Randy Jones, of Katy, Texas, used his Ford F-150 2021 to power space heaters and other appliances in his home when he lost electricity earlier this week during the winter storm.
Source: Randy Jones
When Randy Jones of Katy, Texas, bought his new Ford F-150 a few weeks ago, he didn’t think he would use it to keep the lights on in his home during a historic winter storm that left millions without electricity.
The Ford F-150 2021 hybrid truck’s built-in generator “gives you the ability to use your truck as a mobile generator” that can produce up to 7.2 kW of power, according to Ford.
Jones, 66, said in a telephone interview with CNBC that he bought the truck in part because of this feature, adding that it often loses power due to hurricanes and other storms. When he lost power Sunday night, he pulled out a few extension cords and decided to test the generator.
“Without him, I would have been in the dark and cold like everyone else in the neighborhood,” said the retired refinery worker, who helped neighbors charge their phones and laptops. A good number of neighbors said, ‘Hey, I have one, like,‘ I’m changing my Dodge or GMC, ’because in South Texas, with hurricanes and things like that, we’re always having power outages. . “
Jones said he used the truck’s on-board generator to power his home appliances for three days, until power was restored on Wednesday. He is not alone. Jerry Hall, 73, bought his new F-150 in late January. It turned out to be a perfect time, he said.
“The truck saved the day,” the Kerrville, Texas resident said in a telephone interview. Hall said his home lost power Sunday night through early Thursday. “It would have been three miserable days without the truck.”
Hall said he and his wife were still spending these days without heat, but were able to run the truck’s extendable wires into the house to turn on the lights, refrigerator, TV and other luxuries.
“It kept us connected to the outside world,” he said.
Hall added that the “main reason” he bought the truck was because of his generator on board. He said the bad weather last spring caused blackouts in his part of the state and he knew he wanted to get some sort of generator. It just made sense, he said, to get a new truck with a built-in generator.
Other truck owners have posted stories similar to Hall and Jones in an online forum for F-150 owners. Photos from the forum were shared on Twitter, where Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, noted: