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How the 2021 Ford F-150's onboard generator works
- the_hoser 6y agoI wonder if these things will trickle into their super duty lineup. I know a bunch of RVers that would love to be able to ditch their generator.
- josefresco 6y agoF-250 and 32 foot travel trailer owner here: Yes please.
- wesleytodd 6y agoJust recently bought a 2020 F-250 and a 40ft fifth wheel, also yes! I spent ~$1000 on the generator setup for 5kw. That said, they are probably much more fuel efficient than running the 6.7L diesel.
- NegativeLatency 6y agoLower maintenance costs too
- nnadams 6y agoFord steering engineer here. I worked on the 2020 Super Duty line. How has the experience with your truck been so far? Did you opt for any of the trailer assistance features? Trailer Backup Assist was something I worked a lot on, and I would be interested to hear your thoughts.
- josefresco 6y agoIf this were a an RV/towing forum I'd immediately question and possibly ridicule your setup but this is HN so have a nice day!
- ponker 6y agoI hope the truck keeps a record of how much this was used. I wouldn't want to buy a used truck that nominally had 50,000 miles on it but also had another 5000 hours of generator duty on the engine without knowing about it.
- hed 6y agoEven my 20 year old GMC has an engine hour meter if you toggle the odometer. It's good to know this can be useful more than just figuring out your average speed in mph over the life of the vehicle.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- jtbayly 6y agoThat was my thought exactly! Other equipment like this generally doesn't track miles but hours. Need to know both in this instance.
- floydnoel 6y agothat’s already standard on F150 trucks, even before a generator became available.
- robocat 6y agoHowever for engine life what you want to know is hours under heavy load and perhaps total revolutions. I thought that much of the wear on an engine is load related, and non-linear, such that hours idling at low revs is utterly different from high revs at high power. The odo reading is useful as an indication of wear on the drivetrain and suspension etcetera. Hours is useful on a tractor/truck/boat because the engine is normally under load for a majority of the hours.
- latchkey 6y agoAfter I moved to Vietnam, I learned pretty quickly that the numbers on ODO's, even digital ones, can be modified to whatever you want, for a few bucks.
- rudedogg 6y agoThe 600 watt Electric Heater listed under "Football Tailgating" is a little suspicious. Don't they all pull 1,500 watts on max output? Makes me question all the other numbers for equipment I know nothing about. Edit: I looked and apparently they do make 600 watt space heaters. I'm leaving the comment because I still think it's a bad example.
- ccsnags 6y agoI can make you a 1 watt space heater for your hamster if you want. I see you edited it but the image in my head was too cute not to share.
- Scoundreller 6y agoI’d say a propane Mr. Heater would be a far better choice in that situation. Would be cool if they built a coolant line attachment to bypass the truck radiator and reject heat indoors instead.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- protomyth 6y agoFord says the 2.4-kW system can run a jackhammer or a mobile theater setup complete with a projector, loudspeakers, and popcorn machine for up to 85 hours. This is the one sentence that basically shows the two audiences this truck is going after. I know a couple of farmers who will be glad to ditch the generator. Might even save some effort given they won't have to bring two trucks out (one with the generator, one with the load).
- readhn 6y agoWho else buys pick up trucks?
- mdszy 6y agoSuburbanites who want to have a truck because they think it makes them look cool.
- blakesterz 6y agoI don't know exactly who or why, but the answer is certainly A LOT of people are buying them. "Cox Automotive data shows Middle America, with household incomes of $50,000 to $99,000, was the segment of buyers who stayed in-market mostly for new pickup trucks and SUVs, while upper- and lower-income buyers shied away," https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a32380257/first-month-ever-more-pickup-trucks-than-cars/ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a32380257/first-month-ever... For the First Month Ever, More People Bought Pickups Than Cars (That was May of this month)
- protomyth 6y agoWell, when the truly bad weather hits, its very nice to have an actual 4x4 truck. They are very useful vehicles. I would have killed in high school (well, in college too) for a truck with a generator. So many times helping a buddy would have gone a whole lot easier. Never mind pulling people out of the ditch. Going to rent one is not a realistic option in many parts of the country.
- 6y ago
- netcraft 6y agothis seems like a great idea, especially on the models with the battery packs - you could charge on the way to the jobsite. My only wonder though, is where you plug in the electronics at the back of the truck bed is exactly where the exhaust is coming out. Seems like they could have at least moved it to a panel outside of the bed on side maybe, but a redirected exhaust would be a good upgrade I would think. Not so bad if youre running a long extension cord to some other place, but if youre trying to use the tailgate as a work surface, seems like that would get old quick.
- larrik 6y agoIn the picture, it looks like they are on opposite sides, at least. Still not perfect, though.
- tantalor 6y agoIt looks like the plugs are on the left side of the bed, and the exhaust is angled to the right: https://www.ford.com/content/dam/vdm_ford/live/en_us/ford/nameplate/f-150/2021/collections/_360/iconicsilver/p702_ext_360_iconic_silver_0440.jpg https://www.ford.com/content/dam/vdm_ford/live/en_us/ford/na...
- bob1029 6y agoYou could run an entire house off this thing for a non-trivial amount of time. 7.2 Kw is plenty of power to crank over my 5 ton heat pump and whatever other relatively insignificant things I might be running at the same time. I would say Ford should develop some emergency home power kit, but all you would really need to do is have a transfer switch and a panel installed for accepting the 220v plug. None of that is proprietary and could be installed by any licensed electrician.
- lkxijlewlf 6y agoAs someone in the south, this was my initial thought as well.
- NegativeLatency 6y agoIs grid power not reliable there?
- bob1029 6y agoI am in the ERCOT region and the power is extremely reliable. The only time it is not reliable is after a category 3+ storm blows through and rips out the last mile infrastructure. In the gulf coast area, you do not get a standby generator because a random thunderstorm takes your power out for 2 hours at a time. You get a standby because a hurricane might deprive you of basic comfort for 7+ days at at a time. There is absolutely no living in this region after a tropical storm blows through unless you have functioning HVAC. 100% humidity at 90F+ for days and days. Even for natives it is too much to bear. If you got any water in your home during one of those storms, having functioning AC is the best way to make sure your house doesnt turn into a mold factory.
- munificent 6y ago> There is absolutely no living in this region after a tropical storm blows through unless you have functioning HVAC. I think that's a little extreme of a claim. It definitely sucks, but I've been without A/C for several days after hurricanes in New Orleans and Orlando. I wouldn't care to repeat the experience, but it's not the end of the world. Humans lived in those regions for thousands of years before A/C was invented. The hard part is that modern homes in the South aren't designed to be livable without A/C. If you've got an older home like a shotgun house, you're in a better state because it's designed for natural airflow.
- Waterluvian 6y agoI’m positively in love with this romantic idea that my vehicle isn’t really just about A to B. It’s my aircraft carrier from which I launch operations. It keeps us warm or cold. Powers everything. Has entertainment. Shelter. Carries all my supplies. Having a small SUV in the parking lot of the beach turns my morning trip into a whole day trip with my toddlers napping and taking a break in the shade. It’s what gets me about the supercarriers. If warfare suddenly disappeared, you’ve got these mobile bases you can anchor off the coast of a disaster zone with massive capabilities for logistics, a nuclear power plant, water purifier, hospital, machine shops, etc. Etc. So this F150 power generator thing resonates with me.
- xnx 6y agoI wish houses were a fraction as well made and useful as even economy cars.
- dzhiurgis 6y agoYeah even talking about cookie-cutter houses is non-PC
- RaptorJ 6y agoWell even cookie-cutter houses used to be pretty nice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Modern_Homes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Modern_Homes
- jacobr1 6y agoTake a look at the innovation in the manufactured/modular home space. The quality/price ratio has been improving tremendously. Even for site-built homes, using things like prebuilt trusses is an improvement. Even the 5+1 apartments that are disliked for their uniform aesthetics are a big step up on quality/price than the approaches of decades past.
- morsch 6y agoUnfortunately all that engineering talent is wasted designing ever more wasteful vehicles that are ruining the environment. Kind of like loads of CS engineering talent is wasted improving insidious ad technology that is ruining society.
- davidf560 6y agoThe built-in generator options don't output any more power than a generator that you can buy at any home improvement store for several hundred dollars. Sure, having it integrated into the vehicle might be a nice feature, but I don't see anything special about the power output. This just replaces a free-standing generator strapped down in the back of the truck. Those tend to be noisy but they're relatively cheap. I doubt most jobsites care that much about the noise, but I suppose tailgaters might like it. On the other hand, tailgaters tend to prefer inverter generators which are very quiet and use very little gas. In fact, thinking more about it, I wouldn't want to be at a tailgate with an F150 running all day spewing exhaust all over. A small portable generator and an extension cord can be located relatively far away from the gathering - that's a lot harder to do with the truck itself.
- caymanjim 6y agoThe article mentions most of these points and provides some compelling reasons why one might prefer an integrated system. I'd certainly rather have one powered by the truck's engine. It's vastly more fuel-efficient, quieter, and vastly more environmentally-sound than a loud-ass 2-stroke portable generator could ever hope to be, and if you're the kind of working person who'd benefit from this, it's a godsend.
- syshum 6y ago>>vastly more environmentally-sound than a loud-ass 2-stroke portable generator Agree with your points, however it is clear you have never used a Honda portable...
- caymanjim 6y agoFair enough. A four-stroke Honda generator sounds pretty nice.
- bob1029 6y agoHonda portable generators are some kind of magic. 90% of that thing must be a muffler, but I've never seen a tear-down. I knew a bunch of people into flying model airplanes, and every single person would have one of these out at the field. Until someone pointed one out to me, I had no idea 5+ generators were actively running around me.
- david38 6y agoWhat I really want is for Tesla to partner with someone to come out with a line of DC-plugin tools so I can plug my tools into the new Tesla truck without the conversion penalty. Battery operated tools are DC already. They just need a plug to charge and run at the same time. An optional AC adapter too.
- augustt 6y agoYea but tools usually aren't run at 400V. Still going to have some efficiency losses when you buck it down.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- cestith 6y agoA 10:1 transformer would work wonders. Lots of lawn equipment is 40v or 80v. That's less efficiency losses than charging a smaller battery and running off of that.
- dimnsionofsound 6y agoThough transformers only work with AC.
- SAI_Peregrinus 6y agoA 50-60Hz transformer would be less efficient than a buck regulator. And it's 400V DC, not AC, so a transformer won't work for the purpose anyway.
- cestith 6y agoYou could convert, but you'd have the converter loses too as bob1029 pointed out. A switched DC going into a transformer can act as a convertor, then a step down transformer, then... yeah. A buck regulator would be better. If you have something to run that needs constant motion besides the current, a motor-generator might be useful. That can convert pretty directly. I'm thinking like the outboard drive shaft on older midsize tractors.
- tyingq 6y agoBasically the new version of a mechanical "PTO" (Power take off) that's common in tractors and big trucks.
- EamonnMR 6y agoLet's start calling this ePTO and see if it catches on.
- tyingq 6y agoMaybe that's what you meant, but it's apparently a thing. I was not aware. https://utilityfleetprofessional.com/departments/technology/the-rise-of-epto-systems-for-utility-trucks https://utilityfleetprofessional.com/departments/technology/...
- ilamont 6y agohybrid trucks get upgraded to 2.4 kW or, optionally, a massive 7.2 kW of power, made possible by the hybrid's 48-volt lithium-ion battery pack. Would other hybrids be able to have a similar feature? Even a Prius or Ford Escape?
- serpix 6y agoa 2009 Chevy volt already has a 2kW DC inverter, so they beat Ford by 11 years.
- p1mrx 6y agoYou're referring to the DC-DC converter, which powers/recharges the 12 volt system. You need to add a 12V->120V inverter to use the Volt as a generator. This is possible on most hybrid/electric vehicles, e.g. https://pmarks.net/konapower https://pmarks.net/konapower
- umvi 6y agoHere's my million dollar car idea: Digital maintenance logs Seriously, how useful would that be? A simple onboard SQLite database (or even text file) you can add stuff to via a phone app. That way, when someone asks "when was the last time this car had an oil change?" you can simply check the logs. You can check when your wiper blades were last replaced, etc. If it's standard enough, Jiffy Lube can update it with whatever work they did. For now I just settle for a paper logbook in the glove compartment...
- jakemoshenko 6y agoSeems really annoying to have to define that standard and keep the schemas up to date vs. just having the same thing behind an API in the cloud.
- umvi 6y agoWell if you have it behind an API in the cloud, how is it going to be transferred when you sell the car? Having it in the car means it's guaranteed to follow the car regardless of who owns it or where it is located.
- joezydeco 6y agoI think a lot of quick-change oil shops and etc are selling that data to Carfax already. The insurance companies already have access to some of this data too.
- castratikron 6y agoNot quite what you're talking about but it's US federal law to keep electronic log books for long haul trucking. Can't be on paper anymore. Not that you'd need a law to do what you're asking. Could be as simple as a text file on a USB mass storage device built into the car. Type whatever notes you want into it.
- bochoh 6y agoSo if my friend has one of these I can charge my Tesla on the L14-30R 240V 30A while sitting in a campsite or far off grid. Amazing if it is actually capable of that.
- js2 6y agoThis is why I bought a Chevy Volt instead of waiting for a Model 3. I wanted the fuel flexibility.
- rootusrootus 6y agoProbably want to throw another big tank of fuel in the bed of the truck, though.
- nikanj 6y agoI find it ludicrous that people use an aircraft carrier to do their daily commute. The freeway is packed to the gills with massive trucks, most of them taking a single white-collar worker to their comfy office job.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- dimitrios1 6y agoI'm sorry you have such strong feelings of resentment towards people's decisions on how they wish to pursue life, liberty and happiness, but it's one of the many consequences in living in a democratic and diverse society. People will value different things. I am sure there is something you find enjoyable that another finds ludicrous. Try to be a little more understanding!
- throwawaygh 6y agoI might be more inclined to have this attitude if gas were $10+/gal and roads were always paid for at time of use. But this particular life choice has massive, civilization-changing externalities that aren't priced in, and is then additionally subsidized on top of that. Over a 200 year window starting in 1900 or so, the personal vehicle is probably one of the two or three most destructive developments. NB: Not being critical of anyone's personal choice, but of the market/system that enables those choices by failing to properly price carbon and road infra. In particular, I've been known to drive my SUV to work.
- chrisco255 6y agoThat's an insane analysis. Without the vehicle, the population would be a fraction of what it is and you probably would have never been born.
- throwawaygh 6y ago> Without the vehicle, the population would be a fraction of what it is and you probably would have never been born. Personal automobile ownership is more than double what it was in 1960 (410.37/1K in 1960 vs. 831.9/1K in 2018). Needless to say, our birth rates are just a tad lower today than they were at the height of the baby boom... And that's just in the USA. Look up rates of automobile ownership throughout the world. There are massive variations between countries with similar economies and similar brithrates. And to head off the obvious explanation for the explosion of car ownership in the US being negatively correlated with population growth, notice that other developed economies also experienced a gender revolution and that this lack of strong correlation exists even if you measure car ownership at the level of households instead of at the level of individuals. The hypothesis that cars => population growth just doesn't bear out in the data, even after correcting for a lot of possible confounds. The two are, at best, uncorrelated. (Again, my post mentioned "the personal vehicle", not the ICE or carbonization of the economy more generally, which indeed enabled unparalleled growth) > That's an insane analysis. After looking at the data, I think you're completely wrong. But of course your hypothesis was not even close to "insane".
- fasteddie31003 6y agoI installed a 2.2 kw inverter on my truck. It's the best $300 upgrade I've done. The alternator has no problem keeping up. I use an induction cooktop off the tailgate when camping or doing a long road trip. You don't need to buy a new truck to get this.
- hedora 6y agoThat is great to know. Thanks! Currently, my main use case for my generator is running a 240V well pump that knocks 5000W honda generators over. (PG&E has taken > 2 years to run a wire ten feed and install a meter, for ... reasons) Future me will likely have use for a “mere” 2.2KW generator though, and I’m really sick of lugging a > 200lb generator around.
- Someone1234 6y agoI've been saying for years that vehicles, in general, aren't keeping up with new electrical demands placed upon their 12 volt battery systems. Safety systems, LTE connections, HUDs, charging, even literal built in fridges and vacuums. For example my 2016 vehicle, left undriven, will completely drain the battery after just two weeks thanks to a timed flush and an always on LTE connection. Plus it refuses to run the alternator on any road slower than 35 MpH, even if the battery is almost depleted. Even while idle at a traffic light, it would rather just waste the energy than charge the battery. So this sounds fantastic, I'm just glad they're thinking about electrical power AT ALL. > The generator system is completely separated from the rest of the vehicle's electrical system, adding a layer of safety and ensuring that any Pro Power system problems will not impact the drivability of the truck. This is a double edge sword though. While obviously you don't want your tools draining your starter battery, it also means that any issue with your starter battery cannot be immediately resolved by the two additional 12-volts you already have (at least without tools to physically move them). Essentially you could get left stranded, even while having a completely working 24-volt system. So while the goal is admirable, being able to jump the vehicle from 24-volt would have been a function I would have wanted.
- aidenn0 6y agoManufacturers have wanted to move to a 24V (or higher) system for at least a decade. They just haven't agreed on how to do it. Jump-starts work because everyone is on 12V, and while there are various solutions to that, there just hasn't been a convergence on a single solution yet.
- ortusdux 6y agoWith all the engineering needed to redesign the system, it could easily be configured in a way to prevent situations where there was not enough battery to start the motor. Battery guards are popular in boats [1]. Some systems already integrate reserve starter batteries that can only be discharged by the starter. http://dan-marc.com/31-0000514200.html http://dan-marc.com/31-0000514200.html
- bob1029 6y ago
- baybal2 6y agoThis is a very innovative idea. I wonder who was the person behind it?
- VBprogrammer 6y agoUsing a 200hp (or whatever it is) engine to power a 7kw generator is unlikely to be particularly efficient. That would be better suited to an engine in the 15hp range. Fine for occasional use but you'd be better with a real generator if it was regularly required. Also, for bonus points the power doesn't go out when someone needs to go pickup an extra sheet of ply.
- castratikron 6y agoWould imagine the hybrid inverter is going to be more fuel efficient since it only needs to run to charge the battery. And to your second point, they'll just have to buy two Ford trucks!
- rkagerer 6y agoThat sounds handy! After I got my license as a teenager my first vehicle was an old Ford cargo van. I installed a 1200W inverter and an extra battery, through a low voltage disconnect to avoid accidentally draining the main car battery. Designed a bracket for it, carefully cut out all the metal bits with a cutoff disc on a cheap tablesaw, took it to a local autoshop and begged them to spot weld it together for me. Got home and realized it was assembled backwards (d'oh!). More work with the tablesaw and some bolts. Went a little overkill on wire gauge the size of my thumb to connect it all (it was fun to fish that under the rockers). It worked great - I could easily run handtools like hammer drills (this was before they came with batteries) and even managed to power that tablesaw. Toward the end of highschool we built a bunch of theatre sets in the parking lot running off it. Girls got a kick out of making hot chocolate while we were out in the country stargazing, and loved being able to plug in a hairdryer. As the van got older and crankier, it was handy being able to flip on the second battery to give it some extra starting juice on cold winter mornings (-35°C). I did wear out an alternator prematurely but the replacement one lasted the remaining life of the vehicle. I wasn't planning to buy a new truck but this feature could actually draw me in.
- mschuster91 6y agoFord did the same thing a friend of mine a decade ago did with his Volkswagen T4 van - put a separate high-voltage generator on the belt (or on a dedicated power take-off at the gearbox) and a decent solid-state switching regulator behind it. tl;dr: They took an old concept popular with car modders for ages, elevated it to mass production and will probably make well-deserved bank with construction workers.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- dghughes 6y agoDodge Cummins diesel trucks used to have a generator option. I believe the power outlet was a panel located between the driver's door and rear wheel. I'm not sure of the year but I think it was early 1980s and it was probably just an expensive option not standard. edit: I see the Cummins diesel engines for Dodge trucks wasn't available until 1989.
- senthil_rajasek 6y agoSo this is encouraging burning more fossil fuel to power a mini-fridge when you tailgate. This is how Ford responds to climate crisis! Damn these fools.
- post_break 6y agoOne has strict emission regulations. The other is whatever goes just be quiet. I’ll take the truck generator over the tailgate generator any day.
- smileysteve 6y agoRunning a 400hp motor to generate 4hp (3kw) is definitely not remotely the correct fit.
- avalys 6y ago1. This is not a response to the climate crisis. 2. Ford is working on an electric F150. 3. The amount of fuel consumed is negligible compared to actually operating the vehicle in the first place. Using every little thing as a reason to interject “What about the climate crisis!?!”, no matter how irrelevant it may be to the actual problem, is just going to lead to exhaustion and make it more likely that people will ignore the issue entirely in domains where it actually does matter.
- senthil_rajasek 6y agoTrucks reducing emissions, matter however "little". BTW, How do you quantify "little"?
- pdonis 6y agoGM has offered pickup trucks with this capability for many years now: https://www.fleetowner.com/news/article/21670162/gm-unveils-hybrid-contractor-pickup https://www.fleetowner.com/news/article/21670162/gm-unveils-...
- jandrese 6y agoA whopping 150 watts. Useless for most of the scenarios Ford talks about in their marketing.
- pdonis 6y ago> A whopping 150 watts. Where are you getting that from? I don't see any power figure quoted in the article. As it happens, I worked on that truck while I was an engineer at GM. Its 110V outlets could provide up to 2400 Watts.
- jandrese 6y agohttps://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/175443-110v-electrical-outlet-specs/ https://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/175443-110v-electrica...
- pdonis 6y agoDifferent GM truck: that's their conventional (non-hybrid) pickup. Poking around online, it looks like the original hybrid pickup truck that I worked on was discontinued in 2007, and the second version of the hybrid pickup truck, with a somewhat different design, was discontinued in 2013. I can't find any current hybrid pickup offerings, so it looks like they dropped that capability, and with it the higher capacity 110V system.
- undersuit 6y agohttps://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/23/gm-discontinues-the-parallel-hybrid-silverado-and-sierra-trucks/ https://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/23/gm-discontinues-the-para... From 2004-2007?
- jdhn 6y agoI'm surprised they expect the take rate for the hybrids to only be 17%. I'm wondering if they're publishing a lower number than they really expect. As an aside, I'm really excited for this truck, not because I want one (I don't), but it's a nice, easy way for truck customers to be eased into the idea that hybrid, and eventually all electric trucks can be a viable alternative to ICE trucks. I've said it here before and I'll say it again, once hybrid/BEV trucks outsell pure ICE trucks, that's how you know that electric vehicles are seen as a "mainstream" thing.
- OldHand2018 6y agoThe hybrid is available only with the 3.5L twin turbo V6. When Ford introduced the 2.7L twin turbo V6, that engine became the best seller. Once they get the $$$ from selling only 3.5 hybrids, I hope they offer the hybrid in the 2.7 - and then they'll most likely see a huge jump in hybrid sales.
- munificent 6y agoKeep in mind that a large fraction (majority?) of Ford trucks are work trucks. They aren't purchased because consumers have a particularly strong emotional connection to them. If they tick the right boxes and make the job easier, they get bought. Putting a generator on it is such an obviously good idea I'm now surprised they didn't do this decades ago.
- gregmac 6y agoYeah, this is going to be a major selling factor for a whole bunch of on-site service industry companies (carpenters, framers, roofers, electricians, plumbers, welders, etc). Even a 2.5kw generator is pretty big: 2'x1.5'x1.5', weighing 80-100lbs. This takes up a significant chunk of space in the back of a pickup truck, plus requires two people to load/unload if necessary. Having power so conveniently available is pretty compelling, especially if it doesn't mean giving up 1/6 of your bed space, and only having the (I assume) significantly quieter truck engine as noise.
- hedora 6y agoI’m completely unenthusiastic about this truck. It gets 23mpg. My current truck gets 21, the one before that, 20, and the one before that 21. They’re all 1500/150 >5L V8’s. The one with the best fuel economy had a carburetor. I would have bought a smaller engine, but the dealers don’t carry them (so they’re much more expensive after incentives) or a ecodiesel, but the EPA completely banned them from sale (dieselgate) the last year I bought a truck. If the current truck died tomorrow, I might buy this truck for the generator, but the fuel economy is embarrassing. It probably doesn’t offset the embodied carbon of the batteries. Other than that, screw Detroit. The cybertruck cannot arrive soon enough.
- Havoc 6y agoHappy for the construction workers. Less happy about the other 90% that will be running their gas guzzlers for hours on end beyond normal to power their camping lights or whatever.
- munificent 6y ago> F-150s with conventional non-hybrid drivetrains get a 2.0-kW system That's two whole Mac Pros!
- danans 6y agoThere is nothing in that article about the generator's efficiency. I'd like to know how it compares to an equivalent portable gas generator that gets about 4-6 kWh/gal.
- kawfey 6y agoIt depends on the fuel capacity. The article says >That mobile [7.2kW] welding shop can run for 32 hours continuously on a full tank, making all-day, heavy-duty work possible. F-150 has a few capacity options. Per a 2019 tech sheet[0], 23gal standard, 26gal on SuperCab or SuperCrew, and 36gal for extended range. 7.2kW for 32 hours is 230.4 kWh. Therefore it's either 10.0, 8.9, or 6.4 kWh/gal. I would expect the efficiency to be a lot better than a two- or four-stroke portable generator, since the engine design is overall vastly superior. The caveat is the 7.2kW system is only on the hybrid model, which presumably drains the hybrid battery before switching to generator power, which would imply there's a 7.2kW generator under the hood, which isn't even an option for the non-hybrid model...needless to say I think these are marketing wank numbers and probably have a big but associated with them. [0] https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/product/2019/f-150/2019-F-150.pdf https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America...
- danans 6y ago> 7.2kW for 32 hours is 230.4 kWh. I'd guess 7.2kW is the peak, not the continuous load it is capable of. At least that's usually how generators are marketed, by their peak load capability.
- forgotmypw17 6y agohttp://archive.is/jtoFL http://archive.is/jtoFL For anyone else having trouble accessing the page.
- cptskippy 6y agoWonder if this could be used as a road-side service vehicle to help stranded EVs...
- p1mrx 6y agoMany EVs can handle up to 7.68 kW (32A) at 240V. The F150 has a 7.2kW (30A) option, which is pretty close to that, although an L14-30R connector isn't supposed to exceed 24A (5.76 kW) for continuous loads. That's still >20 miles of range per hour for a typical EV.
- tmh79 6y agoSome 100+ comments on here and no mention of the horrible impact having more of these giant trucks around is going to have on the climate. This is technically interesting, but experience shows us that most of these trucks will be purchased by suburban dwelling office workers who commute 90+ minutes/work in this thing, and use the plug in feature 2x/year tops. We really need to stop seeing enormous trucks as socially acceptable and need to start seeing them as sociopathic.
- GekkePrutser 6y agoFor HN I expected a bit more technical details instead of what's basically an informercial :)
- jandrese 6y agoI was disappointed too. I was hoping to see some detail on how they keep the two batteries balanced and if you could still jump 12v cars by only connecting one battery. Instead the details were all vague and mostly taken from Ford's whitesheet.
- sokoloff 6y agoFor the amount of power needed for a jump, I'd have no issues at all jumping a car from a single battery. I worked as a SWE intern one summer for Daimler (Mercedes) and we were doing some testing one day where we drew the batteries down on our 24V bus that we were working on. My boss was skeptical of my idea that we use both of the 12V support cars we had to jump the 24V bus. I eventually prevailed and we jumped the bus without incident.
- csours 6y agoIt's not exactly comparable in this context, but 7.2 kW is 9.6 horsepower. 9.6 horsepower is barely above idle for a truck engine.
- leecarraher 6y agoI like the idea, and have always been displeased by the lame underpowered inverters they often put in autos. That said, a compact, quiet 2.5kw inverting generator that weighs about 50lbs will only set you back about $300. Hopefully the addon is comparably priced.
- hedora 6y agoA loud 7000 watt (8750 peak) generator runs about $600: https://www.harborfreight.com/8750-watt-max-starting-gas-powered-generator-carb-63087.html https://www.harborfreight.com/8750-watt-max-starting-gas-pow... However, it weighs over 200lbs, and is really noisy. It runs 9 hours at idle. I wonder how long the ford will run at low wattages, and how the gallons per hour compares between the two. (Presumably the hybrid truck does much better at low wattage than the generator or the conventional truck).
- ChuckMcM 6y agoI read about this in the blurb Ford sent us (we own an F250 for towing a trailer) and felt it was a pretty smart move. When we go camping we will take a generator to cover loads larger than the onboard batteries can deal with. If this becomes an option in the F250 I could see us getting it on the next truck. One of the benefits that is sort of mentioned is running lawn tools from it. This could be a real benefit for small gardening shops that replace their tools with battery/electric tools. Not are they lower maintenance but they are quieter as well so the neighbors are not as annoyed.
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- chrissnell 6y agoStill, who wants their truck idling at a tailgate, puffing out exhaust fumes while everyone is crowded around the back? Yes, it's better than a generator but it's still exhaust.
- throwaway0a5e 6y agoI'm most looking forward to that set of plugs and bezel being available at junkyards in ~10yr.
- winrid 6y agoThe cool part of this is the market research. It's also how Dodge made the Ram popular - they walked around construction site parking lots and found many of the trucks had custom storage bins and cup holders rigged up in the cabin. So storage space in the vehicle was a major feature in the new Ram in the 90s.
- ckdarby 6y agoThis is an important feature to have in place before cybertruck.
- mycall 6y agoI've been thinking how to convert my fuel intake so I can siphon petrol out of it and into a mini-generator, for camping. Only problem is the generator itself and fuel smelling up the car.
- btbuildem 6y agoWhen I read the title, I thought it was an electric truck with an onboard generator to recharge the batteries. This is pretty cool too.
- dreamcompiler 6y agoThis is a wonderful idea. I've been using a 1500W inverter on my two-battery diesel truck but even 1500W is not quite enough for a lot of jobs.
- sambe 6y agoI wonder if ~10% of current F-150 sales are hybrids, or if they are really projecting for this model. I'd think people would consider going hybrid for the increased power outlet capacity, which could substantially alter the sales vs previous generations.