Randy Jones of Katy, Texas, has been using his 2021 Ford F-150 to power space heaters and other appliances throughout the house when it lost power 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 of people without electricity.
The 2021 Ford F-150 hybrid truck generator “gives you the ability to use your truck as a mobile generator” that can produce up to 7.2 kW of power, says 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 its power due to hurricanes and other storms. When he lost power on Sunday night, he pulled out some extension cords and decided to test the generator.
“Without her, I would have been in the dark and cold like everyone else in the neighborhood,” said the retired refinery worker, adding that he helped neighbors charge their phones and laptops. “Some of the neighbors said, ‘Hey, I’m getting one, like’ I’m changing my Dodge or GMC, ‘because in South Texas, with hurricanes and things like that, we always have power outages. “
Jones said he used the generator on board the truck to power the appliances in his house for three days, until his power was restored on Wednesday. He is not alone. Jerry Hall, 73, bought his new F-150 at the end of January. It turned out to be the perfect time, he said.
“The truck saved the day,” the Kerrville, Texas resident said in a telephone interview. Hall said his house lost power Sunday night through early Thursday. “It would have been three miserable days without a truck.”
Hall said he and his wife still spent those days without heat, but managed to run extension cords from the truck into the house to turn on the lights, refrigerator, TV and other luxury items.
“It kept us connected to the outside world,” he said.
Hall added that the “main reason” he bought the truck was because of the generator on board. He said the harsh weather last spring led to some disruptions in his part of the state and he knew he wanted to get some kind of generator. It just made sense, he said, to get a new truck with a built-in generator.
Other truck owners have posted similar articles to Hall and Jones in an online forum for F-150 owners. Photos from the forum spread on Twitter, where Ford CEO Jim Farley noted: