If you still had doubts about the capability of an all-electric pickup, this should put those concerns to rest. Ford says the 2022 F-150 Lightning, its first all-electric pickup, can tow up to 10,000 pounds. This max tow rating is for the XLT and Lariat models with the available extended range battery when equipped with the Max Trailer Tow Package.
To put the Lightning's towing capabilities to the test, Ford says its engineers took the all-electric pickup to two of America's toughest real-world towing routes during the course of its development: Davis Dam in the summer and TFLTruck’s Ike Gauntlet in the winter.
Testing in extreme cold weather took place last month. Ford engineers took preproduction F-150 Lightnings to what some call the world’s toughest towing test — TFLtruck’s Ike Gauntlet towing test — with windchills registering below zero degrees Fahrenheit. The Lightning successfully towed a 10,000-pound trailer along the 8-mile stretch of I-70 in Colorado that ascends at a 7% incline to a maximum elevation of 11,158-ft. above sea level around the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel.
Ford previously tested the Lightning's capability on the extreme grades of Davis Dam to test its towing capability in extreme triple-digit heat. With ground temperatures reaching a high of 118-degrees Fahrenheit during testing, Ford says the Lightning preproduction units towed the same trailers for multiple loops across the dam. Davis Dam, located on State Route 68 between Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam, ascends from 550 feet elevation to 3,500 feet in 11.4-grueling miles.
Ford says both tests are examples of the hundreds of hours of rigorous towing testing the F-150 Lightning has endured during development. Testing also took place in the extreme cold of Alaska where Ford tested the pickup's performance on snow and ice.
Ford recently announced final EPA range estimates. Deliveries are expected to begin this spring.
Photo Credit: Ford.