Report: Ford Is Asking Texas Dealers to Loan F-150 Trucks with Generators During the Outage

2021 ford f-150 charging tesla car powering home A recent report suggests that Ford is asking Texas dealers to loan out new 2021 F-150 trucks with generators in order to help during power outages. This report comes to us via Autonews (subscription is required). Ford is reportedly offering bonus money to dealerships if they loan the new trucks with the Pro Power Onboard inverter/generator systems. These trucks are capable of providing between 2.0 kW and 7.2 kW of power at up to 30 amps.

The new 2021 Ford F-150 trucks with either a 3.5L twin-turbo V6 or the 5.0L V8 may be optioned with a 2.0 kW inverter/generator system. The new F-150 Hybrid comes standard with a 2.4 kW system that can be optioned up to a maximum of 7.2 kW of output. We have thoroughly tested this Hybrid system, and it is powerful enough to charge an electric car or power two large camping trailers at the same time (depending on which appliances are being used).

The F-150 Hybrid is equipped with a 30-gallon fuel tank and it can provide around 30 hours of maximum 7.2kW output on a full tank. The truck uses its onboard 1.5 kWh battery as an energy buffer while the 3.5L V6 is idling to continue to generate energy.

Unless I am mistaken, aren’t there hundreds of railroad locomotives parked across the U.S. practically mothballed because they are not in use due to downturn in economy? Why not take all of these locomotives and one by one set them in the townships where the power is out and then fire them up. They can provide power for the town, yes?

Ok, so rails do not run everywhere. I say you contract with a couple of cranes and a long low-rise flat bed trailer in your neighborhood, lift the locomotive off its trucks, place it on the trailer, and transport it to where it is needed, tie it into the local power grid.

Sheesh. Is Doc Brown the only one who can think out of the box here? How to channel a bolt of lightning into the flux capacitor was a stroke of genius, was it not?

1.21 jigawatts indeed.

Back in the late 1960s, a hurricane hit Hawaii and knocked-out all generating stations on one of the islands.

As a result, there was no way to get power, since the field coils in the generators couldn’t be energized.

To fix the problem, it was arranged for a submarine to dock there and basically “jump-start” the island.

I remember seeing a picture of the submarine at the dock, with a cable that looked to be about 6” in diameter coming out of the conning tower and running down the pier.

A used 5 kw generator will cost you over $1500

BTW, I actually HAVE a 7.5 kw generator, and would consider a new F-150 for replacement of both the truck and generator were I needing a new one. Because it is sensible.

I don't know where you go shopping for generators! LOL!!! I guess at the I Saw You Cummin’ Used Generator Store. Seriously, if you are trying to get one in the middle of Texas right now people are probably gouging the hell out of others, but I can buy a decent quality new one a couple thousand miles away from Texas for around $550.

Our 5K generator is typically putting out around 2500 watts while we are using it for all of our needs when the power is out according to the metering that we have on it. We need the extra capacity because there are times when motors for refrigerators, freezers, and the furnace are starting up. But typically the smaller the motor the less fuel it will be using. We run it on natural gas which is currently costs s about a third the price of gasoline partially because the generator runs cooler and a little more thermally efficient on natural gas than gasoline. I have a kwh meter on both sides of the 240 volt output and I keep track of the gas usage as well.

Do you think that generating the same amount of power with a 6 Cylinder 430 HP engine is going to be even a tenth as efficient as a single cylinder 10 HP motor running on natural gas? And you think that doing that would be sensible? Apparently we are speaking a different language. Even considering that is very un-sensible as far as I am concerned.

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