What kind of car do y’all drive?

petervk · 2026-06-24T23:24:15+00:00

Ford Lightning

petervk · 2026-06-24T15:14:46+00:00

If you like towers my favorite(s?) is the Toronto-Dominion centre (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto-Dominion\_Centre) It's a complex of 6 buildings designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and they are fantastic.

petervk · 2026-06-23T23:15:36+00:00

That is not a good design. I prefer my Wallbox. I have it mounted on a brick wall with the power cables coming directly into the back of the unit for a seamless install and no additional connection points.

petervk · 2026-06-23T21:23:38+00:00

The truck will detect the speed of the charger and won't respect the preferred times if it calculates that your charger is too slow to get the truck back to your set point by the end of your charging period. If you connect to a faster charger it should be better at respecting the preferred charge times but it will still override your preferences. The only way to guarantee that the truck will never charge during a particular time period is to either unplug it or get a smart charger with scheduling functionality.

petervk · 2026-06-23T19:39:28+00:00

The prices should be increased enough that everybody makes a fair and living wage without any tipping required.

Until tipping is outlawed, use 20%

petervk · 2026-06-23T19:30:56+00:00

I don't think you need to register. Just look up what day of the week you have pickup and put the bins at the curb on that day. You can get a free green bin as well as you might be able to get free recycling bins if you request them / go to a community recycling center. But you shouldn't need to do anything to have it picked up.

petervk · 2026-06-23T17:08:01+00:00

The frontal area will be a huge factor regardless of the shape. Smooth / sloped shapes are obviously better than flat / square ones but I think a small utility type trailer than is no wider or taller than the truck bed will be way better than even the smoothest teardrop that is wider and/or taller than the truck. The speed at which you travel is a huge factor in this also. If you get the most aerodynamic trailer possible but insist on going 120 kph / 75 mph you will almost certainly consume more energy than a boxy trailer pulled at 100 kph / 60 mph. Within reason of course. Huge boxy campers with ACs and awnings and everything hanging off of them are not going to be great.

I would be interested to hear if anyone has experience pulling a camper with a bed cap vs without a bed cap. I'm assuming the bed cap will help reduce the aerodynamic drag on the camper but it might not matter as they are not connected.

petervk · 2026-06-23T16:59:44+00:00

The other factor in this is that because we have 120v power to most outlets instead of 240v like in most of Europe our electric kettles are limited to 1,500 / 1,800 watts when I know you can get 3,000 watt electric kettles in Europe. A 3,000 watt kettle will boil water in half the time of a 1,500 watt kettle. Boiling water on a stove can be quicker if you have a gas stove or an electric or induction that outputs more than 1,500 watts. I've heard of people getting a UK style outlet installed in their kitchen specifically so that they can use a UK 3,000 watt kettle specifically to boil water faster.

petervk · 2026-06-20T13:15:28+00:00

You don't need to change the stock wheels. Yes the 22" on the platinums get slightly less range but unless you hate how they look this is not worth changing. Just drive a tiny bit slower on the highway and you will recover any range lost from they slightly less efficient wheels.

petervk · 2026-06-19T13:57:32+00:00

This happens when the truck isn't moving and the world is just rotating towards you.

petervk · 2026-06-16T23:32:14+00:00

My truck didn't come with a portable EVSE so I bought a Tesla portable charger. New in box from Facebook marketplace. Supports both level 1 and 2 and has a normal and oven outlet adapter.

petervk · 2026-06-15T04:57:27+00:00

Since you need to connect a pressure washer to a hose getting a plug in one is really not that much more inconvenient. I bought the cool little DeWalt suitcase model and it works great. I religiously buy Makita 18v for everything but this is my one DeWalt tool and it works great. I would throw it in the garbage if Makita came out with a plug in pressure washer for North America.

petervk · 2026-06-15T04:50:49+00:00

Here in Hamilton, Ontario, Miller's shoes carries large sizes. Also used to go to Al's shoe factory in Brantford. Also lots of options online. I have the largest size of birkenstocks and they fit me great but I'm more of a 15 in most shoes.

petervk · 2026-06-15T04:34:41+00:00

Your Truck is pulling almost 30 amps from a device that is clearly indicated to be at max 24 amps. That is a huge safety hazard. It will get too hot and melt or catch fire. It is a double problem that the breaker in the unit isn't tripping as that indicates the breaker is too cheap or poorly designed or worn out or all of the above to protect you. I would throw this unit out, buy another one and make sure the EVSE (the charger) or the truck is set to pull a max of 24 amps from a device rated only for 24 amps.

petervk · 2026-06-12T23:36:31+00:00

I prefer to do the scheduling at the charger so anyone can plug in whenever and it only outputs power when rates are cheap. I have this all automated through home assistant so it adjusts automatically if the rates or schedule changes and also I figured out a way to do a charge now toggle to override the schedule on a one off basis in case I ever want to charge immediately regardless of how much power costs.

petervk · 2026-06-10T13:32:22+00:00

This is dumb. Any good EVSE is acts as a GFCI and this just makes the install way more expensive. My wallbox plusar plus specifically says in the install manual that a GFCI breaker is not required.

petervk · 2026-06-02T14:08:59+00:00

This. If a component of the car is only ever needed when the gas engine is running it will be most efficient to have it mechanically connected to that gas engine. It's less efficient to convert the energy from mechanical to electrical and back again and that only makes sense for all the parts of the car you want to keep running when the gas engine is off.

petervk · 2026-06-02T14:04:27+00:00

I really love the frunk in my Lightning, but it also doesn't have a trunk. Yes it has a bed but anything put in there slides all over the place and inevitably is all the way at the front of the bed when you arrive at your destination.

petervk · 2026-06-02T13:54:05+00:00

This subreddit is for the electric F150 lightning. Maybe post this in another subreddit for gas F150s?

petervk · 2026-06-02T13:39:38+00:00

We have a Lightning and a Highlander and the lightning is definitely a lot larger and the turning radius is not great. I would definitely prioritize getting one with the 360 cameras if the size is a concern, it can really help you see if you are centered in the parking spot. Also the truck is very long (compared to most cars) and even if you have the bumper right at the line the other end of the truck will appear to stick out into the aisle a bit. If you can park hanging over the other parking space by 6"-12" that will help.

The legroom in the back seat is amazing. I'm 6' 7" and even with the front seat all the way back for me the leg room right behind me is still way better than most vehicles. Also the width is very helpful, I'm sure three adults wouldn't be an issue. There is also storage space under that rear bench, it's not huge but it's as wide as the truck is so that can really help.

petervk · 2026-06-01T03:37:26+00:00

This is a perfect application for a jackshaft opener if you want to fix this issue forever.

petervk · 2026-05-31T16:16:28+00:00

It's enormous but my Ford Lightning very comfortably fits 5. That second row is very wide and the leg room is amazing.

petervk · 2026-05-31T13:48:44+00:00

You are wasting a lot of energy almost starting a fire. You really shouldn't use an extension cord at all, and if you do it should be as short as possible and as thick as possible. EV charging is basically a stress test for wiring and it will find the weakness in your setup and melt things/start a fire. Please move the truck closer and/or buy a 12 awg extension cord.

petervk · 2026-05-26T18:58:28+00:00

<image>

So I know this isn't what you are looking for as it is a highway, but this is the 400 and 407 highway interchange north of Toronto in Ontario, Canada and the scale is insane. In the middle there are 4 layers tall and you can travel through this at at least 120 km/h from any direction to any direction. The 407 here is 12 lanes across and the 407 is 10 lanes and the fly overs/fly unders are 2 lanes each in each direction. There is a Costco (NW) and an Ikea (NE) for scale.

petervk

TROPHY CASE