I own a 2022 RAM 1500 crew cab and I love it, except a few things.
1) I spend $250-$300/month on gas
2) Oil changes are pretty expensive and inconvenient (I work a lot)

That's pretty much it.

Thinking about a Ford F-150 lightning, they currently have $7500 federal and $5000 state rebates plus they just got a $5500 price reduction. I can easily add a level 2 charger to my home in the garage.

Pros for the Lightning:
1) Save money on gas
2) Save money on maintenance
3) No longer fighting Costco crowds for gas
4) Better ride/handling potentially
5) Better driver assistance features
6) Could potentially advertise for the business
7) Power generator feature could be useful at times

Cons for the Lightning:
1) Range limitations (I almost never go more than 110 miles in my truck)
2) Towing limitations (I have towed once in 2 years)
3) Similar trim level to my Ram is like $70k yikes

Unknowns:
What is car insurance like?

What will you get for your Ram in trade?

I'm pretty sure you can purchase a lot of fuel for the extra cost of the lightning. You will also have some extra electricity costs charging the lightning.

It seems your primary complaint is lost time getting fuel. It may make sense to pay for a fuel service that will stop by and fuel your vehicle while you work.

I had one and it was great.   Had a Lariat well equipped and it was very comfortable and road a bit cushy but nice.  The range was good and I took several long road trips (2k round trip) in it.  I sold it to a friend who really wanted it when my Hummer First Edition arrived.  The only issue is the DC charging curve on the Lightning is a bit slow but not awful.  I had no issues when roadtripping it.

Good question. They seem to be holding value pretty well, as the 2024 version of my truck is almost $10k more than I paid! I have also been making extra payments so I only owe $30k on my truck, and it's worth around $50k

A lot of the XLTs I am looking at are $62k, minus $12k in rebates ... might be a wash with the Ford, plus I could get 1.9% financing...

You lost me at Hummer first, there is only one H1

Won’t argue.  Hummer is now a model and not a brand at this point.

How do you like the new Hummer??

You forgot the 4th con:
4) Its a Ford, they circled the problem right on the badge.

I'm not scared, I own a RAM!

You should be able to get a better deal, Ford lightnings are being advertised on the radio here with " big discounts".  A few weeks ago they were pushing the 2022 models but lately they are advertising the 2023 models.  I can't imagine what the resale value on them will be in a few years.
The whole concept/Idea seems to make sence for some people except electricity prices have doubled here in the last couple years. If the rolling blackouts they are talking about happen it would make getting around a challenge.

I'd buy one if it was cheap enough. Would pair nicely with my home solar system and cover all my local driving needs.

Our electricity is $0.15/KWH so it is probably cheaper than the east coast. I think 95% of my driving is under 25-mile trips, a lot of city driving.

And our other vehicle can handle any road trips we might need.

Yes the place I like in Nebraska has them for $5k off sticker price!

Do it, GD needs the LULZ.

Hummer is great.  Super fast and rides on par with a Yukon Denali and has a very similar interior.  The air suspension is great and the removable sky roof comes out easily. I may take off the MT tires and put on ATs for a bit less road noise and a supposed 60 mile range increase.  The size of the vehicle is very similar to an F150 Raptor although it appears larger.  

It also has a great DCFC charging curve.

Doing more research, everything looks good except a few things.

1) It badly needs a heat pump, but those are only on 2024 models
2) The resale value TANKS for these.
3) Winter range is bad, like 150 miles bad.
4) Very difficult to get the extended range battery without over $70k MSRP

Additional pros:
1) Pro power on-board would be incredibly useful in a number of situations for our business
2) The "Frunk" would be very useful to me, since I am always hauling random crap on the inside of my truck.

You could buy a lot of gas with the amount that thing will depreciate compared to a gasser.

Just an unscientific observation.

That's true and unfortunate.  I was shocked at how much my gasser depreciated in the last year.

@oregonshooter
Opinion?

I am really going back and forth now. The massive depreciation and the death of enthusiasm for electric vehicles has got we second-guessing everything.

It seems like my choices are:
$55k for an XLT with crappy sound system and mediocre seats
$70k for a Lariat that I probably shouldn't invest in

I still need to figure out if I qualify for the Federal tax credit.

XLT actually has a better sound system than the B&O.

Thanks for the @ I don't crawl out of GD often enough.

On the tax credit: if the vehicle has been titled it's not eligible for the tax credit.

I bought a dealer demo with a few hundred miles on it. Some states require demo vehicles to be titled even though they are sold as new in the eyes of the manufacturer.

I got zero credits. And I wasn't informed that the vehicle was titled until after the sale. I learned the hard way from my ignorance.

I have a 2022 PRO trim SR (standard range) . MSRP was 47k I paid 57k. It was the best deal for that vehicle in the country at that time. But things have drastically changed since early 2023.

On range advertisement says 240 for SR.(ER is rated at 320) True if there is a charger in exactly the right spot which is completely unrealistic in the real world.  Range is Highly variable.  Low temperatures and speeds over 70mph are killers. Difference between summer and winter is 20-35% and I live in a moderate climate. At 0 degrees I would expect 1.5-1.6 on freeway at 75mph. Thats 147 miles of range in an SR truck
On electric cost. The truck usually gets 1.8-2.4 miles  per Kwh. Take the miles you drive in a year devide by 2 and you will be close on how many kwh your buying.

Getting electricity at Level 3 fast charging stations costs as much as fueling a regular F150 with gas + an extra 30 minutes of your time. Although on a couple different holidays Electrify America has given me free energy for unknown reasons.  I have never received free gas or diesel.

I bought the truck because I live in suburban hell and only have a driveway that fits 2 vehicles.  I get one unless I pay to store another plus extra insurance and other costs associated with an additional vehicle.

I needed to combine a commuter car and a pickup in one vehicle.  I drive 25-30k a year so it works. It still uses 2X the electricity that an electric sedan would.

I'll add more later.

OK have real keyboard now. Here is a cost comparison for your situation based on what you put in OP. I assumed ~1700 miles a month or 20,400/yr.


Attached File


IMO you're going to need a reason beyond fuel savings for this to make sense.

You mentioned the Pro power. I have the upgraded 9.6KW Pro Power system. It consists of Multiple 120V outlets in the frunk, cab and bed on a 20A circuit. In addition to a single 240V 30A outlet in the bed.  The Ford portable charger is 120V/240V. The 120V plug pulls 12A and is not adjustable. The 240V plug pulls 30A and is not adjustable.  The 240V charger plug is a 14-50 but with a (not included) 14-30 adapter can charge another EV from the truck. Not useful to most but there it is. If buying new I'd skip the Ford mobile charger and just get an Adjustable one on Amazon for half the price. The truck will only take up to 12A on 120V regardless of what the circuit or charger can deliver. An SR truck can charge at up to 48A on 240V.

I have a Pro trim so I'm the worst person to ask about sound quality. I can tell you the speakers get buzzy with bass from music streamed on Pandora at volume levels over setting 10. I don't care enough to spend thousands of dollars on a higher trim truck. I find the seats comfortable. They are vinyl which is my preference. Also, I have rubber floors. It's still plenty quiet inside and the "little" 12" touch screen is more than sufficient.

Some gripes... The vehicle software is buggy and several times a week Android auto will stop working and I'll have to switch to another audio source and back to get it to resume. The Ford Pass App is terrible as apps go. Its slow and clunky to navigate.  

Public charging: without a smart phone your mostly fucked. Every Energy provider has their own app that you need a credit card linked to and you use their app to Activate the station to receive energy. Imagine every gas station brand having their own credit card... Some stations allow you to enter a credit card direct. I've never tried it.

Charger speeds are anywhere from 50kW to 350kW. My truck sees 120kW-147kW for up to 10 minutes if the power is available before settling at 90-110kw up to near 80%. The chargers never give rated power. You might see 120kW on a 150kW charger and about 55kw on a 62Kw rated unit.

Ford tried to simplify this for their customers but in some ways made things worse. Through the FordPass App (you have a credit card linked to it as well) using Plug and Charge you can activate charging at most branded stations. However,

#1 if you have a subscription with that brand (such as Electrify America) you won't get your discount through the FordPass App you must use the native app.
#2 Because the CCS charging network is a general dumpster fire of competing brands using a dozen different dispensers and software systems sometimes it will simply fail to activate with Plug and Charge and you need to use their native app anyway. But you have 250kW of "free" energy available when you buy a new vehicle, so it makes sense to link a card and use it at least initially.

Depreciation:

The shine has worn off and these things are depreciating like milk. From my observation the higher trims are depreciating at a higher rate. If you trade frequently this may be a problem. If your going to put 2-300k on it in 10 years, the lower operating costs should offset that.


Yes, Ford now has access to the Tesla Network of Superchargers. However very few people have the OEM adapters and those who can't wait are buying one of the two aftermarket versions, paying $200, still waiting months for it and it's a tight fit that can be a bitch to get unhooked from the charger based on reports I've seen. No first-hand experience as my adapter ordered in February is scheduled to ship from Tesla in August but that probably means September.

In addition, Ford Only has Access to V3 and V4 chargers not older V1 and V2 units so you have to define what you're looking for to see if that station is compatible.
@djkest

My current truck gets 14mpg in the winter and 16 mpg in the summer.
I have driven about 14k miles/year so far.

Still torn on this, and leaning towards no. My wife also wants to swap her vehicle, and I am still waiting on a promotion. Meh, could be worse. I do like the idea of independent rear suspension. I drive a lot in the city.

My current truck has power driver/passenger seats, heated/cooled, upgraded sound system, seating for 6... it's nice. It just burns a lot of dino juice and the tank isn't especially large.