Electric engines are the most efficient means of moving heavy loads. So an electric tow vehicle might just be the perfect tow vehicle! Or is it?
Modern freight trains use diesel generators to power electric motors. Railroads do not use metrics such as miles per gallon or kilowatt hours per mile. Instead, they focus on how many gallons of fuel to move a ton of cargo, using “ton-miles per gallon” — that is, how many miles per ton of cargo does a train travel on a gallon of fuel.
The answer is, one gallon of diesel will move one ton of cargo 492 miles. The calculation takes the total weight of the train, the miles traveled and the amount of fuel used.
Ford F-150 Lightning EV
This has been in the news for over a year. Ford had planned to build 40,000 Lightning trucks the first year, which had to be ordered. The pre-orders generated so much demand that Ford stopped taking orders once 200,000 orders were placed.
Although my research shows the base model Lightning at a few dollars under $40,000 the extended range model for towing will cost a minimum of around $72,000.
If you follow my blog, you know that I have been towing with Fords for over 20 years. Our current tow vehicle is a 2020 Ford F-250 Super Duty. Ford’s F-150 has been the best selling pickup truck in the US for something like 40 years in a row.
The F-150 Lightning, an electric truck, comes in many configurations. For towing, there is a tow package with the largest battery bank and electric motor. It is rated to tow 10,000 lb. The specification for range is 320 miles unladen. That means no cargo and no towing.
Factors in Towing MPG
I have found that a large trailer will cut the miles per gallon in half for the gasoline powered vehicles we have owned. The biggest factor is the wind resistance of the trailer, followed by the weight that is being towed.
The question is, will an electric motor overcome these factors? Common sense would indicate a “No” answer. So we need some real world testing, which Ford hasn’t provided.
The Delivery of the First F-150 Lightning
Nick Schmidt and his wife received the the very first F-150 Lightning to roll of the assembly line, per this article by NPR. Looking at the badge on the side of the truck, it is a Ford F-150 Platinum model; a $90,000 truck.
In the article, Nick mentioned they took the new truck on a camping trip the first weekend they owned it,
Schmidt ran into one big issue soon after getting his F-150 Lightning, one that is all too familiar to other electric vehicle owners: charging.
The clean energy worker took his F-150 Lightning on a camping trip with his wife and daughter his first weekend with the truck, and he found himself unable to find a charger.
“It was just not a great experience at all,” Schmidt says. “We’re trying to figure out what does that mean for camping trips because I’m not sure I feel comfortable going given the lack of infrastructure up there.”
Oh, oh! And no mention of the mileage range.
Nick Schmidt Does Some Real-World Testing
First of all, in all fairness to Nick Schmidt, I must point out that he knew what he was getting before he purchased the truck. Per the NPR article,
Schmidt, though, was familiar with electric cars. He works in clean energy and already owns a Tesla, but he had been waiting for an electric truck to replace his beloved gas-powered F-150.
Keep in mind that any further comments on my part are not intended to be critical of the Schmidt’s purchase. The whole point of this post is for the reader to understand potential challenges of an electric tow vehicle. It is a serious discussion if someone is considering buying an electric tow vehicle.
A Google search found that Nick has a blog. In this post, he does some around town testing with his F-150 Lightning and 6,000 lb. Airstream.
He has high praise for the truck’s towing ability. He also states,
I was able to tow the Airstream around 30 miles today and understand how the Lightning does with some weight behind it. The TL;DR is that with a 23-foot Airstream, 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. [bold by me]
Just as I suspected. So the 320 mile range is really around 160 miles when towing. This would limit a trip to 80 miles each way with no extra driving, unless one can find a charging station along the route.
In another post, Nick provides some details of an actual camping trip towing the trailer.
- 3 Charging Stops with an additional hour of travel time
- Total Distance: 249km (155 mi) – About 2 hours 51 mins
- Total Time Including Waiting: About 3 hours 51 mins
- The altitude hits a peak of 455 meters (1453 feet)
- Altitude: ⬆️ 587m (1,926 ft) and ⬇️ 554m (1,818 ft)
Bottom line is the truck works for him, although it sounds like each trip will require advance planning to include locating charging stations and limiting trips to campgrounds with full electrical hookups.
The Problem With Batteries
Batteries don’t last forever. Over time, battery capacity decrease. The more you use and recharge a battery the faster its capacity and life decrease. Electrical vehicle manufacturers do have limited warranties on the battery.
Ford’s EV Battery Warranty
Per their website,
Your battery is covered for 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first, retaining a minimum of 70% of its original capacity over that period.
If your battery capacity drops to 75% of capacity the mileage range of 320 miles and 160 miles for towing drops to 240 miles and 120 miles respectively. Another ouch!
Cost to Replace an EV Battery
If your vehicle is out of warranty, the cost to replace the battery bank is astronomical. Keep in mind the battery is huge and is part of the chassis. Ford hasn’t published prices yet, but it will be higher than the $26,000 Mustang Mach E battery. Yep, Tesla owners freak our when they have to pay over $20K for a new battery.
Oh, just trade it in? Part of the trade-in evaluation will be the life and capacity of the battery bank. If it is nearing its end of life, the cost of a new battery will be deducted from the trade-in value.
As the demand for the raw materials for these batteries increase, battery prices are going to increase also.
Why This Wouldn’t Work For Us
We almost always camp where there are no electrical hook-ups or any kind of trailer hook-ups (water or sewer). If fact, finding a gas station along our route is sometimes problematic, which is why we bought a truck with a 48 gallon gas tank.
And finding an electric charging station in remote areas? Difficult at best. However, I was quite surprised last summer when we were in the tiny Eastern Sierra town of Bridgeport (population 575) to find a fairly large EV Charing Station at a Shell gas station. Bridgeport is so far off the beaten path that is was not unexpected that charging an EV was quite expensive. To put it into perspective, gasoline in Bridgeport was $1.50 higher per gallon than the state average.
That is another problem. Charging an EV at home is inexpensive compared to buying gas for a conventional vehicle. But commercial charge stations are a different matter.
The Cost to Charge an EV
Average Electricity Prices in the US
The average cost of electricity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration is 14.77 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). It varies from state to state. In the New England states it is 24.47 cents per kWh.
Case Study: BlueDot
BlueDot provides EV charging solutions (e.g., charging stations). Or, as they state on their Website,
“Bluedot is dedicated to providing smart electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions for smart cities and SME owners. We redefine the EV driver experience and reshape the way private and corporate fleet companies join the e-mobility movement. To make our dream real we are introducing innovative and profitable charging infrastructure for businesses of all sizes and engaging EV drivers with service providers.”
I figure they should know what it costs to use a charging station, since that is their business, they state,
The cost of charging an electric car at a public charging station depends on several factors. But to ballpark it, the average cost per kWh is between $0.40 and $0.70
Ouch!!
The Cost of an EV versus a Conventional Vehicle
This will be dependent on the needs and wants of each individual. If one needs to charge at commercial stations most of the time, an electric vehicle might cost more than a vehicle with an internal combustion engine over the long haul.
This article might be helpful, The Real Cost of Electric Vehicle Ownership.
The Future and Our Electric Grid
We Don’t Have Enough “Juice”
Here’s a fact: we don’t have enough electricity as it is. That is, during times of high use such as hot summers or extreme weather events, we don’t have enough electricity. For example, this Reuters Report, EV rollout will require huge investments in strained U.S. power grids.
Or this Bloomberg article, California Warns of Possible Summer Blackouts as Power Runs Low.
Government Actions
Many local, state and the federal government are implementing regulations that just don’t make sense. As the Bloomberg article states, California is running out of power. But the state’s legislature passed a law requiring more and more use of “alternative” energy sources and a reduction of the current power generating plants. Thus, the utilities are purchasing more power each year from other states.
The cost to build enough wind and solar infrastructure is staggering. Who is going to pay for it? The consumer of course. Either by higher taxes or increased utility bills. Anyway you look at it, the cost of electricity is going up, up, up.
In this post on why we installed solar on our house, I noted that our cost per kWh of electricity had increased 29% over a four year period (after the legislative law), whereas the annual increase had been something like 1.5% per year.
In California we have several local agencies that have banned the use of natural gas for heating/cooling/cooking in new construction. They also have the same requirement for remodeling — all natural gas appliances must be replaced with electrical equivalents to get a building permit. Thus increasing demand for electricity.
Tax breaks for “Energy Efficient” appliances and even EV cars is driving up demand, although no one seems to understand that the amount of electricity on our grid is a fixed amount — especially with wind and solar — if there is no wind or it is raining — no power is being generated.
Consumer Impact
Let’s face it, our homes have more and more consumer electronics than ever before. Instead of one household phone, everyone has their own cell phone. Not uncommon for everyone in the household to have their own tablet and/or computer. How about all those electronic games? Or how about routers, modems, and Wi-Fi connected devices? Wi-Fi security cameras, video doorbells, alarm systems, etc. all consume electricity.
What if a large segment of the population buys an electric vehicle? How would that impact the grid?
EV Impact on Our Electrical Grid
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that,
In 2020, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 10,715 kilowatthours (kWh), an average of about 893 kWh per month. Louisiana had the highest annual electricity consumption at 14,407 kWh per residential customer, and Hawaii had the lowest at 6,446 kWh per residential customer.
According to Kelly Blue Book, the average EV uses 394 kWh per month, or 4,728 kWh per year. That’s a lot of electricity. What happens if in 10 years 50% of the vehicles are all electric? This appears to be one of the goals of many politicians.
How are we going to dramatically reduce fossil fuel produced electricity and significantly increase consumption of electricity at the same time?
Who is going to pay for it?
These are questions lawmakers aren’t asking when they pass legislation to increase the number electric vehicles on the road.
The government didn’t build all the gas stations in the US, nor the pipelines to transport oil, natural gas, and gasoline. Yet, hold on — the government will build the EV infrastructure and you, the taxpayer, will pay for it. Even if you don’t own an EV.
Electric vehicle charging stations and infrastructure to support them are part of Mr. Biden’s budget agenda.
Sounds like the “New Green Deal” is really going to be No Green Eggs or Ham For You!
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