How Far Can a Gas Truck & an Electric Ford Lightning Go Towing the Same Camper

[tgRanger]

Tony I saw that there was a company who was designing a solar panel tonneau cover. I'm not sure if it's out yet but it would work for some. Only issue is it would be heavy and kind of unrealistic for use for many. How do you travel with all your stuff in the bed then gain access to the full bed? I think the one I saw was hinged so it pushed up against the bulkhead which gives you 75% access. But with all the stuff we just had loaded up I'd need to have full access.

Very true but down the road this should be what they look at, if they can make it happen.. How about inside moonroof glass or the ones that have a front and rear moonroof (don’t know what thats called). As long as the suns out it could charge driving, parked etc for free. I mean we use them on our homes.. Why not?

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[JACKSMYDOG]

Add winter conditions with cabin heat, seat heaters, steering wheel heaters, window defrosters, increased wiper use and it will greatly reduce battery capacity.

Ever increasing driver assistance systems also require power. Lane keeping, forward hazard awareness, auto cruise control, etc. Each system may only be a small amount, but it all adds up.

Solar could be a game charger, but they need to increase panel efficiency by 1000% or more to be truly effective, and only when enough sun is available.

 

[JACKSMYDOG]

Same here and I would opt for a PHEV first before going full EV.

We were on some very long remote areas through WY where there were no services for 70+ miles. Nothing but fields and farm for as long as you could see so towing through an area like that is going to be tricky. It was also the most direct route you have to take to get from Cheyanne into South Dakota so it's heavily traveled with RV's. You would need at least 2 large charging areas there but being there are many farms I'm not sure how you'd do it as it's all private land.

I had a loaner Escape hybrid for a few months and it was pretty awesome. In the right environment I'd consider that as well, but the greenies won't accept halfway virtue signalling. Full EV or you are a planet killing satanist.

 

[AzScorpion]

Add winter conditions with cabin heat, seat heaters, steering wheel heaters, window defrosters, increased wiper use and it will greatly reduce battery capacity.

Also ever increasing driver assistance systems also require power. Lane keeping, forward hazard awareness, auto cruise control, etc. Each system may only be a small amount, but it all adds up.

Solar could be a game charger, but they need to increase panel efficiency by 1000% or more to be truly effective, and only when enough sun is available.

Most travel trailers are coming with solar packages standard now. It would be nice to be able to hook that into the truck and charge as you go. The Lightning is already equipped with an inverter so I"m sure it's easily adaptable.

 

[AzScorpion]

I had a loaner Escape hybrid for a few months and it was pretty awesome. In the right environment I'd consider that as well, but the greenies won't accept halfway virtue signalling.

Full EV or you are a planet killing satanist.

Just another list I'll be added to.

 

[JACKSMYDOG]

Most travel trailers are coming with solar packages standard now. It would be nice to be able to hook that into the truck and charge as you go. The Lightning is already equipped with an inverter so I"m sure it's easily adaptable.

Yes, but the output is equivalent to filling a 50 gallon drum with your saliva.

 

[Motorpsychology]

This is the #1 reason I don't have a deposit down on a Lightning. I think they are great trucks for most uses and perhaps even most people but the only reason I own a truck is to tow a travel trailer. Our trips are between 100 and 400 miles in one direction and I hate that the range on the Ranger is about 150 miles with our travel trailer but this is at least doable given that gas stations are pretty prevalent and it only take takes a few minutes to gas up.

150 miles ÷ 18 gallons = 8.333 mpg?

 

[AzScorpion]

Very true but down the road this should be what they look at, if they can make it happen.. How about inside moonroof glass or the ones that have a front and rear moonroof (don’t know what thats called). As long as the suns out it could charge driving, parked etc for free. I mean we use them on our homes.. Why not?

You're right Tony and hopefully stuff like this comes along soon. I have solar on my house which does 100% offset and it's one of the best investments I've made. My average bill year round is $16.50 which is just the taxes and fees. We're going to see a lot of changes in the coming years, some will be good and some not so good but it's inevitable that it's coming. ?

 

[Motorpsychology]

I had a loaner Escape hybrid for a few months and it was pretty awesome. In the right environment I'd consider that as well, but the greenies won't accept halfway virtue signalling. Full EV or you are a planet killing satanist.

Had a C-Max for a loaner a few years back while our Flex was in for service. Seamless transition from ICE to BEV and back. Entertaining trying to keep it on battery as long as possible.


I've yet to try a veggie burger.

 

[Nomadjohn]

150 miles ÷ 18 gallons = 8.333 mpg?

In fairness it's more like 10-11 which I suppose means that I could nearly 200 miles before running completely empty but given that being empty would ruin the trip I try to keep enough in the tank so I don't have to worry about that. Having said that were we camp in Colorado once you get off the interstate (either I70 or I25) it's not uncommon to not see a gas station for 90 miles. This mean I have to fill up about as often as Tommy has to in the TFL video but it only takes a few minutes.

 

[dtech]

TFL to me means total f'in losers. But they obviously know how to bring in website traffic. I prefer to waste my time on this not their website

 

[AzScorpion]

TFL to me means total f'in losers. But they obviously know how to bring in website traffic. I prefer to waste my time on this not their website

Sorry but I disagree. I feel TFL does a pretty good job and if you watched the video it really shows the difference between the two trucks without the added drama. To be fair almost every full time Youtuber adds some kind of "extra" drama because that's what brings in clicks which equals $$$. Scotty Kilmer is a classic example for doing just this yet he has a HUGE following and some of his videos are very good.

 

[dtech]

Sorry but I disagree. I feel TFL does a pretty good job and if you watched the video it really shows the difference between the two trucks without the added drama. To be fair almost every full time Youtuber adds some kind of "extra" drama because that's what brings in clicks which equals $$$. Scotty Kilmer is a classic example for doing just this yet he has a HUGE following and some of his videos are very good.

beats workin doin what they do, they have probably gotten better than some yrs back when they were really bad.

 

[AzScorpion]

beats workin doin what they do, they have probably gotten better than some yrs back when they were really bad.

Yup, if you can make money doing something you love then you'll never work a day in your life. ?

 

[Alpinist]

EV technology is basically still in it's infancy; a better comparison would be an EV vs an old carbureted V8 truck or something more primitive. I think you'd see a closer competition in terms of overall range.

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