Ford F-150 Lightning loses about a quarter of its range when carrying maximum payload

[Ogre]

hard to say but id bet more they didn’t adjust air pressure

In fairness, most people don’t.

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[Feathermerchant]

An EV should lose less range when loaded. A gas vehicle uses extra energy to accelerate the load like and EV but gets none of that energy back when braking. An EV uses regeneration to recoup some of that energy.

 

[Ogre]

An EV should lose less range when loaded. A gas vehicle uses extra energy to accelerate the load like and EV but gets none of that energy back when braking. An EV uses regeneration to recoup some of that energy.

The “great” thing about reporting on EVs is you get to ignore the fact that it happens with ICE vehicles and pretend it’s a whole new phenomenon which only happens to EVs.

“When driving EVs, tires wear out!”

”Driving 120 miles an hour reduces vehicle range.”

“Towing a trailer reduces range”

Physics it turns out doesn’t care a ton about what the source of your power, it just demands energy.

 

[cvalue13]

hard to say but id bet more they didn’t adjust air pressure

they didn't adjust air pressure, and on 275/50/22's

 

[Ogre]

I always figured that was youtuber inflation.

-Crissa

Yeah, just cracked me up after the whole BS that went on around the launch.

 

[HaulingAss]

These guys say every 100 lb loses 2% in fule economy. My Lightning has 2000 lb payload. That is 40% so 25% sounds mighty good.

https://www.trucksonlysales.com/lifted-truck-research/how-much-does-towing-lower-my-fuel-economy/

According to the article, the payload might be stated on a F-150 Lightning as a number that would put you over the GVWR for your vehicle, depending upon how your truck is equipped.

 

[Diehard]

According to the article, the payload might be stated on a F-150 Lightning as a number that would put you over the GVWR for your vehicle, depending upon how your truck is equipped.

Mine is the lightest trim sold (pro). My GVWR is 8,250 lb, My max payload is 2,118 lb. I have added running board , racks and have a bunch of junk in the frunk. I also had extra cooling (additional pump) and bed spray as option that may add some weight. Never weighted the thing but I think I still have a healthy amount left. I have to get on a scale one of these days before needing to get close to it’s limits. I don’t think I have ever gone over 1000 lbs. And last time I had it loaded, I added some air to the tires. At the end of 140 mile trip, the additional hit was much less than I expected. That is including the additional drag. A bunch of YouTubers that have done non scientific testing say weight hit is negligible comparing to aerodynamic hit. I believe them.

 

[HaulingAss]

Mine is the lightest trim sold (pro). My GVWR is 8,250 lb, My max payload is 2,118 lb. I have added running board , racks and have a bunch of junk in the frunk. I also had extra cooling (additional pump) and bed spray as option that may add some weight. Never weighted the thing but I think I still have a healthy amount left. I have to get on a scale one of these days before needing to get close to it’s limits. I don’t think I have ever gone over 1000 lbs. And last time I had it loaded, I added some air to the tires. At the end of 140 mile trip, the additional hit was much less than I expected. That is including the additional drag. A bunch of YouTubers that have done non scientific testing say weight hit is negligible comparing to aerodynamic hit. I believe them.

Can you elaborate on the extra cooling? Is this a factory option? Our 2010 F-150 has the least effective A/C I've ever had on any vehicle. When the truck was new it was too weak for a 90 degree F day and multiple Ford dealerships told us it was working normally and there was nothing they could do. It still works about the same 14 years later. Unlike our Tesla, it really needs the truck to be moving to provide some cooling.

I would be willing to bet that if you hit a truck scale you will find your actual payload is well under 2000lbs. to prevent the GVWR from being exceeded. Remove all loose items before weighing it. The good news, if it's anything like our ICE F-150, is I wouldn't hesitate to over-load it if I was going to be on good roads and not travelling at a high rate of speed or hitting big bumps. I've over-loaded ours with green firewood rounds by a factor of at least twice it's cargo capacity without damage, but I did slow way down for things like speed bumps. On the otherhand, if I knew I was going to be on frame-twisting terrain off-road, I wouldn't even load it to the max GVWR.

I would be even more cautious over-loading the Cybertruck or driving at max GVWR on extreme terrain or at higher off-raod speeds, the ladder frame of the F-150 is just more tolerant of abuse and off-raod terrain can subject a truck to extreme dynamic loads. The Cybertruck will feel great overloaded right until major damage happens. Don't overload any truck and drive it higher speeds off-road. Follow common sense and the official ratings and it will be fine.

The Hummer EV is particularly susceptible, even though it has a ladder frame, based on this example of a guy totalling his brand new Hummer by driving it through some really mild terrain at about 50 mph with the only weight on-board being himself and three passengers. My F-150 would have been fine with even more weight in it. I wonder if his insurance will cover it or if they will say he was "off-road"?

(194) I Totaled My Brand New Hummer EV After Only 9 Miles *Not Clickbait* - YouTube

 

[AlDente]

When you have the only comprehensive, fully functional charging network supporting you, EV ownership and road tripping is easy. While greater range is nice, range anxiety is never an issue in a Tesla with a competent pilot.

 

[cvalue13]

A bunch of YouTubers that have done non scientific testing say weight hit is negligible comparing to aerodynamic hit. I believe them.

So do *gestures broadly towards physics*

In the Platinum, it’ll be the added rolling resistance on already >13” of tire diameter compared to your pro

additionally, the pro will sit ~4” higher off the ground compared to your pro (with 18” rims), meaning increases in drag are already present compared to your pro

all told, take a platinum, weight it down, don’t adjust tire pressure, try run it 275 miles as when unladen and … surprise! You don’t make it near 275mi

 

[HaulingAss]

I don’t think I have ever gone over 1000 lbs. And last time I had it loaded, I added some air to the tires. At the end of 140 mile trip, the additional hit was much less than I expected. That is including the additional drag. A bunch of YouTubers that have done non scientific testing say weight hit is negligible comparing to aerodynamic hit. I believe them.

Yeah, additional weight has a relatively small effect on an EV's range, especially if you place the extra weight optimally and add tire pressure to compensate (which should always be done when running at or near the max rated weight). On my Model 3, I can't detect the range hit from being fully loaded on the highway. In fact, it could be zero or slightly opposite due to the better aerodynamics created when the suspension squats under the weight.

Over 18 years of ownership of a Volvo S80 T6 proved to me that car was slightly more efficient on the highway when loaded to the maximum allowable GVWR. It all has to do with how "flat" the additional weight makes the vehicle ride (and reducing ground clearance). My F-150 gets better highway MPG with a few hundred pounds in the bed to "level" the vehicle. Some people who buy trucks, and know they will seldom be using it as a real truck, install "levelling" kits, which raises the front end by a couple of inches because they don't like the look of the empty bed riding high.

For the best aerodynamics and handling when loading a truck to max GVWR, especially a truck with a full cabin and short bed, the weight must be kept all the way forward, to the back of the cab. Depending upon the density of the cargo, this may not be possible. The AAA loaded range test, quoted at the beginning of this thread, used sandbags which are dense enough to concentrate the load forward, if the testers were so inclined, but they shamefully omit this important detail (load placement).

 

[HaulingAss]

When you have the only comprehensive, fully functional charging network supporting you, EV ownership and road tripping is easy. While greater range is nice, range anxiety is never an issue in a Tesla with a competent pilot.

This is totally true, right up to that point that you go off the beaten path. Because I love to tour some of the most remote roads in the American West, I'm looking forward to the continued expansion of the Supercharger Network. Just this year Tesla is filling in some important rural gaps in Montana, and more Superchargers on rural routes across the country will greatly improve the network, I think, over the next two years.

 

[PilotPete]

One of the biggest gas mileage killer in an ICE car/truck is to be underpowered. Take the older BMW 5 series. The 2.5l engine got WORSE gas mileage than did the 3.0l engine. Why? A smaller engine should be more fuel efficient. It got lower mpg because it was working higher in it's power band to keep it moving than did the larger engine. In the end, it all comes down to torque, and not horsepower. And if there is one thing that an electric engine absolutely excels at, far above a gas engine, is torque. At any speed, at any time, 100% of the torque is available in an electric motor. I'm not surprised that an EV doesn't take the same penalty for loads or towing that a ICE truck does. This isn't going to be just Ford, or Rivian, or Chevy, or the CT. It's why the S-Plaid can wax a $3.5Million Bugatti with more horsepower and lighter weight in a quarter mile. An electric motor doesn't need to "get into the power band". It's always available at 100%, all the time.

 

[AlDente]

This is totally true, right up to that point that you go off the beaten path. Because I love to tour some of the most remote roads in the American West, I'm looking forward to the continued expansion of the Supercharger Network. Just this year Tesla is filling in some important rural gaps in Montana, and more Superchargers on rural routes across the country will greatly improve the network, I think, over the next two years.

Just like with FSD Beta, your example is currently an edge case. But being as the Cybertruck is intended for that specific use case, a big assed battery and/or more L3+ remote chargers are in order. Patience grasshopper.

 

[Diehard]

Can you elaborate on the extra cooling? Is this a factory option?

Lightning (at least on my pro), has a Max tow package as an option. That includes an additional compressor. Without it, one compressor is responsible for cooling everything (battery, cabin, may be motors?). The additional compressor helps the chiller take some load off the first one. I think in normal use, one would be enough and it would have less points of failure. However if you are towing uphill in a 90+ degree day, you may want to protect your battery. I was not sure if I would ever need the additional cooling but I wanted to to have it just in case. In addition, if I recall correctly, for my truck Ford initially said max towing is 5000 lb without the tow package and 7700 lb with it. I am not sure if they changed that later. I have never tried a Lightning without it but cabin cooling on a 90 degree day was more than enough with this setup for me.

Here is the second compressor.

Here is more about the entire system if you are curious:

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