This will be my last attempt at a Lightning Road Trip

[Rip]

The range that the algorithm assumes is just too short, and I don't know if there is a way to extend it. If you look down the road past the Google recommendations, I have almost always found a charger that is further down the road. It's not really an easy task, because both the FordPass and Tesla apps give you very little map detail. No road names or numbers, just roads lines in darkish gray against a black background. I looked on Google maps to find a town or rest area 40-50 miles further along than the Google recommendation, then searched that town in the FordPass App. Usually, selecting that one gets you there wigh 15-25% left

Sponsored

 

[Grease Lightning]

Tesla and Electrify America support plug-n-charge. The rest require activating the stall from the FordPass app.

But they still fail to honor our subscriptions. @Ford Motor Company surveyed quite a while ago about adding that to the “Blue Oval Network” and still nothing. That is a huge failure of the system. I would much rather keep plug and charge off and save 25% when I need to DCFC.

 

[RickLightning]

An update: Following the trip back from Captiva in Florida to Southwest Harbor Maine, my original sentiment holds. Unless you like very long driving days with an unreliable and sometimes unpredictable charging network, the Lightning is an excellent vehicle fo 2-400 mile trips, but for anything beyond that, I will get something else (probably a hybrid). It is disappointing to say that, but the infrastructure is just not well-integrated or seamless enough to make it worthwhile.
I found that if Google Maps predicted an 8-hour trip, it was going to take 12 hours. I had to spend a lot of time uploading apps, joining apps, calling and talking to tech support to get charging started, finding other chargers when the one I had planned on using turned out to not be compatible (despite FordPass and the Tesla app claiming that they were). Now that all the support for expanding the charging network has been squelched, I can't see things getting better.
Ford needs to study the Tesla navigation app. It's seamless, easy to use, and finding and adding chargers to your route can be done with a couple of taps on the screen. Right now, trying to plan a road trip driving day is too much like work, and your plan can go awry right away.
Example: I left a hotel in Richmond, VA, with a plan to stop at a supercharger near the highway that was supposed to be compatible. As we drove, I watched the "percentage at destination" tick down from 14 miles to 12, then 10, then 8, and so I tried to find an alternative that would be closer. Of course, you can't really do that while you're driving, but it did come up with an alternative. I ended up having to wander around a circuitous route through the suburbs around Arlington and Alexandria, to find an EVConnect charger that required a call to tech support to get started. It turned out to only put out 60 KW. So I spent about half an hour finding another route to another better charger. Altogether that little adventure cost me probably an hour in a day that was already going to be a long one.
Adding the charger option to the Android Auto Google maps was a half-assed compromise. It will find chargers, but there doesn't seem to be a way to adjust the range, so it schedules stops where you arrive with 40%. What I ended up doing was looking further down the road using FordPass to find a better alternative, but then I had to drive to that destination and start the process all over.

I missed your thread back in January because I was on a [cough, cough] roadtrip. In all fairness to you, it wasn't the same as yours, it was HARDER. I drove from Michigan to Montana, going through NORTH DAKOTA, the land of "wait, there are EV chargers?" Then we drove back via Montana, that has one route with EA chargers that you must charge at.

This is 100% a lack of planning and understanding. We have driven tens of thousands of miles between our Mach-E and Lightning, and have now been to 31 states and 1 province.

Sorry you haven't had a good experience.

 

[Grease Lightning]

but thats a hard sell if you need two vehicles to accomplish one job.

But why the do they have to sell it to anyone? It is a personal choice and a decision that is theirs and a partner’s if they have one.

We all do different things for our own reasons and we can express them without giving a about it being a hard sell to you or others.

Maybe they want two cars. I have two so I don’t put all my miles on one and wear out my truck faster then I want and have a car that is twice as efficient. So some could say that is a hard sell, but makes sense for my use and my other needs so I don’t give a .

Maybe remember others aren’t you and don’t have to justify things to you or others to make it okay.

 

[Grease Lightning]

Maybe my travel is different than some, It's not 'unusual' for me. The way I use the EVs covers 99% of my travel by auto. Actually, for the last several years it has covered 100%. The only reason I use the Hybrid is when the weather is really bad, like 0 or below outside. I will use the Lightning when the conditions are a little more reasonable. I use the Tesla or EV6 when the weather is nice. Maybe that is unusual.

You don’t need to justify things. You do you and enjoy it. That others think is irrelevant and only a narcissistic would try to distort reality to try to make you think what you are doing is wrong.

I think you having more than one car for different uses is totally normal.

 

[Grease Lightning]

That's fine if that's what you want to do, but when people are talking about L3 charging, don't come in and mix in your experience with L2 charging and think it's a contribution to the discussion.

They are contributing to the discussion, by sharing how they road trip. Often many people do alternatives to exclusively DCFC on a road trip. So it is nice to mention others approaches too.

 

[Firn]

But why the do they have to sell it to anyone? It is a personal choice and a decision that is theirs and a partner’s if they have one.

We all do different things for our own reasons and we can express them without giving a about it being a hard sell to you or others.

Maybe they want two cars. I have two so I don’t put all my miles on one and wear out my truck faster then I want and have a car that is twice as efficient. So some could say that is a hard sell, but makes sense for my use and my other needs so I don’t give a .

Maybe remember others aren’t you and don’t have to justify things to you or others to make it okay.

Holy cow, misread what was said and overreact much.

He can do WHATEVER he wants, that wasn't the question and absolutely NOBODY said he could NOT. The statement was said because he trying to JUSTIFY it as "saving money". Just say you want it, the guy has like 5 cars listed in this thread alone and no internet comment is telling him what he can and cannot do. But at least be honest with WHY you are doing it, and it sure isnt "saving money" if you choose to have two vehicles to do the job of one.

Pointing out the argument presented doesn't make sense is NOT the same thing as telling others what they can and cannot do.

 

[evowner]

You don’t need to justify things. You do you and enjoy it. That others think is irrelevant and only a narcissistic would try to distort reality to try to make you think what you are doing is wrong.

I think you having more than one car for different uses is totally normal.

They cannot control me!

 

[Yellow Buddy]

I am in one hotel, and my lightning is languishing at another hotel, hooked up to a slow-ass Blink L1 charger because it was all I could find. I had to take an Uber back to my hotel, and will have to take an uber back to the other one tomorrow morning, and hope that it picked up enough miles to get me to a real charger.
Until Ford decides to get serious and actually build a freaking network I will confine my Lightning driving to local only. The Ford Pass "network" is just a list. It doesn't work. What i have now are two nav systems (Google and Ford). Google is flawed and unreliable when it comes to charging, but at least I can get somewhere with it. Ford can't find many locations, has all the functionality of Garmin 2004, and looks awful. The FordPass app can find chargers and sometimes feed them to Google Maps, but it's as likely to take me to the wrong place or to a charger that is not available or compatible. After two long days of driving 2 hours to charge for an hour (when I can actually find a charger close to the route), collecting charging apps so I can sit in an isolated spot with no rest rooms and no amenities, I have had it. My wife is ready to leave the Lightning at an airport and rent an ICE so we can finish driving to our vacation destination.
Ford, if you're listening, quit making us beta test your tech. Get it together.

Idk where you are/went, but I’ve done a lot of trips in my Lightning.

She’s visited multiple state and national parks.
Ive driven her cross country.
I’ve taken her a thousand miles on business trips.
I’ve taken her snowboarding.
Shes launched a boat off a dock.
Shes gone “off roading” (not really) on really light trails.
Shes carried a Roof Top Tent
I’ve helped friends move.
I’ve picked up lawn tractors from two states away and driven them back in the bed.
We’ve watched outdoor movies out of the bed.
Shes even cleared out a foot of snow using a rear plow…

There isn’t much this truck can’t do…long distances haven’t been much of a challenge for me. I don’t find it much harder than traveling in any other electric vehicle - including my Tesla.

Compared to gas though? Ford isn’t the only one who needs to get their act together..

 

[gbuydos]

Interesting story. We were going to go pick up a puppy. It was about a 230 mile trip to the breeder. Then 230 miles back. Figured I could hi the superchargers in the metro and then get out into the country. Well from the metro , to the breeder, then back to the metro exceeded my range now in winter. Plus no chargers what so ever out buy the breeder. So, the solution, Enterprise Rent-A-Car. $47.00 for a compact for all day Saturday. Problem solved.

 

[Joe.....Montana]

Interesting story. We were going to go pick up a puppy. It was about a 230 mile trip to the breeder. Then 230 miles back. Figured I could hi the superchargers in the metro and then get out into the country. Well from the metro , to the breeder, then back to the metro exceeded my range now in winter. Plus no chargers what so ever out buy the breeder. So, the solution, Enterprise Rent-A-Car. $47.00 for a compact for all day Saturday. Problem solved.

I want to go full EV but the MRS is skeptical (being in Montana). I've floated the idea of just renting a car when its -10 with 30 mph head winds and we need to cover 350 miles...she hasn't taken the bait...yet...could probably get a fully loaded EV9 Land for around $55k with current incentives...dealership has been sitting on it for 10 months

 

[evowner]

I want to go full EV but the MRS is skeptical (being in Montana). I've floated the idea of just renting a car when its -10 with 30 mph head winds and we need to cover 350 miles...she hasn't taken the bait...yet...could probably get a fully loaded EV9 Land for around $55k with current incentives...dealership has been sitting on it for 10 months

You want me to talk to her for you? I will make it so that you either get your car or get kicked out of the house.

 

[Rip]

I missed your thread back in January because I was on a [cough, cough] roadtrip. In all fairness to you, it wasn't the same as yours, it was HARDER. I drove from Michigan to Montana, going through NORTH DAKOTA, the land of "wait, there are EV chargers?" Then we drove back via Montana, that has one route with EA chargers that you must charge at.

This is 100% a lack of planning and understanding. We have driven tens of thousands of miles between our Mach-E and Lightning, and have now been to 31 states and 1 province.

Sorry you haven't had a good experience.

My point is that (a) planning doesn't help when the apps give you incorrect information (e.g., which chargers are compatible), and (b) you shouldn't have to spend so much time planning. I love the Lightning, and would not go back to another Tesla, but the tech in the Ford is just not mature yet. While Tesla's quality and customer service suck, they had developed their tech to a higher degree, which made road trips easier. You just plugged in your destination, and it gave you chargers at reasonable intervals. If you wanted to change a software-selected charger, you just pushed a button and all the chargers within 100 miles or so would come up, and you could select a different one. I don't know whether Ford engineers are working on it or not...I do see updates occasionally, but they seem to be minor.

 

[CavRider]

My point is that (a) planning doesn't help when the apps give you incorrect information (e.g., which chargers are compatible), and (b) you shouldn't have to spend so much time planning. I love the Lightning, and would not go back to another Tesla, but the tech in the Ford is just not mature yet. While Tesla's quality and customer service suck, they had developed their tech to a higher degree, which made road trips easier. You just plugged in your destination, and it gave you chargers at reasonable intervals. If you wanted to change a software-selected charger, you just pushed a button and all the chargers within 100 miles or so would come up, and you could select a different one. I don't know whether Ford engineers are working on it or not...I do see updates occasionally, but they seem to be minor.

I would argue that Ford engineers have no business whatsoever investing development in navigation software. They are an automotive company, not a software company. They should instead enter into a licensing agreement with ABRP or similar and concentrate on stuff they are actually good at.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Rip]

Interesting story. We were going to go pick up a puppy. It was about a 230 mile trip to the breeder. Then 230 miles back. Figured I could hi the superchargers in the metro and then get out into the country. Well from the metro , to the breeder, then back to the metro exceeded my range now in winter. Plus no chargers what so ever out buy the breeder. So, the solution, Enterprise Rent-A-Car. $47.00 for a compact for all day Saturday. Problem solved.

We have picked up two puppies, taking road trips from Northern Virginia to Indiana and back for the first one, and from Maine to Indiana and back for the second one. Both in a Model Y. The ride wasn't as quiet or comfortable in the Model Y as it is in the Lightning, but we were able to use the onboard tech seamlessly and find chargers when we needed them. I don't understand why Ford decided not to benchmark that system and build something even better.

Sponsored