Is a Ford F-150 Lightning EV or a Silverado EV a Good Alternative to a Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban.

[Rdr854]

Does a Ford F-150 Lightning or it’s Silverado equivalent provide a good alternative to a Tahoe/Suburban SUV if you need the secured storage/hauling capacity, but do not need the third row seat?

If you look at the Ford F-150 Lightning EV, what used to be the engine compartment is now a 14.1 cubic foot trunk with a weight capacity of 400 lbs. With the cargo capacity of the trunk and the interior of the cab, are we better off with a pick up bed which would allow the hauling of “messy” items? I know one downside of the Ford pick up bed is that it is 5.5 feet long.

I think that the new EV pick ups — especially the mainstream ones, may provide alternatives to the large SUVs.

 

[Tiki]

I’d put my money on shared frame architecture and Suburbans following suit. I’d love the new Rivian SUV over my Suburban in current form. Electric Motors > AFM Tom foolery!

 

[Doubeleive]

I suppose if you do not need the seats, I have both a suv and a pickup, the truck serves a purpose the suv serves another. However I can fit my family in both, the suv has more space for passengers is all.

 

[Banks22]

EV sucks

 

[DougAMiller]

Yeah, I don't see these replacing our trucks anytime soon. Consider that one of the reasons many of us have them is that they are great for road trips, particularly when you want to haul people/stuff. Best case range of today's EVs is 300-400 miles, but more realistic is 200-300 due to temperatures, weather, terrain, load, etc. Then, what most people don't realize is that a supercharger station takes an hour or so for a full recharge, a 240 volt charger takes around 10 hours and a 120 volt charger only does about 2-3% per hour. Supercharger stations aren't yet very common outside of the large cities, so planning that long road trip can be be difficult. Also there is the issue of since it takes quite a while to recharge, EVs are connected to them for sometime and there may not be one open when you get there. It's not like a gas station where if there is someone at the pump, you wait 5 minutes and they're gone.

I'm getting ready to take a trip to Missouri next week, about 850 miles door-to-door. It takes me about 12 hours driving time. I usually can make it in about 14 hours with gas/break stops. I would have to take two days to make it with an EV. Not that I have anything against EVs, I'm an electrical engineer and I have often thought about doing a conversion for fun, but they still have their limitations and I guess I am getting a little bit tired of the people who are trying to force ICEs out in favor of EVs. They certainly are not less costly to operate or better for the environment like some want you to believe.

 

[mikeyss]

EV

I agree!! While the tech is still sort of new in regards to range of the batteries, I'm totally down with EV trucks and I congratulate Ford and the others for going in this direction. Thinking about it, we are heading into an era of no gas engines, and we gotta get used to it

 

[swathdiver]

Does a Ford F-150 Lightning or it’s Silverado equivalent provide a good alternative to a Tahoe/Suburban SUV if you need the secured storage/hauling capacity, but do not need the third row seat?

If you look at the Ford F-150 Lightning EV, what used to be the engine compartment is now a 14.1 cubic foot trunk with a weight capacity of 400 lbs. With the cargo capacity of the trunk and the interior of the cab, are we better off with a pick up bed which would allow the hauling of “messy” items? I know one downside of the Ford pick up bed is that it is 5.5 feet long.

I think that the new EV pick ups — especially the mainstream ones, may provide alternatives to the large SUVs.

If you do not need the range, then the EVs are fine for targeted local driving. The EVs range plummets with a load on, either payload or towing or climbing a mountain. When TFL did Eisenhower Tunnel runs with Teslas and towing, they usually towed them to the area or if they were driven, they needed a long charge at the other end of the mountain, so one would need a hotel for a night to recover from crossing the mountain. There's a reason why so many EV charging stations are in hotel parking lots!

 

[Rdr854]

Yeah, I don't see these replacing our trucks anytime soon. Consider that one of the reasons many of us have them is that they are great for road trips, particularly when you want to haul people/stuff. Best case range of today's EVs is 300-400 miles, but more realistic is 200-300 due to temperatures, weather, terrain, load, etc. Then, what most people don't realize is that a supercharger station takes an hour or so for a full recharge, a 240 volt charger takes around 10 hours and a 120 volt charger only does about 2-3% per hour. Supercharger stations aren't yet very common outside of the large cities, so planning that long road trip can be be difficult. Also there is the issue of since it takes quite a while to recharge, EVs are connected to them for sometime and there may not be one open when you get there. It's not like a gas station where if there is someone at the pump, you wait 5 minutes and they're gone.

I'm getting ready to take a trip to Missouri next week, about 850 miles door-to-door. It takes me about 12 hours driving time. I usually can make it in about 14 hours with gas/break stops. I would have to take two days to make it with an EV. Not that I have anything against EVs, I'm an electrical engineer and I have often thought about doing a conversion for fun, but they still have their limitations and I guess I am getting a little bit tired of the people who are trying to force ICEs out in favor of EVs. They certainly are not less costly to operate or better for the environment like some want you to believe.

If I still had three kids at home, a pickup would not work for the reasons you stated. For that matter, an ICE pick up is not as versatile for travel. The game changer for me is the frunk and 300 mile range which will get me to most of my destinations where I can recharge before coming home. Additionally, I also have a wagon and a sedan if we are going somewhere that charging is not available.

 

[SeventhFullsizeGM]

I have actually been wondering this myself, and actually do have a "reservation" for a new Lightning pickup on the books. I was intrigued enough by the design, and figured for the low fully-refundable reservation fee, why not? Now that it's much closer to being able to place the actual order (and thus sell/trade-in my 2019 XL Denali), I think I am going to pass...for now. It's a brand new model/trim line, with some pretty advanced tech. I think it should be amazing in theory, but with everything else going on with production issues, chip shortages, questionable chip quality, etc, etc...I think it's just not the right time to "gamble" on something like that. I'll keep the Denali for a couple more years, and see where things shake out. That being said, I do REALLY like the overall design & innovation of the Lightning in particular.

 

[Rdr854]

I have actually been wondering this myself, and actually do have a "reservation" for a new Lightning pickup on the books. I was intrigued enough by the design, and figured for the low fully-refundable reservation fee, why not? Now that it's much closer to being able to place the actual order (and thus sell/trade-in my 2019 XL Denali), I think I am going to pass...for now. It's a brand new model/trim line, with some pretty advanced tech. I think it should be amazing in theory, but with everything else going on with production issues, chip shortages, questionable chip quality, etc, etc...I think it's just not the right time to "gamble" on something like that. I'll keep the Denali for a couple more years, and see where things shake out. That being said, I do REALLY like the overall design & innovation of the Lightning in particular.

I don’t disagree and therefore put a second reservation in so that I am both at the front of the line and at the back in case I want to wait a few years. The other part of the equation fir me is the ridiculously high prices being offered for trades by dealers anxious for Suburban/Tahoes/Yukons. Right now, covers what I paid almost to the dollar except for interest on the loan and maintenance.