Still trying to plan out a build for an F150 in the future and am wondering about the Pro Power. I have seen some videos but I am wondering how useful it would be. I can see where it would be useful if I had some chores to do out in the pasture that might require a power tool or two, but would I even need the Pro Power for that? I mean, there are some outlets in the truck. Wouldn't they be sufficient? (This would be a one man operation, not a construction crew)

 

It really all depends on what you want to do with the truck. I ordered an XLT with the 7.2kw and plan to use it for trips to state campgrounds with our TT. I can also see myself using it to set up a mobile welding station in my bed. I can even see myself running my house on it as I don't currently have a generator. All of those drove me to order one. Here's a great PDF from Ford detailing some other uses.

https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/content...er_SP_C113.pdf

 

The outlets in non-ProPower trucks are 400 Watts. That is barely enough to charge some laptops these days. So you don't need to be a construction crew to benefit from it. That said, you didn't specify which ProPower version you are considering. There is a 2KW, 2.4KW and 7.2KW version. The 2.4 and 7.2 only being available with the PowerBoost.

In any case, its value is down to your own lifestyle and area. I see you are in Texas, so do you have a backup generator at home already for when Texas inevitably has more power grid issues? The F-150 could be a nice lifeline if not. If you go camping or ever intend to get a TT, take a car to the race track, etc. You can do a lot with it.

Having an outlet in the truck doesn't tell you its capability. I saw someone with a Tacoma commenting that the ProPower wasn't that special, his Tacoma has an outlet too! But it also was rated at 400 watts. Even most single corded powertools with have surge demand of over 400 Watts and not work in the Tacoma, or an F-150 with the standard 400 Watt outlets.

 

I live in a neighborhood that uses a lot of golf carts to get around. A few weeks ago, my wife was out with my grandson a half mile from home when the cart died. She thought it was fully charged but not so much! In any case, I took the golf cart charger to where she was stranded and used the power port in the bed to juice the cart up for 20 minutes or so and she was able to then drive home. Bottom line, you never know when it will come in handy so if you can afford it, get it! BTW, my truck is a 2021 King Ranch FX4 PowerBoost with the 2.4KW. Absolutely love the truck.

 

I'm sure having the onboard power will help with resale too. As EVs become more and more popular, its going to be expected that your vehicle has some sort of electrical provisions. You have no idea what gadgets will come out over the next few years that utilize onboard power systems. Guaranteed, Ram and GM are going to be jumping on the onboard power band wagon.

 

I think it will be interesting to see the direction Ford (and their Marketing Dept.) go with Pro Power the next couple of years. Currently, they are pointing heavily at the construction industry, especially residential, as their commercials feature wood 2x4's being cut. I don't think too many construction guys are going to go nuts for it, as it is about 5 years too late. I've been an electrician for 30ish years in residential, commercial, and industrial applications, and have yet to see or hear any buzz. Our World has mostly gone battery powered. Nail guns, hole hawgs, chop saws have all been getting more powerful, and more efficient, as batteries get longer lives and lighter weight. I still carry an old-school corded Hole Hawg just in case, but it hasn't seen sunlight in a couple of years now. I'd love to have a couple of outlets in my van ( Towmaster....killer to work out of, but absolute trash mechanicals) to charge batteries, but that is about as much as I would need from it. Hopefully someday soon my van will join the ranks of the battery powered.

I think Ford needs to lean a bit heavier into the camping and trailering World. The most common threads are the folks looking to hook their travel trailers up having GFCI issues. I know that lawyers are heavily involved in anything that spews forth electrons, but there are things Ford could do on their end to not only solve the problems, but market it as the coolest feature in travel trailer towing in years. Being able to have refrigerators and A/Cs running while traveling to your destination would be pretty nice. For the tent campers, having decent electric outlets available is a game changer. Why Ford is leaving the campers out in the woods and marketing to an industry that has already left the corded World is beyond me. I'm willing to bet that we see a shift in their focus before too long.

 

The on board outlets in standard ICE vehicles kind-of suck and don't power anything worthwhile. They are 400w of a modified sign wave bordering on square wave and a ton of things cannot be run by them, such as compressors and electric motors. They also only work with the engine running.

Most legitimate tools cannot be powered by the outlet in a regular ICE vehicle, but can by the powerboost

 

If I remember corrrectly, the 2kw is the only one I would be able to get since I intend on getting a 5.0. I don't intend to tow much, but it would be nice to be able to have a little more power in order to utilize a few tools on small projects.

 

Would have loved the 2.4 for more versatility, but EcoBoost (Tremor) is limited to the 2 kw. Still, overall recreational usefulness is TBD since the engine has to be running to get full power, which means you’re fumigating the camp site or tailgate party with exhaust.

 

Yeah a bit tougher with the non-PB trucks since as you mentioned the truck has to be running all the time. You could say a generator would also have to be running all the time if you intended to bring one. I think if I was wanting to do non-TT camping I would consider just getting a 2k watt Inverter generator. They are small enough to not take up a bunch of storage space and you can use them in other situations where having the truck around is tougher. There are also 2k watt battery generators with solar charging that I am interested in as prices drop. Those would be killer for camping since they can power things even without the solar for quite a while, and no noise. Can even keep it in the tent since no fumes. But again, they are costly. Nice backup for emergencies and that though for all the same reasons, especially if you get the solar panels since even generators need refueling eventually and that may not always be accessible either.