Why would I need a mobile charger?

[MRButtler]

That‘s funny, because Tom on State of Charge nicknamed them “MustMelt.”

Edit - I found his post and see that he was replying to you. Now I get your joke!

Yes I Must have bought a non-trouble version. For lunch I think I'll have a certain sandwich now.

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[Hammick]

We travel West on I-90 across South Dakota and Wyoming to our place in Montana. I will take both the mobile charger that came with our truck and the one that came with our Ioniq 5. Charging can be sparse along this route and it's good to have options in case we have to detour to a campground. Can't lower the current on the Ford charger but it can put out 30 amps. The Ioniq 5 charger can't do 30 amps but it's current can be lowered. So having a configurable charger can be really handy depending on the power available. Beggars can't be choosers.

 

[RickLightning]

One of the problems with the poll is that the Ford Mobile Charger USED to be included, whereas now it's a $500 option that you can opt out of.

Reasons to have a mobile charger:

1) You're an idiot who runs out of power during a trip. The term "idiot" is used by your spouse. Along comes a Lightning owner and lets you charge up.

2) You travel. Sometimes, you may not find high speed chargers, or a working level 2 charger. If you can find a campground with a 14-50 50amp circuit, you can charge enough to get to your next fast charger.

3) You're somewhere for a while, like visiting relatives. They have no 14-50 50amp circuit, only a 30amp dryer circuit. You're smart enough, despite what your spouse thinks in #1, to know not to use that dryer circuit, so you plug into 110v. 131 at 10% full for 4.5 days and you're ready to go. We've visited our son in Florida twice with the Mach-E and done exactly this.

 

[RickLightning]

We travel West on I-90 across South Dakota and Wyoming to our place in Montana. I will take both the mobile charger that came with our truck and the one that came with our Ioniq 5. Charging can be sparse along this route and it's good to have options in case we have to detour to a campground. Can't lower the current on the Ford charger but it can put out 40 amps. The Ioniq 5 charger can't do 40amps but it's current can be lowered. So having a configurable charger can be really handy depending on the power available. Beggars can't be choosers.

The Mach-E Ford Mobile charger is 32amps.
The Lightning Ford Mobile charger is 30amps.

 

[carys98]

I’ve used it when traveling to areas with no DC charging. A condo I stayed at in Myrtle Beach had 120 outlets so every night I plugged in so over the course of the 2 nights I was there I picked up nearly 20%. It saved me a couple of hours I had planned at a level 2 charger before I headed home. I also used it visiting a friend in Nags Head, NC where I plugged into his outdoor 120V and got enough to get me the 120 miles to the nearest DC charger. Instead of waiting at a level 2 I charged while laying on the beach.

 

[Maquis]

One of the problems with the poll is that the Ford Mobile Charger USED to be included, whereas now it's a $500 option that you can opt out of.

Reasons to have a mobile charger:

1) You're an idiot who runs out of power during a trip. The term "idiot" is used by your spouse. Along comes a Lightning owner and lets you charge up.

2) You travel. Sometimes, you may not find high speed chargers, or a working level 2 charger. If you can find a campground with a 14-50 50amp circuit, you can charge enough to get to your next fast charger.

3) You're somewhere for a while, like visiting relatives. They have no 14-50 50amp circuit, only a 30amp dryer circuit. You're smart enough, despite what your spouse thinks in #1, to know not to use that dryer circuit, so you plug into 110v. 131 at 10% full for 4.5 days and you're ready to go. We've visited our son in Florida twice with the Mach-E and done exactly this.

#3 is my common used case. If I’m at the lake for a week with only an occasional grocery run, I’m charged and ready to go by getaway day. I usually unplug for a while in the middle of the week so I don’t hit 100% until the morning I depart.

 

[Calvin H-C]

We haven't used the mobile EVSE that we purchased with the lightning, and wish we didn't get that one because there are so many third-party units with better features.

Our 2017 Focus Electric came with a 120 volt EVSE and we have occasionally used it over the years in various ciurcumstances:

1. Stayed at a motel on a trip that didn't have a 1772 EVSE, but did have 120 volt outlets available
2. I've visited relatives on a very cold day and plugging in the 120 volt cable to keep the battery warm is recommended, plus the cabin can be warmed up using shore power
3. Arrived home once after heavy snowfall with a very low SOC, but no way to get in the driveway to reach the 7 kW EVSE. A 120 volt outlet could be used from the road with a 25' extension cord while I cleared the driveway.

One thing with mobile EVSEs that many fail to realize is they can play a useful function at places of employment. Where I work, they have two L2 EVSEs and there's a two hour limit on using them. They plan to add more, but who knows when.

If they were to install 120 volt outlets for some parking spaces, it would be a better way to provide charging overall. For about the cost of one 6 kW unit, they could add an outlet to six parking spaces. When I say "cost", I mean both up-front dollars and service panel loading (assuming 1100 watts from a 15 A circuit at 120 volts).

Instead of four people getting 12 kWh and having to move their vehicle once or twice during an 8-hour day, SIX people could all plug in for the entire 8-hour day and each receive 8.8 kW.

 

[bellyer]

I have the mobile charger for both my Lightning and my Mach-E. I have used it with both vehicles, especially early on before I had a Grizzl-E charger mounted at my house and my cottage. The mobile charger has come in handy a couple of times on long drives from Chicago to northern Wisconsin in the winter when range has been a concern and I have needed to top up along stops to make sure I could reach my destinations since fast charging is very limited north of Milwaukee in WI. The mobile charger has also come in handy for Level 1 charging while staying with family to keep a trickle charge going while parked at their house (at least before some of my family members went electric themselves), so that I was not needing to find fast chargers quite as much.

 

[Lytning]

I keep mine in the frunk if needed in an emergency. I also have a Honda generator at home that I could use to add a few miles.

 

[Avocadodude]

Mine came with truck. Have used it at farm on a generator, campground, timeshare. Really it's there for emergencies. I would have purchased one if the truck didn't come with one and probably not the ford one.

 

[flypony53]

Travel monthly to my inlaws house, Out fluctuates between 48-52% battery remaining averaging about 70mph, so I typically get there and plug into their 30amp dryer plug and charge for a few hours to give me a cushion for the drive home. on my other EVs, I use them every few months. My approach is to always have one with you, never know when you might need it.

For contrast, my R1S with a similar posted range in conserve mode does this drive with 5 adults, 2 dogs and a frunk full of supplies with ~60% of range remaining while driving 75mph.

 

[Kev12345]

many hotels are opting to install 50 amp plugs in parking garages. BYOC (bring your own charger).

 

[saturnschildren]

as the EV battery will drain quickly if not plugged in when it’s cold

My 2022 sat outside through a full Ontario winter, rarely plugged in (at my house), and I didn't notice any issues with the battery draining quickly or slowly.

 

[Cosmacelf]

My 2022 sat outside through a full Ontario winter, rarely plugged in (at my house), and I didn't notice any issues with the battery draining quickly or slowly.

Huh. My older Tesla would loss range overnight in cold weather when not plugged in. Maybe the F-150 is different or I had weird settings on my Tesla.

 

[hturnerfamily]

The FordMobileCharger, or ANY 240v Level 2 charger, is a MUST HAVE for me, if not TWO mobile chargers:

- We CAMP a LOT, towing our camper to campgrounds that may have 240v power

- We TRAVEL a LOT, and having a mobile charger is that 'emergency' tool you need, just in case

- Having TWO is not a must, but let's look at why:
A) for a real 'emergency', likely you might only have access to a simple 15amp household outlet, which requires a charger that can operate on 120v power - like the FordMobileCharger's 120v adapter, or even a third-party charger that can operate on either.
B) for other uses, such as when you have access to 240v power, such as at the mentioned campground, or even some NEMA 14-50 outlets that are found by searching PlugShare and other apps, a 240v charger is VERY NICE to have, and MUCH faster than the 'emergency' option, especially when you need to 'dial down' the max 30amp output:
1) an ADJUSTABLE charger is a great option, one that is 240v powered, but can be 'dialed down' to even 10amps, with other options for 16amps, 20, 24, up to 30. There are times, even when you have access to 240v power, that you don't WANT to use the full 30 amps that would be the fastest charging. It may be that something else is being powered on that same circuit, or that you have a main panel with other users that could be overloaded by a strong full 30amps constant power for a long, long time.
2) an DUAL charger is the other option, with the ability to use EITHER 240v power, or 120v power, such as the FordMobileCharger and it's two 'adapters' for either need. Some adjustable chargers MAY be able to do both DUAL and ADJUSTABLE, but I'll bet it's hard to find one.


What Do I, personally, carry, in all my 30,000+ miles of towing and travel?
A) the FordMobileCharger works great, and is ALSO my everyday-at-home charger: it works. It also gives me the 'emergency' 120v option, if ever needed - and it HAS been used several times. One, in a campground that only had 120v 30amp/20amp power. I simply plugged it into the 20amp outlet. It probably draws only 12amps when using the 120v adapter, but, of course, is very, very slow - it might not matter if you are parked for several days, though.
B) I also have a MaxGREEN Adjustable 240v charger, and it works great for those situations where you have 240v power but need to dial down the output. I've had several situations like this: a campground with only 120v 30amp outlets, yet having TWO of these outlets at every rv site: I used my 'Dual 120v 30amp to 240v 50amp' "Y" adapter to bring these two together to make 240v output. Worked great, and I dialed it down to 24amps just to keep the weak breakers from overheating. I also used it more recently to dial down to 20-24 amps to keep a main panel's Main Breaker from tripping from overheating, since several of us campers, and my TRUCK, and other items were all pulling power from the same 100amp Main Panel.
C) I also have a 20' 240v EXTENSION CABLE, with male/female 240v 50amp ends. This allows me to pull power from an outlet that might otherwise be much too far away with the basic charger cable's length. I also have several 240v 50amp to 120v 30amp/20amp adapters for both ends, for other needs, such as when needing this same extension cord for my 120v 30amp camper, instead. Something parking at a campground can get dicey when trying to charge the truck from an outlet box that is in the 'way back' of the rv site, or sometimes plugging in the camper when the outlet box is in the way 'front' of the site... campgrounds are never going to be exactly the same.

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