5 minute read
STRUCK BY FORD F-150 LIGHTNING
By Rick Mauro
Country singer Rodney Carrington once said he was giving up on love and marrying his pickup truck.
Well, truck-loving firefighters might be tempted to do the same once they explore the F-150 Lightning, Ford’s new all-electric truck.
WITH UP TO 580 HORSEPOWER, 320 MILES OF RANGE, 10,000 POUNDS OF TOWING, AND A NECK-SNAPPING 775 FOOT-POUNDS OF TORQUE COULD YOU REALLY BLAME THEM?
And that’s just the start of a very long of list of features in this technologydriven vehicle. Introduced in 2022, the Ford F-150 Lightning has
qualities that make it attractive to both on-duty and off-duty firefighters.
Matthew Brown is one of them.
Deputy Fire Marshall for the city of Dover, Del., Matthew says the Lightning can be an ideal vehicle for firefighters. He should know: Matthew was among the first buyers.
In fact, Matthew and his volunteer fire department have applied to Energize Delaware for a grant to supply the department’s fleet with F-150 Lightnings.
AND AT A FIRE SCENE, THE TRUCK’S ONBOARD ENERGY SOURCES COULD BE USED TO POWER FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT, EXHAUST FANS & LIGHTS.
The Lightning has 11 electric power outlets: two 120-volt outlets in the cab and four in the “frunk” (the front trunk where an engine would typically reside) with USB-C and USB-A ports. The bed contains four 120-volt outlets plus an available 240-volt outlet.
Matthew, who has been a volunteer firefighter for 27 years, also says that the Lightning is perfect for his side gig as a landlord and house flipper. The
pro-power option means he can charge and run tools at a jobsite without
having to bring a generator. “I can even charge my tools in the frunk while I’m on the way to a job,” he added. There is no need to haul a generator or gasoline to fuel it.
The Lightning’s base price in U.S. dollars is $51,974, topping out at $96,874. This compares to a base price of $34,445 for a gasoline F-150, which tops out at $84,910.
FOR MATTHEW THE EXTRA COST TO GO ELECTRIC IS WORTH IT. HE CAN FULLY CHARGE HIS LIGHTNING FOR $15, COMPARED TO $150 TO BUY A TANK OF GASOLINE.
“If you’re on a payment plan and you consider those fuel savings, it makes the Lightning just about as affordable.” U.S. buyers may also qualify for a $7,500 tax credit.
This electric version of America’s bestselling vehicle for more than 40 years is propelled by dual electric motors, one
for each axle. Buyers can opt for either a standard-range battery that provides an estimated 240 miles of range or an extended-range battery with an estimated 320 miles capacity. The extended range battery option adds as much as $20,500 to the purchase price depending on your selected trim level.
When it comes to battery charging there are multiple options, including home, work and on the road. For easy home
charging, Ford is offering an 80-amp charging station as standard equipment
on the extended-range truck. Drivers can add 30 miles of range per hour or go from a 15 percent charge to a full charge in about eight hours. At public stations with a 150-kilowatt DC fast charger, drivers can add 54 miles of range in 10 minutes. Lightning drivers can access more than 70,000 chargers across North America, all plotted out on the truck’s advanced navigation system.
THE TRUCK NOT ONLY RUNS ON ELECTRICITY, BUT IT ALSO PROVIDES ELECTRICITY. IT HAS BIDIRECTIONAL POWER FLOW AND CAN BE USED TO POWER YOUR HOUSE DURING AN OUTAGE FOR UP TO THREE DAYS, OR 10 DAYS WITH PROPER RATIONING.
This capability applies to models with the extended-range battery.
For those drivers who literally work from their vehicles, Ford has added a unique feature to the F-150 Lightning, a stow-away transmission shifter.
The available interior work surface folds directly from the centre console turning the cab into a mobile office.
The Lightning is promoted for work and weekend duty. Imagine how the power source could fire up a slow cooker, a kettle, a blender and an electric can opener and turn your
tent trip from camping to glamping.
Ford is also offering ongoing technology updates for the Lightning’s operating software —the same way your cell phone system is regularly updated.
But is the Lightning built “Ford Tough” like its internal combustion
sibling? Can it haul and tow, or is the Lightning all show and no go? Well, the truck’s built-in technology can help answer that question.
WHILE IT HAS AN ESTIMATED 2,000-POUND PAYLOAD FOR THE REGULAR BATTERY, IT ALSO HAS AN AVAILABLE BUILT-IN SCALE THAT WEIGHS WHAT YOU’VE PUT IN THE BED AND THEN CALCULATES YOUR RANGE.
Once you plot your route into the truck’s navigation system it will also predict when you’ll need to recharge your battery and display charging stations along the way.
The same applies to towing. Just enter your trailer profile into the truck’s “intelligent range” system and it will provide anticipated range.
The truck is so smart it knows if your route is mostly uphill or downhill and uses that to calculate your range and charging needs. Cloud-
connected software compares your towing trip with other trucks that have taken similar trips and also considers weather temperature, speed
and climate control use. The range software also remembers your trips and your driving habits and feeds that data into range calculations.
While there has been some social media criticism of the Lightning’s towing performance, Joel Bloch, vehicle integration engineer for the F-150 Lightning says that range degradation as a percentage is basically the same whether you’re towing with a gasoline or electric truck.
THE F-150 LIGHTNING WAS DESIGNED TO APPEAL TO GAS-POWERED F-150 DRIVERS WHO ARE TECH-FORWARD, EARLY ADOPTERS,
Bloch says. So: is it the right truck for you? You need to consider all your trucking needs, your budget, and things like availability of chargers and measure them against the Lightning’s performance. As Joel Bloch puts it, it’s like selecting any vehicle.
