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2022-07-15 Science & Technology
Journalists Tow Camper Behind Electric Truck, End in Stunning Failure When They Only Make it 85 Miles
[WesternJournal] Maybe you’ve seen the bumper sticker on a truck that says "Yes, this is my pickup. No, I won’t help you move."

If you have an electric pickup, you may want to think about reversing the idea of that bumper sticker. Because helping someone make a short-distance local move may be about all you can do.

That’s an exaggeration, of course, but not by much. Because if you want to tow a trailer or a boat, your destination had better be close; otherwise you’ll be making frequent stops to recharge your battery system.

YouTube publisher Fast Lane Truck did a comparison between an electric and a gas-powered pickup to determine how far each could tow a 3-ton box trailer.

The contestants were an electrified Ford F150 pickup vs. a GMC Denali Ultimate Edition with a 6.2-liter V-8 gas engine.

Each towed an identical new "toy hauler" trailer about 25 feet in length that, while empty, was large enough to transport an entirely-sheltered automobile.

The vehicles began their test in Longmont, Colorado, heading southbound on Interstate 25 toward Denver, about 33 miles away.

The F150 charged up and the GMC filled up before taking to the road. The electric truck’s computer estimated 160 miles of range, which included calculating for the size and weight of the trailer. The gas-powered GMC’s computer, also taking the trailer into account, estimated 264 miles of range.

Off they went, with the goal of the F150 getting 147 miles down the road to a fast-charging station in Pueblo, Colorado.

But that estimate was optimistic. The electric truck had only traveled 6 miles when the computer recalculated range from 160 to 150 miles, cutting things very close if it was to reach Pueblo. That called for a change of plans — the new charging stop was Colorado Springs, about 45 miles closer.

After going 50 miles, the electric truck recalculated its range to indicate it couldn’t even make Colorado Springs. South of Denver, the truck was down to a 20 percent battery charge and, concerned about being stranded with a dead battery, the driver had to turn around and drive the F150 back north to the Denver exurb of Castle Rock to find a fast charger.

With low battery warnings blazing, and power automatically reduced to 90 percent, the electric truck, with 9 percent left on its battery, hobbled into a Target parking lot in Castle Rock.

But that caused another problem. Battery chargers tend to be lined in rows on the edge of parking lots. Because they do not provide a drive-through like a traditional gas pump, they cannot accommodate a vehicle with a trailer.

As a result, the F150 test vehicle and trailer were blocking a major portion of Target’s parking lot. "They’re probably not going to sponsor us in the future," quipped one of the test participants.

The gas truck? Its computer showed 129 miles of remaining range, so that driver had enough range to return to their starting point in Longmont.
That Target is right in my downtown area. So sad when you can't even haul shit from Longmont to Pueblo.
Posted by DarthVader 2022-07-15 12:20|| || Front Page|| [11134 views ]  Top

#1 Fantasy meet Reality!
Posted by AlmostAnonymous5839 2022-07-15 14:52||   2022-07-15 14:52|| Front Page Top

#2 Probably would have been better to drop off the trailer, go back and recharge, then return, pick up the trailer again, and continue to the next recharging point.

Or carry a generator inside the trailer along with all the nasty fossil fuel you can tow.
Posted by CrazyFool 2022-07-15 15:03||   2022-07-15 15:03|| Front Page Top

#3 Can one get a spare battery for such things, and change out for the pre-charged back up battery at need, or is that still in the future?
Posted by trailing wife 2022-07-15 16:07||   2022-07-15 16:07|| Front Page Top

#4 The batteries are heavy and each maker has different interfaces. They are expensive to the extent that compared to stealing catalytic converters the crime wave that would be produced would probably be breathtaking.

Still, it's a good idea.
Posted by M. Murcek 2022-07-15 16:09||   2022-07-15 16:09|| Front Page Top

#5 Stuck on the shoulder in the middle of the mousetrap would have been epic.
Posted by swksvolFF 2022-07-15 17:03||   2022-07-15 17:03|| Front Page Top

#6 Fantasy meet Reality!

Fantasyland extends 50 miles beyond the DC beltway

Though this is a good reason to move the DoE agency responsible to Longmont, Colorado.
Posted by Procopius2k 2022-07-15 17:12||   2022-07-15 17:12|| Front Page Top

#7  Can one get a spare battery for such things,...

It is easy to imagine an automated electric 'gas station' where you pull in, slide out the old battery, slide in a new one, and away! That implies a level of interoperability and manufacturer cooperation that has to be baked into the design. Batteries weigh about 1,000 so moving them around is interesting. I wonder what kind of warranty you get on a pre-owned battery? No doubt the lawyers would have a field day with the liability issues.

The ignored question here is where the electricity to put in the batteries comes from in the first place.
Posted by SteveS 2022-07-15 17:30||   2022-07-15 17:30|| Front Page Top

#8 Based on intel from an acquaintance (as Ford hasn't publicly published this yet) battery packs for the F-150 Lightning weigh between ~1,800 for 'Standard Range - 98 kWh' and ~2,400 pounds for the 'Extended Range - 131 kWh'.
Posted by Mullah Richard 2022-07-15 17:43||   2022-07-15 17:43|| Front Page Top

#9 Innit funny. We have these vehicles from dozens of makers that all use exactly the same fuel. It's available literally everywhere. Most of these vehicles can go 300+ miles on one tank full.

But no social credit cachet or snob appeal.
Posted by M. Murcek 2022-07-15 17:46||   2022-07-15 17:46|| Front Page Top

#10 Interesting numbers, Mullah Richard. According to my calculations, an infinitely large battery would give you the ~300 mile range of an internal combustion engine.
Posted by SteveS 2022-07-15 17:49||   2022-07-15 17:49|| Front Page Top

#11 So the bigger the battery, the heavier it is, and the more electricity you need to move it?
Posted by Bobby 2022-07-15 18:06||   2022-07-15 18:06|| Front Page Top

#12 ^ Why, yes. Yes you do.
Posted by M. Murcek 2022-07-15 18:09||   2022-07-15 18:09|| Front Page Top

#13 ^ Which is why you need a bigger battery.
Posted by SteveS 2022-07-15 18:23||   2022-07-15 18:23|| Front Page Top

#14 "Please, sir. Can I have more?"
Posted by M. Murcek 2022-07-15 18:39||   2022-07-15 18:39|| Front Page Top

#15 Almost like trying to carry enough fuel to reach light speed.
Posted by DarthVader 2022-07-15 20:15||   2022-07-15 20:15|| Front Page Top

#16 Can't wait until NASCAR goes to electric vehicles; those pit stops are gonna kick ass!
Posted by Raj 2022-07-15 20:25||   2022-07-15 20:25|| Front Page Top

#17 Hybrid in-town runner? Sure. Out of town? Gas or gas/hybrid with range
Posted by Frank G 2022-07-15 21:44||   2022-07-15 21:44|| Front Page Top

#18 #7 The ignored question here is where the electricity to put in the batteries comes from in the first place.

Simple solution: Recreate dinosaurs (or ancient flora... but let's keep things simple) from recovered DNA. Market their tasty flesh and hook the public on it. Develop fake dino meat, which nobody will want to eat. Turn surplus product into petroleum. Voila, green oil!
Posted by Sonny Sinatra3258 2022-07-15 23:57||   2022-07-15 23:57|| Front Page Top

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