Two Ranchero EVs spotted @ Tesla supercharging station in California

[Prickly Pear]

To determine the height of the truck, this photo is the best resource we have. We know Jim Farley's height, it's 5 ft 8 or 68 inches, meaning if this truck was the height of a maverick, it would be around the top of his head, but it isn't. So we know it's considerably lower than a maverick.

I'd place the height somewhere in the low 60s. Gemini says the truck is 48 inches tall but that's obviously not right.

Ford is into their camo/deceptions - maybe Farley is wearing lifts

 

[Snakebitten]

i understand if you don't want to risk any confrontation.

however if many EV drivers are really that impatient (especially if they knew the reason for momentarily parking there to compare to the upcoming UEV pickup), not sure if we'll ever see a full transition to EV's here. (similarly, if Ford doesn't offer a charging port at the front, not sure how useful this will be as a truck if one ends up blocking all the charging spots when towing and other drivers have issues with it)

Full transition?

While I have great disdain for the fact that GM located the charging port at the rear of my Sierra Denali EV tow truck, I don't think I would be nearly as miffed with the same on this little Ranchero. For obvious reasons.

Still I do wish it was positioned similar to the Lightning/Mach-E. (Although I liked where the port was on my first ever EV Leaf, the best)

 

[graycorgi]

not sure how useful this will be as a truck if one ends up blocking all the charging spots when towing and other drivers have issues with it

This is something I never quite understood about EV drivers. Unless towing something massive, just disconnect the trailer before charging. This size of this truck means it is unlikely to be towing anything big. It may be inconvenient, but it shouldn't take more than a few extra minutes. No need to block chargers at a busy site.

 

[dorbi]

I prefer the port location of the Lightning, but can see why this is better for most people. At my house, pulling into the driveway would put my EVSE at the front left of the vehicle. So back left means I'll need to back in and have the cord crossing the back

 

[awd]

This is something I never quite understood about EV drivers. Unless towing something massive, just disconnect the trailer before charging. This size of this truck means it is unlikely to be towing anything big. It may be inconvenient, but it shouldn't take more than a few extra minutes. No need to block chargers at a busy site.

this could be done if one rarely tows, though if someone is going to be towing long distances across the country for a week or more at a time, and if the UEV pickup has say around 300 miles of range that drops to 150-200 miles when towing, having to disconnect the trailer a few times per day certainly won't be ideal, especially if it requires backing up and maneuvering in tight parking spaces.

hopefully all future charger locations have pull through spaces for trailers (or long electric RV's when available) or at least long spaces where one can park and charge without disconnecting a trailer even if it requires backing up when done.

or hopefully we see an extended length electric Transit van with 300-500+ miles of usable range at a reasonable price point so one doesn't need to tow anything.

 

[thum]

To determine the height of the truck, this photo is the best resource we have. We know Jim Farley's height, it's 5 ft 8 or 68 inches, meaning if this truck was the height of a maverick, it would be around the top of his head, but it isn't. So we know it's considerably lower than a maverick.

I'd place the height somewhere in the low 60s. Gemini says the truck is 48 inches tall but that's obviously not right.

I thought he was 6’.

 

[thum]

this could be done if one rarely tows, though if someone is going to be towing long distances across the country for a week or more at a time, and if the UEV pickup has say around 300 miles of range that drops to 150-200 miles when towing, having to disconnect the trailer a few times per day certainly won't be ideal, especially if it requires backing up and maneuvering in tight parking spaces.

hopefully all future charger locations have pull through spaces for trailers (or long electric RV's when available) or at least long spaces where one can park and charge without disconnecting a trailer even if it requires backing up when done.

or hopefully we see an extended length electric Transit van with 300-500+ miles of usable range at a reasonable price point so one doesn't need to tow anything.

I don’t think that’s their worry with this truck. Someone who tows regularly isn’t their target audience. The lightning EREV should be out a year later for that demographic. They put so much thought into to the aero of this truck to reduce the battery size and lower the cost. So it will likely have a much smaller battery than other trucks.

This works out well for those of us that drive a lot of highway mileage as our range drop off won’t be as bad (maybe 25% if we’re lucky), but the towing drop off will be a bigger hit than it is with the lightning or Silverado.

 

[markboris]

While I am waiting for a friend to stop by this Lebec, CA Tesla Supercharger station where the two trucks were at, which won't be for about 3 weeks, I checked on a couple of things.

California Building Code Title 24, which governs the construction blueprints of all Tesla charging infrastructure built in the state, requires a minimum of 9' (108") for each stall width (between the white lines) and 18' (216") for each stall length.

I went to the 18 month old (same age as the Lebec charging station) Tesla V4 Supercharger station (8 stalls) here in my town and measured each stall. They were 115" wide (7" wider than the minimum requirement) and 218" long (2" longer than the minimum requirement).

 

[truckplease]

This is something I never quite understood about EV drivers. Unless towing something massive, just disconnect the trailer before charging. This size of this truck means it is unlikely to be towing anything big. It may be inconvenient, but it shouldn't take more than a few extra minutes. No need to block chargers at a busy site.

There's not always a lot of extra room around charging stations since they're usually shoved into a corner of an existing parking lot.

Also, bike racks. You can't practically unload a rack, especially at a busy charger.

 

[awd]

I don’t think that’s their worry with this truck. Someone who tows regularly isn’t their target audience. The lightning EREV should be out a year later for that demographic. They put so much thought into to the aero of this truck to reduce the battery size and lower the cost. So it will likely have a much smaller battery than other trucks.

This works out well for those of us that drive a lot of highway mileage as our range drop off won’t be as bad (maybe 25% if we’re lucky), but the towing drop off will be a bigger hit than it is with the lightning or Silverado.

yes, i also imagine they're not thinking of this as the regular target audience, and they would prefer to sell someone a bigger truck, though there are many who tow (relatively) sizable trailers with Mavericks whom may be considering the UEV pickup.

the good aerodynamics are one of my concerns, as it could impact towing ability significantly with most trailers. i think some on here estimated battery size may only be around 60 kWh, which, if one can get around 2 mi/kWh towing a short enclosed cargo trailer at 50-55 mph (and if one prefers not to go much below 20% state of charge on the battery except in emergencies), would make for barely 100 miles of usable towing range between chargers.. so as much as i'd like to support the EV movement, looks like towing with a Maverick would be a much better choice for regular long trips if the UEV pickup doesn't offer a range extender option.

While I am waiting for a friend to stop by this Lebec, CA Tesla Supercharger station where the two trucks were at, which won't be for about 3 weeks, I checked on a couple of things.

California Building Code Title 24, which governs the construction blueprints of all Tesla charging infrastructure built in the state, requires a minimum of 9' (108") for each stall width (between the white lines) and 18' (216") for each stall length.

I went to the 18 month old (same age as the Lebec charging station) Tesla V4 Supercharger station (8 stalls) here in my town and measured each stall. They were 115" wide (7" wider than the minimum requirement) and 218" long (2" longer than the minimum requirement).

thanks for the details. if those spots were also a little wider, then the width of the UEV pickup would be somewhere in the middle of the Maverick and Ranger widths.. though from google satellite view they did appear to be pretty close to the 9' minimum, which i quickly estimated would make the UEV pickup width close to the Maverick width.

good to know there are minimum sizes for the stalls, though they really ought to be made larger. full size trucks and vans are 8' or more wide (including mirrors) which doesn't leave much room to walk between vehicles if multiple are parked side by side. and the normal length of most full size trucks and vans is just under 20 ft long, which would stick out a bit into the aisle especially if leaving some space between the vehicle and charger. (and the extended length eTransit and eSprinter vans are 22-24' long, and longest Rivian van is nearly 27' long, all of which could block a significant portion of a narrow parking aisle)

There's not always a lot of extra room around charging stations since they're usually shoved into a corner of an existing parking lot.

Also, bike racks. You can't practically unload a rack, especially at a busy charger.

hopefully those designing charger locations start making them larger to accommodate larger vehicles and anyone needing more space, carrying bikes, cargo, trailers, etc. maybe the pull-through gas station layout really is best (preferably covered, but without the convenience store) rather than squeezing into existing lots. (or in dense areas, where using existing lots may be the only option, redo some of the parking aisles that are furthest from the stores to dedicate a large section of the lot for EV charging, and perhaps cover with solar panels for shade and easy visibility of charger location)

 

[WXman]

So I'm assuming this Ranchero will have a NACS port then? I hope there's a NACS to J1772 adapter included, because my existing Ford charge station in my garage is configured for F-150 Lightning.

I much prefer the charge port to be in the front left like the Lightning. Means when I pull into the garage at home or into a charge station on the road the port is closest to the charger. Makes the most sense. I have no idea why some automakers put the port in the rear which is the absolute worst place it could be.

 

[dorbi]

So I'm assuming this Ranchero will have a NACS port then? I hope there's a NACS to J1772 adapter included, because my existing Ford charge station in my garage is configured for F-150 Lightning.

I much prefer the charge port to be in the front left like the Lightning. Means when I pull into the garage at home or into a charge station on the road the port is closest to the charger. Makes the most sense. I have no idea why some automakers put the port in the rear which is the absolute worst place it could be.

I think it's been confirmed to use NACS. I also prefer the position of the charge port on the Lightning, but I understand why they chose driver-side rear

 

[DeluxeStang]

I thought he was 6’.

Google says 5'8.

 

[DeluxeStang]

Ford is into their camo/deceptions - maybe Farley is wearing lifts

Farley in heels, playing 4D chess.

 

[graycorgi]

the good aerodynamics are one of my concerns, as it could impact towing ability significantly with most trailers.

This is a really important callout. They emphasized the way they'll make this truck affordable is partly by using a smaller battery while banking on aero improvements to make up for the resulting range loss. However, that small battery is going to be much more noticeable as soon as a trailer (or even something like a bed rack) is installed.