Towing Spy Shot - R1T Tows ATC Trailer

[ironpig]

Yeah, that doesn't make sense to me. They've released and communicated the 20" range reduction surprisingly well in my opinion. Currently they just say towing will reduce range "by up to 50%." Which doesn't help them, and makes a lot of people assume that towing a pair of jetskis is going to cut their range in half.

There are plenty of ways to manage expectations, one of which is being transparent and giving some contexts. I also guarantee they have a decent amount of data to at least provide some ballpark values. Leave a disclaimer that says ymmv if they're concerned.

note: I don't personally plan on towing, but they've clearly done a bunch of testing in different environments towing or not, and it'd be great if they'd share it in some way to help set expectations for people.

"up to" is the same phrasing Apple uses when they launch a new phone or computer. "up to 2.1x faster graphics" etc. Even with data crunching you can't always get the same exact score and that's far more precise than working with towing data that has infinite combinations of elevation, weather, weight, etc.

Ford has been advertising towing on their Trucks for decades. How are they advertising the range issue on the F-150 Lightning? Is it more detailed than Rivian?

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[SeaGeo]

"up to" is the same phrasing Apple uses when they launch a new phone or computer. "up to 2.1x faster graphics" etc. Even with data crunching you can't always get the same exact score and that's far more precise than working with towing data that has infinite combinations of elevation, weather, weight, etc.

Ford has been advertising towing on their Trucks for decades. How are they advertising the range issue on the F-150 Lightning? Is it more detailed than Rivian?

Good question. Publicly they actually don't even seem to say towing effects range. Just that they have tools that will provide you with reliability for towing range and their onboard scale system to help with tongue weight, etc.

 

[ironpig]

Good question. Publicly they actually don't even seem to say towing effects range. Just that they have tools that will provide you with reliability for towing range and their onboard scale system to help with tongue weight, etc.

yeah I couldn't really find anything more detailed than what Rivian has said about affecting range on the Ford Lightning site - but their towing calculators for ICE trucks are really good and their tow control systems are the best. If I was going to use my truck for a lot of towing and work, I'd wait for the Lightning. That onboard scale is so cool.

They do have this disclaimer which is pretty standard for EVs:

• Range and charge time based on manufacturer computer engineering simulations and EPA-estimated range calculation methodology. The charging rate decreases as battery reaches full capacity. Your results may vary based on peak charging times and battery state of charge. Actual vehicle range varies with conditions such as external elements, driving behaviors, vehicle maintenance, and lithium-ion battery age.

 

[SeaGeo]

yeah I couldn't really find anything more detailed than what Rivian has said about affecting range on the Ford Lightning site - but their towing calculators for ICE trucks are really good and their tow control systems are the best. If I was going to use my truck for a lot of towing and work, I'd wait for the Lightning. That onboard scale is so cool.

They do have this disclaimer which is pretty standard for EVs:

• Range and charge time based on manufacturer computer engineering simulations and EPA-estimated range calculation methodology. The charging rate decreases as battery reaches full capacity. Your results may vary based on peak charging times and battery state of charge. Actual vehicle range varies with conditions such as external elements, driving behaviors, vehicle maintenance, and lithium-ion battery age.

I totally agree. Darren Palmer was talking about the system they're making to include trailer profiles, and combine that with the scale and range prediction that includes weather on a podcast awhile ago. It sounds pretty awesome, and they had a pretty crazy target for accuracy.

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