So you decided to buy an ICE truck.... WHY?

[Ajzride]

If I wanted to go EV I'd need 350-400 in order to buy one comfortably. 95% of the time 300 would be more than enough for my use case but there are times I drive 100 miles one way for a day trip, so 200 total.

Remember those 350-400 mile ranges are only at 35 mph. If you are going 65-75 the range drops to 175-225.

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[Buyer2021]

The Lightning never earned more than a passing glance from me due to the limited range when towing my RV trailer (a primary use of my truck).

Pausing during travel to recharge the battery IF I encounter a charging station does not fit my preferred travel habit.

More often than not I'm camping in locations with no hookups / no potential for recharging the Lightning.

 

[Old Hat]

Because ICE is the only option in a regular cab. I don't need or want a 4 door vehicle. The 2 door does everything I need, is shorter, lighter and more maneuverable. Most importantly to me it simply looks sportier.

The present range of the Lightning would be fine for 99% of my needs, so no hold up there.

 

[JJSnell]

 

[mau47]

I looked at the lightning and ram rev pretty hard before deciding to go powerboost. Ultimately it came down to a few things in no particular order.

1) Cost - the lightning equivalent is quite a bit more expensive to ice and dealers in my area are tacking thousands more to sticker on them vs discounting ice f-150's causing an even bigger gap in price which basically wipes out any fuel savings and then some when the delta can be as high as 15-20k.

2) Standards - Right now everyone is migrating towards NACS, I didn't want to buy a truck that in a year or two would need an adapter to charge adding potential complexity to the situation down the road.

3) Range/Charge time - This was the biggest one for me, as others have stated. It would be fine for most of my travels but we go on 3-4 long driving trips a year and charging could easily change our travel time from one long day to two days or more because of the downtime.

4) Maturity of the tech - This wasn't a huge factor for me but was a consideration, the overalll tech is still pretty new and not really proven overall. Look at Hertz, they are dumping their entire EV fleet because of high costs to repair as one of the main reasons.

 

[22Platinum]

Diesel over electric is really the only way to EV; these guys from Kanuckistan are looking promising:

https://www.edisonmotors.ca/

 

[bfastr]

I bought a V8 for Climate Change.

 

[notabot]

Diesel over electric is really the only way to EV; these guys from Kanuckistan are looking promising:

https://www.edisonmotors.ca/

How about hydrogen over electric? I'd do more research on that tech!

 

[2Lazy2P]

Aside from the $$$ premium over ICE, there were three factors that made my decision over EV (or hybrid).

1. EV charging Infrastructure is lagging. It will be a few years before enough charge stations are available to ensure coverage, particularly out west.

2. Depending on how you use your truck, the range of an EV is too short and requires more stops to recharge. Would be ok if you limit your driving to local area where you can plug in each night back home.

3. I remain concerned about Powerboost reliability, particularly issues with battery performance.. I recognize that forum chatter does not represent broad ownership, but for me there is enough to avoid hybrid and go with ICE.

 

[Cobra129]

I'm interested in hearing from people who were considering a "Lightning" and decided to go with a Gasoline Burning engine powered truck instead...

And I'm sure THIS GUY would be too if he weren't a "to be avoided at ALL COSTS" POS troll... (FYI)

Well, no matter what my family says, I considered myself educated, have some common sense and not sucked in by an agenda...I did, however, go with a HYBRID for various reasons....Cheers!

 

[TeeJayHoward]

I wanted a Lighting. It would have been perfect for me - 20 miles to work, occasional Home Depot run, haul my project car around town, nothing big. So why didn't I get one?

Reasons #1-9: It's too big. Won't fit in my garage.
Reason #10: The big screen is dumb and I like buttons.

 

[Brad34]

I am completely in favor of electric vehicles when it makes sense. Since I tow a travel trailer quite often in the summer, and then have about 6 months of cold weather, an all electric truck would not work at all for me. I agree that hybrid is the way to go until battery technology improves. I also don't fully understand why hydrogen never caught on, but that's a whole other topic.

Give me a minimum of 300 miles on one charge while towing my trailer, and I will start to seriously consider electric.

 

[GregBC]

How about hydrogen over electric? I'd do more research on that tech!

Definitely feel free! Hydrogen is most definitely NOT the answer from everything I've researched. Its only advantage over BEV is refueling time. Fuel cells have a life span, hydrogen tanks are HEAVY, hydrogen losses are a thing, hydrogen embrittlement is a thing, efficiency losses to convert water to hydrogen doesn't make economical sense (today), and making hydrogen from natural gas doesn't do anything for the environment (quick summary!).

 

[GregBC]

For me, I really did consider the Lightning but shied away for many reasons:
1. Cost. For the LR battery, it was at least $20k more than the ICE WITH INCENTIVES. I could rent a ICE for some of the things listed below but then I'm paying even MORE money.
2. use-case. We wanted a 4x4 truck to go out into the wilderness. Far into the north of the island or interior. That doesn't fit with an EV of today for the distances/times we're doing.
3. road trips. Like others, I didn't want to turn a 8hr trip into a 10-12hr trip to charge. Our trip last year to Montana was proof to me that ICE is still perfect for long distance driving.
4. Towing. I don't have that need now but I plan to in near future and want to tow 100's of miles.

All that being said, the Lightning is a pretty nifty EV and I'd happily have one if our situation was different. I plan to get a smaller EV for our next vehicle as the daily driver/local vehicle. Or a PHEV.

 

[AlexRod]

I’ve owned a Tesla Model 3 for 4 years. No issues as a commuter car and traveling less than 120 or so miles round trip. I work from home most days and have a level 2 charger at home. On days when I drive more than 120 miles a couple of times per month, superchargers work great. Before this car, I owned a Chevy Volt. My work commute (2016-2019) was less than 40 miles round trip. But with the Volt, the gas generator would come in and I had maybe 200-300 miles range and could easily add fuel to keep going.

i just ordered a 2024 XLT F-150 hybrid. The main reason is I want to start towing a trailer-camper a few times a month and want 10k hawk capability. Current range isn’t there on EV trucks and I don’t want to be stopping for 60+ minutes every-time I need to charge. Granted Ford access to supercharger network might lower this a bit but I don’t want to wait that long.

If the Ram Charger 1500 hybrid was available - I would have gone with that. But I’m not interested in waiting until 2027 to get one (All production schedules on 1st gen EVs slip so I’m not confident that Ram will release in 2025) though I hope they release in 2025 so we have options.

Alex

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