The new all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning can tow 10,000 pounds. It can tow 10,000 pounds in heavy snow, up a steep grade in -2 degree weather. And it can tow 10,000 pounds in blistering heat and on the kind of downhill run that leaves you riding the brakes.
But what does towing a full load do the range? That, Ford isn’t saying.
The company has released the results of torturous tow testing in its new all-electric pickup. The results are promising but pointedly leave the most important question unanswered.
Ford tested the all-electric pickup with a load equal to its full maximum 10,000-pound towing capacity, in the form of a 24-foot tandem-axle trailer.
The Winter Test
Engineers towed the trailer up Colorado’s notorious Ike Gauntlet in winter temperatures with windchills as low as -2 degrees. Two inches of snow fell during the drive.
Averaging seven degrees of incline for more than eight miles, that section tops out near 12,000 feet — demanding conditions that test normally aspirated gasoline engines. But the electric Lightning made the trip.
The Summer Test
At the other extreme, Ford towed the same load through “several loops” around Davis Dam on the border between Arizona and Nevada. Ground temperatures, Ford says, hit 118 degrees during the test. The truck made an elevation change from 550 feet to 3,500 feet and back with no trouble.
The test vehicles were Lightning XLT and Lariat models with the optional tow package and extended-range batteries, meaning each was good for an unladen range of 320 miles, according to the EPA.
But…The Range Test?
Which leads us to the issue Ford didn’t address. Engineers haven’t revealed what towing did to the range of the trucks in testing. A brief glimpse from a video included with the press release showed a gauge cluster reading 128 miles remaining with more than half the battery’s charge left. That, however, would be a remarkable result with a full load. It’s possible that the shot came from one of the Lightning chase vehicles, not towing a trailer.
Previous testing has shown that most electric trucks lose about half their range when towing a full load. Test drivers tend to say they make excellent tow vehicles, retaining strong passing power even when pulling their maximum weight. But, with EV infrastructure limited in many parts of the country, towing with an electric truck remains a logistics challenge.
We’ve reached out to Ford to ask for details on what range the trucks showed during testing. We’ll update this story if we hear back.
