Electrek.co
by Seth Weintraub
Ford has been taking some hits in the media on the F-150 Lightning towing range, so we thought it would be good to test it ourselves and then get the background from the people who built the Lightning, especially as we head into winter.
I wanted to see how much range I’d lose while towing because there have been some recent videos showing only low double-digit-mile ranges coming out of the Lightning.
It is hard to quantify how much range you’d lose because of a ton of significant factors, like trailer weight, aerodynamics, and efficiency as well as normal EV range factors like elevation, climate, speed, etc., which are magnified while towing a trailer.
So I did two different tows: one with an open hauling trailer with a friend in New York and one with a closed trailer in Detroit – both very different experiences.
He’s got a tiny house Airbnb north of New York City, which requires hauling loads of firewood into the mountains. As the weather gets colder, the tiny house mini split heating requires 240V power, and we wanted to see if the Lightning could power it.
His trailer is about 7×5 feet and weighs about 5,000 pounds loaded. Using the rear and above camera views makes hitching the trailer a breeze.
Without any outside instruction, we were able to enter the info into the Lightning’s towing configurator and were off in a matter of minutes.