Ford officially kicked off deliveries of the F-150 Lightning last week, with the first customer receiving his F-150 Lightning Platinum in Iconic Silver in Michigan.
That lucky first customer has now given us our first look at some real-world towing statistics for the electric truck.
The owner, oneguynick, shared his experiences towing his 6,000lb (2,721kg) 23′ Airstream trailer on the F150LightningForum.
According to Nick his F-150 Lightning had 85 miles (137km) of range at the start of his test. After he had attached the trailer and inputted its weight, height, and length, the truck’s onboard computer automatically calculated the new range estimate, and put it at 54 miles (87km), indicating about a 37% loss.
That estimate was a little optimistic, as Nick said he actually experienced about a 50% range loss. And that was in ideal conditions when towing the trailer on completely flat roads in temperatures around 86°F (30°C).
“I am seeing 0.8mi/kWh. Compared to the 1.5-1.8 I have seen on my road trips thus far without the trailer, its around 50% of the range when towing.”
Despite the big range loss, Nick said towing with the Lightning was a breeze thanks to the instant torque of the electric powertrain.
Nick shared a lot of his other experiences on towing with the Lightning. As detailed in the owner’s manual, 1-pedal driving is disabled with Tow/Haul Mode is activated. However, despite the truck knowing there was a trailer attached, 1-pedal driving was still available if Tow/Haul Mode was turned off.
Unfortunately Nick was only moving the trailer a short distance, but he hopes to do more testing in the coming months. You can read more about his experiences over at F150LightningForum.com.
