It's the truck. Yes the blade makes noise but this rig is a pile.
Realistically, even when available, most outfits won't have EV trucks anyway. It's always the bottom of the barrel, worn out crap that gets used for that kind of stuff around here.
WSJ Ford Lightning Review - "Finally. An EV that isn’t a soft-handed, overpriced toy for white-collar commuters. Something I can use."
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Realistically, even when available, most outfits won't have EV trucks anyway. It's always the bottom of the barrel, worn out crap that gets used for that kind of stuff around here.
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I'm actually thinking it makes more and more sense for me since I only plow my own driveway and other then home depot/dump runs the truck sits the rest of the time rusting away.
Looking for the first integrated pro electric trimmers and leaf blower mount in bed. Charges and securely holds equipment between jobs. Remote rack with 20' cord if you want to put it at the front of your trailer. I don't see standup mowers switching anytime soon, but they are least 4-stroke gas.
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I have a fairly flat quarter acre. I'm enamored with the idea of an electric mower and string trimmer, and they should do fine with my usage. I'm currently looking at the Ego brand electric mowers that put out more torque than the 160cc Honda motor I'm currently using (and happy with the performance).
Ego also has battery-powered riding lawn mowers, and now I'm wondering if you can charge stuff from the F-150 while driving. It would be really convenient to charge the mower and trimmers between job sites while driving.
Off topic, but fwiw I bought an Ego push mower last year (from my local Lowes). I have been pretty happy with it. Handles my 0.42 acres just fine. Even if it didn't, it recharges so fast that I don't think it would be a problem. In concept if I had a really large yard I could just get the mower + one backup battery and mow forever, because the battery charges faster than I use it, so I could just swap them over and over. For now though the one battery is fine.
My previous mower was an electric black and decker from ~8 years ago with the old slow charging batteries. I had a backup battery with that for years but once both stopped holding a charge I couldn't use it anymore.
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I'm familiar with lightweight mowers, as I used to use a Lawn Boy back in the '70s and between those aluminum 2-cycle engines and magnesium decks they weighed nothing. I swear it felt like you could throw one up in the air and it would come down riding the wind like a piece of paper!
Trust, me, you would not want to use it on my eroded hillside, though. You're not only walking up and down the hill, but it's also as rough as a proverbial cob. 🍺
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I know it can recharge from the bed or the frunk, but I'm not sure if that capability is shut off while driving. I wouldn't think it would need to be, as if it needed to momentarily draw a lot of power for climbing a hill with your foot down it could easily cut power at the outlets.
In your situation I'd definitely have an electric lawn mower. I've already gotten rid of everything else that's gas powered, as I don't need a "real" chainsaw and my yard is small enough that the 16" corded one will suffice for everything I need it for, save felling a tree, in which case I'd borrow/rent one like I did several years ago.
By the way, this is what happens to a Blue Spruce if your winters aren't cold enough for several years. There's an underground mold that attacks the root system and every needle falls off of it over about 3-4 week's time.
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My plan is to get a mower and string trimmer, both with batteries (though they will be different amp-hours) and then expand my tools as needed - pole saw, chain saw, etc. Ego even has a pretty beefy looking electric snow blower, which I think I could get behind.
I'm just a little extra cautious because I like to mulch my leaves instead of raking them, but sometimes I rake them into a giant pile and drop my mower on them. My 160cc lawn mower handles that just fine, and if an electric can put out more torque than that, it wold be great.
My Ridgeline has a 150W/400W inverter plug in the bed. It will be powered while driving, but only at 150W. I think the 400W only works when idling in park. The feature is still useful, but not ideal. It would seem with the F-150, if it could power your house (extended battery), then it should be able to recharge some batteries while driving.
I've had the same gas lawn mower and string trimmer since I l moved into my house in early 2008. The gas mower has been great (still starts on its first pull, maybe second) with nothing put yearly oil changes and spark plug and filter changes every ~5 years. The 4 cycle trimmer has been a bit more of a pain, but it's fine. My thing is, even though my yearly maintenance isn't that much, why even go through that? An electric, provided it meets my needs, would be better in all respects. It just costs money. (The mower and trimmer I'm looking at aren't cheap)
I kind of feel the same way about electric appliance cars. Why go through maintenance on an appliance if you don't have to?
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Ford is going to sell a boatload of these. I think they are probably losing money on the base Pro to get people to think it's a 40k truck when to get a decently optioned XLT it's more like 60k....or almost 80k with the extended pack. The reviews seem overwhelmingly positive though. The Big 3 have invested so much in R&D over the last 10-15 years in getting these big BOF trucks to drive like cars, getting rid of the NVH of a solid axle truck drivetrain and getting the weight lower and more central must make these drive surprisingly well. If they could get 40-50 more miles of range over the next few years out of each pack while reducing the charging time a bit more there will basically be no objective reason why 95% of half ton buyers would choose ICE over EV.
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I love not having to have 2-cycle gas cans anymore, and once I get to the point of a battery operated walk-behind mower I'll be able to hang it on the wall for storage instead of it taking up valuable floor space in the garage. To me that'd be worth it right there. Swoon!
The string trimmer, small blower (I also have a corded blower/vacuum) and hedge trimmer all came as a set. I have corded hedge trimmers that I normally use, but now I also got matching drills (2 kinds) jigsaw, 5 1/2" circular saw, light, and a couple of other things that all work from the same battery size, so I have two chargers and 5 batteries. No more issues and I have spares.
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You almost had me. I had to look at the Ford build/price website to see that a 2022 F-150 Lightning Platinum, which has all the major options and largest battery size, is $90,874 MSRP. That dealer is pushing a $50k markup!
12% of C8s are 1LT coupes (base of ~60k), not huge but not single digit either.
Good marketing
Wonder when it crosses into false advertising
That review was one of the worst I've read in quite some time BTW. But yeah it looks like Ford has a winner here.
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It would be false if they did not in fact sell a $40k F-150 lightening. Since they are selling a handful, it’s not false.
But that article is certainly disingenuous. I doubt anybody who doesn’t already have an order in is going to get a $40k lightning or the benefit of the tax credit (absent a change to the law).
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I did just see a Facebook ad for the Lightning and the fine print said "Due to high demand the current model year is not available for retail sale"
Uh, pot meet kettle? Dude is a columnist. And contractors starting out are going to want to spend the extra cost of the electric truck on tools and equipment which will have way better ROI; this truck is for established contractors that can more easily amortize this against fuel costs and especially high end ones that can impress their EV driving clientele.Dan Neil said:
Hmm, a professional writer that literally does not appear to know what the word "literally" means.Dan Neil said:
For whom? I towed 6000 lbs in a 20x8.5 box trailer from Syracuse to Lime Rock Park and back yesterday, that's over 400 miles. With the fuel-efficient hot-vee 6 I burned 36 gallons of gas and had to refill the huge tank. Were it a Lightning, even if I could plug in at Lime Rock this wouldn't have made it.Dan Neil said:
Don't get me wrong, I actually adore this truck. Kind of want one for all the restoration stuff. It's a huge development and tip of the iceberg for the new era. But it's a cutting edge sort of thing, not a silver bullet everyman-solution and I find the article insufferable.
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I have been using a lightweight electric mower (SunJoe) for a couple of years now and love it. I also don't have a large lawn. But for going in tight places and around corners, I wouldn't want to go back to a traditional one either.
To the Lightning at hand. I really woudl be interested in the sales if we were in a normal production cycle with no supply chain issues and what the mix would be and how many "workers/contractors" woudl be getting these entry level models.
To the Lightning at hand. I really woudl be interested in the sales if we were in a normal production cycle with no supply chain issues and what the mix would be and how many "workers/contractors" woudl be getting these entry level models.
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