Ford torture tests F-150 Lightning towing in extreme temperatures, terrain

[AzScorpion]

It's nice to see the kind of real world testing they do. I'll admit I wasn't to excited when I first heard about electric vehicles because we're so use to ICE but now I'm kind of excited to see what's coming down the road. These will be really nice for towing especially for travel trailers.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ford-torture-tests-f-150-100128285.html

The testing in Colorado included an 80-mile trip that started in Boulder and ended in Frisco, Ford said. Temperatures dropped to 2 below with 2 inches of snow while engineers tested the Lightning's 10,000-pound towing capacity.

Similarly, to test in hot weather, Ford engineers during summer 2021 took the Lightning to Arizona to tow across the Davis Dam, located on State Route 68 between Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam. The Lightning ascended from 550 feet elevation to 3,500 feet in 11.4 miles in desert temperatures reaching 118 degrees.

Other examples of truck torture testing conducted with Ford, Toyota and Ram trucks have included:

• Using driving robots to withstand more aggressive, repetitive punishment human bodies cannot.
• Driving the mountains of Japan to the brutal 4x4 trails near Moab, Utah, through the blistering roads of Death Valley to the frigid roads of Alaska during the winter.
• Soaking the trucks in salt and brine in humidity chambers to simulate 10 years of corrosion in six months.

Engineers at Ford say five days of the testing equals 10 years or 150,000 miles of use. This is standard in the truck business and key to the sales of these profitable pickups.

Engineers used to truck testing said even they were impressed:

"If you've ever driven a (gasoline) truck, towing, coming down a grade or up a grade, the engine is screaming at you," said Adewusi. "We have a tow/haul drive mode similar to (internal combustion) trucks. You hit the drive mode and the truck holds its speed coming down the grade. There's nothing screaming at you. It gets to the point where you think the unit is slowing down coming down a steep grade. It’s so effective in maintaining your speed to ensure you are in control of the vehicle."

The experience, in some ways, feels "surreal" because it's so quiet and easy, he said.

All-electric technology changes the feel of everything, engineers told the Free Press.

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[Apples]

My Ranger got torture tested just last week. It rained while I was out on an errand.

 

[AzScorpion]

Mine gets torture tested here every summer. When it's 115 outside the garage is well over 135. ?

 

[Stevedbvik1]

It's nice to see the kind of real world testing they do. I'll admit I wasn't to excited when I first heard about electric vehicles because we're so use to ICE but now I'm kind of excited to see what's coming down the road. These will be really nice for towing especially for travel trailers.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ford-torture-tests-f-150-100128285.html

where can I pick up a used one of these driving robots?
“

• Using driving robots to withstand more aggressive, repetitive punishment human bodies cannot.”

 

[AzScorpion]

where can I pick up a used one of these driving robots?
“

• Using driving robots to withstand more aggressive, repetitive punishment human bodies cannot.”

I'd love to have one too.

 

[Cabose-1]

Who started the "Ike Gaunlet"?
TFL Trucks?
Or engineers?

I dont know but next vacation to Colorado and i am driving it

 

[RedlandRanger]

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any references to how the towing affected the range of the truck. Other towing tests I've seen with electric vehicles just clobbered the range - like going from 300 miles to less than 100 miles on a charge. That would be extremely useful and interesting info.

 

[Apples]

How much more gasoline do you use under the same situation? I don't think anyone would believe you would get the same range, unless your Elan Musk!

By the way, while we're on EVs, I think Nissan has the right TV ads. Their's say, "NO local emissions"! And that is correct. After all, the percentage of power generated in the US (or the world for that matter) is largely based on fossil fuels. And that fact, will be with us for a very long time, regardless of the pundits' wishes otherwise! So the question remains... Where do the drivers of EVs, think the "juice" comes from?

 

[halligan1201]

Who started the "Ike Gaunlet"?
TFL Trucks?
Or engineers?

I dont know but next vacation to Colorado and i am driving it

Truckers gave it that nickname I believe. My neighbor growing up was a cross country trucker and he called it that back in the 80s. It's a tough stretch to drive a semi on, especially the older trucks of yesteryear.

 

[RedlandRanger]

How much more gasoline do you use under the same situation? I don't think anyone would believe you would get the same range, unless your Elan Musk!

MPG would go down too for a gas/diesel, but there are a lot of reviews on how towing affects MPG on a traditional truck. The question is, for an EV truck, how much does towing affect range? That has NOT been well covered and is interesting and useful information I think.

 

[Big Blue]

MPG would go down too for a gas/diesel, but there are a lot of reviews on how towing affects MPG on a traditional truck. The question is, for an EV truck, how much does towing affect range? That has NOT been well covered and is interesting and useful information I think.

I would expect to see a similar reduction in range to what you see in drop of MPG with a ICE truck. I also expect to see more info come out as more tow capable EVs get into the wild. The biggest issue will be the charging infrastucture to support towing longer distances. I doubt cross country RVing will be practical anytime soon.

 

[Ames]

After all, the percentage of power generated in the US (or the world for that matter) is largely based on fossil fuels. And that fact, will be with us for a very long time, regardless of the pundits' wishes otherwise! So the question remains... Where do the drivers of EVs, think the "juice" comes from?

This oversimplification is so easy to debunk it's laughable. But it goes against the narrative that some are trying to push so they just put their head in the sand. Coal and NG power plants are both more efficient than IC engines in cars and trucks. So right there, you're reducing the amount of fossil fuel used and thus, reducing pollution. Renewable energy is growing every year (doubled since 1990) which means the percentage of fossil fuels used per kW generated is dropping. Every. Year. (Trigger warning: that last link contains the words "facts" and "explained") Residential solar installation has exploded in the past decade, meaning people can pull into their garage, plug in their car, and it's ready to go the next morning, at a fraction of the cost of gas or diesel. Yes, I know it gets dark at night but batteries are a real thing. Plus, electricity is cheaper at night in a lot of places.

So to answer your question, I'd guess the typical driver of an EV knows more about where the "juice" comes from than the typical person who says EVs are bad.

 

[Cabose-1]

Well evs are bad. But not like they are being touted as. They are not good either. And all the solar oanels popping up around my neighborhood are connected to the grid. Not on an outlet to chatge anyones phone or car. Very few are.
An ev can save fule over an ice car. Duh. But without good mpg so to speak on the highway, evs are not practical for non city folk, or folks who work with their trucks

Imo right now ev is not the way to go.
Hybrid is the way to go. Best of both worlds

 

[AzScorpion]

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any references to how the towing affected the range of the truck. Other towing tests I've seen with electric vehicles just clobbered the range - like going from 300 miles to less than 100 miles on a charge. That would be extremely useful and interesting info.

In every article out there they never state the towing range. For some reason Ford has been quiet about this so I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing? You'd figure by now there'd be some numbers out but maybe they're not that great. This is the most recent one I could find written 5 days ago.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Ford-...m-on-the-battery-discharge-rate.610043.0.html

According to Ford's chief F-150 Lightning engineer, the truck passed both challenges with flying colors, though it doesn't become clear how much of a battery charge it lost while towing with maximum capacity in such weather.

 

[Rinn69]

Who started the "Ike Gaunlet"?
TFL Trucks?
Or engineers?

I dont know but next vacation to Colorado and i am driving it

Taking I-25 N thru Raton Pass and the hills N and S of Colorado City on I-25 will test your truck pretty good also.

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