]

The F150 lightning is the fastest, strongest, quietest F150 ever made, we all know that but the main hesitation with the platform seems to be tow range anxiety. Now don't get me wrong, I am a believer that if you need to tow more than 100 miles on the regular then the Lightning is not the right truck for you, but for the rest of us that don't need a long distance hauler why doesn't Ford set up a loaner program much like Mazda did with their MX-30 EV (which has a 100 mile range ). It can be a membership program, offer a few years for free after Lightning purchase, and do something like Mazda where 7-10 days out of the year you can borrow a gas vehicle but unlike Mazda charge a trivial fee.. say 50$ a day to rent the gas truck (charge some fee so only people that need it use it). This would solve lots of issues:
1. An excellent counter argument for your wife when she screams at you "What about the tow range?! "
2. Simplifies renting a truck- allow reservations well in advance, pick up at a Ford dealer, you know the cost, and you know what you're getting (a Ford truck).
3. Makes you feel warm and fuzzy making you feel like you're part of the "Ford family".
4. The obvious, you have an to option to long distance tow with an ICE truck on the rare occasion that you need to.

I've owned a full size truck for several years mostly because they are comfortable for my large frame and the utility of it, I've only needed to tow over a 100 miles a couple of times that I can remember.

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[Bill from King Ranch]

 

[RickLightning]

You can also rent trucks from Enterprise, Home Depot, Menards, ...

I would hope that Ford never considers a program like this.

 

[F150LER]

BMW offered it for i3s, I never used it.

 

[DanielM92563]

LOL, that's what I mean by simplify- what's the tow capacity on this truck? does it have Class IV hitch? what type of connector does it have? is the teenager at the Uhaul counter going to reliably answer these truck questions before I drive there? how much will local my uHaul charge me? is it even available...

 

[beatle]

I think the optics of Ford offering such a program would be a detriment to the Lightning brand and its current capability. I could not see such a plan ultimately pulling anyone off the fence who is already considering a Lightning which I assume is the impetus behind the idea. Ford doesn't exactly have trucks sitting around looking for work that they could loan out either.

On the contrary, anyone who is aware of the program will simply short circuit and conclude, "can't tow with a Lightning, haha!"

 

[gorwell]

If you're worried about towing. The lightning isnt for you. Get a gas truck, there's nothing wrong with picking a gas truck if an electric one doesn't meet one of your common needs.

It's not hard.

In your: "I've only needed to tow over a 100 miles a couple of times that I can remember" use case the lighting seems fine. Why get a loaner? If I needed to tow a couple hundred miles once a year, once every couple of years, the lightning as is is a perfect choice. Unless that once every other year tow experience is a race....

 

[adoublee]

Taking Mazda's lead in EV strategy would be a huge mistake.

 

[Capstone]

I kind of have to disagree here on towing or want to give another opinion. I make a 300km round trip twice a week for work with a 20' enclosed trailer transporting goods running around 6K/8K pounds. Highest scale reading has been 17,350lbs. My range is cut a bit less than half overall for sure and I can't make the trip without a charge.
For sure it is a change in lifestyle. I don't drive 70mph with a trailer anymore. Try to maintain 60mph. I now have an extra hour in my trip with charging, but my god this truck pulls with such confidence and power to spare. I find rear suspension so much better for tongue weight/squatting compared to my previous powerboost. My issue is in my area the chargers are only 50kw Max. If I had access to a 150kw or 350kw this would be so easy and maybe reduce my charge time in half.
Electric isn't for the masses yet but for me you couldn't give me a ICE truck every again. People still struggle with range fear let alone towing but I feel it has been programmed into our heads. I guess my point is, I am totally happy with the small timing sacrifice compared to the performance, climate, and overall cost of fuel and ownership. Maybe ask me again in winter, that may suck a bit but up for the challenge. Rent the ICE truck for the 1000 mile camper trip but part of the adventure and experience of that trip could be just running on electric too.

 

[astricklin]

I'd look carefully at the rental contract in regards to towing. I know for a fact that home Depot rental trucks state they can only be used for towing if the trailer being towed is also rental equipment from home Depot.
I'm not sure what the U-Haul contact states.
I'd imagine that renting a truck from Hertz/Enterprise or another regular car rental place will also exclude towing in their contract.

 

[astricklin]

Remember that Ford patent for a drop in, in bed, range extender. They need to make that and then you could rent it from a dealership for the weekend. It would be way more cost effective than renting an entire truck and probably more efficient as well.

Or maybe Ford just needs to get a phev f150 available. They have a phev drivetrain available in the Lincoln Aviator, or they could add additional battery capacity to the powerboost hybrid drivetrain. Give it 30-40 miles of ev range and that will cover a lot of people's in town milage daily.

 

[2000Firehawk]

The other part of towing - especially for long journeys - is that you want the comfort of the truck you are familiar with and already have all your stuff in. Personally, I would not want to jump out of my Lariat and into a bench seat rental truck with unknown maintenance or care for a long distance haul. Saying that, I'm also not towing with the lightning and instead have a 3500 diesel for that purpose.

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