Do you carry a charger in your Mach-E?

[TheVirtualTim]

I've used my mobile charger on four occasions.

Twice we've stayed at an AirBnB on 120v power. It's slow ... but considering we almost never needed the car, it was on the charger almost continuously and by the end of the stay the car had a full charge for our departure. BTW, on ONE of these stays (to a bike racing camp) one of our friends on the cycling team drove his Chevy Bolt and ... forgot to bring his mobile charger (it's his daily charger - so he forgot to unplug it from the house and bring it home). So our charger also got used to help him get enough charge to make it back to the next DC Fast Charger for his trip home.

I did a trip to a festival at a state park fairground -- which had RV camping sites. I was able to use the 240v/50a NEMA 14-50 outlet at the site to charge the car. I was only there for the day, but since it was charging on 240 at 30 amps ... that saved me a charging stop -- which is a good thing because on that particular trip there was no DC Fast Charging anywhere nearby. I had to plan for a contingency in case I wouldn't be allowed to charge in the RV area -- but fortunately it worked out.

Lastly ... at home. I was having the driveway replaced and that meant that for about a week I couldn't use my own driveway. I bought a 50' NEMA 14-50 extension cord rated for 50 amps and, since the mobile charger only pulls 30 amps ... was able to use that to reach the car so I could charge for the week.

I do like the fact that the mobile charger can get me out of tight spots, save me a charging stop, etc. and if the car hadn't come with one, I'd probably buy one.

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[Mirak]

That’s cute, but unlike the mobile charger, none of those has a specific spot in the trunk to store it, and none of them have any Hope of powering your car, except maybe the hand warmers and MREs if you remember enough college chemistry or watch lots of MacGyver. But then, you know that.

None of the items I listed are specifically named “mobile charger,” either, or look the same or weigh the same. But what is your point? Isn’t the only real point usefulness? And again, I would contend that the mobile charge is highly unlikely to be useful, and there are items we could be carrying in our cars that would likely be more useful, in the event of running empty.

 

[2021-MMEx-RT1]

The one that came with the car, is untouched/unwrapped in the car.

I did purchase a 'dryer' to charger adapter so if I needed to plug in at a relatives' place I could get 220/240v

 

[agdad]

I never removed the charger that came from Ford
and
I have TESLA adapter packed with them

 

[JerryR]

My mobile charger came with my 2022 AWD Select. I installed a 14-50 receptacle and use my mobile charger almost exclusively to charge my vehicle. After a little more than a year of use, the charging rate started to dropped off from 7kw to 3kw. That doubled my time to charge. I turned it in and got another one from Ford since it is under warranty. I am back up to 7kw per hour charging. I rarely take it with me because I either use fast charging on the road or level 2 chargers at hotels I have stayed.

 

[Stanmckinney]

I have an early 2023 and the charger came with it. It is still in plastic.

 

[Graybeard]

I thought of that, but how many houses have a 14-50 outlet readily available? And using a 110v outlet at someone's house is sort of pointless, in my view, because it would take several days to charge the MME.

But the 110v might be able to give you enough juice to get to a DC Fastcharger.

 

[Fins160]

I did purchase a 'dryer' to charger adapter so if I needed to plug in at a relatives' place I could get 220/240v

What type of "dryer" adapter did you buy? Need to be careful with the adapters. If you got a 14-50 to 10-30 adapter (like this: https://tinyurl.com/2s4ews3y), and plug in the Ford Mobile charger, you're going to either trip the breaker or cause a fire, since the Ford Mobile Charger pull 32A regardless of the plug. A 10-30 would only be rated for 30A max (24A continuous).

 

[Mirak]

But the 110v might be able to give you enough juice to get to a DC Fastcharger.

If you’d rather plug in for several hours, or more, as opposed to just using Ford’s free towing to a DCFC.

 

[Fins160]

Carry mine in the back of my 2022 Select. Use it all the time when visiting the family cabin on 120V when we stay overnight and it saves us from paying at the fast charger. Also have used it when visiting hotels, many have a 240V receptacle somewhere on the property.

If I didn't have one, I would definitely drop the $200 total for a cheap adjustable charger and some adapters to keep under the floor of the trunk.

 

[21st Century Pony]

According to Plugshare, there are apparently more 220 outlets around than you'd think (or at least more than I would have thought). But the thing is, maybe the mobile charger isn't much use in an emergency, but if you don't have it with you, it's definitely no use.

A lot more. We just have to look around.

 

[2021-MMEx-RT1]

What type of "dryer" adapter did you buy? Need to be careful with the adapters. If you got a 14-50 to 10-30 adapter (like this: https://tinyurl.com/2s4ews3y), and plug in the Ford Mobile charger, you're going to either trip the breaker or cause a fire, since the Ford Mobile Charger pull 32A regardless of the plug. A 10-30 would only be rated for 30A max (24A continuous).

Good question, I'd have to check to see. I got it with my old Fiat 500e so I could plug into the dryer. But I doubt it went over 16A. I think it only ran maybe 7A to charge up to a massive 90 miles per fill-up!

My current charger is adjustable from 08A - 40A. Maybe I'll put that in my trunk and use the Ford for everyday charging.

 

[21st Century Pony]

None of the items I listed are specifically named “mobile charger,” either, or look the same or weigh the same. But what is your point? Isn’t the only real point usefulness? And again, I would contend that the mobile charge is highly unlikely to be useful, and there are items we could be carrying in our cars that would likely be more useful, in the event of running empty.

"Useful" has two different meanings as the responses in this thread indicate.

"Useful" Version 1: it's always useful to put a little bit (or quite a bit) of juice in the car as it's just sitting parked idle for a long time, at some destination. I mean, why not?

"Useful" Version 2: useful to get the car and its occupants out of a DC Fast charging station (lack of a working one) jam.

Both are valid while they are both different from each other. Let's remember that grabbing useful juice while the car sits for a day or three is just as valid a reason as is "emergency juice-up".

And BTW... I am aware of the Ford Corporate "50 miles tow to a DC Fast" charging point policy but for this to be workable, both a tow truck and another DC Fast charging station within 50 miles have to be available. They would be, for most drivers in most places on North American highways... unless one or the other just plain aren't available. For instance, my own use case in Munro South Dakota in the late evening this past Summer. BLUF: no tow truck for hours (really, the next day) and no other DC Fast charging station within that distance either, when we were there. Besides, how many of our Mach Es have a rear tow point or a well-understood front tow points to safely tow the car onto a platform tow truck? (mine has both but it's an exception). And even better, how many tow truck drivers out in the far back country would have a platform tow truck instead of the ol' faithful grab-'em-by-the-front-wheels version? So this case clearly fell under Version 2. IMHO it is better in this case to grab available juice where you can and sleep on it. Which is what we did.

 

[Mirak]

"Useful" has two different meanings as the responses in this thread indicate.

"Useful" Version 1: it's always useful to put a little bit (or quite a bit) of juice in the car as it's just sitting parked idle for a long time, at some destination. I mean, why not?

"Useful" Version 2: useful to get the car and its occupants out of a DC Fast charging station (lack of a working one) jam.

Both are valid while they are both different from each other. Let's remember that grabbing useful juice while the car sits for a day or three is just as valid a reason as is "emergency juice-up".

And BTW... I am aware of the Ford Corporate "50 miles tow to a DC Fast" charging point policy but for this to be workable, both a tow truck and another DC Fast charging station within 50 miles have to be available. They would be, for most drivers in most places on North American highways... unless one or the other just plain aren't available. For instance, my own use case in Munro South Dakota in the late evening this past Summer. BLUF: no tow truck for hours (really, the next day) and no other DC Fast charging station within that distance either, when we were there. Besides, how many of our Mach Es have a rear tow point or a well-understood front tow points to safely tow the car onto a platform tow truck? (mine has both but it's an exception). And even better, how many tow truck drivers out in the far back country would have a platform tow truck instead of the ol' faithful grab-'em-by-the-front-wheels version? So this case clearly fell under Version 2. IMHO it is better in this case to grab available juice where you can and sleep on it. Which is what we did.

I’ve already acknowledged Useful Version 1 when I stated that some posters here have given limited use cases where it makes sense to Level 1 charge during a trip.

All I am speaking to is Useful Version 2 - the usefulness for emergencies - and it just… isn’t. To take your hypothetical, if there isn’t a working DCFC within 50 miles… you’re really gonna plug into a 110v and camp out for several days?! No, you’re going to pay for a tow to a charger.

 

[21st Century Pony]

I’ve already acknowledged Useful Version 1 when I stated that some posters here have given limited use cases where it makes sense to Level 1 charge during a trip.

All I am speaking to is Useful Version 2. And it just… isn’t. To take your hypothetical, if there isn’t a working DCFC within 50 miles… you’re really gonna plug into a 110v and camp out for several days?! No, you’re going to pay for a tow to a charger.

That was DEFINITELY not/not a hypothetical.

Yes, we plugged it into the motel wall (of course with their knowledge) and slept. The next morning, it turned out a farmer had a town field lot 2 blocks over for his itinerant / seasonal workers. The motel staff knew the guy (in Munro South Dakota everyone knows everyone) and called him. He let us plug into his unused trailer RV 14-50 hookup in that field for 4 hours which gave us enough juice (along with the night's 110V juice) to reach the next DC Fast point in Wall, South Dakota.

So, definitely a good use of the (non-Ford) portable EVSE and two of our adapters for it. And again, the Ford tow truck policy just didn't apply because (see above).

Besides, we happen to camp in state parks and in national forests where there are both reasons to go camping and RV pads... so this is a mix of Version 1 (car charging up overnight very nicely while we're at the beach, or hiking, or whatever), AND Version 2 because, especially out in the West where you want to go camping, you often can't find a DC fast Charging station even with a divining stick... hence a self-forced Version 2.

Electricity is all around us. All it takes is the right adapter plug. And a decent portable EVSE with a non-proprietary whip end so you can get creative. ...and chatting nicely with the locals who are often happy to help out.

But I wouldn't use or count on the crappy Ford OEM portable EVSE on such trips.

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