The area I live in has soft sandy soil. When it rains the sand washes out leaving gullies which the locals then refill using their tractors. Until it get compacted its easy for big trucks to get stuck up to their axles. In the past I have used my old F250 4x4 to pull people out of the sand traps. I sold the F250 when I got my Lightning. Twice this month I have used the Lightning to pull UPS truck out of these sand traps. It works like a beast. Here is a shot of one of them. If you have an electric pickup post you pictures of your truck doing truck things. I will try to remember to snap and post pictures of other work being done.
So far it has surpassed everything my old F250 4x4 7.3 liter could do, Well except for long distance towing and I don't do that any more. It also much more comfortable, quiet and efficient. Its a great highway cruiser.
My son who still has a reservation for the Cybertruck is starting to consider the cheaper Pro model of the Lightning. He has a Tesla M3, so will not be using the truck for trips. But he wants it for our cabin where we need to haul stuff at times. And it is a really rough shale gravel/rock road with a lot of ups and downs along the side of a mountain. I get the Lightning can handle off-road. But how good is the suspension for running over bumps, potholes and washboard? Is it soft on top, or stiff like most trucks? Our cabin road does not like trucks or Jeeps. Subarus are good as is my Solterra, as they have long range, but soft on top so you can go pretty fast gliding over the bumps. The trucks tend to lose traction with the road and can skid/slide in the corners. Jeeps are the worst as they are way too stiff, and will easily lose control if you don't go slow. The road follows steep (>1000' cliffs) along the side of the mountain with a lake at the bottom. Several Jeeps have gone over with fatalities in the last 10 years.
The lightning is 4 wheel independent suspension and is quite adept at handling washboard roads and pot holes. I find the suspension on the softer side for a truck but not necessarily soft. I tend to run over the washboard roads at a little higher speed and it just soaks it up. Of course ride quality is subjective and I would therefore recommend you test drive it to see if you and your son like the ride. I have the Pro and find it meets all of my need. It is my primary vehicle and it handles every thing I throw at it to my satisfaction.
Thanks, that sounds good. Softer on top is better, as long as it stiff enough to not bottom out on the bigger bumps and holes. Yeah, he just wants a basic truck, not with all the interior bling, etc, but has the important essentials. We have solar at the cabin, so will be good for charging there in the summer. And in the winter with less sun can use the V2L to power the cabin if necessary.
I never own a truck that means I can’t get into this discussion but as car gay I find this interesting and people who are truck guys can read this just as information
Son and I were out to a couple local Ford dealers to see about the Pro. None available here now, and they say the allocations for that model will be very thin in 2024. And the dealer pre-order lists are already very long. They think it will be a year and half wait. Figures, as it qualifies here for the EV rebates. And they want a $1000 non-refundable deposit. First time I have seen that here. He is not in an immediate rush, but would like one by next fall. So he may be looking for other options. The best hope is that the EV market is really slowing down here now, and maybe within a year, this Pro might become more available. It sure ticks all the boxes for the essentials, and price (with the rebate). The Ford dealer lots were full of ICE F150s and a bunch of Mach-Es, too. But only a few Lightnings, the higher trim expensive ones. They say the new car market has really slowed the last few months, not just EVs, esp the higher priced ones.
Gee I wonder why? Not everybody wants (or can afford) to spend $75K for a car or $100K for a truck especially considering today's economy. Patience, let the dealers get hungry...they will eventually cave.
This one reminded me of this sub-forum, I think it qualifies "Lightning saves the day and pulls a Dodge Ram out of Diamond Lake in Michigan."
While I will drive my Lightning through 18" of water even I know not to try and drive trough a lake. Doh!!!
I googled the story, but it doesn't include the answer to your obvious question. I found no other references to the incident after much more googling, including a reverse-image search. I'd guess the truck floated away while trying to put a boat into or taking a boat out of the water.
My guess would be that it had an almost empty gas tank which then make the rear end buoyant. Got in deep enough that he floated the rear wheels where where the e brakes are. With the rear wheels off the pavement it simply rolled in to the lake. If you notice in the first picture it looks like the rear end is floating while the heave engine end is not.