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The Clever Way Ford F-150 Lightning Accurately Estimates Range When Towing

Towing a trailer is known to greatly affect the range of an electric vehicle. Ford equipped the F-150 Lightning with smart technologies to accurately estimate the range while towing. All this to confidently tow a trailer without worrying about being left with a depleted battery away from a charger.
The clever way Ford F-150 Lightning accurately estimates range when towing 7 photos
Photo: Ford
The clever way Ford F-150 Lightning accurately estimates range when towingThe clever way Ford F-150 Lightning accurately estimates range when towingThe clever way Ford F-150 Lightning accurately estimates range when towingThe clever way Ford F-150 Lightning accurately estimates range when towingThe clever way Ford F-150 Lightning accurately estimates range when towingThe clever way Ford F-150 Lightning accurately estimates range when towing
The Ford F-150 Lightning is still new on our roads, so there’s no real-world towing test for now. While we are really curious to see how much of a burden a trailer is for Ford’s electric pickup truck, we already know what to expect. In the case of the Rivian R1T, the range is effectively cut in half when towing a trailer, so we estimate a similar penalty in the case of the F-150 Lightning.

Anyway, we’re confident Ford has made sure the estimated range displayed in the F-150 Lightning’s dashboard is as accurate as possible. For that, Ford uses some clever technologies to estimate the range, and this includes cloud data shared by other F-150 users (both electric and ICE versions) as well as a smart scale technology. Ford’s electric pickup truck also employs machine learning to better estimate the range depending on the trailer it tows.

Towing a trailer is bread and butter for a pickup truck, so Ford has prepared to offer the best experience possible for the F-150 Lightning. Ford’s exclusive Intelligent Range collects key data to figure out how much energy the drivers are using in real-time. This includes traffic speed, ambient temperature, available battery energy, plus driver habits, climate control use, and route topography. It also uses cloud data to gauge energy use from other F-150 Lightning trucks operating in similar situations.

Whether you’re towing with a gas-powered or electric truck, range degradation as a percentage is basically the same – determined primarily by overall cargo and trailer weight at low speeds and by the aerodynamic profile at higher speeds,” said Linda Zhang, chief engineer, F-150 Lightning. “That’s why we expanded the capabilities of Intelligent Range on the F-150 Lightning with the available Onboard Scales to also measure the load effects of trailers and cargo to further refine range calculations when towing.”

Ford F-150 Lightning also uses the Onboard Scales system to sample similar towing and energy use situations to further refine range calculations in real-time. The system gets better the more it is used and can be further improved via OTA updates. All this is to ensure that F-150 Lightning owners will be able to confidently use their electric trucks in all usage scenarios.

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About the author: Cristian Agatie
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After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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