This channel is dedicated to my personal experiences with anything adventure related. Whether it's Jeeps, Diesel Trucks, Motorcycles or Outdoor Activities, this is my attempt to share some things I learn along the way.
I live in Florida and I own a 2023 Lightning too. The cost of electricity at public charging stations here is $0.56/kWh which makes paying for electricity at a public charging station more expensive than gas was for my old F-150! But charging at home costs me $0.12/kWh and I’m saving a huge amount over paying for gas by doing 100% of my charging at home.
I have a 22 lightning platinum with every option that i paid 65k for on thanksgiving 23 with 95k msrp. I have NEVER been happier with any vehicle truck or car in my life. Cancelled all 4 cyber trucks i had on order.
I passed on the lightning craze and decided to wait for the cybertruck. That is, I waited for what the cybertruck promised (500miles starting at 40k). After the huge disappointment of what the cybertruck is, I am now a proud few week old owner of a platinum Lightning. I've owned many trucks and the lightning is spectacular. As you mentioned, there are a lot of different use cases so if a cybertruck meets those needs and you like it better, then go for it. For me, I needed a truck for utility. The huge frunk with power outlets was definitely a major deciding factor. I thought the Lightning prices were ridiculous, and they are, just like every other new vehicle out there. but Ford and some dealers are really pushing out discounts on these things. As you mentioned, my platinum lightning ended up cheaper than a discounted platinum ICE f150. Put all these things together and I went for it and so far I couldn't be happier. I already used it for towing a 6000lb load of dirt and I am sure I could beat a super car off the line while towing that (not encouraging people to race when towing but its that powerful). Amazing stuff and a great review. I agreed with everything you said. My only gripe so far is the software updates (Power UPs). I purchased the truck knowing a lot of the things that I didn't like were corrected in future updates (eg. battery % on gauge, pro-power on while vehicle off, charging rate on screen). I would have expected that dealers would get it updated to the latest version before handing you over the keys but my Lighting is way way behind. I'm still in the 4.1's almost a month later. I only got 3 updates in that time. Very frustrating as I would have expected it to be like an iPhone, where you go to software update and it does its thing and gets you up to date. Instead Ford decides when your truck gets an update.... One at a time..... slowly..... as weeks pass..... At this rate, I hope to be current and get the things I was promised a year later. Don't want to sound ungrateful because, one of the other reasons I bought the lightning is that I do see that they are improving the vehicle by providing these updates. I would just suggest they enforce and provide a mechanism so that dealers hand over fully updated vehicles.
Yep I used the 250 kit on my 350 2023. Nice that unloaded there is still about 1.5 inches before engaging. Thus ride is stock with no load. Love them. Leveled my truck out with load. Ford should do these from the factory.
It’s weird they didn’t want to add the tax rebate in. From what I hear it’s been pretty streamlined. Did the dealer take any money off themselves? Seems like they only used a manufacturer rebate. I’ve seen advertised dealer cash on top of the rebates available in most places. When you’re ready to buy a ford ALWAYS go online and request a brochure. Private cash offer between $750-3000 is probable (depending on what model you’re looking at) Did you get quotes from multiple dealers or just got one your local dealer? Did you check to see if you qualified for the a/b/d plans? I’m still rocking my 2011 F-150. Gas mileage sucks and I’m sure it’s no where as nice to drive as these. But good lord are cars expensive today! People are using 25% of their salary for an appliance they use 10 hours a week.
yes, the dealer had a discount also. Should be discussed in the video. PCO's aren't as easy as just requesting a brochure. I've only ever gotten one and it was a month after a purchase (that's after doing all the recommend tricks such as the one you described.) I may start an argument here, but I've never seen any of the Ford plans A/X, etc, that were better deals than I could negotiate myself. I shopped several other dealers and had another one that was close, but I like the Azure grey color better so I went with this dealer.
@@whateverfits1978 maybe I wasn’t paying attention when you went through the discounts. It looked to me like it was just the 5k manufacturer rebate plus the tax rebate. That’s why it mentioned the a/z plans. Anyone should be able to do better than those with a little negotiation for sure.
Id like something like this, but with no gravity feed as i have a gasser. I need a pump somewhere on there to fill up light plants here and there. You have ideas on how to go it about it. Id like a bed cover and not the pump sticking out. Thanks
I keep things for the long haul. I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that kind of money on an e v. I think you will a bath when you trade it in or resell. But maybe not. Who knows at this point. Great video
I think the longer you keep something like this, the more value to get out of it. Miles of cheaper fueling and maintenance can lower the cost of ownership, provided you don't have to replace the battery pack....
Great series of videos on the Lightning. You got a screaming deal! I paid $70k for my Lariat SR. Still love it 2 years later but wow to have that range, the tow package, the sunroof and Blue Cruise for that much less makes it the perfect truck.
Been thinking about getting a Lightning Flash with max tow package for about 6 months now. Its between this and a Cybertruck dual motor, or this and a Powerboost Lariat with ProPower onboard. I need something that can do everything and Model 3 isn't that anymore. With Z plan, tax credit, and Tesla conquest discount, price of the Lightning comes in at about $9500 below the non-FS Cybertruck.
Ummm....ya know when you're doing those "Whee...." acceleration jaunts, the rubber is shredding from those expensive radials?..That's a THREE TON vehicle pulling those numbers... Complete idiot!! Yeah Ford, we get it, it ain't a golf cart, but maybe concentrate on range....pretty sure that's the Lightning's Achilles Heel.
Ford calls it azure grey. Unfortunately, I think it was eliminated as an option for 2024, at least for the lightnings.
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agree evs are cheaper to operate than gas vehicles..I just drove my 2023 Tesla model 3 over 4,500 miles over 13 days all over the western Usa without a problem..
If you drive it to around 200k, you would get your money's worth. A gas engine with 200K is also doable but would cost a lot more- maintenance in addition to breakdowns, which are expensive. EV's have less parts that will break. I am sure you heard of batteries quitting before that but are exceptions rather than the rule. If you like spending your money on new car every few years, maybe EVs are not for you
@@Lance-fk1eb mine didnt make it to anywhere near 200k. The value of a used Tesla is very low, if you have one that needs a battery you almost have to give it away. My ICE truck with over 300k miles is worth twice as much as the used Tesla. Also our power rates are high enough now that its not much cheaper per mile than my ICE car, which is also worth more than the Tesla was. Lightnings are not selling well for a reason. I wont go back to an EV anytime soon.
@@DrJ262 I have gas cars including one with 205k and going strong. I have 2 electric cars for 6 years with NO maintenance, zip. If you are honest ,your maintenance on your 300k ice car is not cheap let alone repairs. You know how I know? I know. Even with expensive electricity, it is far cheaper still than your gas car. Resale value is relative mostly due to market forces. Ice truck with 300k maybe twice as much as Tesla but would not amount to much
I'm getting my Pro extended range on Saturday. They tried to tack on 1K for paint protection/low jack. I was able to get that removed but still had to pay the 580 doc fee :(
@@whateverfits1978 it was the highest I’ve seen too. I was able to get a pro extended range out the door for 50,281 but I will have to get the 7500 back on my own from the feds. The dealer did not sign up for point of sale federal ev credits. But it will make the effective price 42781. Not bad for a good truck!
You mentioned the weight being more. Does that include the weight savings from the loss of the hitch in your bed? In other words, the weight of the pin box plus the hitch?
@@whateverfits1978 That’s what I thought, so it doesn’t significantly affect the combination weight and the weight over the truck axel should be about the same as well as the weight on the trailer axels. Thanks for responding.
I bought a 2024 F350 SRW 6.7HO Platinum Tremor and I am towing a Brinkley Z3610. I got a Tremor of all the reason you did and one more, Car Washes! We have right at 2500 miles of towing this set up right now. Loaded up we are just under 18k and the trucks payload of 3886 is almost maxed out with us and a full tank of gas, we have about 200 pounds remaining. Monday morning at 8:00 my truck is going in for Air Bags. I have been seriously considering the Timbrens but the ability to adjust on the fly and to level up the truck and 5th wheel. The RV is getting Black Sumo springs next week. All ahead of a trip to 30A Florida, from Dallas, Texas. How has your experience been with the Timbrens? It seemed like you still were down about 2” but I could have been seeing or hearing that wrong. Your thoughts on any or all of it are appreciated, thank you for the video!
Loved the Timbrens. I did have a 2" gap but that was by design. I didn't want them to engage while towing lighter items. If you want them to be in contact sooner or you only tow one (heavy) item, you can get the F350 kit which comes with the spacers and it would eliminate most of the sag.
@@whateverfits1978 That makes since. I got the air bags installed today. You can feel them a little because you have to keep 5psi in them. They do kick at bigger dips in the road and to be honest I don’t like that at all. I am going to keep them on for a while and see how the trip to Florida goes in a couple weeks but there is a chance I remove them. I don’t like coming out of my seat at certain spots in the road or maybe there is some adjustment in the positioning. On a side note I did notice at some point before while towing I kissed my bump stops. I could see where the dirt was cleaned off. My recommendation at this point to anyone looking at them is to get the smallest lightest version of them if air bags are a consideration.
@@Captain-Awesome your points above are the main reason I went with the Timbrens. I wanted to a normal ride unloaded and wanted some help when towing heavy loads. Always having the airbags engaged(even at some level) wasn't something I wanted.
I have had our Lightning Lariat a little over a year now and there has never been a vehicle that I have owned that puts a smile on my face every time I drive it like the Lightning. I’ve got just over 43,000 on it now and zero issues, fantastic machine!
If you are looking for better ride quality and less chucking get the goose box. The pivot point in the ball mount allows a forward back cushion with the air bag and not strictly up and down. I installed one on my 43ft 5th wheel and the ride quality was drastically improved
I bought the Timbren SES for my 2002 Toyota Sequoia. Product was shipped from Timbren in Ontario, Canada to California via UPS ground. Not the fault of Timbren, but the shipping took nearly two weeks. Upon receipt of the product, I found that the bolt supplied to attach the rubber to the bracket would not fit through the supplied washer that Timbren ‘pre-loads’ in the rubber. I called Timbren and they confirmed that the wrong washer was supplied. Duh. Bad engineering/parts assembly. I ended up going to the local hardware store and bought 4 of the proper washers. I asked Timbren for a partial refund for the parts $2USD and for my trouble. They declined my request for a partial refund and are shipping me 2 washers from Canada. Short story, if I didn’t supply my own washers, I’d still be waiting for correct parts before I’d be able to install these $309 overgrown pencil erasers. Not impressed.
Tow rating really doesn't mean anything. What really matters is your Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. There should be a white sticker with black letters and a yello stripe at the top inside the driver door well. It will have all your weight ratings, and will say something like "Total payload onthis vehicle shall not exceed..." That is the total extra weight you can add to your truck. You have to take into account the weight of all of your passengers, cargo, luggage AND the tongue weight of the trailer. If you're towing a 6,000lb trailer chances are your tongue weight is over 650-700 pounds. On a RAM 1500, total payload is probably about 1400 pounds. That means that you would have to have all your passengers, luggage, etc not to exceed 700 pounds. Those are pretty tight margins.
I have a 2019 and it had a drone on decelerations. Though it was the exhaust. Ended up it was the noise canceling system. Bought a bypass harness to element the microphones in the headliner. Drone gone!
Canceled my cyber reservation 2 weeks after the delivery event. I felt Tesla didn't deliver what they offered 4 years before on range, price and some design. I bought a lighting 2 months ago. Looks better, same range, lower price. It's a great Truck.
Hey, I just got into my budget. They are down about 30 grand. You can easily get one for 40-45 grand. In fact, I see them for 36 grand used I think somewhere in North Carolina.
I’m going to see if I can find a good deal on the Pro version. This will be my first electric vehicle. Most of my daily driving is in 15 to 20 mile chunks.
That's our experience. Lightning (XLT) was our first ev and we love it. It's big for what we we came from (Tacoma), but extremely comfy ride for the family, and charging at home is amazing. Software is meh, but we usually just use Apple carplay or Android Auto instead. Only regret is not getting extended range, but base battery is absolutely fine for everything we've done (daily driving, visiting family, beach, small boat). Edit: OH! Splurge for the tailgate with the built-in pop-out step!! Not lightning specific, but a glorious accessory that we can't live without anymore
I know this is an old post, but wanted to know how your turning radius looked with the B&W 4” offset ball. I have a 3500 short bed single rear wheel mega cab and am considering moving to this set up from the sidewinder pin box since I already have the B&W turn over ball in the truck. Taking the 5th wheel hitch in and out of it when I need the bed has outworn it’s welcome. Thanks.
I don't know the exact radius, but moving it back the 4" really helped. I never had any issues backing into spots with it. I don't think you would be disappointed with this setup.
