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Jseis

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Put 50K in 2 years on the Mach E now I’m rolling heavy in the LT Lariat ER w/3,232 miles in the last 5 weeks. My round trip of 88 miles a day in coastal Washington has had over the past several years all the drama of flat tires (2), hitting critters (2nd deer in 4 years), locked myself out (iPhone went dead.. forgot code), and the serenity of E-drive. I’ve negotiated 2” thick ice, snow, sheet flow water from downpours, avoided most elk, deer, bear, downed tree limbs, mudslides, and tourists high balling their 1 tons w/35’+ of RV yanked along.

The MME has been to Great Falls and back (no drama), up the gorge, north to Puget Sound, down the Oreo Coast. It is positively snug compared to the LT’s expansive girth. In the summer the MME would roll at 4.1 Mi/KWh & say 28 KWh per workday where the LT rolls at 2.6 Mi/KWh overall and 40 KWh per workday commute. Winter and the MME dropped to 3.5 Mile/KWh. I expect the LT to drop down to around 2.3. However I’m impressed with the LTs HVAC energy management currently in mild weather so probably a different story in 2-3 months.

Both charge at home, separate circuits with the MME on 120V because it might travel 50 miles a week now as it’s the S.O’s ride whereas the LT is dropping 88-92 miles a day so it’s on a CP HomeFlex 240V at 9KW. Can easily replace that workday energy in 5 hours.

That commute will be for a year or so before I too become a boat towing maniac jammed up behind a grandpa idling along at 53 mph (Me!😂). In my decades of commuting I learned easy does it.

You see, after a half century+ of driving I really don’t care if 2 ticks below the double nickel isn’t your style as I’m not the only one cruising easy. With local gas and diesel prices north $5/gallon the value proposition of an electric truck is compelling. As a commuter truck it’s getting nearly 85 mpge, Mind boggling considering its 7K pounds of rolling square brick.

I used to commute w/4.6 Adrenalin that could squeeze 23 mpg. That’s about $5,400 a year in fuel at current prices. I’ve reduced that to around $1,000 in annual electric charges because I charge at home at $00.0634/KWh, thus saving over $350 per month. My commute is near dead flat (few hills) and cheap power. The LT will pull my boat, cargo trailer, and since my farm property is 20 miles away and the launches are all within 30 miles, it fits my lifestyle and with the Tesla charging stations in the mix, my need to go to Montana a few times a year is solved.

The LT Pro is the exceptional value. Absolutely. But since we fell into our Lariat acquisition I’ll take it. Inflation adjusted price of my ‘99 7.3 SD F250 is the same as the 2023 LT but it is so much a better truck. The F250 would wake the dead on startup. Pull 13,000 on the hitch, roll over 20 mpg empty. But it’d leave you brain dead after a 500 mile run and maintenance and fuel in the modern era makes its singular long range pulling the only plus.

The value proposition is: No fuel, DEF, rare dealer visits and I don’t miss oil changes, coolant changes, tranny, & power steering maintenance, break pad replacement etc. The best of the LT is it’s a quiet refined ride with electric efficiency. The greatest compliment is that rolls as smooth and stately as a Lincoln/Caddy. The insanity is that 2.6 mi/KWh average means nearly 85 mpge with 3.5 tons of fun (the Mach E average of 4.1 and that’s nearly 140 mpge).

After watching a few Munro live episodes, the battery pack appears cell/pack level serviceable. So maybe a future swap possible? Many unknowns on such future serviceability.

I get asked a lot of questions of which a few cannot be answered easily (future battery replacement, component service life as in motors, planetary drives/final drives). I expect OTAs to eventually happen and solve some issues. I fear some tech maintenance on aging electronic infrastructure and our coastal marine air may not be kind..

Calculating miles/percent of battery left has proven accurate with the MME and appears so with the LT. An example is the MME on my commute would show typically; 24.2 miles/10% of battery usage and the LT is a very promising 31.4 to 32.3 miles/10% of battery.

The LTs shape is sensitive to tail and headwind, dropping or raising mi/KWh by say .1-.2 mi/KWh. Nonetheless in 3242 miles my long range commuter mileage remains at 2.6 mi/KWh for summer.

I get compliments on color (Azure Gray), frunk, on board power, acceleration, smooth ride, spacious feel, and AWD. The turning radius is better than the F250 (barely) but not a deal killer. The Swiss Army knife kit analogy is dead on. It’s a fab SUV pickup. Crazy.

Ford F-150 Lightning Lightning commuter after 50K on the Mach-E IMG_0056
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Joneii

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Agreed. The Lightning is a great vehicle. I’ve done several long road trips (CO-PA x2, PA-SC x 2) and a couple of thousand miles of towing a 25’ travel trailer. Except long distance towing, this truck is way better than the Cummins Ram 2500 it replaced and way cheaper to operate/ maintain. Even the long distance towing works for me since I have time at this point in my life. Alas, no news media will report on these happy EV owner experiences!
 

Bills R Electric

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Agreed. The Lightning is a great vehicle. I’ve done several long road trips (CO-PA x2, PA-SC x 2) and a couple of thousand miles of towing a 25’ travel trailer. Except long distance towing, this truck is way better than the Cummins Ram 2500 it replaced and way cheaper to operate/ maintain. Even the long distance towing works for me since I have time at this point in my life. Alas, no news media will report on these happy EV owner experiences!
I have done two round trips from Virginia to Niagara Falls, NY in the last 4 months.
Despite there being almost no chargers in Central PA and Central NY, the trips have been great.
Once we can use the Tesla stations, it will quadruple the options for charging.

So far my Lariat has exceeded my expectations. Cheering Ford on as they design and develop their Gen2. Assuming their result is better than my 2023 ER Lariat, it should be a helluva vehicle.
 

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Jseis

Jseis

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I have done two round trips from Virginia to Niagara Falls, NY in the last 4 months.
Despite there being almost no chargers in Central PA and Central NY, the trips have been great.
Once we can use the Tesla stations, it will quadruple the options for charging.

So far my Lariat has exceeded my expectations. Cheering Ford on as they design and develop their Gen2. Assuming their result is better than my 2023 ER Lariat, it should be a helluva vehicle.

I totally agree that improvements will show up, particularly with T3 though the “Retro” F-150 Lightning (😂) is oh so sweet. Of note, the increased range & higher charging rate of our LT ER allows me to cut charging stops & charging time by half on a coast to Great Falls trip as compared with the SR MME. Despite its weight & girth.

It’ll only get better.
 

ridgebackpilot

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We have a 2022 Lightning Lariat ER and two Mustang Mach-Es. My wife's Mach-E Premium RWD is the efficiency champion. Surprisingly, my Mach-E GT Performance Edition gets about the same mileage as my Lightning.

I originally thought that was because the truck was particularly efficient. But now I realize the real reason is that the GTPE with its two big motors is pretty inefficient compared to the other Mach-E!

Still, I wouldn't hesitate to commute in my Lightning if I didn't have the GTPE. My weekly commute is about 300 miles round trip, and I charge at home mostly with excess solar power from our 36-panel array.
 

RickLightning

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In general, the truck uses ~40% more power to go the same distance.
 
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Jseis

Jseis

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Your solar array is impressive! Curious about your storage and inverter? Power Wall then Charge at 120V?

I‘m impressed that my commute 3232 mile average of 2.6 mi/KWh is nearly 85 mpge and makes a Prius seem “wasteful“. Which is really odd considering an empty Lightning weighs nearly 2x a Prius!
 

Maxx

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I have done two round trips from Virginia to Niagara Falls, NY in the last 4 months.
I have to go from MD to Toronto with a standard pack. Any advice on the route and chargers?
 
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Bills R Electric

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I have to go to MD to Toronto with a standard pack. Any advice on the route and chargers?
Not sure where in Maryland you are coming from, but plenty of locations in Frederick, MD. The trick, when heading north, is getting from Frederick MD to the DCFC in Bath NY. It is about 260 miles. This I call the Rte 15 / Rte 11 trail.

Since you won't make that, look up the Wawa convenience store (EA) in Carlyle Pennsylvania. Plan to stop there and charge way up. Plan on a long stop if you are trying to charge up to 90-95% SOC. Life is good at 50%, but once you charge past 70% and then 80%, you are in the snail lane.

In Central New York State in Bath, NY, off of Rt 86, there is a 4 station Evolve NY station. It is the only DCFC around.

Next, there is a Tesla MagicDock in Batavia NY, about 50 miles further north. Note, the MagicDock cables are short, so you will have to block a couple of stations. But there are 10 PODs, so if you only block 9 & 10 no one should give you the evil eye. You may want to hit both the Bath stop and the Batavia Tesla location so you aren't rolling into Buffalo on "fumes".

There is an Electrify America in Buffalo at the 2500 Walden Ave - Walmart. Or, if you go thru Niagara Falls, there is an EA at the NF Factory Outlet mall. Both are 4 stations. You may have to wait if you hit them at 8am or at 5pm. I never had to wait though.

An alternative is to go up through Pittsburgh, and up Rte 219 in New York State. Good luck.

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