PB to Lightning

[Porpoise Hork]

The software version 12.6.4 released in February 2025, and the example given of it's lunacy happened in early March, so it was the latest available at the time. Maybe the FSD issues with the Model X are resolved with the newest version, but I know that the owner is not going to test it since it's always been problematic for him.

If you want a Tesla then go for it. It's your money. Just don't complain when it falls apart, tries to kill you, or when you see the average 60-65% depreciation amount over 5 years of ownership common with EV's compared to the 35% average for non EV's. If I were to ever get an EV it'd be on a 2 year lease at most.

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[Tigmd99]

The software version 12.6.4 released in February 2025, and the example given of it's lunacy happened in early March, so it was the latest available at the time. Maybe the FSD issues with the Model X are resolved with the newest version, but I know that the owner is not going to test it since it's always been problematic for him.

If you want a Tesla then go for it. It's your money. Just don't complain when it falls apart, tries to kill you, or when you see the average 60-65% depreciation amount over 5 years of ownership common with EV's compared to the 35% average for non EV's. If I were to ever get an EV it'd be on a 2 year lease at most.

My 2023 F150 PB Platy was around $82k new…now $45k at 50k miles. Just saying…….

12.6.4 is for old Tesla with HW3. That is what i meant.

Test drive a new Tesla with HW4 on FSD 13.x.x. You will be blown away.

 

[nomarhits400]

The software version 12.6.4 released in February 2025, and the example given of it's lunacy happened in early March, so it was the latest available at the time. Maybe the FSD issues with the Model X are resolved with the newest version, but I know that the owner is not going to test it since it's always been problematic for him.

If you want a Tesla then go for it. It's your money. Just don't complain when it falls apart, tries to kill you, or when you see the average 60-65% depreciation amount over 5 years of ownership common with EV's compared to the 35% average for non EV's. If I were to ever get an EV it'd be on a 2 year lease at most.

I have owned two Tesla's over the past 4 years (2022 and 2025). Neither has ever been in for service...for anything. Best cars I have ever owned- including my beloved Powerboost.

You have never owned one and have no idea what you are talking about.....

 

[Rod507]

Super Duty = TRuCK Stuff > 8k Lb. Tow
PB = Mild Truck Stuff
Lightning= inner city Commute
Raptor = Fun Flex

 

[Davexxxx]

The old Engineer in me, wants to cut through all the noise and ask the OP a simple but important question, that all designers have to ask their customers.

What do you want it to do?

In other words, what do you expect to get from the Lightning, that you aren't already getting from the PB?

Then, asses whether whatever trade offs there will be, will be worth it.

 

[chirocksout]

The old Engineer in me, wants to cut through all the noise and ask the OP a simple but important question, that all designers have to ask their customers.

What do you want it to do?

In other words, what do you expect to get from the Lightning, that you aren't already getting from the PB?

Then, asses whether whatever trade offs there will be, will be worth it.

main use would be driving around town/commute. Not worried about charging, my work already has 6 chargers. I would use the bed occasionally to move stuff here and there...

 

[Snakebitten]

I have an:

F350 (exclusively for towing)

F150 Powerboost (exclusively for distance trips, RV-boondocking, or carrying multiple adult passengers)

EV Mach-E (daily driver. Fantastic vehicle. Amazing every time I get in it)

If I added a Lightning to the fleet? ?

I STILL couldn't part with the Powerboost until Ford releases a SuperDuty Powerboost. So the Lightning wouldn't replace either of my two trucks. So no Lightning.

 

[Chili]

I have owned two Tesla's over the past 4 years (2022 and 2025). Neither has ever been in for service...for anything. Best cars I have ever owned- including my beloved Powerboost.

You have never owned one and have no idea what you are talking about.....

It's hard to research EVs because 80% of people either hate them no matter what or love them no matter what.

Might even be 90%.

I think I'd like a Mach E GT but need a truck bed and towing. If we were balling like 99% of Americans these days we'd have my truck and a Mach E GT as I know the Ms. really wants an EV too.

 

[HammaMan]

It's hard to research EVs because 80% of people either hate them no matter what or love them no matter what.

Might even be 90%.

I think I'd like a Mach E GT but need a truck bed and towing. If we were balling like 99% of Americans these days we'd have my truck and a Mach E GT as I know the Ms. really wants an EV too.

Not really, there's some pretty knowledged owners of them. The #1 variable to owning an EV is having access to either home or work charging (preferably home, but free work charging can't be beat). If you're going to do any road tripping, having access to tesla supercharger network is a must.

 

[JumboJVT]

Definitely for those who don't venture off grid. Nothing better than a 150 or 200 mile round trip to put "gas" in the truck...only to be out of "gas" when you get back. But we do appreciate those who'd rather stay in the village.

 

[Vulnox]

Would like to hear peoples experience, opinions, thoughts, suggestions on moving from a Powerboost (2021) to a Lightning (Flash.2025)

I had a 2021 PowerBoost Lariat, then a 2023 PowerBoost Lariat, and now a 2024 Lightning Platinum.

Hands down, best decision. We also have a Mach-e which is my wife's, and every time I drove it the damn thing was so much fun.

I liked my PB, but while I initially had some fun trying to see how far I could go in all electric, eventually it just turned into an annoyance as I was still putting $100/month in gas and dealing with oil changes and gas station stops and everything we don't worry about in the Mach-e.

So I made the move to the Lightning in March and it has been awesome. No more slow and laggy engine and transmission, no more gas station stops, saving close to $100/month in gas, no oil changes, there hasn't been any negative so far.

I have already had about 1000lbs of mulch in the bed which it handled like it wasn't even there, installed some trees in our back yard. I mean it's still an F-150 in the end. Heck, it has more payload capacity than either of my PB F-150s.

So yeah, I definitely recommend it. The only person I wouldn't recommend it to is someone that tows often. While my PB also had a huge mileage hit when towing, gas stations are more often set up as pull thru which helps with trailers. DCFCs are getting better on that end, but it's not guaranteed.

It also definitely helps if you can charge at home. If you can't, then you don't have the benefit of not having gas station stops essentially, and DCFCs are fairly expensive compared to home charging. With gas prices lower, you will probably pay more depending on your area to fast charge it every couple weeks. But if you can charge at home, it saves you a ton of money (and time... so much time).

Let me know if you have any other specific questions!

 

[nomarhits400]

It's hard to research EVs because 80% of people either hate them no matter what or love them no matter what.

Might even be 90%.

I think I'd like a Mach E GT but need a truck bed and towing. If we were balling like 99% of Americans these days we'd have my truck and a Mach E GT as I know the Ms. really wants an EV too.

Regarding Tesla- I think many folks, like Porpoise Hork, are mis-guided in judging Tesla’s 2014 quality versus today. They are light years apart- and I think his conclusions- if limited to those first 5 years or so (it’s obviously a sliding scale) would probably be valid. I would have NEVER purchased one back then. I read a lot of those same complaints- and I had a few friends that still loved their early model Tesla’s- but I felt they chose to do so in spite of the numerous shortcomings (poor maintenance support, short range, inferior warranty coverage, expensive batteries, immature charging network, embarrassing fit and finish and body construction- and probably a few more if I think about it longer).

In MY opinion-owning 2 later model versions- a ‘22 and ‘25- all those complaints above are virtually non-existent today- and we don’t even have the refreshed model 3 or Y (our 2025 Y was purchased in October of last year because of the $7,500 credit that I feared was disappearing- and Tesla’s 0% financing for 60 months). I believe the Highland and Juniper are even better versions of both based on everything I’ve read and seen.

I won’t accuse Porpoise Hork, but there are also many deranged political simpletons who hate Trump and Musk so much- they wouldn’t drive a Tesla if it was objectively the best car in the world. This group can be safely, and completely ignored, I think. They usually aren’t too hard to pick out- as there isn’t a single one of them who has ever driven a Tesla without hating it for reasons that have nothing to do with the car itself. Get past that, and I think you’ll see that most find they are extremely hard to beat- providing your daily commute can get you to work and back to top up in your garage. I will admit that in cases where that isn’t true- they make less sense; Supercharging is quick, easy and convenient (although still admittedly less so than a gas station)- but it’s not cheap.

 

[Bbf150]

Would like to hear peoples experience, opinions, thoughts, suggestions on moving from a Powerboost (2021) to a Lightning (Flash.2025)

If around town driving, I would go with the lightning and charge nightly. I have heard from a dealer that if you are running the sterio, lights, wipers, and ac range can drop to 100 miles or less...

 

[Vulnox]

If around town driving, I would go with the lightning and charge nightly. I have heard from a dealer that if you are running the sterio, lights, wipers, and ac range can drop to 100 miles or less...

That is absolutely not true. It's a 131kWh battery pack. All the things you mentioned running at once is maybe 1kW, so over an 8 hour drive it would maybe consumer 8kWh of that 131kWh. Assuming 2.3 miles/kWh which is fairly typical for a Lightning, you would lose about 18 miles over an 8 hour trip to accessories.

It's no wonder so many are against EVs when stuff like this is mentioned and taken as truth. ICE vehicles also suffer efficiency losses to running the A/C and other accessories as it has to exert additional fuel to turn the alternator and A/C compressor, so the distance losses would be fairly similar over the same distance drive.

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

I drove a 21 5.0 F150 for 42 thousand miles. Not one single issue. All the shit I put that truck through with all the mods and wiring and programming. Not one single problem.

I bought a Lightning late in 24 after finally being able to buy my Wife her "Dream" car a Mach E. I drove the Mach E an really became sold. I decided to lease a Lightning Flash. After 5 months an opportunity came up for me to reset. I got a Platinum Lighting and its a purchase. I have 10 thousand combined miles on the Lightnings and my Wifes Mach E is at 10k miles. So 20k problem free miles.

The EVs have been completely perfect. I love them. For OUR driving habits and for what WE do they fulfill every singled need. We can charge at home an havent charged away from home once yet.

As long as you know your habits and what needs you have for driving then an EV can more than meet those needs. I love I can be at 80% every morning and I get home every day at about 65%. I cant say EVs are for everyone.. but I believe a lot of the range discussion and range anxiety is overblown.

If you cant charge at home then the EV is a bad idea. There is no money to be saved. There is no convince to be gained. We have saved the amount of our car payments in gas essentially. We used to pay $70-$140 a week in gas for the Explorer we had. I was using $80-100 in gas a week with the F150 an later Diesel with the 23 F250. Ford has done an EXCELENT job with their EVs. They have had their growing pains but over all they are really good. Quiet, smooth the power delivery is insane. The HVAC system is incredible. The 24 up lightning and 25 Mach E have the Heat Pump. IT is really awesome and does help the winter range hit a lot.

Our Electric bill for both cars has gone up $100 -$150 a month. the $100 figure is really the max but end of day for a month of driving two cars.. pretty good if you ask me.

End of day the Lightning can more than meet most needs of the typical F150 driver. I would say the gas trucks will hold value better SO if you like to jump into new cars every couple years... lease the EV rather than buy to protect yourself from being negative in 2-3 years.

Ford is running the Power Promise right now. You get a in home charger when you buy. That helps a lot. It covers a basic install and includes the EVSE. I installed my own so I used the rebates rather than that but is it nice for those that dont want to bother with it. You will have to take a look at your electrical infrastructure at your home. Nice if you have a 200amp panel and service. Also Look at where your panel is in regards to where you would park to charge. If its on the other side of the house then that can complicate things and increase the cost of the EVSE install. Mainly want to look at as many factors as possible about the charging. That is the biggest issue and greatest cause for regret of EV buyers. They buy an EV and cant charge in their apartment or not easy to install a EVSE due to old electrical panel at home. Super Charging can be very expensive. So you only want to do it when traveling.

Id say go for it. Im not pro EV or someone that believes EVs will be the future. I bought one because its best for MY situation and I wouldnt change it at this point.


Also if you are going from a Power Boost Not all Lightnings have the large inverter. The 9.6K inverter is an option.. the 2.4 is standard. So make sure you look out for that. The platinum is the only trim the 9.6 is standard. Wouldnt want you to get a truck and not know that.

EDIT - To add to something else to look for is the Max Tow package. If you are in a hot climate I suggest you get it because it has the extra ACCM. That is a second AC Compressor I believe that is dedicated strictly to the battery pack.

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