Ford F-150 Lightning Owner Opens Up About Towing And Range Reduction

As we've previously noted, towing may cut your EV's range in half.

By: Steven Loveday

Jun 1, 2022 at 8:58am ET

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A new Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck owner recently shared some useful information about towing. As expected, the truck lost some 50 percent of its range due to pulling the heavy load. However, aside from the smaller range, which is also the case with gas-powered trucks, the Lightning was a solid performer.

Interestingly, we just published a similar story about the Rivian R1T, one of the few current electric trucks to rival the F-150 Lightning. In that article, we talked about how the truck would lose plenty of range, but it actually proved to be a much better option than most gas trucks for towing thanks to its incredible torque and impressive regenerative braking system.

At any rate, Tesla owner oneguynick, who's now also the proud owner of a Ford F-150 Lightning, posted some information on the F-150 Lightning Forum. While Nick provided just about all the details you might need, he also produced a Q&A session that works to dive in deeper.

Nick towed a 23-foot Airstream trailer about 30 miles. It weighed about 6,000 pounds loaded. He traveled about 65 mph on a flat route. The truck felt highly capable and provided Nick with a solid overall experience. He points out its strong and instant torque, which is key for towing.

As far as the efficiency was concerned, Nick said he was seeing 0.8 miles per kWh. For comparison, without a trailer, the Lightning was getting 1.5 to 1.8 miles. Thus, about a 50 percent reduction. Nick explained:

"When you plug in your trailer and set the weight, height, length, etc., the Ford system auto-calculates your mileage impact. I plugged in at 85 miles, and when I finished the calculation, it stated I had 54 miles of range with the Airstream."

Nick went on to share how impressive the F-150 Lightning's towing experience proved to be. He noted that it's actually easy to forget that you're towing a heavy load since the truck accelerates with such ease.

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In the end, Nick makes it clear that towing with the Ford electric pickup truck isn't much different than towing with ICE versions of the F-150. He also owns a 2017 model.

There are more details in the Q&A session, including information about regenerative braking. Check it out at the source link below. And, in the meantime, scroll down and share your takeaways with us in the comment section.

Source: F150 Lightning Forum