There are roughly 18,000 gas-powered vehicles in the USFS fleet. That number will likely be changing in the coming years as the Biden administration signed into law an executive order that by 2027 all vehicles purchased by the feds will need to be zero emission vehicles.
The USFS is getting a head start on that.
They’ve recently purchased three Ford F-150 Lightnings, Ford’s all-electric truck that has quickly become the top-selling EV truck in the country. Ford has sold 13,258 of the trucks so far and there’s a three-year backlog on reservations with more than 200,000 people waiting.
The USFS is testing out the capabilities of the trucks in off-roading environments, doing serious truck stuff. Off-roading and ruggedness shouldn’t be a problem for the trucks as they’re built on a plenty robust platform, but the forest service is interested in how the batteries perform so they can institute best practices as more of the EVs enter the fleet. Lots of the testing will be conducted in brutal New England winter weather in the White Mountains.
The plan is to charge the trucks at night so there’s no need yet to invest in any kind of remote charging infrastructure. The USFS is rolling with the least expensive option for their needs (cheaper even than its gas equivalent), with a 230-mile range, all-wheel drive, and a 2,000-pound payload.
Bear in mind, this pilot program isn’t a case of testing the trucks to see if they can be used at all — the USFS is satisfied with the capability of the platform, they’re simply learning how the trucks will react to heavy work so they can plan accordingly.
And if they’re solid enough for remote backcountry work for the USFS, they’re likely solid enough for the needs of us car camping types.
Very cool! As a proud owner of a Prius Prime, I’m aware that a fuel-efficient sedan isn’t suitable for everyone, including those who need trucks for work. I cheered when I saw the clever and attractive design of this electric Ford. (If you build it, they will buy.)
Contrast this to trumps USPS czar dejoy who nixed the deal on electric postal delivery (Amazon delivery) trucks and replaced with fossil fuel models. Those noisy, stinky little units are all over our small California beach community (Los Osos) 7 days a week.
Hey Dave, I’m a proud graduate of Los Osos Middle School and Morro Bay High.
Go bears!
Go Pirates!
I knew you’re a former central coaster, didn’t know exactly where.
I always enjoy your articles. Thanks bud
USFS employee here-
Great that the government is investing in electric vehicles. However. There are approximately 10,000 USFS employees that are wildland firefighters. We don’t want electric vehicles. 230 mile range is nowhere near enough to fight remote Nevada desert fires, for example. We might need to drive 150 miles just to reach a fire, and then use the truck for a whole day. And be hours from the nearest charging station. Electric vehicles still haven’t proved themselves in emergency situations in extremely remote areas. These trucks are probably fine for half the workforce but not the fire side of things. Shortsighted that they didn’t even ask their own employees what they thought of the switch.
Hey Drew, not to be obtuse, but ‘they’ didnt ask you, because I guess you dont know what you are talking about!
I work in R&D and one of the last things I’d ever do is ask an end consumer or retailer what they want. Not that their wishes are not valid, but when I am working on a project that will hit the market in 3+ years time, why would I want feedback from someone whos only reference is the here and now? My products need to be be the next step for our company, not an incremental improvement on the status quo. I guess you can use a similar thought process regarding who is involved in this e.truck decision.
Also when you said that ” we (all firefighters) dont want electric vehicles”, you kind of cancelled yourself as a viable point of feedback. If you have not spoken with everyone, how can you speak for them?
cheers
Gringo-
Sorry, misspoke in my comment. I meant “we” as in me and my 19 coworkers. Don’t know what every firefighter thinks about it but I could make an educated guess. Also I’m not pretending to be a car expert I’m just a dude that drives a pickup truck at work everyday giving my two cents. I’d think the white collar workers designing stuff would want input from then blue collar worker using it. Guess I’m wrong. Either way it’s a step in the right direction I was just pointing out some potential issues people might find interesting
Gringo, You do realize that fighting forest fires is often a multi-state effort requiring extended travel?
Typical that an R&D team is so focused on their “great” idea without speaking to the actual end user. Even worse, demeaning the end user and criticizing them for not speaking with every other end user, as if that devalues their perspective.
Maybe I’m missing that researchers have all visited the Zoltar exhibit at the amusement park and been granted special knowledge of the future, but, ultimately this process ends with a crappy product that nobody needs or wants because of ignoring the knowledge based perspective of the people who will actually use the product in the field.
Of course, EV’s for the Forest Service are based on politics and have nothing to do with accomplishing the task. Since the Western States and Federal Government have abandoned any sensible forest management, it really doesn’t matter if the fireman don’t make to the fire because it’s all going up in smoke regardless. Better for their lives and that of their family to drive the EV and drain the battery while still 100 miles away.
I have to assume they will keep some gas-powered vehicles for just this purpose. After all, there aren’t EV heavy trucks or dozers, both used extensively in fire suppression, not to mention helicopters and airplanes. But for run of the mill USFS stuff, a full EV fleet.
So here’s my big gripe with all this, since someone brought up plug in hybrids?
It’s so frustrating to watch the current situation of “OMG, WE’RE ALL IN ON EV’S!!!”, when charging infrastructure is still years from solidly everywhere, mileage anxiety is a valid concern, our electrical grid can barely keep up with the current demands on it, prices are insultingly high, and the majority of humans with vehicles, still use gas.
Don’t get me wrong, we need to change, and I fully support that.
EV’s will not be the solution. There is something, who knows what, that is the ACTUAL, future.
Okay, fine, so what’s better you ask?
The Pruis Prime, and any other plug in hybrid, that for whatever capitalistic, myopic, hand wringingly green reason, have been steamrolled by the industry cramming pure EVs down our throats.
My mom (85 yo) got a Prime. She had no idea what it could do, it was just her new lease. After I explained it. and how she could easily use it, she bought in, and called me 6 months later to inform me that she’d just gone to the gas station for the first time. She absolutely loves it now, and is over 200mpg average. That’s fantastic.
Since the vast majority of Americans driving, is 25 miles or less, plug ins, allow for full EV use, the lions share of the time, but still use gas (efficiently as hell, might I add) when you go beyond that range.
It creates a vehicle that trains people how to think about EV use, use less gas, and still go about their lives pretty unchanged.
A crap ton of these, for ~10 years, would allow the power grid to become more modernized, allow for another decade of battery tech improvements, use LESS rare earth elements along the way, and possibly give room for whatever the actual future is, technologically speaking, to get that much closer to fruition.
Or, yeah, rape the planet for cobalt and lithium, allow the Chinese government to hold swap over the worlds transportation needs, push out cars that people cannot use for travel as they’re accustomed to, and end up with shit tons of toxic waste in the form of dead batteries, with no where to put it, and no plan for what to DO with it.
Tack on a healthy dose of power grid failures and crashes, and large swaths of “flyover country” fucked with virtually no charging infrastructure,cause who cares if small town Kansas that’s 50 miles from any interstate, ever gets the ability to commercially charge EV’s.
Someone fucked up, and I don’t know who it was, but they put the EV cart before the plug in hybrid horse, and we’re all gonna pay for that oversight…..
We had a Prius Prime (it got totaled) and we loved it. Almost never, ever used gas except on road trips. I’m not concerned *that* much with range anxiety because there are chargers everywhere we live but I would 100% buy a plug-in hybrid that gets 50 miles on electricity only, with a gas motor for power + range extension over a pure EV. And I’d make that same decision likely for another couple decades, until EVs can be run for 500 miles just from solar charging, etc.
Something like the new Kia Sorrento is a great compromise. 32 miles on just electricity for a 3-row SUV is awesome. We’d put gas in that ONLY for trips to visit the in-laws or for camping trips. We’d go months between fill-ups.
It’s just a more “real world, as we find it today”, solution, Glad you got my drift.
Sadly, common sense rarely wins out, anymore.
There is a TED Talk out there where a committed anti carbon person explains why today’s EV’s actually produce more carbon in their lifecycle than Hybrids. After his research, he sold his EV and purchased a hybrid.
What an irresponsible use of tax dollars. Not too mention the government once again crowding out the average citizen from limited supplies and pushing up prices.
Huh? These trucks cost less than the gas equivalents.
Yes, but dont forget about Gringos Order: which states that when in comment sections one should never let a chance to make baseless claims and bash the government go unused.
Because when the internal combustion engine was invented we were fortunate to have a network of gas stations on every corner across the country all ready in place just waiting for someone to sell gas to!
Right??? I think that’s how it happened …
I get your point. But you can put 100 gallons of diesel in the bed of a truck in a slip tank and bring it with you. Can you bring extra car batteries that are interchangeable/replaceable? Once that’s a thing I’m on fully on board.