You even seen a battery pack on a Tesla? It's a big majority of the frame of the car. Think granny is going to throw a 1,000 lb battery pack in the bed? .
No no one is. Why would a extended battery pack be the same size and the full car/truck battery pack? Why would someone invent a portable battery life extender so big you couldn't personally move it?
To me the most interesting part of this is that we are debating the feasibility. I would have never thought 20 years ago that an electric car company would be in business and thriving. Like them or don't like them all of us should be interested in technology and the massive progress it's making.
At what cost? $6-8K? Lotta folks drive long ranges more than a "few times" a year. I'm thinking of folks like Fishndude who drive all over the state putting on fishing events for kids pulling a trailer full of rods, gear, bait and prizes or tanks. Hell I do it 10-12 times a year minimum.
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I'm not saying its for everyone. But I cannot remember the last time I drove my truck more than 300 miles in a single day. And I'd bet 90%+ of guys that drive trucks rarely make 300+ mile trips. When they do, seems like an extended battery pack you could rent & throw in the frunk or bed would make sense. The other 10% (including you and fnd) may not need an electric truck. And hopefully less demand on gasoline would bring gas prices down too.
I'm not saying its for everyone. But I cannot remember the last time I drove my truck more than 300 miles in a single day. And I'd bet 90%+ of guys that drive trucks rarely make 300+ mile trips. When they do, seems like an extended battery pack you could rent & throw in the frunk or bed would make sense. The other 10% (including you and fnd) may not need an electric truck. And hopefully less demand on gasoline would bring gas prices down too.
I doubt it would have an effect gas prices. Once they can get enough people driving electric, they will the tax the ever loving **** out of people still using gas/diesel to get you into an electric.
What was the cost difference on the Lithium battery? And did you need to replace one for one?
A set of Trojan batteries “rated” at similar capacity was $1,300’ish. I paid $1,500 for the pair of lithiums. They are reclaimed from a salvaged Nissan Leaf car and have 97% original capacity remaining according to the battery management system. The issuable capacity of lithium is much better than lead acid. FLA batteries are considered dead when at 50% of capacity; lithium can be run down to 20% capacity before considered to be dead.
I did manage to get 6+ years out of my lead acid batteries but the maintenance requires to do that was a PITA. Not to mention they corroded everything that was connected to them. I usually had to replace terminals every other year, light bar relays every year, power out let sockets every year and not to mention the cleaning and treating of the terminals to try and keep the corrosion at bay there. I’m glad my cart has an aluminum frame, otherwise it would be toast because of the acid.
Charging would take 10-12 hours with the FLA batteries, the lithium will charge in 6 hours of run completely down. And lithium can be charged and topped off as often and you’d like whereas that is not recommended on FLA batteries.
Their price point will sell the trucks. Under $40,000 for standard model, plus a tax break means you can get it for right at $33,000. They will sell like hot cakes.
That’s the single cab work truck. The XLT STARTS at $55,000. 20,000 more than what you can get an XLT for now. With the truck empty the standard battery gets 230miles per charge. We all know how that goes. Probably 200 realistically. That basically means you couldn’t drive from your house to our lease in Crockett and still have charge to get home. Is it the future? Yes. Am I willing to even consider getting one yet? No
aftermarket extended battery packs you can rent and throw in the bed for those few times a year long trips... solves most everyone's concern.
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How long until meth and crackheads start stealing these batteries? $1000 catalytic converters are the big target right now... wait until they hear electric cars have a $10,000 battery.
You can fill it with enough batteries to never make a pit stop to drive across the USA.
The problem arises if it breaks down and you need to get it serviced.
Take a look at the map of Tesla dealerships.
Wherever you break down your looking at a tow to the nearest dealership.
In 10 years maybe the market will pick up outside bigger cities but for now the only real good play buying one is to stick close to home & daily drive it.
I reserved one, but I also have a 2022 (was 21 but decided to wait) bronco reservation. Gonna wait and see and pick one. I use my truck bed all the time, don't tow a crazy amount, and my work is 1.8 miles from my house. On paper it should work for me.
Only way I would do it though is if I put in a solar array on my garage to charge it. Always wanted a solar backup for the house, but batteries have been the shortcoming. If I can roll the cost of the powerbank into my vehicle cost, be able to charge it independently from the grid, and use it as a powergen backup in the event of a gasoline shortage...well that is intriguing to me. Worth a closer look at least. Thank the Lord my deer lease is 114 miles from my house!
That’s the single cab work truck. The XLT STARTS at $55,000. 20,000 more than what you can get an XLT for now. With the truck empty the standard battery gets 230miles per charge. We all know how that goes. Probably 200 realistically. That basically means you couldn’t drive from your house to our lease in Crockett and still have charge to get home. Is it the future? Yes. Am I willing to even consider getting one yet? No
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If you go back and read the press release, it said it would only be offered in supercrew 5.5. I assume that is across all trims -- i.e. base, xlt, etc. That could obviously change but that was my first thought as well. Basically an f150 xl short bed single cab and that's a no go at $33K. If it turns out to be a supercrew 5.5, a few hop ups and it'll be golden as far as I'm concerned.
"The F-150 Lightning is only available as a SuperCrew model with a 5.5-foot box, and it's an inch longer and 1.7 inches taller than the similarly equipped gas F-150. Its wheelbase and width are identical."
I'm very interested in this truck, but I need an 8ft bed and better towing before I'd invest.
The range is also something I'd like to see improved upon, but like someone already mentioned, give it some time, the range will increase, the battery price will eventually decrease when manufacturing catches up, or a second party will create an add on battery pack to extend range.
Going to let others go through the growing pains of a new "product" for awhile and work out the bugs, before jumping in.
I am excited to see Ford investing in this market, am interested to see how/if Chevy and Dodge answers the call.
Also I read that its driven by 4 independent motors, not sure if that means full time 4 wheel drive or if its selective and whether it's equipped with regenerative braking (would come in handy when towing).
I think this is a ferry dream with the current power grid.
I don't understand the big idea when electricity has to be generated. I'd like to see the numbers because I think its all for nothing, until someone shows the numbers.
I'm still having fun smokin diesel with the tuned 6.7 powerstroke !
Are there places to charge them on the road? The range is what’s a killer for me. I can’t make it to the lease on one charge. I imagine they’ll be like golf carts in the future, people getting rid of them because they need new batteries.
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