Driving an EV pickup

When I had a truck in the okanagan I used to run BFG all terrains all year. Used to be the gold standard for off road/on road use and I found them good in the snow up and down Sliver Star. Kinda loud but not that bad. That was 20 years ago so I’m sure there are better options now.
 
I got Nokian Outpost ATs for my truck lastyear. They are all weather and I am super happy with them so far. But you may not need an AT tire. https://www.kaltire.com/en/tires/ou...tICpSmOXXGcaAm6MEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&start=1
I took a hard look at those and thought they fit the bill exactly. They have snowflake symbol but ok to leave on all year, they make my size, load rating in spec, etc. But Kal Tire are the Nokian dealer for BC and aren't getting that tire this year. There is probably a replacement/equivalent model, but the internet hasn't yet coughed up that particular secret.
 
These were recommended by Kal Tire when I asked about the best all weather SUV tire to leave on year round. No experience with them, just sick of melting through Blizzaks and doing the twice yearly rim swap. …so they may be next. Not sure if they come in the right size for you….

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Thanks, I'll do some research.
 
When I had a truck in the okanagan I used to run BFG all terrains all year. Used to be the gold standard for off road/on road use and I found them good in the snow up and down Sliver Star. Kinda loud but not that bad. That was 20 years ago so I’m sure there are better options now.
Seems like for a while the standard for heavy duty AT winters has been been Goodyear Duratrac. Grippy they are, but LOUD. Loggers love em though.
 
I have a sorta EV/sorta truck question: All Weather tires, anyone using them on a truck? The factory tires on the Lightning are summer junk; come winter they'll be awful. But I really don't want the cost of rims as well as winter tires just a couple of months into a brand new truck. They're 20" so the choices aren't enormous.

Anyone got a recommendation for something winter-ish I can leave on all year?
I would suggest you check out the BFG Trail Terrain TA. Three Peak rated with a fairly aggressive tread. I have 30k on mine now and they are great for highway driving and gravel roads. Nice and quiet and seem durable.
 
I went with the Falken Wildpeak at3w from these guys on my F150 this summer. Good for trips to the coast so far. They have the snow symbol.

I've had those on my truck twice. I got like 150,000km out of the first set so had to get them again. They are decent in the winter but I still got a set of actual Toyo winter tires/rims. I think it would be a no brainer to have dedicated winter tires if I lived in the Okanogan.
 
I've had those on my truck twice. I got like 150,000km out of the first set so had to get them again. They are decent in the winter but I still got a set of actual Toyo winter tires/rims. I think it would be a no brainer to have dedicated winter tires if I lived in the Okanogan.
I seem to do fine with 'mild' winter tires, despite driving to Apex at least 30 times a winter. My 2014 Silverado came with Goodyear SR-A, which have the M+S designation, not a full winter. I ran those things for years because they were quiet and cheap. Like really cheap. You know how some guys are, buy a new truck and immediately drop another $5K for tougher tires and wheels. Lots of those near-new SR-As going cheap on Marketplace, I could get a set of four for under $500. In fact that was the reason I persisted with them longer than I should have; slashed the sidewall open twice on jobsites and quickly replaced them because so easy to find and so cheap. Finally after the second incident I smartened up and said goodbye to 6 ply tires for work truck use. So the Falken might work, I'm talking to local Tirecraft as their prices seem decent.

Surprisingly though, several Canadian posters on the Lightning forums saying the factory Grabbers did OK for them last winter. I wonder if I should hold on a bit longer and see how they perform. There'll be snow up at Apex within a month. The other comment that came up often in threads about Lightning for snow driving was it handled and braked better, attributed to the 50/50 fore-aft weight balance.
 
Yesterday I spent about 15 minutes waiting to go through the rock slide area on highway 97 north of Summerland. It was nice to be able to leave the truck on, windows up and AC running. No noise or dust, no exhaust fumes.

Additional energy use is pretty minor, Climate Use was showing 2% when I first got to the stoppage. Exterior Temperature is power used to keep battery and motor temps within design limits. Accessories would be stereo and phone charging.

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Camping weekend in the Principality of Trumplandia (aka north central Washington). We rented a cabin and joined several friends with their travel trailers. The nice owners of the campground billed me a very reasonable $5 for an overnight charge from one their 50 amp site plug ins. The Ford mobile charging cable comes with a 50 amp connector (NEMA 14-50), as well as a connector that fits a normal 120 volt outlet. Everything connected up just fine and I was back at 90% charge next morning, despite no cell phone coverage in the area. (That was a test in itself, it's reassuring that charging isn't dependent on phone connection).

Enquiring minds got to work, and my buddies gathered up their collection of plug adapters so we could try plugging in one of the trailers to the Pro Power 240V outlet in the Lightning's box. Short story, it works - including the trailer AC unit. Monitoring screen in the truck indicates a draw of 1580 W/ 1.58 kW. Do the math... arrive at camp with 80% charge remaining (60 kWh), set a 20% cutoff threshold to get out to nearest charger; 60 kWh usable for camp. 60/1.6 = 37.5 hours of continuous use. Should be plenty for a weekend, depending of course how close your camp spot is to nearest charging station.

Bonus points: we plugged a Jeep PHEV into the 120 V outlet on the trailer and it started charging as well. Lots of power available on the Lightning.
 
Now I'm talking to electrician about installing a small subpanel and transfer switch in my house, plus an outside 30 A receptacle. Wire up 6-8 key circuits so we can power essentials from the truck in a power outage. Obviously the freezer with all the fish in it must be kept running!
 
Now I'm talking to electrician about installing a small subpanel and transfer switch in my house, plus an outside 30 A receptacle. Wire up 6-8 key circuits so we can power essentials from the truck in a power outage. Obviously the freezer with all the fish in it must be kept running!
Does the truck have a 240v outlet?
Any interest in the full ford vehicle to house connection? Its certainly not as simple as a sub panel to run off the 30 amp receptacle. Lots of kilowatts sitting there that would be handy. Id consider this with my model 3 if possible. I have a 7200 watt generator currently every time i hook it up the power comes back on...Need the 240 to run the well pump.
 
There is 9.6 kW of onboard power. Part of that is a 240V 30A outlet in the bed. I'd aim to use that.

The extended range battery models have a larger on-board charger and it's configured for bidirectional use. Also needs the 80 Amp Pro Charger unit at the house, plus a proprietary transfer switch at the home's panel. All seems like too much investment for the occasional power outs I'd anticipate. I can't recall anything longer than 8 hours in the 30 years I've been living in this house. 7.2 kW would easily cover fridge, 2 freezers, gas stove and some lights and plugs. We have a wood stove for heat, and gas hot water.
 
From a facebook group for Lightning owners. Assume mostly US owners with a few Canadians in the mix. Main downside comment Ive seen in the group is lamenting lack of fast chargers in some regions.

Not exactly a JD Power survey, I know. But still.



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September: 1587 km driven.
Home charging 297 kWh @$0.11= $33.67
Public charging $28
September energy cost: $58.67 ($0.03/ km)

Numbers a little skewed toward public charging this month. I deliberately used chargers in Penticton and Kelowna despite having ample charge to get home. Making sure I have the various charging network apps set up correctly, payment working, etc. And learning the locations/highway access etc. Same as we've all done with gas stations over the years really.

Bottom line: travel cost for gas half ton with av fuel consumption of 15 L/100 km: $428 ($0.27/km).

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Interesting article about EV batteries, real world data.
 

Interesting article about EV batteries, real world data.
My oldest ebike that my wife uses has some degradation but if we are going far I can bring the charger or just take the new bike. Nice thing is if we run out we just keep pedalling just slower. A battery upgrade is expensive but I think we may see battery service centres replacing bad cells in the future for cars at least.
 
Thanks for this thread, some really great info here. With the price of fuel and the cost of new trucks, it sort of seems like a no-brainer to get an EV for shorter distance. We have a property up in Prince George, and we usually take the car and rent or borrow a truck up there as it’s cheaper than driving a truck up from Vancouver. With an extended range model, we theoretically could do the trip with a single charging stop along the way, depending on where the charging stations are. Would also probably get out more to fish and camp further from the lower mainland if we could save on fuel costs.
 
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