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Watching this as we speak, not drawing any conclusions until I see how it went. Your thoughts? Any discussion on which vehicle you'd prefer, and why? As to the video
Range test, pickups. GMC vs Ford Lighting EV, same trailers
- Thread starter Slow Car Sport Mode
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There appears to be an interesting development about 13 minutes in to the video.
Isn't that pretty much what everyone knew already?
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You would have to ask "everyone." I went into it with an open mind, about how great an EV might be.
For what it is worth, my calculations at $97 to fill the GMC and then $27 to fill the Ford for a third of the range of the GMC seem to come out to almost exactly the same to me, had they kept going. Maybe a little cheaper for the Ford, ignoring the charging to 74% and going instead by the approximation with miles traveled.
The EV only looks any sort of reasonable if gas stays at the current prices, one administration change and gas at half the price as it should be it looks like a gigantic turd, in those conditions it is just no good.
There is no one technology that fits all use cases. Unless it can morph like in some kinda movie... Ha!
75 miles of practical towing range. That's no surprise. I've been saying this for years now. Unfortunately, there really is a large group of "believers" who insist that this is somehow OK for the average person. It's not.
If you need to do real work, don't purchase an electric anything. If you simply need to operate in a generally local area, an EV is a great choice.
Furthermore, the time to charge a 130KWh battery with enough energy to go another 60-70 miles is an hour long process.
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What I meant is that towing with an EV over any distance is not feasible. DO that test in the winter in MN and you would be stopping to charge within 50 miles.
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Ahh. I understand more now.
I think for the person that just wants a truck, does not tow, and only makes short runs to home depot, it works. The question will be, what about in 8-10 years ? Will it cost 5-8k to replace the battery? The battery will probably degade over time despite low miles. What will the resale be considering this?
Right now, 20 year old pickups with 150k miles without rebuilds, sell like hotcakes. But the EV truck?
Right now, 20 year old pickups with 150k miles without rebuilds, sell like hotcakes. But the EV truck?
Coming at it from another direction, if your primary use of the tool is to tow... or even an occasional use, then the electric truck may not be for you.
Our usage in our fleet:
-85% of our trucks put on less than 100 miles daily.
-Virtually none of our 1/2 ton trucks tow anything - we have 3/4 ton and up for that work. My team runs 5 of these, my organization has over 200 of 1/2 tons
-I'd challenge anyone to come out and say we don't do "real work" out of our trucks. It carries all the tools for a crew of two for drainage inspection and repair and basic repairs, etc...
Real work is not just towing a trailer long distances. That is the constant drum beat out of the usual suspects here. If that's what you need, then electric isn't your cup of tea.
For our fleet, they will handily meet our needs. They are already on order. And we are looking forward to putting them through their paces in our use...
Our usage in our fleet:
-85% of our trucks put on less than 100 miles daily.
-Virtually none of our 1/2 ton trucks tow anything - we have 3/4 ton and up for that work. My team runs 5 of these, my organization has over 200 of 1/2 tons
-I'd challenge anyone to come out and say we don't do "real work" out of our trucks. It carries all the tools for a crew of two for drainage inspection and repair and basic repairs, etc...
Real work is not just towing a trailer long distances. That is the constant drum beat out of the usual suspects here. If that's what you need, then electric isn't your cup of tea.
For our fleet, they will handily meet our needs. They are already on order. And we are looking forward to putting them through their paces in our use...
Its not a stretch to relate this to the Tesla semi. Which is vaporware at this time.
EVs do not do well under significant loads.
You just cannot store enough energy, at a reasonable cost, and reasonable recharge rate to even come close to the work a diesel powered semi can do.
Maybe in local only applications that charge overnight, maybe, but what is the cost / benefit tradeoff.
I put all electric Class 6 trucks into service is 2010. 1st to deliver CPG to stores for our company in North America.
Economics were ugly then, not sure how much better they are now.
The people pushing this technology never leave their city. Won't work in real world usage.
Conversely, the people who insist will never work conveniently don't acknowledge the cases where it will...
Do we think that "real work" doesn't get done in a city too? I'm one of them, as is everyone else on my crews...
The English have been using EV milk floats for over 70 years, for this jobs requirements they are perfect, short routes, low speeds in town and recharge their lead acid batteries overnight. Under these conditions there is no need whatsoever for a ICE vehicle.
To be fair the point of the video was towing.
I always thought the perfect use for an electric truck would be for what you described or for a plumber or electrician that goes to close jobs around town all day. They could be plugged in when they get back to the shop at night as long as the range allowed them a full day of work.
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I feel, in your example, that you are right.
That's too much trailer for those trucks and they are likely both overloaded.
The trailer is an ATC Game Changer PRO 2015. With the optional generator, it has a dry hitch weight of 950 lbs. Without the generator, dry hitch weight is 650 lbs. Not sure if the trailer in question has the generator or not. Since it's able to be configured and nobody actually owns these trucks or the trailers, let's assume it does.
The Sierra Denali Ultimate I had a chance to look over has a maximum tongue weight of 880 lbs. If that trailer has a generator, the GMC is overloaded, even before adding propane tanks or a 12V battery to the tongue.
I can't find *actual* towing specs on the F150 Lightning, just "targeted" specs. Using that, the maximum "targeted" towing capability for an F150 Lightning with the Max Trailer Tow Package is 10,000 lbs. SAE J2807 testing specs pins max tongue weight at 10% of max towing weight, or 1,000 lbs. I don't know if the truck in the video has the Max Trailer Tow Package, but again, if the trailer has a generator, actual hitch weight is probably over 1,000 lbs. after a couple propane tanks and 12V batteries are added to the tongue.
Pulling a travel trailer, 1/2 ton trucks will hit their hitch or payload capacities long before they reach their maximum trailer weight. On my own truck pulling my own travel trailer, I'd be almost 2,000 lbs. away from the truck's max J2807 trailer weight before I overwhelm the truck's hitch weight and payload specs. Just because the advertising says it can tow 10,000 lbs., doesn't mean it can tow any trailer weighing 10,000 lbs.
Of course, in the video, you can clearly see they're not using ANY type of weight distributing hitch. A potential of 950+ lbs. of tongue weight on a 1/2 ton truck with no weight distribution or sway control? Way to be safe, guys!
None of this really matters in their fuel economy test, but come on, making a video where you overload trucks and generally exhibit unsafe towing practices? Classy.
The trailer is an ATC Game Changer PRO 2015. With the optional generator, it has a dry hitch weight of 950 lbs. Without the generator, dry hitch weight is 650 lbs. Not sure if the trailer in question has the generator or not. Since it's able to be configured and nobody actually owns these trucks or the trailers, let's assume it does.
The Sierra Denali Ultimate I had a chance to look over has a maximum tongue weight of 880 lbs. If that trailer has a generator, the GMC is overloaded, even before adding propane tanks or a 12V battery to the tongue.
I can't find *actual* towing specs on the F150 Lightning, just "targeted" specs. Using that, the maximum "targeted" towing capability for an F150 Lightning with the Max Trailer Tow Package is 10,000 lbs. SAE J2807 testing specs pins max tongue weight at 10% of max towing weight, or 1,000 lbs. I don't know if the truck in the video has the Max Trailer Tow Package, but again, if the trailer has a generator, actual hitch weight is probably over 1,000 lbs. after a couple propane tanks and 12V batteries are added to the tongue.
Pulling a travel trailer, 1/2 ton trucks will hit their hitch or payload capacities long before they reach their maximum trailer weight. On my own truck pulling my own travel trailer, I'd be almost 2,000 lbs. away from the truck's max J2807 trailer weight before I overwhelm the truck's hitch weight and payload specs. Just because the advertising says it can tow 10,000 lbs., doesn't mean it can tow any trailer weighing 10,000 lbs.
Of course, in the video, you can clearly see they're not using ANY type of weight distributing hitch. A potential of 950+ lbs. of tongue weight on a 1/2 ton truck with no weight distribution or sway control? Way to be safe, guys!
None of this really matters in their fuel economy test, but come on, making a video where you overload trucks and generally exhibit unsafe towing practices? Classy.
