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Even with those statements, I think Ford is seriously sugarcoating the issue. It seems that the F-150 Lighting is basically a vanity vehicle at this point. To

Even with those statements, I think Ford is seriously sugarcoating the issue. It seems that the F-150 Lighting is basically a vanity vehicle at this point. To be fair, that (vanity vehicle) is probably at least half of the F-150 market today anyway. I don't have a problem with Ford putting on a show to make money. But if The Verge is going to work in a Ford showroom, they should at least be up front about it.

xeromal 4y ago
The lightning is for mall crawling. It's not really a serious truck if you do legit truck stuff that involves travel aka blue collar workers that often travel to jobs.
- jfim 4y ago
  Is it? I'm not in the demographic that would buy one, but it seems that for a contractor that doesn't tow tons of stuff or drive long distances it would work well, especially with the outlets. Maybe I'm missing something but say a landscaper or a carpenter, wouldn't it work for them? What kind of scenarios would involve towing heavy loads?
  - xeromal 4y ago
    I have a few specific examples in mind, but my brother does tile and he's often carrying a load of tile, a saw, etc 50-60 miles in traffic to jobs. Sometimes he hauls a trailer with even more gear for bigger jobs and with that trailer, you're looking at 1/3 the range of the battery which gives it about 100 miles which isn't really conducive to those long trips. Even if those jobs are only 2-3x a year, that truck is pretty DOA. I'd say you'd probably get the same range for those guys who haul a lot of mowers, weedeaters, gas, etc. They have shorter ranges though so they may be fine. Union jobs that go distances to factories carrying welders would struggle too. No one wants to think about range in the winter while you've got a crew of 5 people and a trailer. I'm sure there are plenty of jobs that'll be fine, but I think the line is drawn if you have a crew + a trailer. It's just too risky.
    - jfim 4y ago
      Gotcha, makes sense. Thanks for sharing, it's good to see things from outside the SV bubble.
      - xeromal 4y ago
        No worries, I'm aware that there are plenty of use cases for the truck, but for the people who actually use trucks, I don't think it makes a great one. The range for towing pretty much cuts the battery to 1/3 and that's just extremely limited unless you're a commute is 30 miles or so and you have a great charger at home. It takes a lot of flexibility if you have to run to home Depot to grab some extra wood or something too if you're really worried about your range. Diesel trucks can just go forever.
- hedora 4y ago
  If it really gets 300+ miles per charge and gets back up to 80% in 41 minutes, then it should be fine for workers that are travelling less than 5 hours a day (or 10 hours if there is a charger near the job site...)
  - xeromal 4y ago
    It gets 100 miles per charge if you're hauling a trailer is my point. The lightning gets 1/3 range when hauling. I say this as a EV owner. Constantly thinking about chargers is a huge pain in the ass and I promise you, many of these blue collar workers ain't going to want to deal with it.
    - hedora 4y ago
      Oh; that's lame. I wish someone would just build an EV pickup truck. There have been DIY instructions since the lead acid days, since the frames already have ample space and load bearing capacity for the batteries.
      - xeromal 4y ago
        My grandpa outfitted his LUV diesel to burn vegetable oil. I always thought that was an exciting way to build a more green vehicle. I personally think hydrogen is the way to go for "heavy" tow vehicles. Has great energy density and it burns green. I believe planes would work well on hydrogen as well.

xeromal 4y ago

The lightning is for mall crawling. It's not really a serious truck if you do legit truck stuff that involves travel aka blue collar workers that often travel to jobs.

jfim 4y ago
Is it? I'm not in the demographic that would buy one, but it seems that for a contractor that doesn't tow tons of stuff or drive long distances it would work well, especially with the outlets. Maybe I'm missing something but say a landscaper or a carpenter, wouldn't it work for them? What kind of scenarios would involve towing heavy loads?
- xeromal 4y ago
  I have a few specific examples in mind, but my brother does tile and he's often carrying a load of tile, a saw, etc 50-60 miles in traffic to jobs. Sometimes he hauls a trailer with even more gear for bigger jobs and with that trailer, you're looking at 1/3 the range of the battery which gives it about 100 miles which isn't really conducive to those long trips. Even if those jobs are only 2-3x a year, that truck is pretty DOA. I'd say you'd probably get the same range for those guys who haul a lot of mowers, weedeaters, gas, etc. They have shorter ranges though so they may be fine. Union jobs that go distances to factories carrying welders would struggle too. No one wants to think about range in the winter while you've got a crew of 5 people and a trailer. I'm sure there are plenty of jobs that'll be fine, but I think the line is drawn if you have a crew + a trailer. It's just too risky.
  - jfim 4y ago
    Gotcha, makes sense. Thanks for sharing, it's good to see things from outside the SV bubble.
    - xeromal 4y ago
      No worries, I'm aware that there are plenty of use cases for the truck, but for the people who actually use trucks, I don't think it makes a great one. The range for towing pretty much cuts the battery to 1/3 and that's just extremely limited unless you're a commute is 30 miles or so and you have a great charger at home. It takes a lot of flexibility if you have to run to home Depot to grab some extra wood or something too if you're really worried about your range. Diesel trucks can just go forever.
hedora 4y ago
If it really gets 300+ miles per charge and gets back up to 80% in 41 minutes, then it should be fine for workers that are travelling less than 5 hours a day (or 10 hours if there is a charger near the job site...)
- xeromal 4y ago
  It gets 100 miles per charge if you're hauling a trailer is my point. The lightning gets 1/3 range when hauling. I say this as a EV owner. Constantly thinking about chargers is a huge pain in the ass and I promise you, many of these blue collar workers ain't going to want to deal with it.
  - hedora 4y ago
    Oh; that's lame. I wish someone would just build an EV pickup truck. There have been DIY instructions since the lead acid days, since the frames already have ample space and load bearing capacity for the batteries.
    - xeromal 4y ago
      My grandpa outfitted his LUV diesel to burn vegetable oil. I always thought that was an exciting way to build a more green vehicle. I personally think hydrogen is the way to go for "heavy" tow vehicles. Has great energy density and it burns green. I believe planes would work well on hydrogen as well.