TFL made it to Fairbanks

[Orlando150]

Don’t get me wrong, I like the TFL guys a lot, follow all their stuff, subscribe on YouTube, and have no problem with this stunt. Just making an observation that the Lightning driving to Prudhoe Bay is a fail - it cannot do it. In the case of my motorcycle trip, I rode every inch of the PanAm Highway that has been completed, AND rode every inch of latitude from Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaia, no transport across gaps in that statement - my rides actually overlapped teh Darien gap element of the latitude where the gap exists. The Lightning cannot make it to Prudhoe Bay on its own - there is no way to charge/fuel that vehicle without bringing ANOTHER more capable vehicle along to make the trip possible. Just as the Rivian and Harley LiveWire failed in South America during Long Way Up (although their backup systems didn’t work and they required multiple tows. I highly recommend watching the series), the Lightning cannot make the distance. I believe that this is worth observing - and I think it hurts the EV case - proves to naysayers what they believe - that any ICE truck can do that ride unassisted, but that NO EV can do so without an ICE truck along to USE gasoline to generate electricity for charging, defeating the entire EV mandate - an unmitigated fail - something that the TFL guys will likely acknowledge in their full video.

Your motorcycle driving to South America is a fail - it cannot do it. There is no way to move that vehicle to South America without bringing ANOTHER more capable vehicle along to make the trip possible.

See what I am saying? You are putting a silly road trip purity test on a YouTube video that your own trip cannot live up to either. It wasn’t a fail that you can’t drive all the way to South America without an assist from a plane. It’s not a fail if they had to get some charge off a hybrid generator (and this is still and if… we haven’t see the videos and the hybird was a backup plan if they couldn’t charge at campsites).

It is literally impossible for any motorized vehicle to go anywhere “unassisted”. The gas stations in Alaska or Colombia don’t invent the fuel on site. It comes in on… wait for it… more capable vehicles. And no reasonable person has a mandate that EVs can make it to the furthest ends of the Earth without support. No car can do it. No matter the fuel. Everything is connected by a network of logistic support.

The “EV mandate” isn’t defeated because there are no charging stations in one of the most remote places in the country. It woudn’t be a better video series if there had been a million EA stations in Alaska. It probably would be worse. It woudn’t have convinced “naysayers” to see the light because one could stop at charging stations in a place they are never going if they already don’t trust the charging infrastructure in their hometowns. This is not a series designed to convince haters that the Lightning can replace any ICE truck by driving non-stop through Alaska. It’s not even using a stock Lightning optimized for range! It’s a series for people interested in the Lightning to see what it can do when pushed to (and over?) it’s limits going somewhere interesting.

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[ExCivilian]

There is no way to move that vehicle to South America without bringing ANOTHER more capable vehicle along to make the trip possible.

The plane ride is analogous to the ferry ride--not the chase vehicle.

I think it would have been more interesting, and also something a lot of their audience would be interested in trying to do themselves, if they had brought a diesel generator instead of the hybrid and fueled it with veggie oil.

 

[vandy1981]

I think it would have been more interesting, and also something a lot of their audience would be interested in trying to do themselves, if they had brought a diesel generator instead of the hybrid and fueled it with veggie oil.

Or use a 20 kWh Ecoflow Delta Pro setup. Would have eaten up about 400 pounds of payload and a good amount of space, though.

 

[sotek2345]

Your motorcycle driving to South America is a fail - it cannot do it. There is no way to move that vehicle to South America without bringing ANOTHER more capable vehicle along to make the trip possible.

See what I am saying? You are putting a silly road trip purity test on a YouTube video that your own trip cannot live up to either. It wasn’t a fail that you can’t drive all the way to South America without an assist from a plane. It’s not a fail if they had to get some charge off a hybrid generator (and this is still and if… we haven’t see the videos and the hybird was a backup plan if they couldn’t charge at campsites).

It is literally impossible for any motorized vehicle to go anywhere “unassisted”. The gas stations in Alaska or Colombia don’t invent the fuel on site. It comes in on… wait for it… more capable vehicles. And no reasonable person has a mandate that EVs can make it to the furthest ends of the Earth without support. No car can do it. No matter the fuel. Everything is connected by a network of logistic support.

The “EV mandate” isn’t defeated because there are no charging stations in one of the most remote places in the country. It woudn’t be a better video series if there had been a million EA stations in Alaska. It probably would be worse. It woudn’t have convinced “naysayers” to see the light because one could stop at charging stations in a place they are never going if they already don’t trust the charging infrastructure in their hometowns. This is not a series designed to convince haters that the Lightning can replace any ICE truck by driving non-stop through Alaska. It’s not even using a stock Lightning optimized for range! It’s a series for people interested in the Lightning to see what it can do when pushed to (and over?) it’s limits going somewhere interesting.

Technically an EV (esp. and EV truck) is the only type of vehicle that could potentially make a long remote trip completely unaided. You could use the payload capacity to carry as many solar panels as possible. Deploy them every day to charge as much as possible, and then drive as far as that charge takes you every night. It would be very slow going, but you could do it without any support systems. Food/water would be your biggest issues.

 

[Orlando150]

The plane ride is analogous to the ferry ride--not the chase vehicle.

I think it would have been more interesting, and also something a lot of their audience would be interested in trying to do themselves, if they had brought a diesel generator instead of the hybrid and fueled it with veggie oil.

It's all assistance that is required to complete a trip.

I think having a hybrid F-150 that can charge a F-150 Lightning is the most clever option and makes for the best "story": a "family" of trucks supporting it's members.

Technically an EV (esp. and EV truck) is the only type of vehicle that could potentially make a long remote trip completely unaided. You could use the payload capacity to carry as many solar panels as possible. Deploy them every day to charge as much as possible, and then drive as far as that charge takes you every night. It would be very slow going, but you could do it without any support systems. Food/water would be your biggest issues.

Yeah I thought about that. There are lots of things you can do given enough time. If they waited long enough someone might have come along and built a charger where they stopped . But it's not practical for a fun YouTube video. Plus they would still need some sort of support for food and water as you mentioned.

 

[vandy1981]

I thought the power boost was more of an emergency back up?

I don't think they've said whether they actually had to use the powerboost, unless I missed some content.

 

[ExCivilian]

I don't think they've said whether they actually had to use the powerboost, unless I missed some content.

Dave has mentioned several times they explicitly stated in their videos it was their plan to use it on specific legs in addition to emergency use.

In addition to that, he's also explained that his personal experience in Alaska indicates that it's simply not possible to make the trip without them using the powerboost because of the (lack of) charging infrastructure.

It's all assistance that is required to complete a trip.

That's a false equivalency. I suggest you, assuming you're not simply trolling the discussion, plot the trip he described on a map to gain a better understanding of the trip he took.

Again, as I stated earlier, Dave already mentioned the analogous ferry trip and said it was technically not driving there but he wasn't faulting them for that. In that context, comparing his example of flying across an unnavigable span of geography, to then driving back to the origin point, and then driving back down in order to simulate the same distance parallel to the unnavigable span to the powerboost that is driving along navigable roads rather than the ferry that carried them across an undriveable ocean is...well bizarre is the most polite way I can describe that discussion style.

 

[metroshot]

As TFLEV mentioned, there is an EV rally coming up in Alaska to Prudhoe Bay.

They are setting up temporary charge stations for this rally.

EV Rally To Prudhoe Bay

 

[Bandit216]

As TFLEV mentioned, there is an EV rally coming up in Alaska to Prudhoe Bay.

They are setting up temporary charge stations for this rally.

EV Rally To Prudhoe Bay

Apparently, Seekins Ford in Fairbanks is volunteering their XLT SR Lightning demo for the rally from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay. I found that surprising, but heard it directly from the Sales Manager. An SR, that's a bit crazy, but without the camper and special tires and gear it will be an interesting comparison to the TFL ER. Seekins Ford is also sending a Powerboost along as an emergency charge option like TFL.

The rally is scheduled for Aug 12th

 

[LightningShow]

The good news is that you don’t need another vehicle. Just a big ass generator and a few hundred gallons of gas.

 

[Orlando150]

Dave has mentioned several times they explicitly stated in their videos it was their plan to use it on specific legs in addition to emergency use.

In addition to that, he's also explained that his personal experience in Alaska indicates that it's simply not possible to make the trip without them using the powerboost because of the (lack of) charging infrastructure.


That's a false equivalency. I suggest you, assuming you're not simply trolling the discussion, plot the trip he described on a map to gain a better understanding of the trip he took.

Again, as I stated earlier, Dave already mentioned the analogous ferry trip and said it was technically not driving there but he wasn't faulting them for that. In that context, comparing his example of flying across an unnavigable span of geography, to then driving back to the origin point, and then driving back down in order to simulate the same distance parallel to the unnavigable span to the powerboost that is driving along navigable roads rather than the ferry that carried them across an undriveable ocean is...well bizarre is the most polite way I can describe that discussion style.

I've watched all their videos. I suggest you should too before making assumptions about what TFL said.





Starting at 21:30 they discover that charging with the hybrid will take 19 hours and say that it is "only for an emergency".

 

[Ruination]

Throw a generator in the bed, solved.

Next question.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

Your motorcycle driving to South America is a fail - it cannot do it. There is no way to move that vehicle to South America without bringing ANOTHER more capable vehicle along to make the trip possible.

See what I am saying? You are putting a silly road trip purity test on a YouTube video that your own trip cannot live up to either. It wasn’t a fail that you can’t drive all the way to South America without an assist from a plane. It’s not a fail if they had to get some charge off a hybrid generator (and this is still and if… we haven’t see the videos and the hybird was a backup plan if they couldn’t charge at campsites).

It is literally impossible for any motorized vehicle to go anywhere “unassisted”. The gas stations in Alaska or Colombia don’t invent the fuel on site. It comes in on… wait for it… more capable vehicles. And no reasonable person has a mandate that EVs can make it to the furthest ends of the Earth without support. No car can do it. No matter the fuel. Everything is connected by a network of logistic support.

The “EV mandate” isn’t defeated because there are no charging stations in one of the most remote places in the country. It woudn’t be a better video series if there had been a million EA stations in Alaska. It probably would be worse. It woudn’t have convinced “naysayers” to see the light because one could stop at charging stations in a place they are never going if they already don’t trust the charging infrastructure in their hometowns. This is not a series designed to convince haters that the Lightning can replace any ICE truck by driving non-stop through Alaska. It’s not even using a stock Lightning optimized for range! It’s a series for people interested in the Lightning to see what it can do when pushed to (and over?) it’s limits going somewhere interesting.

But your statement isn't true - I can and have used on-site tools to get my motorcycle across the Darien gap. And it made every mile of the PanAm Highway from Alaska to Argentina under its own power using fuel purchased along the way. The gap had to be transited - much as there are bridges and ferries on many roads - one time I flew across on a scheduled flight (the second time because we were in a group of seven riders) the other time hoisted the motorcycle onto a small (42') chartered sailboat and stopped in the San Blas Islands for a couple days, then sailed to Cartagena (Northeast of Panama City) and used the boom to put it ashore to continue. I never took another vehicle along on my trip to make the trip possible in the first vehicle. That is why this is a fail. Put another way, the trip would have been possible entirely with only the "support" vehicle and not using the Lightning at all. The Lightning was just a sideshow holding everything else back.

 

[Bandit216]

Two DCFCs in Fairbanks and both full of Lightnings.

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