Ford F-150 Lightning winter towing tests and Engineers interview
Ford has been taking some hits in the media on the F-150 Lightning towing range, so we thought it would be good to test it ourselves and then get the background from the people who built the Lightning, especially as we head into winter. Along with Ford’s PR team, we were joined by:
- Dapo Adewusi, F-150 Lightning Engineering Manager
- Gitanjli McRoy, Chief Engineer, EV Energy Management Systems
Here’s the discussion along with firsthand towing impressions in both New York and Detroit.
I wanted to see how much range I’d lose while towing because there have been some recent videos showing only low double-digit-mile ranges coming out of the Lightning.
It is hard to quantify how much range you’d lose because of a ton of significant factors, like trailer weight, aerodynamics, and efficiency as well as normal EV range factors like elevation, climate, speed, etc., which are magnified while towing a trailer.
So I did two different tows: one with an open hauling trailer with a friend in New York and one with a closed trailer in Detroit – both very different experiences.
F-150 Lightning towing in the New York hills
After receiving the F-150 Lightning loaner, I immediately went to a friend’s place to try some towing. He’s got a tiny house Airbnb north of New York City, which requires hauling loads of firewood into the mountains. As the weather gets colder, the tiny house mini split heating requires 240V power, and we wanted to see if the Lightning could power it.
His trailer is about 7×5 feet and weighs about 5,000 pounds loaded. Using the rear and above camera views makes hitching the trailer a breeze.
Without any outside instruction, we were able to enter the info into the Lightning’s towing configurator and were off in a matter of minutes.
The trip was mostly uphill, and after about six minutes, our already dropping fast range dropped by about half, which was initially very scary. I had started the trip with about 180 miles of range and within a few miles of uphill road, we were at about 140 miles of range. The truck recalibrated us down to 68 miles of range, which was a bit scary since we had planned to try powering the house while we were there and had to make it back as well.
The truck continued to lose range quicker than we were using it until the top of the mountain where it equalized with the range. That gave us a lot of confidence to try powering the house since most of the return trip was downhill and we would be without the load of wood.
Lightning powers a tiny house, including heating, easily
This exercise doesn’t really have to do with towing, but while we were at the Tiny House, we decided to try to power the whole house, including mini split heating, using the F-150 Lightning’s Pro Power on board and 240V generator plug.
It just works. Usually, this requires a generator or a very large solar/battery setup, but not only can you tow a Tiny House (or Airstream/camper) to the middle of nowhere, you can also power it and heat it with the F-150 Lightning. I think I may have sold a few F-150s on this alone.
With the heat on full blast, the two power outputs stabilized at just over a kW, meaning we could have powered this thing for a full day using about 25kWh of battery.
The interesting thing about the trip back is that we ended with just about the same range as we’d started with, so we must’ve regenerated close to the 10 miles of range of the trip going downhill.
F-150 Lightning towing on flat ground
In Detroit, we drove an 8,000-pound trailer, 8×8 feet front end, about 15 miles on the highway, with about five miles of city driving, then 15 miles to return. Initially, while on the highway, I kept it at about 55-60mph (just under 100kmph). Most of the Detroit area is quite flat, so elevation isn’t a factor here, and it was about 40 degrees with rain. During this time, I saw energy usage at 1 mile/kW, which means we can extrapolate 130+ miles from the 131kWh usable battery. I would use this figure as a baseline for towing. You might get better in warmer, dryer conditions with a smaller trailer, but starting here is easy and effective, and you can always drop down to this speed when towing on the highway.
While driving in the city with stops and starts, I saw the mi/kWh go down to .9, so keep in mind that city driving with an 8,000-pound load won’t necessarily save you range.
On the return trip, I tried hitting 65-70mph for brief periods, and that took the power usage down to .8 miles per kWh. So by driving just 10 mph faster, the range went from approximately 130 miles to about 100 miles.
Conclusion: Speed kills range, but it kills it even harder with a 64-square-foot front trailer. I imagine the videos where the F-150 Lightning gets only a low double-digit range are staged or at best poorly planned.
I finished with the following numbers after mixed driving:
F-150 Lightning Towing Observations
- Probably the biggest takeaway for me is that towing is highly dependent on outside variables, many of which are controllable by the driver. Just dropping from about 67mph to about 57mph, for instance, added around 30 miles of towing range. The off-roading trim on my F-150 Lightning drops about 50 miles from the nontowing range, so prioritize accordingly.
- Preconditioning the vehicle in cold weather can save almost all losses from the weather. Towing does put a higher strain on the batteries, but that heat keeps the pack warm and helps heat the interior of the vehicle.
- One interesting thing I noted in hilly New York was that you lose a lot going uphill, but the regen going back down often mostly makes up for it (something that isn’t the case for ICE trucks).
- On highway driving, as long as the trailer is built and maintained well, weight IS NOT a huge factor in flat road driving but aerodynamics IS. It makes sense since once you get the inertia going, weight doesn’t really put a force on the vehicle (as long as the speed is consistent), but the drag from the trailer is a constant and strong force, which increases exponentially with speed.
- Plows (would impede the frunk) and camper backs aren’t currently supported officially on the F-150 Lightning, but Ford is taking this into consideration for the future. Ford also notes that it is your truck, and you can do what you want with it. Also, Ford officially supports putting 400 pounds in the trunk, which is a lot less than most plows.
- The overall towing experience is so smooth and effortless compared to ICE that drivers might forget they are towing. There’s no audible cue of higher revving and struggling motors. The electric drive system makes slowing down and speeding up seem like a normal drive. Ironically, forgetting you have a trailer can actually be a concern when maneuvering/cornering, so stay alert!
- There’s no way to sugarcoat it: The Lightning’s towing range isn’t as robust as its ICE counterparts. If you are towing a tiny house up a remote mountain, you might want to look elsewhere. However, for over 90% of towing use cases, the Lightning suffices, especially if planned accordingly with charging stops.
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BMW Motorrad’s futuristic electric scooter just got its first real refresh since beginning production in 2021. The BMW CE 04, already one of the most capable and stylish electric maxi-scooters on the market, now gets a set of upgraded trim options, new aesthetic touches, and a more robust list of features that aim to make this urban commuter even more appealing to riders looking for serious electric performance on two wheels.
The BMW CE 04 has always stood out for its sci-fi styling and high-performance drivetrain. It’s built on a mid-mounted liquid-cooled motor that puts out 31 kW (42 hp) and 62 Nm of torque. That’s enough to rocket the scooter from 0 to 50 km/h (31 mph) in just 2.6 seconds – quite fast for anything with a step-through frame.
The top speed is electronically limited to 120 km/h (75 mph), making it perfectly capable for city riding and fast enough to hold its own on highway stretches. Range is rated at 130 km (81 miles) on the WMTC cycle, thanks to the 8.9 kWh battery pack tucked low in the frame.
But while the core performance hasn’t changed, BMW’s 2025 update focuses on refining the package and giving riders more options to tailor the scooter to their taste. The new CE 04 is available in three trims: Basic, Avantgarde, and Exclusive.
The Basic trim keeps things clean and classic with a Lightwhite paint scheme and a clear windshield. It’s subtle, sleek, and very much in line with the CE 04’s clean-lined aesthetic. The Avantgarde model adds a splash of color with a Gravity Blue main body and bright São Paulo Yellow accents, along with a dark windshield and a laser-engraved rim. The top-shelf Exclusive trim is where things get fancy, with a premium Spacesilver metallic paint job, upgraded wind protection, heated grips, a luxury embroidered seat, and its own unique engraved rim treatment.
There are also a few new tech upgrades baked into the options list. Riders can now spec a 6.9 kW quick charger that reduces the 0–80% charge time to just 45 minutes (down from nearly 4 hours with the standard 2.3 kW onboard charger). Tire pressure monitoring, a center stand, and BMW’s “Headlight Pro” adaptive lighting system are also available as add-ons, along with an emergency eCall system and Dynamic Traction Control.
BMW has kept the core riding components in place: a steel-tube chassis, 15-inch wheels, Bosch ABS (with optional ABS Pro), and the impressive 10.25” TFT display with integrated navigation and smartphone connectivity. The under-seat storage still swallows a full-face helmet, and the long, low frame design means the scooter looks like something out of Blade Runner but rides like a luxury commuter.
With these updates, BMW seems to be further cementing the CE 04’s role at the high end of the electric scooter market. It’s not cheap, starting around €12,000 in Europe and around US $12,500 in the US, with prices going up from there depending on configuration. However, the maxi-scooter delivers real motorcycle-grade performance in a package that’s easier to live with for daily riders.
Electrek’s Take
I believe that the CE 04’s biggest strength has always been that it’s not trying to be a toy or a gimmick. It’s a real vehicle. Sure, it’s futuristic and funky looking, but it delivers on its promises. And in a market that’s still surprisingly sparse when it comes to premium electric scooters, BMW has had the lane mostly to itself. That may not last forever, though. LiveWire, Harley-Davidson’s electric spin-off brand, has teased plans for a maxi-scooter-style urban electric vehicle in the coming years, but as of now, it remains something of an undefined future plan.
Meanwhile, BMW is delivering not just a concept bike but a mature, well-equipped, and ready-to-ride electric scooter that keeps improving. For riders who want something faster and more capable than a Class 3 e-bike but aren’t ready to jump to a full-size electric motorcycle, the CE 04 hits a sweet spot. It delivers the performance and capability of a commuter e-motorcycle, yet with the approachability of a scooter. And with these new trims and upgrades, it’s doing it with even more style.
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If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you combine a fruit cart, a cargo bike, and a Piaggio Ape all in one vehicle, now you’ve got your answer. I submit, for your approval, this week’s feature for the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column – and it’s a beautiful doozie.
Feast your eyes on this salad slinging, coleslaw cruising, tuber taxiing produce chariot!
I think this electric vegetable trike might finally scratch the itch long felt by many of my readers. It seems every time I cover an electric trike, even the really cool ones, I always get commenters poo-poo-ing it for having two wheels in the rear instead of two wheels in the front. Well, here you go, folks!
Designed with two front wheels for maximum stability, this trike keeps your cucumbers in check through every corner. Because trust me, you don’t want to hit a pothole and suddenly be juggling peaches like you’re in Cirque du Soleil: Farmers Market Edition.
To avoid the extra cost of designing a linked steering system for a pair of front wheels, the engineers who brought this salad shuttle to life simply side-stepped that complexity altogether by steering the entire fixed front end. I’ve got articulating electric tractors that steer like this, and so if it works for a several-ton work machine, it should work for a couple hundred pounds of cargo bike.
Featuring a giant cargo bed up front with four cascading fruit baskets set up for roadside sales, this cargo bike is something of a blank slate. Sure, you could monetize grandma’s vegetable garden, or you could fill it with your own ideas and concoctions. Our exceedingly talented graphics wizard sees it as the perfect coffee and pastry e-bike for my new startup, The Handlebarista, and I’m not one to argue. Basically, the sky is the limit with a blank slate bike like this!
Sure, the quality doesn’t quite match something like a fancy Tern cargo bike. The rim brakes aren’t exactly confidence-inspiring, but at least there are three of them. And if they should all give out, or just not quite slow you down enough to avoid that quickly approaching brick wall, then at least you’ve got a couple hundred pounds of tomatoes as a tasty crumple zone.
The electrical system does seem a bit underpowered. With a 36V battery and a 250W motor, I don’t know if one-third of a horsepower is enough to haul a full load to the local farmer’s market. But I guess if the weight is a bit much for the little motor, you could always do some snacking along the way. On the other hand, all the pictures seem to show a non-electric version. So if this cart is presumably mobile on pedal power alone, then that extra motor assist, however small, is going to feel like a very welcome guest.
The $950 price is presumably for the electric version, since that’s what’s in the title of the listing, though I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. I’ve bought a LOT of stuff on Alibaba, including many electric vehicles, and the too-good-to-be-true price is always exactly that. In my experience, you can multiply the Alibaba price by 3-4x to get the actual landed price for things like these. Even so, $3,000-$4,000 wouldn’t be a terrible price, considering a lot of electric trikes stateside already cost that much and don’t even come with a quad-set of vegetable baskets on board!
I should also put my normal caveat in here about not actually buying one of these. Please, please don’t try to buy one of these awesome cargo e-trikes. This is a silly, tongue-in-cheek weekend column where I scour the ever-entertaining underbelly of China’s massive e-commerce site Alibaba in search of fun, quirky, and just plain awesomely weird electric vehicles. While I’ve successfully bought several fun things on the platform, I’ve also gotten scammed more than once, so this is not for the timid or the tight-budgeted among us.
That isn’t to say that some of my more stubborn readers haven’t followed in my footsteps before, ignoring my advice and setting out on their own wild journey. But please don’t be the one who risks it all and gets nothing in return. Don’t say I didn’t warn you; this is the warning.
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